You’ve put a lot of love and care into your indoor medical cannabis garden. Now that you have some big and beautiful buds to harvest, it’s time to start trimming so you can move on to the drying and curing. You might think this is the easy part, but many seasoned marijuana growers dislike this step the most.
Why Trimming is Important
When you purchase cannabis from a dispensary, you are buying the flower (or “bud”) of the plant, not the leaves. Not only does trimming and manicuring your cannabis buds from the rest of the plant make them look more aesthetically pleasing, but the leaves do not contain very much of the trichomes that are medically beneficial.
When To Start Trimming
Trimming does not start when you harvest. In fact, you want to start trimming a couple of weeks before you begin to harvest. By this time, larger fan leaves will begin to dye off, so you’ll want to remove those and maybe a few more.
Trimming Techniques: Wet vs. Dry
There are two different trimming techniques, and both are valid methods. Wet trimming is done the first day of harvest, straight off the stem. When the sugar leaves are still moist, they extend farther away from the buds, so it can be easier to trim them off.
Dry trimming is accomplished when the plant is left in a light and dry environment for some time, anytime between 4-10 days, and then the leaves are trimmed off. Wet trimming can be a sticky and messy process, so some people prefer this method to save themselves the time of cleaning their shears a few times during the process.
Trimming Supplies
You’ll need a few things that will make your trimming process go a lot more smoothly. First (and most obvious) is that you’ll need very sharp and sterile trimming shears and some rags and rubbing alcohol to keep them clean. You’ll also need some trays so that you can comfortably work in your lap or on a table and contain the mess that will ensue. Then sit in a comfortable chair and get to work.
Once you’ve trimmed the buds, you can start drying and curing them. Practice makes perfect, so take your time, and you can have some very tight and neat little cannabis buds that would make any dispensary proud.