Professional Marijuana Grower July-August 2019 Issue | Page 39

lower branches are ready, then the top buds will become
overripe and the quality will decrease.
In the early part of the harvest window, when the buds
on the top of the canopy are ready, harvest them using
large pruning shears that can easily cut through the
stems. The stems can be thick, therefore long-handled
pruning shears like the ones used to prune bushes and
small tree branches work best. Harvest by cutting the
branches from the plant about four- to six-inches below
the bottom-most flower bud on the stem. If possible,
make the cut just below the point of another lateral shoot
that connects to the main stem. This should create a
“V” that will also be a handy way to hang the buds to
dry. Immediately after cutting off the branch remove, by
hand, any remaining larger fan or sugar leaves as these
are no longer needed. When they are ready and ripe,
lower branches should be harvested in the same fashion.
Depending on the size of the plant, it may take up to four
separate harvest cuts spread out over a week or so to
gather the entire crop. The best time to harvest is in the
morning or early evening when the rate of photosynthesis
is lower and the plants are not creating as many sugars
and starches that can negatively affect the quality. After
the stems, full of buds, are harvested it is time to dry and
trim them down.
Trimming and Work Force
The choice of whether to trim the harvested buds before
or after drying them is up to you as a grower. Both
methods come with their own sets of ups and downs.
Harvesting when the product is still wet, before drying,
is often the easier choice but it can affect flavor in the
end. When wet leaves are cut back the chlorophyll that
is still somewhat fresh can leach back into the stem and
relocate into the flowers. This may result in the buds
having a slight grassy or hay-type taste to them. Allowing
the buds to properly dry before trimming will give the
remaining chlorophyll molecules time to breakdown or
degrade to where they will no longer affect the taste.
Trimming the buds after drying is more difficult than do-
ing so when they are fresh. As the leaves dry they have
a tendency to curl back and around the buds making
them harder to trim. If great care is not given when trim-
ming dry buds the end product can become overly leafy.
When trimming wet or fresh cannabis you will want to
cut back the leaves that are protruding past the flower.
Cut the leaves back so they are flush with the bud itself,
giving the finished product a nice uniform appearance.
If the leaves are coated by heavy trichome production
you may want to trim a little less and keep more of the
leaf. The remaining leaf will curl around the flower as it
dries, which can add to the bud’s aesthetic appeal. Dry
buds should be trimmed in the same fashion. Though it
may be a bit more difficult, having the leaves in place
when the bud is dried will help the trimmer identify how
July/August 2019
much of each leaf to remove and how much to leave
intact. Regardless of whether the trimming is to be done
wet or dry, it is best to use handheld precision trimmers.
Do not use electronic trimming machines. The shape,
size, and design of electric trimmers may vary but, for
the most part, they all come with the same major disad-
vantage of trimming too closely to the bud itself. The
goal when trimming is to remove the larger leafy matter
so the flower buds have a more uniform look that is not
“stringy” with dried leaves. Electric trimmers tend to
cut so close that they damage the actual bud, resulting
in a noticeable drop in the weight of the overall yield,
especially if you had a large harvest. Trimming by hand
may take longer but the accuracy of each deliberate cut
is significantly increased.
Proper trimming takes a great deal of time. Depending
on the number of plants and their size, trimming all of
them by hand can be a monumental undertaking. For
example, if you grow 25 plants and yield 10 pounds per
plant there will be 250 pounds that need to be carefully
manicured. Doing so alone would take far too long
since the key to trimming the crop is to get it done in the
least amount of time as possible. Hiring outside help is
the best way to get the job done quickly and more effi-
ciently. In places like the Emerald Triangle in California
there are seasonal workers that specialize in trimming.
They start showing up in the area as harvest time grows
near. These workers have been aptly referred to as
“trimmigrants” and many are very skilled at the job.
Trimming is a slow and tedious process and the best
trimmers can only trim somewhere around a pound
every four hours. If you find someone that can average
two pounds a day, keep them around because they are
a golden asset. When hiring outside help, try to find
trustworthy people that are hardworking and reliable
and not someone that hangs out and admires the crop all
day. You want someone that is there to get the job done.
With that said, it is important to provide any workers
with a fair wage for their work. If you are unsure of how
much to compensate them, then ask other growers to see
what the prevailing wage is for your area. Also, before
hiring any trimmers do the right thing and review any
rules and regulations to make sure you do so legally.
Before trimming begins, be sure that you have enough
trimming supplies like precision trimmers and heavy-duty
latex gloves. Make sure to keep the cutting blades of
the precision trimmers cleaned and lubricated. The buds
contain lots of resins that will collect on the tools and
hands (hence the gloves). Clean the trimming blades
often with isopropyl alcohol, which sterilizes them as
well. To avoid unwanted chemicals, choose a lubricant
that is labeled as food-grade safe to keep the tools
operating. Additionally, be sure to save all of the “trim”
that is removed because it can be used to make one of
Professional Marijuana Grower • 39