You can purchase drying tents and bags that regulate humidity , but of course , I don ’ t do that . My preferred old-school method is to cut and hang the entire plant . I hang them on a wire in a cool , dark , well-ventilated room for a few weeks . The tried-and-true method of knowing when the bud is ready to smoke is to see if the stems will snap . Simply bend one of the stems and try to break off a bud . If you can hear and feel the snap and the bud breaks off cleanly , your flower is properly cured . It is time to trim the crop .
removed , and there is less moisture to evaporate . The disadvantage is that the flower will not taste or smell as good as it does if it is slowly dried . The potency won ’ t be affected either way . Good bud is good bud .
� Wet trimming . Dry trimming
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You will need some good trimming scissors or clippers like the ones seen in the photos on the left and some good lighting . Trimming is kind of an art that you will get the feel of , but it can start out awkward . It takes some time to understand the structure of the bud and find the quickest , most efficient way to remove the leaf . I start by removing the big leaves by hand until all that is left is what is known as sugar leaf . The sugar leaves are the small leaves that surround the bud and are coated in crystals that resemble sugar . We will catch them in a container and save them to make edibles and hashish .
The trick to trimming is to remove the leaf and leave the bud . This will take some practice to master . You don ’ t want to leave too much leaf , and you don ’ t want to trim off bud . Just start at the top and work your way down . Hold the stem between your thumb and forefinger and twirl it to rotate the bud . Now , just give the flower a haircut and make it look pretty . Repeat the process a few hundred times until you are done . I recommend some good music or a bad movie . The first time you trim , you will think it is one of the coolest things you have ever done . Trust me , you ’ ll get over it .
� Wet trimmed bud . � Dry trimmed bud .
You can also try a machine that trims bud , like the I-power 19-inch leaf trimmer ( see photo on left ). You will probably still want to do a final hand trim , but the device does save some time . I have a full demonstration of all these techniques on my YouTube channel , Bobo ’ s Botanicals . There is a link at the bottom of the page , or search YouTube for Bobo ’ s Botanicals . I am easy to find . Please like , comment , and subscribe .
I hope this series of articles has helped you understand what it takes to become a small-time marijuana farmer . It ’ s really not that difficult , and you will learn a lot about science , electricity , carpentry , and several other things . With time and patience , you can produce a crop that will save you a lot of money . If I were to purchase my smoke and edibles rather than growing my own , it would cost around a thousand dollars a month at a dispensary . With my present budget , that ’ s out of the question . I easily spend less than two hundred dollars on electricity and grow supplies each month –– I ’ m quite happy ! I hope things work out as well for you . See you next month with our next adventure .
Jay Richardson is a highly experienced home cultivator adept at producing top-quality edibles in a home environment . You can find his growing tips and cannaeducational information monthly in The EVOLUTION Magazine and on his youtube . com /@ bobosbotanicals / featured channel , where he also adds a humorous touch . His sense of humor is displayed on his new novelty tee shirts , available at www . ThatBadassShirt . com .
You can also trim the buds when they are fresh and wet . This is actually easier because the leaves haven ’ t curled up and are sticking straight out . The buds will also dry quicker because the leaves are
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