Harvesting and Trimming Cannabis

Harvesting your Cannabis

Harvesting cannabis is straightforward and is usually followed immediately by trimming. There are many ways that growers harvest their plants. Some opt to cut the whole plant at the base of the stem and hang as is, trimming the larger leaves and manicuring the bud after it is dry. Others prefer to cut off individual branches and manicure while fresh, hanging to dry after trimming has been completed. Your decision will be based on your personal preference as well as the time and space you have available.

Trimming

Trimming (manicuring) is not absolutely necessary but makes the user experience much more enjoyable and is highly recommended. The idea is to separate all non-resin containing parts of the plants from the resinous flowers and to shape them into the familiar product we all know and love. The large fan leaves are completely removed, and the small “sugar leaves” are trimmed to ensure uniform and aesthetic buds. This can be done while the plants are fresh, or after they have been dried. 

As mentioned in the equipment section, a good pair of trimming shears is required. Ensure you are comfortable using them for extended periods as trimming can often take multiple hours and is quite repetitive. If you have trouble with manual, repetitive movements, it may be worth asking a friend for some assistance trimming your plants. Also make sure comfortable, and in a well-ventilated area as the smell can be quite strong.

There are two basic strategies for trimming cannabis: “wet” and “dry”. What you choose will depend on your preferences and schedule and is basically a question of “Do I want to trim my plants now or later?”

Wet Trimming

Wet trimming is done immediately after harvesting the plants. The plants are still full of water, hence the name (aren’t growers creative?). Individual branches are usually removed (unless dealing with a very small plant), large fan leaves are cut off, and smaller resinous sugar leaves are trimmed back close to the buds. Removing as much unneeded plant matter as possible will help to speed drying. Once dry, the buds can be easily removed from the stems and are now able to be consumed. This method is many growers’ preferred choice (including the author) in terms of trimming their cannabis.

Gardener’s Note: Some growers like to separate and collect the resinous sugar leaf trimmings to make concentrated products like hash, or for use in edibles. This is up to the grower but is often worth the extra effort. One of the biggest bonuses of wet trimming is the resin that builds up on your scissors. Called “scissor hash”, it is some of the highest quality product there is!

Dry Trimming

Dry trimming happens after the plant has been dried. When plants are harvested, most of the leaves are left intact when the plant is hung to dry. Growers will often hang whole plants without removing any branches. Once fully dried, the large fan leaves are removed, and the buds are manicured to the growers’ preference. Because the plant has a much higher initial water content due to the extra leaves (compared to wet trimming), the plants may dry slower. Dry trimming can be a good option if you need to harvest your plants but are unable to set aside the time for wet harvesting.

How to Wet Trim

1. Assemble your equipment. Make sure you have trays to catch the trimmings. The author prefers reusing empty carboard flats used to hold pop or juice.
2. Cut a branch off the plant. Lengths of 15cm (6”) to 60cm (24”) are easiest to handle. If plant is small, harvest entire plant.
3. Hold branch by the stem. Moving along the branch, clip off large fan leaves and trim sugar leaves as close as is preferred to the bud. Try not cut into the bud! It is also helpful to leave a “hook” at the end of the branch as a natural hanger to hook onto the string.
4. When satisfied, hang/place branch in drying area. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until harvest and trimming is complete.

Gardener's Note: The process for dry trimming is the same as for wet trimming, except the buds are manicured after drying is complete, rather than before. 

Gardener’s Note: There are many partially and fully automated machine trimmers that are used in larger scale and industrial settings, but these are usually much too large for the average home grower and out of the scope of this guide.