Harvesting Drying/Curing

Harvesting

The cannabis harvest window is an aspect that, unfortunately, is rarely taken seriously; other times, what happens is that the grower just don’t have enough patience to wait for a few days to ensure highest levels of THC.

Some cannabis strains are better when harvested at their THC production peak, while others will be better if harvested a few days later.

Cannabis trichomes

When resin trichomes are near their THC concentration peak, they have a translucent colour since the plant is still producing resin in the trichome glands.

At this moment, THC production is at its peak, while CBD levels are still low and stable, since molecules quickly become THC.

Terpene – aromatic molecules – production is also at its peak, developing gorgeously aromatic floral clusters.

Many growers harvest their cannabis plants at this moment because they prefer a more clear and cerebral psychoactive effect.

At this moment, THC has few sedative effects due to low CBD and CBN levels.

If you are growing mostly Indica hybrids, it is better to harvest your plants when the resin glands are completely developed but not fully ripen – before they turn amber – unless you want to be glued to your sofa.

The harvest time depends mostly on marijuana strains and phenotypes, and can vary from several days to a few weeks between different cannabis varieties.

If you extend too much the flowering period of an Indica strain, it will dramatically affect its taste and effect. Fortunately, extending only a few days the flowering stage don’t usually cause major issues for most people.

It is recommended to observe close-up shots taken with a HD digital camera; however, a small hand-held microscope is cheap and works greatly. It is almost like being in a world of aliens when we observe our cannabis buds with a fifty magnification lens!

If growing mostly Sativa hybrids, make sure that all resin glands are fully developed and 30% of them are amber before harvesting your plants.

If you extend the flowering period, you take the risk of decreasing both the taste and the typicall sativa “high” – stimulant – effect. However, there are always exceptions: the Haze strain has 3 different harvesting times, all of them after a long flowering period. Each grower must learn what he and his patients understand as “high effect”.

While there will always be few variations, you can use the following rules to better identify the harvest window of your plants according to the ripening stage of their trichomes:

1) When the bulbous heads of the trichomes are fully developed but still translucent, plants will produce a “high” and stimulanting effect, less sedative. It is the perfect moment to harvest strong Indica strains.

2) When these bulbous heads turn milky is probably the best moment to harvest most available hybrids.

3) When 70% of these trichome heads are milky and 30% amber, it is the perfect time to harvest mostly Sativa hybrids and long flowering strains (like Haze). It is also the best moment to harvest plants for making hashish.

As an example, let’s see what happens with Jack’s Cleaner marijuana : if harvested after 56 days of flowering, all trichomes are translucent (only a few of them are turning milky). At this moment, the effect is very stimulating, “up and high”, clear. It produces visual effects and its acid citrus taste is very intense.

The same plant, harvested only a week later – 63 days of flowering – shows milky trichomes, and 30%-50% of them have already turned amber.

If harvested at this moment,the effect will be heavy and intense, and the acid citrus taste becomes sweeter, reminiscent of the sweet smell of fermented lemons, similar to Lemon Heads sweets. The effect is now body relaxing and sedative, being a perfect smoke for relaxing before going to spleep.

It is all most an example of plant harvested too late. However, in this way we take profit from all the medicinal properties that the plant has during this late stage.

Another example is Killer Queen. After 49 days of flowering, it has chocolate taste and smell and that mentioned high and stimulant effect . If harvested after 60 days of flowering, it becomes “Super” Killer Queen, with both a skunky smell and a more strong effect, almost hypnotic.

The main mistake here is harvesting your plants when thricromes are not fully developed; most growers who follow the aforementioned rules will probably harvest their plants with milky, completely developed trichome heads.

Harvesting too early means less potent buds, with less essential oils and terpenes, so your buds will taste like grass or hey, even when correctly dried and cured.

A good option is harvesting the more ripe buds – which are usually those from the upper parts of the plant -. This allows the lower parts of the plant to have more light, thus increasing both the final weight and density.

If you have a digital camera with Macro function, you can take close-up shots and use a photo-editing software to zoom the pictures and observe the trichomes.

We should also consider the following points to know if a plant is ready to be harvested:

1.-Seedbank recommendations.

When we purchase a pack of seeds, it usually comes with an aproximate harvest date, which is the first reference that we must keep in mind. However, this recommendation, while being important, is merely orientative, since the flowering period and hence the harvest date may depend on several factors such as latitude – outdoor growing – phenotypes or growing conditions/systems – specially indoors.

2.-The colour of the pistils

One of the first symptoms of the ripening of the buds is the colour of their pistils. They get brown as they ripe, so when half of them have become brown the harvest time is near; if we harvest the plants at this moment, their effect will be more psychoactive, while if we wait a few days and harvest them when all the pistils are brown their effect will be more narcotic.

In some cases this system may be misleading, since rain, drought periods or strong and dry wind can also make the pistils of our plants turn brown.

After harvesting our cannabis plants, the drying process begins. Drying cannabis – along with curing it – is one of the most important steps to get first class cannabis buds.

As we already mentioned, this is the best method to determine the optimum point for harvesting our cannabis plants, although combining all methods is ideal.

Once the harvesting date has been set, we will choose the moment of the day with the lowest relative humidity and proceed to cut the plant. We can cut the entire plant or the branches – what suits us best – and then we will trim the buds , removing the largest leafs and those without trichomes. Place the buds in a cool, dark, ventilated area to start the drying process.

Triming

Trimming means removing all fan leafs from the plants, leaving only the small leafs covered with resin glands. It is better to do this just after harvesting the plant, although many growers remove the bigger leafs some days before harvesting, during the last days of life of the plant.

There’s a big debate over whether it’s best to trim wet or dry bud. Trimming wet bud by hand gets pretty messy. Trimming it with a machine is easier. But wet trimming generally nets you prettier buds in the end. Plus, wet trimming in general is way easier than trying to trim dry weed that’s all curled up.

Letting your cannabis dry first can be a good idea if you live in a dry place with low humidity. Letting the weed dry slowly with the leaves on it is a good thing. If you trim the weed first, it might speed up the drying process too much.

Equipment needed

The Clean Cut Leaf Trimmer M-6000S 16″ Clear Top Hydroponics Pro Cut Bud Bowl &Leaf Trimmer Machine

This bowl trimmer by The Clean Cut comes in black, green, and blue. But the color isn’t as important as the fact that it gets the job done right. This trimmer will help you get your work done in less than a quarter of the time it would take you to trim by hand.

The bowl is 16 inches in diameter so you can trim a lot of plant all at once. It comes with both a razor blade and a serrated blade. For wet buds, try the razor blade first. For dry, use the serrated blade. You can adjust either blade to cut the way you want.

The nonstick silicone fingers are a nice touch because they don’t leave any odor or flavor on your nugs. You can watch it working as you crank the handle because it has a transparent dome. And when you’re all done, it’s easy to pull apart for cleaning. Use alcohol to remove stickiness from trimming wet bud.

Spin-Pro Manually Operated Leaf Trimmer

The Spin-Pro is also a bowl trimmer but without a transparent lid. It works on the same principle: you crank the handle to move the fingers and the blade to cut off excess leaves.

There is a nice difference between the Spin-Pro and the others like it. All the parts that you need to clean are dishwasher safe.

On the downside, some people have complained that the bowl comes apart pretty easily, and so it makes a mess by spilling chaff.

G-LEAF 16-Inch Bowl Leaf Trimmer Hydroponic Spin Cut for Herb Plant and Flower

The G-LEAF Bowl Trimmer is similar to The Clean Cut. You crank it with the handle to spin the fingers and the blades. The serrated blade works better for dry weed, while the straight razor blade works well for wet. You can swap the blades yourself—just be careful because they are sharp.

The top is transparent so you can watch while you work. When you’re done with the batch, pull the bowl apart and you’ll see that your nugs are all ready for you. Just a note: a couple of people who said they use this for trimming medical marijuana complained that the trim wasn’t precise enough for their needs.

The Magic Trimmer – Electric Automatic HandHeld Bud Leaf Herb Precision Trimmer

If the idea of hand-cranking a bowl trimmer doesn’t appeal to you, check out this power tool. Hold it in your hand and you can manicure your buds in a flash. The Magic Trimmer only weighs 2-1/2 pounds and comes with three replacement blades. High Times gave it a very positive review. One thing to note: it will make a mess. There’s no debris-catcher.

Trimpro ORIGINAL Leaf Bud Plant Trimmer Trim Pro

The Trimpro seems like a pricey investment, but if you have a lot of trimming because of regular harvests, it pays for itself very quickly.

There’s not a lot of work involved. Move the plant across the grate. The Trimpro sucks the leaves downward. The spinning blade under the grate does the trimming for you. Voilá, you’re done. Put the bud aside to dry and grab the next.

The leaves are caught in the large sack underneath so it make a lot less mess than the handheld trimmer we mentioned above. Don’t toss those leaves, though. It’s time to make brownies.

Even if you’re using a monster trimming machine like the Trimpro, you want gloves. They keep the resin off your skin and protect the buds, too. Make sure they fit well, especially if you are using shears or the Trimpro. Safety first!

Remember that all the “leftovers” are good for something. The hash on your shears, the resin on your gloves, and the leaves that were trimmed off can all be used for smoking and edibles.

CenturionPro Mini

When you’re growing on a large scale, you need a powerful trimmer to take care of big harvests. The CenturionPro Mini can do both dry and wet trimming—just select the tumbler you need.

This trimmer is very compact, but it can process 6 to 8 pounds of buds each hour. The efficient dust collection system and dust collector keeps everything as neat and clean as possible. And when you’re done trimming, it’s actually easy to pull apart and wash.

CenturionPro covers the Mini with a 5-year warranty.

Tom’s Tumble Trimmer TTT 1900

Here’s a portable tabletop dry trimmer that can cut up to 1 pound of buds in every 7-minute cycle. The manufacturer says that you should only have 10 to 15% of touch-up work to do, depending on the strain you process.

Triminator Wet Industrial System

If you have a large-scale commercial grow, you need a trimmer than can keep up with demand. The Triminator trims wet buds on a scale of 200lbs per day.

The blade reel is so sharp and accurate that it cuts as close as the width of a human hair. You won’t need to waste time doing touch-ups.

While resin is a good thing, it tends to jam up the works on other trimmers. But the Triminator has a resin-repelling, automatic cleaning system. A mist of atomized water coats the drum so that resin can’t stick to it.

The Triminator was built from military-grade material and it can be pressure-washed with no problem. It’s covered by a 2-year warranty.

Drying

Slow cure hanging buds upside down in a ventilated space. All kinds of processes, like the transport of sugars inside the plant still take place, even when you cut it down. These processes will slowly come to an end while the drying progresses. Plants are made up of cells and, as we all know, cells contain mainly water. Exposed to air, the (dying) plant's outer cells will dry out first but the above-mentioned processes will still transfer water from the inner cells to the dryer outer cells, thus causing the plant to dry equally all over. By removing the stalk and cutting off the individual colas, you prevent this natural process by taking away the extra moisture that would be drawn from the stem to the leaves and bud. The humidity should remain a constant 50-60%. Too high and buds will mold, too low and they dry too fast. Temperature should be around 65-68 degrees, wherever possible. Make sure the room is dark, as light degrades THC.

This process should take 1-2 weeks, depending on environmental conditions. The slower the process, the better the drying of our plants, for we will mantain their organoleptic properties intact.

Curring

When our buds are dry enough – the small stems will break off when bending them – we can proceed with the next stage, the curing process.

To start it we need some cardboard or wooden boxes (varnish-free). One of the most popular options are 00Box wooden boxes, that ensure optimal conditions for a correct curing process. Place the buds inside the box and close the lid, trying to open it a few minutes every day. After the first days inside the curing box, it may seem that buds have increased their humidity level; this happens because buds release some humidity, that remains inside the curing box. The curing process takes 1-3 weeks; when our buds are crunchy again, we can say that the curing process is over.

There are several other methods of curing, most of which were originally designed to cure large quantities of tobacco.

Curing proceeds while the leaf is still alive, for until it dries, many of the leaf's life processes continue. Since the leaf's ability to produce sugars is thwarted, it breaks down stored starch to simple sugars, which are used for food. This gives the cannabis a sweet or earthy aroma and taste. At the same time, many of the complex proteins and pigments, such as chlorophyll, are broken down in enzymatic processes. This changes the colour of the leaf from green to various shades of yellow, brown, tan, or red, depending primarily on the variety, but also on growing environment and cure technique. The destruction of chlorophyll eliminates the minty taste.

The following are the 4 most common methods of curing.

Air Curing

Flue Curing

Sweat Curing

Water Cure

A lot of people have criticised hydroponic grown cannabis this is mainly due to the lack of knowledge in curing.

Hydroponic produce when harvested still has a lot of nutrients stored and present in the xylem and leaves. This is due to the fact the plant has these nutrients available all the time where as soil based growing does not. One way to reduce these nutrients is to irrigate only with fresh water 48 - 72 hours before harvesting. Then proceed with a slow cure.

Temperature is important but we rely more on air circulation and humidity control.

Air exchange is also critical as the material is releasing gasses.