# Trim before or after dried?



## Grapeman420 (Oct 1, 2009)

So i have been doing a whole lot of research about trimming and when to do it. some sites including this one say it is best to trim once the bud is dried, others say you must trim before you dry the bud.  .
I am looking for the advantages/disadvantages for both methods. I would think that trimming before drying would be more practical because i found that all the fan leaves just stick to the buds which makes them more difficult to trim.

P.S. Whats are your favorite scissors and where did you get em? i NEED me some spring loaders


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## sweetsmoker (Oct 1, 2009)

i trim before drying m8 as wen dry its easy for all the trichs 2 fall off wen fcking about wit it. plus cutting it on the plant is so much easier. others will say as apositive for leaving it till drying that it leads to a better dry/cure as the fan leaves will hold moisture in buds for longer hence longer dry time ensuring the starches turn to sugars for that sweeet taste and avoiding the harsh grasssy tatse frm quick drying.


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## z4qqqbs (Oct 1, 2009)

trim befoer dry its easier


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## Prod1gy132 (Oct 1, 2009)

sweetsmoker said:


> i trim before drying m8 as wen dry its easy for all the trichs 2 fall off wen fcking about wit it. plus cutting it on the plant is so much easier. others will say as apositive for leaving it till drying that it leads to a better dry/cure as the fan leaves will hold moisture in buds for longer hence longer dry time ensuring the starches turn to sugars for that sweeet taste and avoiding the harsh grasssy tatse frm quick drying.


well that harsh grassy taste is chlorophyll, thats why when they dry they sap all the chlorophyll out of the buds, thats also why I say clip the leaves before drying


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## sweetsmoker (Oct 1, 2009)

the grassy taste is from the starches m8 the chemical process takes 1 week to turn into sugars chlorophyll will also break down with the drying process .. and wat saps all the chlorophyll out of the buds again? do u mean the leaves do and if so then why is that a problem? surely thats a benifit? the prob i c wit trimmin wen dry is pullin the leaveds off the buds and taking trichs wit it!! not a prob if u gunna make hash wit the leftovers though


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## monkeyinthemist (Oct 1, 2009)

i trim after drying. i like the flavor much better. its a preference thing.


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## Grapeman420 (Oct 1, 2009)

monkeyinthemist said:


> i trim after drying. i like the flavor much better. its a preference thing.


is it that much more noticable ? hmmmm maybe i should trim half before and half after. Lasy year i did the "Trim after" method and i remember all the fan leaves stickin annoyingly to the bud.


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## maurice*del*taco (Oct 1, 2009)

any local crafting store should have some spring loaded snipps that or walmart for sure. and i recommend trimming when wet the leaves are easier to cut i find


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## RichED (Oct 2, 2009)

i trim fans befor hang about 3 or 4 days then trim final trim to box or to bag a few days then to jar


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## d.s.m. (Oct 2, 2009)

Grapeman420 said:


> P.S. Whats are your favorite scissors and where did you get em? i NEED me some spring loaders


Fiskars Softouch Micro-Tip. Accept nothing less.

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-9921-Softouch-Micro-Tip-Pruning/dp/B00004SD76

You can get them at most any garden center that's worth it's salt.


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## dankbudgrower (Oct 2, 2009)

you can trim before or after drying but it is 500x easier to trim before you dry plus it dosent take nearly as long to dry if you trim before keep on toking


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## atrumblood (Oct 2, 2009)

I actually left some of my harvest un-trimmed The rest I trimmed before starting to dry. So we will see which one I like better.


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## sweetsmoker (Oct 3, 2009)

cool m8 let us know and also diff in drying time nice 1


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## BigBudBalls (Oct 3, 2009)

I cut off all the fan leaves and non trich covered and toss 'em when chopping down. Then I'll closely, very closely, trim off all the itty-bitty trich covered leaves. and keep for hash (I save a LOT before doing the hash thing, and the closly trimming makes that bag fill faster) Then dry & cure

I've found less leaves = less grass smell and taste.


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## atrumblood (Oct 8, 2009)

I think it depends on the strain too. The strain (Black Berry) I just got done curing has had some of the leaves left on the buds, and other buds with out. With the leaves on, it has a very holiday almost piny flavor too it, and is still smooth. The buds with out the leaves had less of that pine flavor, but the smoke was smoother. So it is about preference and about the strain you have.

Some strains I would say, yes for sure take the leaves off before you cut, others leave them on. Kinda like how each bottle of wine ripens differently, never the exact same.


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## Grapeman420 (Oct 9, 2009)

yo wassssup everyone, i decided to trim brofre i dried it. this method worked great and my tree is already dry and being cured. I yielded a half pound (8.5 ounces off one plant! my widow is still drying tho..


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## atrumblood (Oct 9, 2009)

Grapeman420 said:


> yo wassssup everyone, i decided to trim brofre i dried it. this method worked great and my tree is already dry and being cured. I yielded a half pound (8.5 ounces off one plant! my widow is still drying tho..



nice, you did better than me. I got 6.2 O from my 1 plant.  woot.


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## i.NeeD.A.LiGhTeR (Oct 9, 2009)

I trim completely before I dry. I've never tried it any other way but it just seems harder to trim dry leaves and seems like you would lose a lot of trichomes.


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## sweetsmoker (Oct 9, 2009)

nice job grape so u expecting 9 0z dry from one plant thats nice. how big was she when u flowered her off?


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## Grapeman420 (Oct 9, 2009)

decently big. not so much tall but really bushy. check out my grow journals if you can find em. the strain was Super Dawg (clone) from the club.


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## chief greenleaf (Oct 9, 2009)

Has anybody ever tried trimming off all the sugar leaves before drying but leaving most of the bigger fan leaves on the bud? That way all the tough trim work is already done while its easy but you still have your fan leaves on there to protect the buds and slow down the drying process. Then before curing you could just go thru and pick off all the fan leaves without damaging the trichs..... Ive never tried it just came to me while I was reading everybodys different drying/curing techniques in this thread, it seems like you might be able ta get the best of both worlds this way
What yall think? Anybody ever tried it????


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## Grapeman420 (Oct 11, 2009)

thats a good fucking idea. i still got one more purple kush clone that im stretchin for another few days. i think i'll trim this way chief! i noticed that the weed i trimmed after dried was alot more crystally however it was soooooooo much harder to manicure.


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## chief greenleaf (Oct 12, 2009)

Lemme know how it goes Grape foreal, PM me or just post here. We might be on ta somethin here! Im hopin that would slow down the drying process and give all that clorophyll a chance ta break down so you dont end up with that grass hay smell ya know. Ive had that problem before and the bud still smokes great and smells really good when you break it up but I want my shit ta stank when you crack that jar! I want it ta stank through the jar! Im pretty sure drying the buds too fast is what causes that and hopefully this will help and itll protect those frosty nugs. But def lemme know how that works out, I got some outdoor chocolopes and satoris that are comin down at the end of this month and thats gonna be the new drying technique if it works!


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## Grapeman420 (Oct 12, 2009)

for sure chief, i plann on choppping my last baby in a week or so. i'l keep ya posted, i love me some SLOW dried dank tho, everything about it really is better from the crystals to the stank stank. yo what state you from if you dont mind me askin lol?


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## chief greenleaf (Oct 12, 2009)

The heart of America my man, the swing state....


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## Grapeman420 (Oct 13, 2009)

nice bro, i always like knowing where my homies im talkin too are from. thats whats cool bout this site.


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## chief greenleaf (Oct 21, 2009)

Yeah its definitely not as herb friendly as Cali but at least I aint got C.A.M.P. ta worry about! But possession of less than 100 g is only a payout ticket and you might even get away without a swift ass whippin if you dont talk shit! But Id much rather have my own script and license ta grow 99 plants! Im bout ta be choppin the first half of my girls in a couple days and tryin out this new trimmin technique, hows that purple lookin so far anyway man?


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## chief greenleaf (Dec 20, 2009)

YO GrapeMan where ya been at man? I tried that method out on my outdoor girls and worked really well, slow even dry and the final trim was a breeze! The initial trim was another story tho, about 5 days of trimming 10 hours a day! I actually enjoy trimming but I was really glad ta get everything finished.
The end results... NO HAY CUT GRASS SMELL!
Lemme know if ya tried it out man peace


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## Mary Francis (Apr 19, 2013)

Hi all 

We have been growing for four years now and we used to always trim wet, but this year we decided to dry out branches of the plant and then trim. It has worked out really well. We have always bought cheap scissors from the two dollar shops. They are fine. But what is great, is the fact when trimming dry, there is nowhere near as much resin build up on the scissors. When we used to trim dry, after every second branch of bud trim, I would have to clean the scissors. I used to use pure eucalyptus oil for this task. Now, there is so much less build up and therefore a much less tedious task. Apparently it still has the same taste. I personally don't do drugs, but my partner has smoked since he was 16, he is now 63. So he has had many years of experience in these matters haha.

Thanks all for reading.


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## Smokenpassout (Apr 20, 2013)

My second harvest and I am nearly a pro at trimming. My advice is trim wet and fresh. I cut the cola, and pluck out the fan leaves down to the bud with my fingers. Then I grab my plate and fiskars ($10). I carefully trim the sugar leaves, and save them in a brown paper bag for making butter later. Remember to not butcher and dig i to flowers. If you feel resistance on the trimmer youre cutting too much. Remember leaves dont have to be cut too close to flower...leave a little leaf as it will dry up fluah with the flower. Also, handle flowers gently by the stems when trimming, try not to bang them around. Hang upside down immediatley. Do not jar early, hang a full 7 days.


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## 87Jerseydevil87 (May 19, 2020)

When I first started, I’d trim before drying. When I did this, it never smelled like weed, I could never shake that hay smell, now I trim after drying only. Not saying it came from trimming wet, just saying that was MY outcome


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## Puff_Dragon (May 19, 2020)

A bit of column A, a bit of column B 
Mostly I dry trim now, I find I get better product that way (having tried both with my strains).
At harvest, I trim all large fan leaves connected to the main stem. Basically I clear a little space for air flow between buds.
Then, hang dry for 7 days (moisture and air flow controlled). Checking on day 3 and if need be, I remove more large leaves from the branches to accommodate air flow (leaving smaller bud leaves).

I then do final trim when the buds are around 70 - 80% moisture level. Before switching between paper bags and jars (and finally, jar curing)

Peace.


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