To Final Trim before Harvesting? To Final Trim after Harvesting, before they are dry? To Final Trim after Harvest, already dry?
THOSE are the questions.
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I chop whole, hang and remove dead leaves or anything similar. I like a slow dry and depending on my ambient humidity depends on how much I leave on or remove. The dryer it is the more I leave on. Then dry trim. Preference 
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Different people will have different answers. It’s the preference of the grower from what I can tell. I’m a wet trim guy myself. Take a branch off, take the buds off the branches, trim the buds, 3-4 bucket wash of the buds, let them dry in the sun for an hour or two, and then start the drying process for 4-7 days. Shorter dry time than whole plants or branches. But that’s just me. Others will swear by take and hang the whole plant for 10-14 days and then buck/trim. Try a little of both types and see what works best for you. Wishing you good luck.
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I used to do both, depending on time and mood. These days, I dry them in the machines I built, but I don’t trim them well, I leave sugar leaves and once the DryDoc says they are ready, I run them through a bowl trimmer. That saves all my sugar leaf kief and I can trim a lb in minutes instead of days! If I still hung them, I would do same as @Low and just trim big stuff and let them dry slowly.
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I separate pretty tops for scissor trim then run the rest through the bowl trimmer. Then off to dry.
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I used to wet trim by hand and thought it was easier than dry trimming by hand but it makes for a quick dry and the smoke isn’t nearly as smooth. Now I hang em with all their leaves and hand trim until I’m sick of doing it. Whatever is left gets cured with the leaves intact which makes for super dank smoke but a pain in the butt to trim
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Very nice, Sir. Very nice indeed.
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I need a machine. Lol!
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Yeah, it seems to take a lot longer when dry.
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It’s a 3 1/2 hour drive, but I can find and build you one.
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Ok. What exactly is this Bowl Trimmer you all speak of??? @Low , I didn’t leave you out, just couldn’t think of anything to clarify, so now I tagged you too. Yay You!
WhAt happened is this… Sorry in dvance for the lengthy explanation. I hope y’all get through it.
I thought all that white rain of Trichs when I was trimming was oh soooo cool, at the time. Now I don’t think it was cool AT ALL because I now know that with every little flake that fell onto the foil and ultimately went into the butter was taking away from the flavor and aroma of my weed. So what I wound up with was really good, but not super great (well the Agent Orange was super great, the SLH not so much), and both smelled pretty much like homegrown. They did both offer a smooth smoke with no coughing, cotton mouth or dry eyes, etc. Both give up a very nice high that keeps my mind and body busy or lays me out if I’m super tired and both have beautiful buds both small and large. But I can only imagine what could have been had I trimmed while wet. Like a day or two before harvest. I mean, it didn’t help that I was doing it by myself with scissors and it all came due over 2 days. I didn’t want to leave it growing once the trichomes were of the color I wanted for fear that I’d wind up with headache weed or worse. So I had to harvest, didn’t have a choice. It took me like 6 days to trim the 19oz. By the time I was done they got MAYBE 3 more drying days and into the jars they went. I held the humidity in there at, I think, 65%.
But anyway, I’m thinking that clipping after harvest is why. Because I sat and watched those Trichomes fall off of it, and that’s where we get taste and scent, right?
So what say you guys? About me doing it a couple of days before harvest? Am I correct about those trichomes falling off leading to that end result?
On a brighter note, my butter is 68% THC-probably more since those trichomes don’t contribute a whole lot to the weight of what went in, and is quite phenomenal.
I finally finished my siding and roof and gutters and we finally got some rain this morning. So I am currently prepping the CoCo and about to drop some seeds. I’m only doing 3 this time. And whatever Clones I can get. 
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I’m very intoxicated. lol. Ima have to circle back
What used take 8-10 hours can happen in 10-15 mins. Lbs in a couple hours. Then sift the trim for kief. Use the trim for edibles or w/e
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Surely not?!?!?! InTOXicated.
Ihy Low. So all of that is the just the suckers and etc? Must have been a large take. Dayum. My 19oz wasn’t shiz in comparison.
And that large piece of equipment is the bowl? Idt I’d need anything quite as large.
I look forward to tomorrow, should you remember to circle back, and what you think about the other stuff I wrote.
Enjoy yourself, Sir.
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You can get all sorts of trimmers in many sizes.. it does eat trim and loose buds on dry trim. Whether or not it’s worth it depends on the farmer. Outdoor plants- where I’m at would probably all get ate up in the process. You do lose trichomes. Absolutely, specially on dry trimming. If you want to retain trichomes to the max, in depth wet trimming is where it’s at. N avoiding handling throughout cure. On dry they become brittle and break easy. If you like sifting and getting a pile of trichome heads it’s the way to go. IMO. Personally I’m not geared in any direction. A lot of the stuff I post here are things I dreamt of as a child. Most of which in novelty. Which unintentionally lines up with commercial cultivation- which is exactly what I chase, in terms of growing. I’m pretty loose with trim and cure but they are worse. You just need to cater to your environment you’re able to trim dry in. Our buds look pretty spectacular up close. But the heads either fall off in cure bags or in trim. Perfect conditions from dry to end of the cure is the only way to really preserve the goodies.. n yes, I’m thoroughly lit. 
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Cool. Thanks. I am hoping to one day be WV’s most successful commercial Grower. Lol! I don’t really expect that to happen and we don’t even have recreational use yet, so I’ll probably be dead and gone before that happens. We could used to drive down any back road in September and October and the aromas would overwhelm. Since we got the dispensaries and everyone paid their 250 for the cards, that doesn’t happen any more. Kind of sad really.
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I think the chances of getting into a position like that will drop significantly if we reclassify on a federal level. Sounds good on paper until you realize what class 3 means… In the United States Class 3 drugs usually refers to Schedule III controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. These drugs have a potential for abuse that is lower than Schedule I and II substances but higher than Schedule IV. Abuse of Schedule III drugs can lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence. Examples include products containing small amounts of codeine such as Tylenol with codeine, anabolic steroids like testosterone, certain barbiturates, and ketamine. They require a prescription and may be refilled up to five times within six months of the original prescription date. Although considered less dangerous than higher schedules they are still regulated and misuse or unlawful possession carries legal penalties. which basically means all standing dispensaries will either be absorbed by the government, or shut down. That includes seed selling websites. We hit our prime as a nation in marijuana. Now the tables are about to turn.
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Dang, I had no idea of those consequences.
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I’m lucky these days. I do all the growing, my sister does all the trimming since she gets half the product, Ha! But I hang the whole plant to dry and prefer dry trimming over wet. It tends to be a bit too sticky trimming wet, not by much but enough. If the buds aren’t very solid and airy, my sticky fingers tend to start pulling them apart. After the dry is done, I chop the buds into jars and start curing without trimming. By the time she starts trimming them, a lot is just falling off (the trim I meant). Most times, the rh in the jars is where it needs to be so I do urge her to trim in small batches so it’s not laying out in the trim tray too long and loosing internal moisture. 
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Humph. This option hasn’t come up yet. Interesting and something to seriously consider.
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