How to Trim Your Marijuana Plants to Get Perfect Nugs?

Also known as manicuring your weed, trimming cannabis buds is a dreaded but necessary step of the growing process. When you do it correctly, you receive a much higher yield. However, it is a skill you only acquire through practice. It is a mistake to think that you can pick up a pair of shears and cut random leaves. If you have no idea what to do, it is best to leave your plants alone.

Indeed, many experienced growers avoid the trimming process entirely. This is an admirable attitude because it involves allowing nature to take its course. However, trimming your cannabis plants during the growth cycle is a good idea. It potentially ensures you end up harvesting the healthiest plants with a potent level of THC.

Why trim your cannabis buds?
 

Trimming cannabis serves several main purposes. Aesthetically speaking, cannabis looks better when well manicured. Cannabis that has been trimmed takes on a tighter, more uniform appearance, much like you would find on a menu at your local dispensary or in the photographs that line your favorite cannabis publications. Excess foliage is an eyesore and evening the buds often results in a final product that is far more visually pleasing.

Additionally, sugar leaves tend to contain a lesser concentration of trichomes. Removing these protruding leaves will expose parts of the nugs much richer in trichome concentration. Larger leaves protruding from the buds also tend to provide a harsher smoke, as the foliage is thicker and harder to wick away moisture. During the curing process, trimmed buds tend to leave a more uniform moisture content, proving a much more even and flavorful smoking experience.

The simple fact of the matter is, you must trim your buds. Here are the three most important reasons why…

1. Appearance: Because high-value plants are often displayed in glossy magazines, in jars at dispensaries, and at other places for sale, well-manicured buds have become necessary to give your product the appearance of being potent and desirable. So yes, trimming makes your buds more visually appealing and, like it or not, it’s now the new standard.

2. Smoother product: When your final product is ingested, excess leaves on the buds can make for a harsher experience when smoked. But when you trim off the excess, you create a much smoother product to consume, which your customers will thank you for.

3. Trichome concentration: The fact is, the highest concentration of trichomes are found on the buds and much less so in the small leaves surrounding them. Trichomes are like tiny factories that produce the hundreds of known cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that make for potent, unique, effective, high-value plants. Gram for gram, there are more trichomes in the buds than the leaves, so trim the leaves for maximum potency.

Best Trimmers RECOMMEND for you

ECO Farm 16/19 Inch Manual Leaf Bowl Trimmer Machine

• Material and Includes: Acrylic transparent cover, 24* black rubber strip and black rubber ring, stainless steel mesh and basin(16inch), 4* rubber column, 1* serrated blade for dry trim, 1* straight blade for wet trim, 1*scissors.
• Visual Cutting: Transparent plastic cover with high transparency, easy to observe the cutting situation. The cover made of acrylic is strong and firm.
• Function: Trim twigs and remove leaves (hydroponic)
• Powerful Scissors: Harness the power of 30 scissors in 1 unit
• Highly quality: Come with sharp blade make clean quality cuts and minimize the damage done to the plants.

Risentek Bud Leaf Trimmer Bowl

• UPGRADED ELETRIC TRIMMER: Most efficient, time saver, commercial grade manual plexiglass lid electric bud leaf trimmer with stainless cylinder, silicone finger, large mesh bag
• WET & DRY TRIMMING compatible with wet and dry trim. Ideal for getting rid of excess leaves and trim twigs from a variety of plants and flowers. Featured with rotor speed dial(0-70RPM) for adjust spinning speed needed, forward or reverse
• This new, large 16-inch trimmer built with long lasting metal gearbox and CNC center grate with 5/16-inch slot for all size of flower trimming needed
• Featured with shoot gate for easy empty out trimmed flower with effortless
• Ideal for getting rid of excess leaves and trim twigs from a variety of plants and flowers

• Pruning snips
• Pruning shears
• Disposable rubber gloves (thin latex medical gloves, not the thick dishwashing gloves)
• Three trays or cookie sheets (one for the cut branch, one for the trimmings, and one for your finished bud)
• Rubbing alcohol (for cleaning)
• Rag (for cleaning)

You do not want to prune incorrectly.

When pruning, don’t tear a leaf away with your hands; instead, cut them with scissors or a knife (make sure your tool of choice is quite sharp before use。

People who prune successfully do these two things:

• Water your plant immediately after pruning. This reduces the amount of shock to your plant while also stimulating growth.
• Include plant food when watering

These two tips can make your pruning more productive and less likely to harm your plant or slow down its growth.

If you want to be extremely cautious, you should only prune the leaves that already look unhealthy. If they are turning yellow or have brown tips if their lobes are partially eaten, and if they are withered at all, you can (and should) safely remove those leaves.

You can also try removing the original shade leaves from branches that you have already pruned. It’s safe to do this after the branches begin sprouting new leaves. The old leaves will yellow and die eventually anyway, so by removing them earlier, you can allow your plant to focus its valuable resources on other things.

Removing these leaves also provides more sunlight to the smaller leaves closer to the base of the plant, which gets them to grow faster and produces more chlorophyll.

Though the best time to harvest cannabis is pretty standard, the best time to trim and manicure your cannabis is a debatable topic among many growers. Some prefer the “wet method,” for example, while others prefer a “dry method” of cannabis trimming. Both are appropriate in certain circumstances depending on things like time constraints and the environment of the ensuing cure process, so it’s up to you do decide which one will work best.

The easiest and most common way to manicure marijuana is called wet trimming, or trimming the cannabis soon after harvest while the leaves are still moist and stiff. This method of manicuring cannabis is especially popular due to its ease and efficiency, and its ability to produce picture-perfect buds post-cure.

A grower properly wet trimming harvested cannabis.

To use this method, begin by harvesting your cannabis at the stock leaving multiple branches from which to hang them. Leaving the buds on the branches at this point will help them hang easily during the curing process and will make the buds much easier to handle during the trimming process, too.

Begin by turning your freshly-harvested branches upside down to gain easy access to the stems of the larger leaves. Using manicure scissors, trim the large fan leaves away from the buds and add them to your compose or save them to roll your own cannabis cigar later.

Next, working over a clean tray, trim the smaller sugar leaves away from the buds, carefully working your scissors between the buds to the stem when possible. Be sure to save anything you trim away at this point; there are many awesome ways to use your trim, too!

Be sure to save your trim for other uses like making edibles or bubble hash!

Finally, shape the buds into teardrop shapes then hang them to dry in a cool, dark area with a humidity level between 45 and 55 percent and a temperature between 60°F and 70°F for optimum terpene retention.

Those who live in dryer environments (or those using machine trimmers) often opt for dry trimming to prolong the curing process. By leaving larger leaves on the plants for four to 10 days, buds can dry out slower and thus more evenly, resulting in a smoother, more flavorful experience.

Dry trimming marijuana simply requires that the bud be manicured after the fan leaves have had a chance to dry out. The process is more tedious because the leaves have dried and curled back into the buds at this point but can still be done fairly quickly by first pulling the fan leaves off then shaping the buds to the desired shape. After trimming, either hang to finish drying or place buds in air-tight containers to begin the curing process.

Grow season may just be getting started, but in a few short months, it will be time to harvest and trim your buds to their picture-perfect potential. Though there are various methods to use, the fact remains that well-trimmed bud is well-received bud. By the way, ECO Farm Bud Trimmer can be your great choice!

Don’t leave the trimming process too late! Some growers begin pruning within a few weeks of the growing process. However, if you do it too early, you may interfere with your plant’s growth. It could slow down or even stop growing for days afterward. It is best to wait until the final week before harvest. At this point, remove the largest fan leaves and get rid of dying foliage. However, if you spot dead leaves a few weeks beforehand, feel free to trim them.