Harvesting: hang entire plant whole, or separate branches?

[TomH]

Does it matter at all to the quality (taste, potency, smokability, etc.) of the end product if you harvest a plant in one fell blow or cut it and hang it branch by branch?

I'm not referring to that "woo-woo" stuff, I just real world bro-science here please

If I'm going to cut down an outdoor plant, it's not huge, but it's sizable. Probably 4.5 feet tall, several lbs of pre-dried bud on it.
is there any advantage to cutting it down in one chop versus many small "branch size" chops?


Drop a little science on me here please!

 

[CannaGranny]

Does it matter at all to the quality (taste, potency, smokability, etc.) of the end product if you harvest a plant in one fell blow or cut it and hang it branch by branch?

I'm not referring to that "woo-woo" stuff, I just real world bro-science here please

If I'm going to cut down an outdoor plant, it's not huge, but it's sizable. Probably 4.5 feet tall, several lbs of pre-dried bud on it.
is there any advantage to cutting it down in one chop versus many small "branch size" chops?


Drop a little science on me here please!

I think this is a personal preference. I hang the entire plant, why? Because it’s what was taught to me by old growers and I would never have enough room to cut and hang the branches. I do open up the plant by tieing the branches open as they dry. In the past I have done it both ways and could not seem to tell any difference. So in my opinion it’s what works for you.

 

[Habosabin]

I do whole plant so I can extend the dry a day or two because of...shed.

I'm gonna have a real grow space some day when I retire from this insane state of Kalifornia.

 

[Bandit420]

I agree with CG in what works best for you is the best way to do it. I've done whole, quartered, branches, half branches etc sometimes all with the same crop.
In doing that, later after cure and enjoying the fruits, at no time ever has me or anybody ever smoked it and said Hey you can really tell this bud was dried on a whole plant lol.
I will say though that the more branch you can have the better to slow the dry and you will get better flavor and terp profiles compared to cutting all the buds off and drying them flat in a rack with no branches attached. But whether those branches are whole plant or branches cut from the main stalk, I don't think it matters a whole lot.

 

[Max]

Well if it’s reasonably small say a p or so you can do what I call boutique harvest where you take the good shit,tops, say a ft or so then come back when the lower stuff is ready.

 

[Rootsruler]

I think this is a personal preference. I hang the entire plant, why? Because it’s what was taught to me by old growers and I would never have enough room to cut and hang the branches. I do open up the plant by tieing the branches open as they dry. In the past I have done it both ways and could not seem to tell any difference. So in my opinion it’s what works for you.

This. Same way and reasons.

I would go a little further and say that the ambient conditions should inform your decision as to how you want to proceed.

IMO, cutting and hanging whole plants affords a little slower dry than removing branches from main stalk at the outset. I like a slow dry as I feel it elevates the cure portion of the process hence my hanging whole plants but I can't quantify that empirically.

 

[Garbage_bear]

Whole plant if possible. I strip all fan leaves while still upright. The try for 60/60/16. If my plants are trees or just really big you have to break it up. Or I can’t get them through the door without knocking buds and branches all over.

 

[Pipecarver]

Does it matter at all to the quality (taste, potency, smokability, etc.) of the end product if you harvest a plant in one fell blow or cut it and hang it branch by branch?

I'm not referring to that "woo-woo" stuff, I just real world bro-science here please

If I'm going to cut down an outdoor plant, it's not huge, but it's sizable. Probably 4.5 feet tall, several lbs of pre-dried bud on it.
is there any advantage to cutting it down in one chop versus many small "branch size" chops?


Drop a little science on me here please!

If you cut and hang without trimming, the insides can rot easily with the leaves not allowing any air flow. You should at least separate it so there are no damp places inside.

I trim while still in the pot if I can but If I do cut first and hang I'll trim the leaves off and hang branches. Otherwise I can't get to the inside to trim. Branches can be trees for some.

I couldn't hang this Sour D I just cut without trimming first I hung it in 4 pieces

 

[Rootsruler]

I leave water leaves on for a couple days before I trim them off. An oldtimer said he does it this way to protect the trichomes and form the flower. I've never had mold or rot issues doing it this way.

 

[freezeland]

Live trim plant a week before harvest, then whack and hang whole.

 

[Stoneyluv]

i used to trim them then hang each branch one by one.... for the past couple years now i just hang the plant whole, and don't cut anything until dry.

i can't tell a difference in flavor, but i will say if one is in a hurry than trimming first is the way to go. hanging whole takes a little longer to dry.

i also find it easier to trim when it's dry. leaves tend to shatter off easy and it is not so messy to deal with either.
on the flip side of that, if you like to save/separate/or use your trim then wet trimming is better.

i know you didn't ask about trimming but it kind of goes hand in hand with the hang.

 

[moe.red]

Guess I'm the outlier here, I wet trim the whole plant at the time it is taken into final buds.

I've had issues with larger colas not drying fast enough to prevent mold on the inside. Breaking them up and getting air flow everywhere has removed that concern. I think with smaller colas, it doesn't matter nearly as much.

I prefer to control the air space carefully but not have any wet spots in buds. You can still slow down the dry by RH control.

 

[Pipecarver]

Guess I'm the outlier here, I wet trim the whole plant at the time it is taken into final buds.

I've had issues with larger colas not drying fast enough to prevent mold on the inside. Breaking them up and getting air flow everywhere has removed that concern. I think with smaller colas, it doesn't matter nearly as much.

I prefer to control the air space carefully but not have any wet spots in buds. You can still slow down the dry by RH control.

Try to wet trim that pic of mine above without cutting branches off. If they are too big with too many branches & leaves its next to impossible to trim the whole plant. If it hadn't been in the centre back of my tent I could have lollypopped her better but as is I had to de limb her to trim her.

 

[CannaGranny]

Guess I'm the outlier here, I wet trim the whole plant at the time it is taken into final buds.

I've had issues with larger colas not drying fast enough to prevent mold on the inside. Breaking them up and getting air flow everywhere has removed that concern. I think with smaller colas, it doesn't matter nearly as much.

I prefer to control the air space carefully but not have any wet spots in buds. You can still slow down the dry by RH control.

I just take the big sun leaves and hang the rest.

 

[Max]

Guess I'm the outlier here, I wet trim the whole plant at the time it is taken into final buds.

I've had issues with larger colas not drying fast enough to prevent mold on the inside. Breaking them up and getting air flow everywhere has removed that concern. I think with smaller colas, it doesn't matter nearly as much.

I prefer to control the air space carefully but not have any wet spots in buds. You can still slow down the dry by RH control.

I’m a wet trimmer aswell .I also cut the big buds off .well not all but to just open them up abit.

 

[Rootsruler]

I just take the big sun leaves and hang the rest.

Right? Just get to it!

 

[CannaGranny]

Right? Just get to it!

I do, sometimes for damn days.

 

[Dirtbag]

I just take the big sun leaves and hang the rest.

I do the same. I used to do like Moe back in the day when we were running big rooms and had to process 40-50lb at a time, we'd have a crew break down the plants wet, hand trim the tops and anything much bigger than a golf ball and everything else was run through a trimming machine. Then dried the buds on massive drying screens.

But after moving to whole plant drying I found the product to be, just, better. Not really in a quantifiable way, but noticeable when smoking it.

@Moe.Red, the key to avoiding mold when whole plant drying is removing all the fan leaves and the first 24hrs they're hanging you get really strong airflow going in the room with fans and keep the temperature around 75f and humidity as low as you can get it, 30% or so is ideal. Let the plants kick off a good deal of moisture in that first 24hrs.
After that you can reduce the airflow to a level that it's barely noticeable but still there, and adjust temp and humidity to 60F/60% and let it ride for a couple weeks. Another thing folks I know do, is before it's fully dry after about a week or so, the plants would get put in a plastic bag (or in a larger scale operation covered in vapor barrier) for 24hrs or so to sweat the remaining moisture out of the stems and then re-hung to finish drying. That step makes a massive difference in the finished flavour profile for some reason.

 

[CannaGranny]

I do the same. I used to do like Moe back in the day when we were running big rooms and had to process 40-50lb at a time, we'd have a crew break down the plants wet, hand trim the tops and anything much bigger than a golf ball and everything else was run through a trimming machine. Then dried the buds on massive drying screens.

But after moving to whole plant drying I found the product to be, just, better. Not really in a quantifiable way, but noticeable when smoking it.

@Moe.Red, the key to avoiding mold when whole plant drying is removing all the fan leaves and the first 24hrs they're hanging you get really strong airflow going in the room with fans and keep the temperature around 75f and humidity as low as you can get it, 30% or so is ideal. Let the plants kick off a good deal of moisture in that first 24hrs.
After that you can reduce the airflow to a level that it's barely noticeable but still there, and adjust temp and humidity to 60F/60% and let it ride for a couple weeks. Another thing folks I know do, is before it's fully dry after about a week or so, the plants would get put in a plastic bag (or in a larger scale operation covered in vapor barrier) for 24hrs or so to sweat the remaining moisture out of the stems and then re-hung to finish drying. That step makes a massive difference in the finished flavour profile for some reason.

That’s what I’m fishing for that flavor profile. I believe I’ve got it
I will say I have actually noticed a much more smoother robust flavor and smell drying like this.
I do spread open the plant from the center, plastic coat hangers are great for this, and dry at 60* and 60% humidity for 10-14 days. I move air all around the room, but never directly on the plant.
After a good curing..it’s just ..well it’s the good stuff

 

[Dirtbag]

That’s what I’m fishing for that flavor profile. I believe I’ve got it
I will say I have actually noticed a much more smoother robust flavor and smell drying like this.
I do spread open the plant from the center, plastic coat hangers are great for this, and dry at 60* and 60% humidity for 10-14 days. I move air all around the room, but never directly on the plant.
After a good curing..it’s just ..well it’s the good stuff

Improved flavour and smoothness are absolutely what I noticed also. Especially the stuff that gets that sweat in the bag halfway through.
We would do about 14 days like that, then remove buds, trim and pile them on a screen and leave them in the room at 60/60 with the airflow turned completely off for a week or so to stabilize and cure a bit. But honestly, we found using that method there wasn't much need for the long cure anymore.
Wet trimmed buds dried on the screen would be harsh without curing for a few weeks and the flavour wasn't nearly as intense.

 

[Rootsruler]

I do the same. I used to do like Moe back in the day when we were running big rooms and had to process 40-50lb at a time, we'd have a crew break down the plants wet, hand trim the tops and anything much bigger than a golf ball and everything else was run through a trimming machine. Then dried the buds on massive drying screens.

But after moving to whole plant drying I found the product to be, just, better. Not really in a quantifiable way, but noticeable when smoking it.

@Moe.Red, the key to avoiding mold when whole plant drying is removing all the fan leaves and the first 24hrs they're hanging you get really strong airflow going in the room with fans and keep the temperature around 75f and humidity as low as you can get it, 30% or so is ideal. Let the plants kick off a good deal of moisture in that first 24hrs.
After that you can reduce the airflow to a level that it's barely noticeable but still there, and adjust temp and humidity to 60F/60% and let it ride for a couple weeks. Another thing folks I know do, is before it's fully dry after about a week or so, the plants would get put in a plastic bag (or in a larger scale operation covered in vapor barrier) for 24hrs or so to sweat the remaining moisture out of the stems and then re-hung to finish drying. That step makes a massive difference in the finished flavour profile for some reason.

Improved flavour and smoothness are absolutely what I noticed also. Especially the stuff that gets that sweat in the bag halfway through.
We would do about 14 days like that, then remove buds, trim and pile them on a screen and leave them in the room at 60/60 with the airflow turned completely off for a week or so to stabilize and cure a bit. But honestly, we found using that method there wasn't much need for the long cure anymore.
Wet trimmed buds dried on the screen would be harsh without curing for a few weeks and the flavour wasn't nearly as intense.

Yes. I've tried it where you buck the flower off the stem and onto dry screens but the flavor profile is just....different. Not more or less. Just different. I like how you pull out the bulk moisture in the first days then pull back to rehydrate the outer parts of the flower. Pretty much the same concept once I get them into jars.