14% wet weight factor

[Tedmarx38]

I posted something about this a few weeks ago and have my own answer now. For autoflowers grown in a tent, I was wondering what percent of the entire freshly harvested plant weight sans rootball you end up with in trimmed dry nuggets.

For two plants in a row, of different strains and shapes, it’s worked out to 14% both times. Weird. I’m drying number three now and while that factor being consistent will make me happy for the sake of science, I hope to hell it’s a lot more.

 

[SmokingWings]

Sounds like you are you weighing all the leaves, sticks and stems including any buds while everything is still wet at harvest time. Or are you weighing the buds themselves at harvest and then just the buds after drying?

I seem to remember some of the group weighing only the buds themselves at harvest time and then again after the drying period and the return was better than 14%.

 

[Tedmarx38]

Yeah, I’m weighing the entire plant just after cutting the stem at the soil line.

 

[SmokingWings]

Yeah, I’m weighing the entire plant just after cutting the stem at the soil line.

In order to get an accurate number you should weigh the entire plant again after it has dried and not just the buds. That is what it reads like when you say you are weighing only what you "end up with in trimmed dry nuggets."

 

[bluter]

you lose piles of weight to water ... the plant itself is 75% water... humans are 60% .. 90% if a mcdonalds / burger king fan

you pull at least 50 - 60% of the water out to dry and cure. the rest stays .. sorta. should wind up with a ballpark 25% of total mass ... then subtract stems.

 

[Roy Growin]

^^ agree with @bluter
I rarely weigh stuff, but fresh bud off the stem is about 75-80% water weight when I did compare

 

[Tedmarx38]

In order to get an accurate number you should weigh the entire plant again after it has dried and not just the buds. That is what it reads like when you say you are weighing only what you "end up with in trimmed dry nuggets."

Thanks. I tend to trim in a manual bud trimming machine when they’re still semi wet. Don’t have the patience to wait until they’re fully dry. Whatever I lose to the machine in trimmings and the bud that inevitably gets eaten, goes into jars for making oils for capsules.

 

[Sativa1970]

This was one of those questions only you can answer. Like asking how long it takes to fill a bucket. Everyone has different variables. Stem density, node space, leaf trimming before chop, Bud trimming, and bud final moisture content are all variables created by the conditions and grower.

I don't know the wet weight. I know plant volumes and average dry weight to compare ratio if it helps.
Pre-chop trim 2 gallons of "fan" leaves.
2 gallons of dried trim bud. 16oz +/- an oz
.5 gallons sugar trim for hash. 3 oz+/- .5 oz
5 oz of dried stems. +/- an oz

Just curiosity, or how is this information useful?

 

[Tedmarx38]

This was one of those questions only you can answer. Like asking how long it takes to fill a bucket. Everyone has different variables. Stem density, node space, leaf trimming before chop, Bud trimming, and bud final moisture content are all variables created by the conditions and grower.

I don't know the wet weight. I know plant volumes and average dry weight to compare ratio if it helps.
Pre-chop trim 2 gallons of "fan" leaves.
2 gallons of dried trim bud. 16oz +/- an oz
.5 gallons sugar trim for hash. 3 oz+/- .5 oz
5 oz of dried stems. +/- an oz

Just curiosity, or how is this information useful?

I use it to give a quick estimate of what my final yield will be so I know how many seeds to plant for my next cycle. I prefer hanging an entire plant to dry vs chopping it up and trimming off the junk as it seems to have a better flavor and aroma profile. So, I weigh the entire plant minus roots right when it’s cut.

 

[Sativa1970]

I use it to give a quick estimate of what my final yield will be so I know how many seeds to plant for my next cycle. I prefer hanging an entire plant to dry vs chopping it up and trimming off the junk as it seems to have a better flavor and aroma profile. So, I weigh the entire plant minus roots right when it’s cut.

The estimate makes more sense now. I just grow as many as I legally can and switch strains based on stock.

I agree, hanging the whole plant gives the best dry. I take off the root ball and any leaves with a long stem and no frost. They drain there food store into the bud adding harshness.

 

[bluter]

I agree, hanging the whole plant gives the best dry.

it's good for a slower dry in low rh climates. it promotes mold if you have higher rh though.

 

[SmokingWings]

I use it to give a quick estimate of what my final yield will be so I know how many seeds to plant for my next cycle. I prefer hanging an entire plant to dry vs chopping it up and trimming off the junk as it seems to have a better flavor and aroma profile. So, I weigh the entire plant minus roots right when it’s cut.

Ah, a "method to the madness". I had been thinking that you were trying to compare apples to oranges as the saying goes.

 

[Sativa1970]

Average RH here is 70 and only ever had one plant mold because I forgot it outside. That's why I hang for 3 to 4 weeks. Keep it dark and air moving for a good dry. The key to control mold is temperature. Mold loves mid 70s to mid 80s. I dry in upper 60s deg.

 

[bluter]

Average RH here is 70 and only ever had one plant mold because I forgot it outside. That's why I hang for 3 to 4 weeks. Keep it dark and air moving for a good dry. The key to control mold is temperature. Mold loves mid 70s to mid 80s. I dry in upper 60s deg.

i almost always get the opposite.

i often deal with low rh. i hang whole plant, and for a shorter time when needed. sometimes as short as three days. the key is getting to jar with enough rh to burp and cure proper.

when i have higher rh i'll hang branches and shoot for a longer period.

 

[Tedmarx38]

Same, low rh due to winter which is my primary grow season. When you burp the jars how long do you leave the lid open?

 

[Sativa1970]

WOW Bluter, 3 days! It takes me at least a week before a bic lighter can so much as singe the bud hairs here. I had a plant hanging the entire month of January before jarring. Still have the tote full of branches a week latter. They all still bend like a wet noodle except for one tip that snapped. I jar when the buds snap off the branch then cure for 3 months.