Fan Leaf Trimming at Harvest

[OldSkoool]

After reading both of Urdedpals great reads on Harvesting, and Curing, I didn't find reference to when the fan leaves, those that you can see the stems, are cut. Is this done as soon as the plant is chopped, or after it's hung to dry? I don't want to loose sap from an open leaf wound if it's important for the drying/curing process Thanks.

 

[Urdedpal]

I always trim after the plant is chopped. I pull the large leaves off by hand and trim the rest with snips or a drill.

 

[OldSkoool]

Hoping you'd give me the skinny, thanks again.

 

[cannaking]

don't trim fan leaves unless the plant isnt' drying fast enought. These have sugar in them and believe it or not the plant continues to absorb these sugars after being cut. Kinda like a Christmass tree. Trust me and you'll do good. I've done it both ways so either way works i'm just helping you get the most out of it.

 

[RangerDanger]

don't trim fan leaves unless the plant isnt' drying fast enought. These have sugar in them and believe it or not the plant continues to absorb these sugars after being cut. Kinda like a Christmass tree. Trust me and you'll do good. I've done it both ways so either way works i'm just helping you get the most out of it.

I disagree.
With an x-mas tree, you put the cut trunk in a sugar/water mixture.
When you chop and trim a pot plant, you're not sticking the base in sugar water.
When you cut the branches off a pot plant, all growth processes stop almost immediently.

If it's a nice day, I'll remove a lot of fan leaves even before I chop the branches off. It's easier and there's no disposal to worry about (outside).

I've found a superior way of drying that doesn't involve hanging plants at all. Immediently after harvest I manicure the buds and put them in paper bags for drying, which promotes more even drying than hanging and jump-starts the curing process.
I used the hang-drying method for 25 years, then a friend turned me onto bag-drying. I was surprized at how much better this method was. And everyone I know who's tried this method has stuck with it.

 

[cannaking]

rangerdanger, what was meant was that when you cut a christmass tree and put it in sugar water the dead tree actually continues to absorb the water and the sugar can help sustain green foliage longer. By keeping the fan leaves on as long as possible you give your plants the extra sugar they like(may not need) and i believe that the plants dry better. A slower drying will actually be better smoke if done correctly. I have done both ways as well and i guess to each his own. I do try and keep the fans on as much as possible now from what i learned. I'm not sure thc is effected at all but other chemicals that react to thc or with thc may actually be aided by fans staying on alittle longer. Could be wrong but if they don't mold and it takes a few days longer to cure who cares it's worth the extra wait if it's going to be done correctly.

 

[RangerDanger]

A x-mas tree and a bud are different.
An cut x-mas tree will lose moisture through it's needles (modified leaves) and as it does so, water will be taken up into the plant through simple capillary action. The tree is no more alive that the sponge on your kitchen counter.
Can I prove that leaving fan leaves on doesn't mean better buds? No, same as you can't prove they do.
But I think it's obvious that removal of fan leaves right after harvest is certainly less messy than removing them when they're dry and crispy.

I have, in the past, left fan leaves on until the buds were dry enought to smoke and noticed no difference except (again, to me) the bud doesn't taste as good.

I have a friend who leaves the fan leaves on until he's ready to smoke the buds. He says he believes the fan leaves "protect" the buds (although he doesn't say from what).

It may boil down to personal preference. I enjoy manicuring parties--4 or 5 of us sitting around the dining-room table listening to tasty tunes, smoking some of the previous harvests, drinking beer and happily snip snip snipping away.

 

[cannaking]

Ranger, i think i'll do a test with what i have now. I'll leave the Fan's on till i have dried for a couple of days, unless i see mold or a possiblity for it. When i regenerate the plant i will cut them off at choping time. And dry them without the leaves. Using the same plant and same nutes and setup i should hopefully see some noticable change. If not then hey it doesn't matter what we do with the fans. This may take some time but i'm interested to see what happens.