Large Harvest Logistics - Please Help!

[mstangerine]

Hey everyone,

I am growing a few plants in my garden this year and all of the effort preparing the plot seems to be paying off, we have a tree >10 feet and another bushy plant >6 feet, plus a few shorter plants that are clones from last year's ladies, LST'd over the winter to keep them short. They are all loaded with flower sites and still growing vigorously.

I know it's really hard to predict yield, but I'd have to imagine that we're looking at a few pounds, and I've never harvested a plant >2oz. I'm worried that we could have an early hard frost or several large plants ready at once and I want to be prepared so that I have adequate drying space and containers for curing.

So, do you have any tips for me?

I've only manicured-while-trimming before - but that's not hard with an oz. I've read that many people just cut fan leaves and manicure later, what has your experience been?

Are glass jars best for curing? What size, and how much dried bud do you put in, say, a half gallon jar? Also, I'd be interested to know what kind of surface you normally trim on - do you use screen to filter kief or a specialized trim bin? Any tips for drying/saving large quantities trim for tinctures/butter?

By the way I am not terribly worried about keeping things hidden - it is legal here, in a locked yard in a neighborhood where there are many less discrete gardens.

Thanks!

 

[OldMedUser]

High MsTangerine

I've never had the pleasure of worrying about having pounds to deal with so I doubt I'll be a lot of help but can maybe clear up a couple things for you.

Won't need to worry about catching kief if the trimming is all done fresh off the plant but will if it's hung up to dry before final manicuring. If you end up having to crop most of it all at once you'll be taking off all the big fans and drying first.

Get some parchment paper from the baking dept of your local grocery store. Cover the surface that you may be laying colas on or trimming over as the glands and resin don't hardly stick to it. Scotch tape won't stick so just overlap the seams to cover a larger surface. A few well placed thumb tacks can flatten it out.

I much prefer trimming colas fresh off the plants then packing in small boxes lined with wax paper but couldn't do that with pounds. For you instead of jars that have shoulders on the inside that make it hard to get the buds out at first when they tend to clump together and need digging to get out. I would use small RubberMaid tubs or something like that so you can easily dump the buds out to gently break up the clumps, let them air a bit then put back in the tubs. Couple times a day for the first few days then less as they dry out. Longer it takes to dry them then cure in jars the smother and tastier the smoke. Mold is always a threat so watch like a hawk the first while when they still have lots of moisture in them.


You might want to think of of a little trimming machine like a manual Trim Pro or something like it. A couple of people can do a lot of buds way faster for not a lot of money. Start now squeezing a tennis ball or something to strengthen your trimming hand. 10 hours snipping away with Fiskars is harder work than you think.

That's about all I got that may be of use to you so have fun harvesting!


L8r

 

[mstangerine]

High OldMedUser

Thanks so much for the great ideas. Just picked up a big roll of parchment paper at Costco - thanks a million! Some nice looking plants in your grow thread!

 

[Robert Celt]

Good info OMU, I had not thought about parchment paper.

Mstangerine, if you are expecting "pounds" you may want to get some Rubbermaid or similar totes. Depending on the density of your bud, it takes about a quart(liter) bottle per ounce meaning that you would need 4 one gallon jars to hold a pound.