Question about trimming leaves from buds to get plants ready for harvest

[Phillybonker]

At harvest time I assume most outdoor growers wet trim the leaves off the buds while the plants are still in the ground before removing either the entire plant or just the branches to take away for drying.

My first question is; If I trim the leaves off the buds then come back a week later and remove the branches to take away for drying will the plants survive one week with their leaves all trimmed off the buds, or is this too much stress and could kill the plants?

My second question is; By trimming the leaves off the buds then leaving the plants one week in that state before pulling the plants, will this decrease trichome production, increase trichome production, or not affect trichome production at all?

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Big plants will get cut and hung way to many fan leaves to pluck when plants are huge. The key is air flow after harvest when pulling whole plants.

 

[Phillybonker]

Big plants will get cut and hung way to many fan leaves to pluck when plants are huge. The key is air flow after harvest when pulling whole plants.

The buds have got to be trimmed at some stage, either while the plant is in the ground or back home.

 

[Phytoplankton]

Lots of different approaches, some wet trim, I personally only like to handle the plants once, so I do the old school, pull the whole plant and hang it leaves and all. By leaving the fan leaves, it slows the drying process by several days, which helps with the curing. This works if you have the right environment, but if mold is an issue, I’d wet trim. Can’t think of why you’d want to trim the fan leaves and then leave the plant growing for a week, you’ve taken the “power plants” (fan leaves) off the plants, can’t see how that would help trich production.

 

[zigzagman1960]

The buds have got to be trimmed at some stage, either while the plant is in the ground or back home.

Yes no problem cutting the fans ALL off in the last week or two—no you don’t get more or less trichomes..
Theres a few fans left here but about 5 pounds of fan leaves were removed after a heavy rain last year in October to prevent rot.

 

[Phillybonker]

Lots of different approaches, some wet trim, I personally only like to handle the plants once, so I do the old school, pull the whole plant and hang it leaves and all. By leaving the fan leaves, it slows the drying process by several days, which helps with the curing. This works if you have the right environment, but if mold is an issue, I’d wet trim. Can’t think of why you’d want to trim the fan leaves and then leave the plant growing for a week, you’ve taken the “power plants” (fan leaves) off the plants, can’t see how that would help trich production.

I'm planning a grow under complicated circumstances that will mean I'll have to trim the plants then come back a week later to harvest the last of the plants. So it will only be some plants that will have to last a week, other plants I will harvest 4-5 days after wet trimming.

 

[Phillybonker]

Yes no problem cutting the fans ALL off in the last week or two—no you don’t get more or less trichomes..
Theres a few fans left here but about 5 pounds of fan leaves were removed after a heavy rain last year in October to prevent rot.

That's a good idea, go ruthless with the trimmers in the last week to prevent rot.

Looks like they can get plenty of air flow there.

 

[SmokingWings]

I'm planning a grow under complicated circumstances....

I figured your questions were for your guerilla grow. Every trip in and out is exposure just as every day the plants are left in the wild is one more day could be found. And I know that exposure increases if you are trying to walk out after the sun goes down so you are limited to daylight hours for the most part.

My first question is; If I trim the leaves off the buds then come back a week later and remove the branches to take away for drying will the plants survive one week with their leaves all trimmed off the buds, or is this too much stress and could kill the plants?

The plant should survive for the week, and longer, as long as the roots are still alive. Any small fan leaves that you miss plus the greenery in the buds will still be able to provide the glucose/sugars needed through photosynthesis.

My second question is; By trimming the leaves off the buds then leaving the plants one week in that state before pulling the plants, will this decrease trichome production, increase trichome production, or not affect trichome production at all?

Even if there was any decrease in trichome production or strength I doubt that you would notice it. Same sort of thing as above, as long as the plant is alive and still healthy it should maintain the trichomes at the same stage as they were when the fan leaves were cut off.

Might make a difference after two weeks but that extra week does not seem to be in your plans.

 

[Phillybonker]

I figured your questions were for your guerilla grow. Every trip in and out is exposure just as every day the plants are left in the wild is one more day could be found. And I know that exposure increases if you are trying to walk out after the sun goes down so you are limited to daylight hours for the most part.

Basically the trimming will take days and I don't want to leave part of the harvest drying back home while I trim the other plants because I lost a large part of my harvest last time due to the dehumidifiers shutting down after the water containers got full. 1/3rd of the buds developed this black rot and I had to throw em. The dehumidifiers have to be emptied every few hours and I can't rush home from the grow area every few hours to empty the containers because it's a 6 hour round trip.

So my plan is to book an airbnb within 30 minutes drive of the grow area, spend a few nights there, trim the whole lot out in the bush over a course of days then haul it all back to my house. That way I am home to empty the dehumidifiers every few hours.

The plant should survive for the week, and longer, as long as the roots are still alive. Any small fan leaves that you miss plus the greenery in the buds will still be able to provide the glucose/sugars needed through photosynthesis.

Even if there was any decrease in trichome production or strength I doubt that you would notice it. Same sort of thing as above, as long as the plant is alive and still healthy it should maintain the trichomes at the same stage as they were when the fan leaves were cut off.

Might make a difference after two weeks but that extra week does not seem to be in your plans.

Well that's good news, there will still be plenty of fan leaves left.

 

[HazyCrazy]

I trim as I go after a certain amount of time depending on maturity. When I harvest I dont have many leaves left.
Hang and let dry in a nice air flow area of some sort.

Everyone has their own ideas and what has worked for them.