Why dispensary buds are so compacted vs my homegrown?

[CharlesBukowksi]

Hi all, I've been through this a few times on other forums but didn't get too far. I'm wondering why/how dispensary buds are so compact compared to my home grown. I understand genetics and grow skills/trimming skills are a huge factor, BUT I'm from the old school (1980's) when baggies came with big fluffy beautiful buds attached to the stem.

I understand that as a buyer today, paying for stems is not good. But dam the buds are so much more pretty in their natural state. I've also watched countless grow journals and a lot of people show big pretty fluffy buds instead of the dispensary compressed popcorn rocks I see..

Anyway, I tried compressing a few of my buds to see if I can make them look like a dispensary buds and it worked, I'm just wondering why I should do this to my own personal stash? I prefer them in their natural state if this makes sense. Hell, I say compact those buds when loading a bowl!

Are dispensaries using any tricks to compact their buds? Maybe they vaccum pack them? Or maybe huge harvests are being compressed in some way? I'm not sure whats going on?

My second grow, Nirvana Northern Lights---1 hit I'm good, two hits I'm hiding on my couch-- I'm loving the way my stash looks as a grower ! Huge glass jars full of buds. My old stash before being a grower shown in the little purple punch container. Life is good as a grower--I'm weed rich !

 

[CelestialNurseries]

-I'm weed rich !

I'd smoke that jar in 2 days...welcome to growing hommie

 

[bongtastic]

Genetics play a huge role, but so does the curing and drying process.

 

[Cuz]

run your buds through a mechanical trimmer and see if that's closer to the look your comparing to

 

[JiggiLotus]

Hi all, I've been through this a few times on other forums but didn't get too far. I'm wondering why/how dispensary buds are so compact compared to my home grown. I understand genetics and grow skills/trimming skills are a huge factor, BUT I'm from the old school (1980's) when baggies came with big fluffy beautiful buds attached to the stem.

I understand that as a buyer today, paying for stems is not good. But dam the buds are so much more pretty in their natural state. I've also watched countless grow journals and a lot of people show big pretty fluffy buds instead of the dispensary compressed popcorn rocks I see..

Anyway, I tried compressing a few of my buds to see if I can make them look like a dispensary buds and it worked, I'm just wondering why I should do this to my own personal stash? I prefer them in their natural state if this makes sense. Hell, I say compact those buds when loading a bowl!

Are dispensaries using any tricks to compact their buds? Maybe they vaccum pack them? Or maybe huge harvests are being compressed in some way? I'm not sure whats going on?

My second grow, Nirvana Northern Lights---1 hit I'm good, two hits I'm hiding on my couch-- I'm loving the way my stash looks as a grower ! Huge glass jars full of buds. My old stash before being a grower shown in the little purple punch container. Life is good as a grower--I'm weed rich !

I prefer the fluffy buds that you're describing. I find the compact buds at the dispensary aren't as enjoyable. They're difficult to grind and they smoke too fast with little to know high. Just a disappointment overall. I can get 28 grams smoked in 3 days easy. Good bud lasts longer than that.

 

[Buddaman]

Dispensary buds might appear denser because of the specific strains they choose to grow, which are often bred for higher potency and more compact flowers.

Plus, the professional drying and curing methods they use can affect bud density. Some dispensaries might vacuum pack their buds for freshness, which can also compress them a bit.

 

[Fenderbender]

I'd think it's light intensity and feed.. as airy buds are usually a consequence of underpowered light.. if you give enough feed in terms of light and nutrients you get nice dense firm buds. However I would agree that the trend has gone a bit too far where the buds have become rock hard and crystalised and indeed not so fun to pluck or grind.
So I'd think those are probably grown under high intensity possibly with co2 and a whole array of nutrients.
I do think dense nugs are the goal as airy buds well after drying there's not much left of those but I also think you can take it too far and have encountered weed I'd put in that category.

 

[Mike Wright]

Probably a lot to do with trimming too. I imagine all the trim from the dispensary buds gets used in edibles, so they can trim really close. I can't be bothered with that (weed rich ) so I leave a lot of the nice sugar leaf on the bud so as not to waste it. So the buds look a lot fluffier. I use bud for my edibles. I still have some nice dense buds.

When I remember how hard it could be scoring in the late seventies and eighties I love seeing giant jars filled with nearly foot-long colas!

 

[Fenderbender]

I've seen that too, trimming with an electric razor, almost pyramid style buds and that leaves you with the thickest part of the buds although you still have to grow very big and very dense buds to be able to do trim them so and be left with something.

There's of course the genetics part as we have been selecting and crossbreeding for bigger and denser buds for quite some time now but still I think it's lights & nutes as with outdoor grows as well a sunny late summer produces big dense colas, one with lots of overcast or rainy days produces airy buds.

And weed produced indoor under high intensity fed to the max produces crystal hard nugs.. I have a friend who grows like that and loves it he still does it with hps even and an ebb & flow style table everything is maxed out as he also buys maximum THC strain seeds.
And well his nephew complains as well about the quality of the nugs as it's too much.. if you grind it it just forms smaller chunks that you can't pulverise with just finger pressure it's almost as if they were dipped in resin.
So yeah it's full of THC but is that the true end goal? as it's not taking me further than other weeds, it's a bit more instant on the first hit.. but there's lower THC strains that will have me tripping balls, it's only part of the equation.

 

[CharlieWaffles]

Hi all, I've been through this a few times on other forums but didn't get too far. I'm wondering why/how dispensary buds are so compact compared to my home grown. I understand genetics and grow skills/trimming skills are a huge factor, BUT I'm from the old school (1980's) when baggies came with big fluffy beautiful buds attached to the stem.

I understand that as a buyer today, paying for stems is not good. But dam the buds are so much more pretty in their natural state. I've also watched countless grow journals and a lot of people show big pretty fluffy buds instead of the dispensary compressed popcorn rocks I see..

Anyway, I tried compressing a few of my buds to see if I can make them look like a dispensary buds and it worked, I'm just wondering why I should do this to my own personal stash? I prefer them in their natural state if this makes sense. Hell, I say compact those buds when loading a bowl!

Are dispensaries using any tricks to compact their buds? Maybe they vaccum pack them? Or maybe huge harvests are being compressed in some way? I'm not sure whats going on?

My second grow, Nirvana Northern Lights---1 hit I'm good, two hits I'm hiding on my couch-- I'm loving the way my stash looks as a grower ! Huge glass jars full of buds. My old stash before being a grower shown in the little purple punch container. Life is good as a grower--I'm weed rich !

Great question! Wondered this myself since I started growing. I prefer the hard compact buds but only 1 of every 5 or so grows seems to produce like this. Those airy leafy buds seem to me like I’m doing something wrong and I never find it grinds up as nicely. Hopefully you get more answers.

 

[Sativa1970]

Light and strain are the two big factors. More light on heavy Indica plants, yields a more solid bud. Indicas give higher yield per foot in a shorter time. Sugar leaves take shipping space without adding much weight so lowers profit. Turn the sugar leaf waste into edibles and oils, you turn them into profit.
Some commercial processing uses a device called "the box". Warm O2 is used to sterilize, vaporize chlorophyll, and dehydrate the bud. Terpenes ((synthetic or organic) and cannabinoids can then be added to the O2, infusing them back into the bud. Soaking a raisin in concentrated grape juice may taste good but it is not a the same as a grape. When you find dispensaries with hard rock buds, terpenes over 5%, and unnatural flavors like chocolate strawberry banana split cream, they are using the box.
You can produce a product like the commercial growers but why would you want to? In 80s terms, Why strive for Mexican brick weed when you have merchant marine weed?

 

[Buddaman]

Regarding keeping up with the latest in cultivation technology and methods, I found Sorting Robotics pretty insightful. They’re all about innovating the cannabis space, which might shed some light on how commercial operations achieve those compact buds.

 

[bongtastic]

Yeah, I heard about these guys from Sorting Robotics too. My buddy invested in their automated kief roller and I must say it was a great deal. He is very fond of anything connected with weed and he told me thay dispensary buds might appear denser because of the specific strains they choose to grow. They are often bred for higher potency and more compact flowers.

 

[Sativa1970]

What does a company, that makes machines, that make infused pre-roles, have to do with bud density? That's like asking the guy installing kitchen cabinets, what nutrient in soil makes the grain tighter in the wood. It has nothing to do with his job, so most likely he won't know or care.

Dispensaries are businesses and have just one criteria when selecting a strain, profit. Highest yield, per square foot, per year. Tight buds burn slower, cheaper to package, cheaper to ship and high THC so you smoke a little less. They can sell it at a premium with the implication it will last the consumer longer. It's like comparing a bottle of rock gut whiskey to two bottles of fine brandy when your goal is to get drunk fast and cheap. I have a cigar box full of dispensary weed that people left here and nobody is willing to take. When I can't close the box, the oldest gets pitched in the trash. Would you really choose anything "high THC" from a dispensary over Thai stick, Jamaican chirus, or Tibetan temple ball? They can't turn a profit off of those so they don't sell them. Quality is not there deciding factor.