Going for the chop today After all this work I don't want to mess up at the last hurdle. I'm sure I've read somewhere here that smaller leaves protuding out the buds should be left on a couple of days into drying. This is supposed to stop the stomata (sp?) closing up - therefore allowing the chlorophyll (sp?) to break down quicker. Or do you remove all leaves when chopping as it is easier to do this than trying to remove leaves when dried out ? What do the pro's do here ?

Here's where my buds are at that I'm ready to chop . .TW from GHSC 11 weeks in today . . . . .

Click to view attachment

I'm certainly no "pro", but I've just harvested my first plant in two halves, and dried them both differently. One half had everything trimmed down to the smallest leaves that were still crystally, and the other hald was just hung upside down as the complete plant, no leaves removed except some of the biggest fan leaves which I removed because they would impede circulation in the cupboard.

The half that was all trimmed down dried faster, obviously, and it was done intentionally just so we could have something to smoke quickly.

The other half I left the leaves on for two days, then went back and trimmed all the bigger leaves off, and took the branches off of the main stalk, and hung each branch seperately with the smaller leaves still attached. Another three days later i went back and trimmed the smaller leaves off, and as the buds were starting to feel dry on the outside but still slightly moist on the inside, I've cut the stalks off / into smaller bits and brown-bagged the buds. They're hanging up in the bag now, and I'm going to leave them in there for a couple of days, stirring occassionally, until they get dry enough to cure in a glass jar.

I've tried a sample smoke from the second half and it already tastes better than the first half, everything I've read has said that drying with the leaves on makes it dry more naturally and evenly, producing a better tasting smoke. My tiny sample seems to agree, and I'll be able to say more in a week or so when it's completely dry.

The science bit is in the FAQ section on harvesting, I read it just a week ago.

Edit: those buds look delicious btw Congratulations on your first harvest

Well done on the first harvest, be prepared to spend some time harvesting those females. Harvesting is possibly the most important part, followed by curing, makes the difference in your bud. Like suggested on the previous post you want it to dry slowly so leave on a few leaves on the entire stem so that it slows the process. I live in a dry climate and leave most leaves on the stem, aswell as leave the entire chopped stem in a bucket of water for a few hours to nicely saturate and hopefully flush. The bud takes longer to dry and in turn helps the burn. Read up on the ways to harvest and cure, and you are sure on your way to come top notch bud.

P.S what the heck are those big fat cabbages in the picture? Wish i could get my buds that fat indoors, where is your journal?

That sure does look mighty fine. Happy smokin.

congrats
i think some smaller leaves can help protect the calyxes when dry
plus you will be amazed at how quickly trimming becomes a chore

i always give mine a reasonably good trim when cropping and leave them on the stem for a week drying then trim them off the stem into jars for another week burping them daily. next up i give them their last trim taking out all excess dry leaf and stem then just plonk the perfectly manicured buds in the jars again for some more curing.

all the trim ive accumulated then hits the bubblebags

mind & get a decent set of scissors & some disposable gloves, when the tricomes stick to your skin, its murder trimmin