Wet Trimming or Dry Trimming - Which is Better?

Wet Trimming or Dry Trimming – Which is Better?

wet trimming or dry trimming

When it comes to growing cannabis there are so many elements to consider it can be quite daunting. That’s why I’m attempting to break down certain aspects into easy to digest content pieces. Today we’ll be talking about trimming.

Once you have gone through the time and effort to grow your cannabis plant, you’ll eventually approach harvest time. When you harvest, you will have several options to consider. Mainly, whether or not to Dry trim or to Wet Trim.

But what’s the difference?

Well, Wet trimming, as the name suggests, is when you trim your buds when the plant is still moist. There are several benefits to doing this and it can be far simpler for novice growers to start with this technique.

Dry trimming on the other hand occurs only after you have “dried out your plants”, roughly 10-14 days afterwards. As with any technique, it has pros and cons. We will be taking a deeper dive into each of them allowing you to make an informed decision whether you want to Wet or Dry trim.

Pros and Cons of Wet Trimming

Wet trimming occurs right after harvest. In this state, the plant still has a lot of moisture, the resin is sticky and personally, I find it easier to manage. You’ll need to use some latex gloves and prepare the trim beforehand.

For example, having some alcohol wipes on hand will be necessary once your scissors get so covered in resin that it can get stuck. I personally like to wet trim because it provides me with “live resin”, which when smoked can get you totally blitzed.

Additionally, wet trimming reduces the amount of space needed for curing, as you’ll be removing excess fan leaf and sugar leaf. It will also speed up the drying process significantly since there is less plant matter to worry about.

Finally, wet trimming preserves (in my opinion) more trichomes, allowing your buds to have more when you smoke.

On the downside however, Wet trimming is a sticky mess. You’ll need to be prepared to clean your tools and perhaps wear gloves throughout the process. It can take a bit longer because of the frequent cleaning breaks you’d need to do.

Additionally, depending on the size of your harvest, it could be too much work for one day. For your typical home grower this shouldn’t be a problem at all, but nonetheless expect to spend a day doing this.

Dry Trimming Pros and Cons

The next method occurs roughly 10-14 days after you’re done harvesting. You would have dried up the plants to the point where the branches snap, but don’t break off. This is the ideal state to start trimming if you opt in for Dry trimming.

Dry trimming is far less sticky than wet trimming. When you dry out your plants without trimming them, it might take longer for the plant to dry out. If you live in a dry arid place, this might be the best option for you.

The trichomes will also be dryer, meaning that it won’t stick as much to your tools and hands. However, because they are dryer and more brittle, it could also translate into a loss of trichomes.

In this case, it’s always good to trim on a screen, allowing the excess trichomes to be caught that can eventually be turned into hash or something similar.

Dry trimming also means that you’ll need to have more space to dry out your crops as it will have more plant matter than with a wet trim.

What I do

Personally, I like to do a combination of both techniques. Firstly, before harvesting I stop watering the plants for a week to ten days. This allows the plant to dry somewhat in the soil itself. Once it’s ready for harvest, I start with a general wet trim.

In this initial trim, I’m only really removing fan leaves and prominent sugar leaves. I won’t go too detailed in this process, just enough to remove the majority of the excess plant matter so I can speed up the drying process by a few days.

The Wet Trim gives me a nice little gift (live resin) which is a delight to smoke.

Once the plant has been dried enough (when the stems snap, but don’t break off), I go through the process once more and remove all the unwanted leaf in the buds.

I trim on a screen to catch any of the trichomes that fall off the bud for later use. Once I’ve trimmed the plant to a point where I like it, I then jar it for the curing stage which takes roughly 7-14 days to complete.

So how do you trim, do you like it dry or do you like it wet? Let me know in the comment section.