Wet Trim Harvest Summary
STEP 1. – DEFANNING (removing the fan leaves from the stem)
- Defan during the flushing period and prior to harvesting
- Remove all fan leaves that have exposed stem c. The quickest method is plucking the leaves by hand
STEP 2. – SHUCKING (remove the flowers from the stem)
- Individualize all flowers from the stem, remove fan leaves, and leave 1/8” of stem at flowers base
- The Debudder should be run at faster speeds, usually at around 50 on the speed dial
- Take the time on this step to ensure the flowers are 100% properly prepped for trimming
STEP 3. – TRIMMING (trim the flowers outer sugar leaf)
- Use the wet trimming grate, run the main motor on low, the lid motor on forward and faster speed
- Use the inner lids to control the amount of vortex and suction
- Ensure the blade is dialed in to its closest point, cycle times should be 1-2 minutes
STEP 4. – SORTING (sort the shake and flowers into 5 different sizes)
- Sort the flowers prior to touching up, this will eliminate the shake and popcorn from your touch up process
- Using baking sheets to touch up the sorted small, medium and large flowers, creates a single layer of flowers, making it easier to inspect and handle
- Increase the number of employees on quality control to avoid a bottleneck
STEP 5. – DRYING (dry the flowers on perforated trays or mesh racks)
- Dry as slow as possible for 5-7 days and until the flowers and room homogenize to 50-60% RH
- Circulate the air constantly, pull in fresh air periodically, and check the product daily
- Rotate the product 2-3 times a day for the first 2 days to avoid flattening, 1⁄4” mesh screen is ideal for drying racks and will help to eliminate any flattening that may occur
STEP 6. – CURING (store the flowers in air tight containers and burp daily)
- Product should be in a sealed container with a ratio of air to flower of 75% flower to 25% air
- Burp the containers and mix the product every 24 hours for 5-10 minutes and at least 5-10 days
- Container humidity should start at roughly 50-60% and taper down to 30 – 40% over the curing process
