No more searching in the wild! Since “it” is legal in more and more states, home growing becomes more of a thing. So there are more accessories meant to ease the process — from growing to harvesting (read here for more on these). One of the most sensitive stages of the process, as you know, is trimming buds to make them as dense and clean as they deserve to be.
Of course, you can do it manually, with the smallest scissors you can find. But this takes incredible love for the process to spend your time like this. To make it easier, human genius invented various trimming machines, both manual and electric, that accelerate trimming and produce beautiful buds you can see on Instagram.
Table of Contents
Why Trim?
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The first reason to trim buds is to achieve the highest concentration of THC which is found just in the buds. Leaves and stems also have some, but it’s better to extract from them separately if you don’t want the precious substance to be lost. As for buds, they get rid of sugar and other components of the leaves.
The second reason is purely aesthetic. Buds look more beautiful in jars when trimmed, no matter manually or by machine. It’s especially important if you are growing commercially (make sure it’s legal in your state!)
The third reason is that leaves are harsher on your throat, so they may cause you to cough. If you want it smooth, you better leave the leaves and focus on buds. There may be more (including faster drying or love for the process), but these are already enough to consider.
Wet or Dry?
This was the question not so long ago. The principles of trimming are different, due to the various physical properties of dry and wet leaves. That’s why for different methods you needed two devices.
The best machines available now are capable of processing both wet and dry buds. The ratio is about 1:5; that is, a machine capable of trimming 20 lbs. of wet buds at a time, can do the same with four pounds of dried buds. So, whole the ways of trimming have their advantages, you don’t have to use separate trimmers for various methods. Still, there are machines for dry-only and wet-only trimming.
The Best Manual Trimmers
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When speaking of manual trimmers, we do not mean scissors for the thorough removal of leaves. There are machines that don’t require power, with a mechanical handle to rotate. These hand-operated machines take serious effort, but you can take them outside where no socket is to be found. Another pro of them is the price that’s way lower (though so is the performance, as it takes hours to trim a couple of pounds).
These machines usually feature rubber fingers that hold the buds and the blades that cut the leaves off them. The removed leaves are then collected in the reservoir under the blades, and the trimmed buds remain up the metal grille for you to collect when the job is done. It takes 20-30 rounds to get the desired results, so make sure you’re able to.
The parameters you should mind are the following:
- Size. The bigger it is, the more buds you can process in one go. But if you plan to take it somewhere outdoors, far from home, maybe you should opt for a more compact version. Usually, compact versions can process up to 20 lbs. of wet buds, medium ones – up to 50 lbs., and big machines – over 50 lbs.
- Force required. You better see and try a machine you’d like to buy before paying. If it requires too much effort, maybe you should opt for something lighter.
- Design. It’s great to see the process through the transparent top. For some, this is the reason to prefer mechanical trimmers.
Given this, the examples of great manual trimmers are the following:
- iPower 19-Inch Leaf Bowl Trimmer. This compact table top round trimmer is great if you only need to process a pound or two.
- iPower GLTRIMBOWL16M is a little smaller, so it requires less space. It’s a perfect version of the previous one for amateurs.
- Risentek Bud Leaf Trimmer Machine Model X. It’s one of the most powerful hand-operated trimmers.
The Best Electric Trimmers
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Automatic trimmers have two basic drawbacks: they are more expensive than manual ones, and they are useless with no power source around. If you’re homegrown, surely you have a socket right at your greenhouse. But if your plantation is somewhere over the hills, and you also grow it away from your home, an electric trimming machine is obviously the better choice.
The parameters you should mind are:
- Size. It always matters.
- Method. Its choice is a separate discipline.
- Noise level. It may be even more important than for gaming or recording studio equipment.
- Price. Electric trimmers are way pricier than manual ones.
Given that, our recommendations are the following:
- Twister T6 – the best versatile trimming machine that is compact and well set.
- Greebroz Automatic Dry Trimmer 215. A compact and portable machine for dry trimming that makes down to no sound. A useful feature if you have someone you better not bother!
- CenturionPro Mini. Despite the name, it’s a medium-size trimming machine capable of processing up to 50 lbs. wet buds at a time.
- CenturionPro Gladiator. If you want to enter the industrial end of the scale, here is the giant that takes 125 lbs. of wet buds (that is, 25 lbs. of dry ones) and has replaceable tumblers.
New models and vendors appear very often, so this list may soon get dated. Knowing the principles, though, you can make your choice among newer devices.
Do You Need a Trimming Machine?
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The answer is: it depends on the number of bushes. If you have up to ten of them to process, you can be good with special curved scissors that ease the job. But if there are more, and you do it regularly, a machine is almost a must. In addition, it does the work surer, making the outcome more beautiful and usable.
What’s your experience with trimming? Have you ever done it yourself, and if so, manually or with a machine? Which one do you consider the best for your own homegrown? Have there been any issues with any of these? Share your thoughts in the comments. And share this article on Facebook to discuss it with your friends (but hide it from Aunt Abigail or whoever else you don’t want to see it).
