Why do dispensary buds look so tight or trimmed to heck? Vs homegrown?
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A lot of the times they’re using PGRs which are essentially like GMOs for cannabis. They cause ripeness and trichome production but studies show terpene content and cannabinoids found are lacking compared to homegrown or organically cultivated.
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Light intensity, genetics, proper trimming/training. Airflow… all culprits to Density!
My homegrown seeds from Home Grown smoke well. Freinds love it but I get asked that question a lot. Honestly, I really don’t know why. Are they trimming back that far? I’m not that into trimming every suger leaf off lol.
@Mojo they freeze dry.
It pretty much cures the bud within 24 hours or less and preserves the terpenes and cannabinoids.
After that the sugar leaf is so dry it literally just crumbles off.
It’s also why the high end dispensary buds look so huge because freeze drying the buds they don’t shrink down like normal curing.
I’m working on making a home made freeze dryer myself because I can’t afford a flash freezer yet.
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@MDBuds , I’m glad I read this post good info thank you I thought my jars were looking not as full as they were
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Lol! @JimiG1974 I have the opposite problem! My jars look full but only hold an ounce each!
I trimmed most of the leaves off right after cutting the girls down, but didn’t trim the sugar leaves. Basically if I couldn’t get my snips to the stem of the leaf, it stayed! Figure the sugar leaves protect the bud, and even after a month and a half of cure, the inner bud is so sticky I would have a hard job keeping it lit without those leaves mixed in!
And thanks for that explanation @MDBuds … Freeze drying the buds and then using those automated trimmers, makes sense in a commercial operation to cut down the drying time and trimming time. Time is money, and that’s what the commercial growers are after. Cut the time and the labour costs.
I’m VERY content have great tasting fluffier buds! Tastes great, less filling!
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@Kronic yeah that is what a lot of dispensaries are doing. It’s why I started looking for organic brands that were freeze dried. Love the look of freeze dried buds and I love how many more terpenes are preserved vs traditional drying and curing.
Works just as good as a flash freeze in my opinion.
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I never heard of freeze-drying buds, but I’m for anything that preserves terps. I tend towards minimalism when I trim my buds. I get my nips out and trim the sugar leaves just before preparing them for consumption. It is part of my ritual. I like to think that the sugar leaves protect the flowers during storage.
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Has anyone here tried the DIY Styrofoam dry ice method…I take it that you use a fresh cut bud for this method…Just wondering what the finnished bud looks like and how it smokes…
I don’t know this, but I would think that they still have to dry them first, wouldn’t they?
I’m with you…Wouldn’t they…
@Wildbill yeah you use fresh bud before it’s dried. It works. It’s just difficult to maintain temperature so you can’t skimp on the gear.
I’ve done it before and it looks like normal cured bud but it keeps more color and doesn’t shrink down as much.
What I read sounds easy…Styrofoam cooler and dry ice…Put pot in baggie, lay baggie on bottom of cooler, and cover with dry ice…Can’t remember for how long a time…
@Wildbill that sounds like the flash freeze. For the freeze dry you need fans and temperature gauges too and it takes 24 hours.
Imo, I believe freeze drying is to prevent mildew and molds forming during storage for medicinal patients., For the fact most farms dont have a “curing specialist” on hand or dont wanna pay for one., Just like trimmers and everything else, they want automaton…, I’ve been told by multiple people it’s better than the freeze dried crumbles… tastier as well.
@CkNugz that is part of the benefit of freeze drying but properly freeze dried buds that then get stored in a curing room or bags/jars with 58-62% rh usually have more preserved terpene content than your normal dry and cure at home, or even done by many professionals.
It forces the water out but the fats and oils (like hydrocarbons) stay in the bud. So freeze drying is pretty much a 24 hour dry and cure. After that it needs to go straight into a controlled environment for preservation or it will start to degrade fairly quickly because it doesn’t have any moisture in it to help preserve those terpenes like a normal slow dry and cure. So as long as they store it proper immediately out of the freeze dryer it’s great. Many don’t though and end up with dry flavorless crumbly bud. That’s why I like the brands that sell their product in those curing bags like the ones made by Grove or they have desiccant packs in their jars like the bovedas. I honestly won’t touch anything else at the clubs these days because me and my lady have been screwed over so much at them.
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