Hand Trimmed Versus Tumbled: What Method Is Better For Maintaining Medicinal Potency?
This has got to be one of the biggest controversial cannabis preparation debates among growers and end-users who know a thing or two about how cannabis plant medicine works.
I'm in the process of writing an article specifically about making fully extracted cannabis essential oil (which is considered a concentrate).
I'm writing this article as a precursor to the article which is coming, so that I can explain and show you where the active ingredients in the plant are made and stored. (It's these "active ingredients" that I will be explain how to extract.)
The first 3 pictures, are pictures that I took using 60 x magnification through a microscope.
(Yeah, I've bought 2 microscopes (so far) for looking at trichomes on cannabis buds...because I'm a discerning freak and I was super curious to see how the plant works in high definition.) I've learned quite a bit so far and want to share.
These photos are all from the same bud and I grew it from seed, in organic soil. The plant was fed with organic nutrients.
Once the buds were harvested and dried, I trimmed them by hand and then cured them.
What we are studying in these photos is the anatomy of the cannabis flower's trichomes.
The trichomes are all the white, translucent tube-like structures with the white spheres that you can see. Some of the spheres are dripping with an amber resin.
Every part of a trichome has a scientific name. What we are really concerned about is the spherical structure sitting on top of each tube.
The sphere is called a gland head and it contains the plant's medicinal compounds
The gland head makes all the cannabinoids (including both THC and CBD) and all the terpenes. When the trichomes are mature the gland heads become heavily laden with a sticky resin which is saturated with cannabinoids and terpenes. It is the medicinal resinous oil, found directly in and on the gland heads that are highly prized for their ability to balance deficiencies within the human body.
(Just to re-cap, the first 3 photos are photos of a bud that I grew.)
The next 3 photos are photos of a bud that I bought from one of Canada's Licensed Producers. (LPs, as they are called, are government sanctioned growers.)
This bud was grown organically, but beyond that I don't know whether it was grown in soil or hydroponically.
Where are the gland heads?
When the trichomes mature and the gland heads become saturated with resin, it becomes very easy for the gland heads to break off.
This photo shows some gland heads still intact but as you can see this particular bud had lost most of its gland heads.
The reason for this (in my humble opinion) is because of how the bud was prepared for sale.
Larger growers will use electric tumblers to separate the sugar leaves from the buds. The sugar leaves also contain trichomes, but just not in as high a concentration, as the buds.
Trim is less expensive to buy and is often used to make infusions and edibles. A larger grower will make the effort to harvest the sugar leaves because they still have some value and it makes the final appearance of the buds they want to charge top dollar for, look better.
This is a commercial grade, bud tumbler. Basically the buds tumble in this machine until all their sugar leaves are knocked off.
This produces an exceptionally manicured looking bud and requires a fraction of the labour costs compared to trimming each bud by hand.
In this photo, you can see an electrically tumbled bud and a bud that's been trimmed by hand.
Now that I have physically seen the difference in the quality of trichomes between a tumbled bud and a bud that was trimmed by my own hand, I would personally only buy buds that have been trimmed by hand.
Another kicker in this examination, is that all the people who are buying "tumbled" cannabis from LPs in Canada are using it to treat medical conditions. They NEED potent medicine, not damaged plant material with half of its gland heads missing.
I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey....occasionally there will be microscopes and examinations and maybe a small rant. ;D
~ Rebecca Ryan
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Thank you.
I am so envious of you @rebeccaryan it's not even funny. I love essential oils and I just cant imagine using oil from cannabis! You are going to make new footprints on this earth my friend, I'm sure of it! Those trichomes look delicious!
It's super high octane at this concentration. Believe it or not, there is higher concentrates than what I have made but that requires isolating crystals and I'm not there yet on the "how to" part. Don't you worry, when this is available to you, in your State, I will come for a visit and teach you. I'm just getting ready to go to a grow site to teach this weekend...I am the "Mary Kay" of pot.
@rebeccaryan
You are our hero. We all follow you because you do the very best.
How many lives could you save or improve with all the time and
work that you have done?
I can rest a little easier today because of your desire to know.
And you are going to share that knowledge with us.
It doesn't get any better.
I won't take a bow here. But, maybe I should.
Thank you
Francis
Thank you for acknowledging my legacy that I am preparing to leave for humanity on the blockchain.
I made a video, but I have to re-do it because I made reference to how a person could use this plant to turn around diseases like cancer, ALS, Lyme's disease and any autoimmune diseases. Upon review, @knarly327 felt that I was leaving myself too open for persecution as many in the world are not ready to make this mental leap. The concern is that my professional license to practice my livelihood will be yanked and I'll be fined for making "false medical claims"...basically starting a witch hunt which will have me burnt at the stake (yet again) for doing what I know is the right thing and saving lives. I must remember that outside Steemit, I have no protection yet.
I will not quit...that I can promise you Francis.
I just have to join up with others who are doing what I do...because there is some strength and protection in numbers.
Such an unspoken subject. Thank you for sharing. Its an inspiration to read something needed and original. Upvoted.
Thank you for reading and taking a moment to share your thoughts. I completely agree with you and have followed you as a result @mrfunkymonk!
Hmmm I'm sure it was obvious that anything done by hand are always better...hahahah! I know what you must be thinking while reading this!Lol!
Hahaha! You'd be correct Chef! Especially if it is done with an experienced hand and a strong passion fueling it . ;)
LOL!!! :D Big true indeed.
Hahaha! It is a big truth, in more ways than one @juanmiguelsalas!
Excellent photos and story and I understand that a calyx of a cannabis flower at first glance seems just a dense cluster of small leaves. In fact, the calyx is an important part of the flower. sepals, on the surface of which are dense formations of a drop-shaped form. The shape, color and size of the sepals themselves can be very different. Usually sepals concentrate the largest number of special glands (trichomes) that produce THC and other active cannabinoids. Thank you @rebeccaryan
Thank you @serkagan for providing this additional information. What I have learned through this process is just how important it is to really nurture, love and care for the cannabis plant through its entire life cycle. Then, how important it is to carefully handle the buds due to their delicate trichomes.
Wow! You are like a chemist. I had no idea about all this stuff. Thanks for the education. Seems hand-picked wins every time in many different cases.
Thank you @happyme! I am on a mission to understand everything I can about how this plant medicine works so that I can share it and educate others. It gets a little wild sometimes. ;)
I've never been interested in this plant before, but in the past year or so I have heard so many good things about it that I have taken a mild interest into it. Your method of explaining and showing with pictures all the intricate aspects of it make it VERY interesting and educational. You have inspired me to take more interest in this subject and I will be forwarding your link to people outside of Steemit. I will be watching out for more of your very educational articles. Thanks for all that you do! I really never expected this topic to be so fascinating. I originally thought it was just a plant that you pick the leaves from and use the leaves! What an awakening for me!
It is an awakening for sure. There is so much to using this plant in it's various forms and ingestion methods. It's actually a superfood. Hopefully in the next 10 years or so, as one country after another legalizes or lifts their ban on it, we will see it become common and people will simply just grow their own, just like oregano or basil. ;)
I was thinking that was already going to be the case when we were told it would be legalized. Unfortunately it will still be heavily controlled much like alcohol. It really seems a shame though because the plant is so versatile and can be used in so many ways.
Agreed whole heartedly.
how beautiful this plant is under microscopic magnification, wow! I love your inquisitiveness and you've shown how clearly superior hand-cutting is to tumbling. once again, you wonder-woman know your stuff :-)
Thank you @natureofbeing!!! Time and time again, love prevails. I loved the seeds and the little shoots. I sent them energy, I talked and sang to them because I know how reactive plants are to anything that is projected at them. The end result (even though I made lots of mistakes) is evident in the quality of the finished oil that I extracted. I cannot tell you how rewarding this actually feels. :)
I love that you sing and talk and send energy to them, I do the same with my various houseplants. It's clear you take so much pleasure and satisfaction in this and also that you're perfectly suited to grow, prescribe, make recipes and on and on! so many talents
Hi @natureofbeing! Thank you so much!
@rebeccaryan,
"In this photo, you can see an electrically tumbled bud and a bud that's been trimmed by hand."
Yeah I got your point! Actually never had this experience before! But it seems like you are absolutely correct!
"they NEED potent medicine, not damaged plant material with half of its gland heads missing."
Thanks for sharing this wonderful article with us!
Cheers~
Oh good! It's cool to see what's happening at a microscopic level.
Wow! Very interesting! And the photos with the micro ... 😵 Now I know the differences between electric tumblers and manual work, did not knew about it but noted the differences and was wondering sometimes about it ... Following you now, it is a must if you like weed as I do, not just because of the effects 👍
I couldn't agree with you more @juanmiguelsalas! It is my life's mission to truly understand the value that this plant offers, record what I know and do my best to provide sound education on the subject.
Thanks for your comment. I have followed you.
U are welcome! I will go to bed tonight with more knowledge about my favorite plant thanks to u 😎 and also thanks a lot for the follow.
It is my pleasure...;)