Harvest season is upon us!
If there's one thing all growers can relate to, it's forgetting something when harvest time rolls around. Whether it's cleaning solution for your scissors or humidity packs for your storage bags, there's a lot to remember!
Instead of racking your brain for what you may have forgot this season, here's a quick and easy list of the 5 harvest essentials you must have to get through harvest without multiple trips to the grow store.
Trimming Equipment
To get the obvious out of the way first, trimming scissors are probably the most important item you need for harvest. This includes shears which are needed to cut down the whole plant, as well as smaller scissors for trimming flower.
There are a few different varieties of trimming scissors to choose from, which mostly come down to preference and budget.
First is the blade material; stainless steel or titanium. Typically titanium is more durable, and doesn't get gunked up by resin as quickly as stainless steel. However this comes with a slightly higher price tag.
Second is whether a straight blade or curved blade is better for the situation. A curved blade will help to reach smaller leaves that may be stuck to the flower or tucked away in crevices.
A curved blade also means less wrist manipulation to get those hard to reach places, which is definitely beneficial when sitting at the trim table to several hours!
Cultivate carries a wide range of trimming scissors, shears and even brushes that can be used to trim your flower.
However for those who want some assistance with their trimming, a Trim Bag or machine trimming machine may be a better route. The Trim Bag is a manual tumbling trim bag, while a machine trimmer will have specially designed blades and brushes to manicure your flowers gently.
Cleaning Solutions/PPE
Every grower should know the importance of cleanliness in the grow, but what about at the trim table? While not as important a decision of which scissors are used, how the equipment is cleaned can determine how much time can be saved.
The easiest, hands off cleaning solutions for trimming scissors is commercial grade isopropyl alcohol. A few minutes of soaking in a cup of isopropyl and gunk can easily be wiped off scissors with a paper towel.
For a more active approach, consider Scissor Fix or the Harvest More Scissor Scrubber. These products are self-contained cleaning chambers for scissors. Fitted with a sponge material and brushes respectively, as well as a cleaning solution in each, by dipping trimming scissors in and out gunk can be quickly and effortlessly removed.
If you don't want to wait for your scissors to clean themselves in isopropyl, we highly recommend Scissor Fix or the Scissor Scrubber.
PPE, or Personal Protection Equipment is not only required in any legal cultivation operation, it's an essential for harvest.
However during harvest PPE doesn't need to be quite so involved. A simple pair of nitrile gloves can be helpful for preventing resin build up on fingers from holding flower. This is also a preference as many prefer to feel the flower while trimming for any impurities.
Storage
What's the point of finely manicuring your harvest if you aren't going to store it properly? Not only can improper storage result in terpene and cannabinoid degradation for a less potent and tasty final product, in worst cases it can result in mold and the destruction the harvest.
Storage depends on the size of the harvest. For under a pound, glass jars may be efficient. Over a pound would likely do better in BPA free nylon storage bags like True Liberty Bags.
For very large harvests, a storage bin may be necessary. But no matter the size of the harvest or the storage container, preserving the harvest is just as important.
Boveda 2-way Humidity Packs regulate moisture content, keeping the contents of your containers at the perfect desired level. They don’t need any activation or maintenance. Just place them in an airtight container with your items, and Boveda technology will do the rest.