If you’ve ever heard the saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, when it comes to the trimmings you have left over after manicuring your buds this statement has never been truer.
Once you’ve completed your first grow and you’ve trimmed off your fan leaves, sugar leaves and other excess material, you may be left wondering what to do with it all. At first glance, this cast-off material may look like it should head straight to the trash can or the compost pile, but hold that thought because there’s actually a lot you can do with those valuable trimmings.
From making budder and canna-oil, to producing hash oil or bubble hash from your trim and shake, there are many, many uses for this material. The simple fact is that your trimmed material and shake is actually pretty high is THC and other cannabinoid content; but the problem is that those sugar leaves, fan leaves and woodier pieces of stalk just don’t smoke nicely.
No one like a harsh smoke, but plenty of people love them some edibles or a nice hash oil. Indeed, for the adventurous at heart you can even juice the leaves from your harvest and the green leaves from vegetating females and even male plants. Juicing the leaves not only gives you psychoactive benefits, but also many other benefits from the antioxidants and terpenes.
Once you’ve made budder or canna-oil you can then cook with your delicious new ingredients. Try using cannabis-infused olive oil to make a light vinaigrette dressing for salad, or cook your pancakes with some budder for an authentic wake ‘n bake session. When cooking with canna-oil or budder, try to avoid using too much heat because heat breaks down some of the cannabinoids.
Another tasty snack is to slow roast your favorite seeds or nuts in a light grease of canna-oil. Once you take them out of the oven, brush them lightly with budder and add a bit of salt. You can add dried fruit like cranberries, apricots and raisins to make this a delightful medicated trail mix, great for addressing chronic pain and keeping you mildly medicated throughout the day.
If you aren’t in the mood for hash oils, you can make a simple tincture with any strong alcohol. A grain alcohol such as Everclear is perfect for making cannabis tinctures, and stored in dark amber bottles in a cupboard or freezer, alcohol tinctures can last for years on end. With a bit of ingenuity, you can also make cannabis salves and balms for topical application.
In short, when you have the pleasure of harvesting your crop, don’t let all that unsmokable material go to waste. When there’s about a million ways to use cannabis, it seems unnecessary to let this wondrous plant rot on the compost heap or in a garbage bag. So get creative!
Trimmings: What to do with them
