Harvest & Processing Supplies

Approaching the harvest is the most exciting time during a cannabis grow. There are a few products that will help you determine when to harvest. There is also some gear that you’ll need to trim, dry and cure your precious crop. You may also want to process your crop further by making concentrates. Here, we give you our recommendations for the best microscopes to check trichomes, the best snips to trim your colas, the best jars to cure your buds, and the most affordable rosin presses for making concentrates. We offer a few other suggestions for tools to make harvesting, trimming, curing, processing and eventually smoking or vaping better and easier.

Equipment & Product Guide Menu
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Microscope

The best way to determine the ideal time to harvest is checking the trichomes on your buds. Many growers use passive magnification with jewler's loupes, but they prove to be frustrating. We recommend using either an optical or digital microscope. These will give you a much better look at your precious trichomes.

Optical 60-120x Microscope
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I have used this optical microscope to check trichomes for years. It requires looking through a lens rather than having the image displayed on a screen. With 60x to 120x magnification, it does an excellent job zooming in on the trichomes, but you cannot easily photograph them. Hint: I cut tiny samples off the plant to inspect under this scope. I do not try to use it on plants as they are growing.

USB Microscope
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Dr. Photon uses and recommends this digital USB microscope. I purchased it and have started using it to photograph my trichomes! It displays images on a computer screen and you can save the images to share or for easy comparison as plants progress.

Smart Phone Compatible Microscope
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If you want to be able to use your phone to inspect and take pictures of your trichomes, then you may need to upgrade to this model. It is compatible with most major phones.

Trimming Snips

By the time you make it to harvest, you probably already have pruning snips. If not, it is time to get some, because at harvest time, pruning snips become trimming snips!

Fiskars Non-Stick Softgrip Microtip Pruning Snips
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These Fiskars snips are really the best on the market and every grower owes themselves a pair. We linked the non-stick version in the US and Canada, because that feature really helps when trimming up sticky resinous colas. It is only a little bit more expensive than the regular version. In the UK, only the regular version is available.

Bonsai Pruning Snips
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Although not nearly as nice as the Fiskars snips, some growers/trimmers prefer these for speed. If you are going to have some friends over to help trimming this is also the way to go. They spring open, which saves effort, and they have fine points for precise cuts. They are easy to clean by using one pair to scrape off the other, and of course you can enjoy those “scissor scrapings” as bowl toppers while you trim.

Nitrile Gloves

These help protect the buds from your hands and your hands from the sticky resinous buds!

Box of 100 Nitrile Gloves
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When you are trimming the resins will accumulate on the fingertips of the gloves. You can press your fingers onto a glass surface and the resin will come off cleanly onto the glass. From there you can scrape it off and put it on your bowl!

Trimming Tray

Trimming trays help you to harvest kief while trimming and contain the mess.

Mogobe Trim Tray with Detachable Screen
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10% off on Amazon with code: CocotrimThis trim tray is an upgrade to plastic trim bins. It is made of strong, durable 304 stainless steel and comes with several different harvesting tools. The tray also features a removable screen, which can be replaced if damaged rather than having to replace the entire product.CocoforCannabis member @Berkshirebud evaluated this product. He says, "The Mogobe trim kit is exactly what I was looking for to help with trimming flowers and sifting bags of dry trim. The stainless steel trays are sturdy, not too heavy, and just the right size for processing large amounts of flower or trim. Whether you are trimming your buds or shaking trim for dry sift hash, this is the last trim tray you will ever have to buy!”

TrimBag

Trimming by hand is easily the most tedious part of growing your own, but there is a way to escape from “trim jail”!

TrimBag Original
Save 15% with Discount Code: CCFCThe TrimBag is a large canvas cylinder that acts as a friction trimmer. You load untrimmed buds into the bag, and then roll, spin, and shake the bag manually for only a few minutes. The interior canvas provides the friction to pull the leaves from the buds without damaging the flowers. There is a plastic screen inside the bag that separates the leaves and shake from the flowers.Friction trimming must be done when the buds are already dry. The leaves should break off easily when rubbed. Getting the dry right is key for success with any friction trimmer.I (Dr Coco) have long been skeptical of friction trimmers in general, but I tried the TrimBag, and I am keeping it. The trim job was not perfect, but the TrimBag did 95% of the work in only a few minutes. The buds appeared completely undamaged and remarkably clean. I touched them up with snips and put them straight into jars. The RH in the jars stabilized at exactly 60%. A 12-hour trimming job was done in less than 1 hour! The amount of time and drudgery that the TrimBag saves makes it a valuable tool for busy home growers.

Rosin Press

A rosin press is an awesome addition for any home grower. Unlike most other extraction methods, a Rosin Press is “solventless”. They use heat and extreme pressure to extract the gooey rosin and concentrate the cannabinoids and terpenes that we love. The only reason that more growers do not have Rosin Presses is because they have been very expensive. However, that has changed.

Dr Coco tested the 10-ton Mogobe Rosin Press and was impressed with the construction and performance. The Mogobe Presses are manually operated with a hydraulic press that delivers an even spread of force to the plates. The plates are large, and their temperature is precisely controlled with heating elements. You can set a temperature and the Mogobe Presses will maintain the plates within 1 degree Celsius of that setting.

The Mogobe Rosin Presses are a great deal at their list price – and we have a 10% discount that makes the price even better. Use Code CocoPress on Amazon or Mogobe.co

Mogobe 5-Ton Rosin Press
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Use Discount Code: CocoPressThe 5-ton Press will work for flower, and it is perfect for pressing hash or kief.

Mogobe 3-Ton Rosin Press
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Use Discount Code: CocoPressThe 3-ton Rosin Press will work best for pressing hash or kief.

Mogobe Pre-Press Mold and Hand Press
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Use Discount Code: CocoPressThe pre-press mold and 1-ton hand press are helpful if you are pressing a lot of kief. You make little pricks with the mold and the hand press and then do the full Press.

Mini Hygrometer

An accurate temperature and humidity reading during the cure is important to achieve the best results! Mini hygrometers are particularly useful for curing because they can easily fit inside the jar with your buds. This is the best way to monitor and maintain your precious harvest.  You do not need one for every jar. You can make one work, but two or three will make curing easier.

Caliber IV
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The Caliber IV hygrometer is unmatched in accuracy for drying/curing measurement. Dr. Photon and I both use the Caliber IV. However, it is not easily available in the UK or Canada.

Inkbird ITH-10
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This is another excellent option for a mini hygrometer. It is more widely available and less expensive than the Caliber IV. Both of these models are far superior to cheaper digital or analog hygrometers.

Scale

This is not required, but you are going to want to know how much you harvested!

Ohaus CL201 Compact Scale
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I wanted a good way to accurately measure and split up my harvest. There are many options in the hundreds of dollars, and then there are cheap kitchen scales. I wanted something in the middle! Our community member @Rosettastoned recommended this Ohaus Scale and I purchased it for myself (Dr Coco). It has a capacity of 200g, is accurate to the tenth of a gram and easy to use. I really like and recommend it!

Curing Jars

We recommend curing in wide mouth, one-quart jars. They create a perfect seal and are the best size for curing an ounce of cannabis. Unfortunately, they are not a great deal online. We include them here simply to show you what we recommend for curing. Other jars will work, but in my opinion, these are the best. 

Wide Mouth Quart Jars
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I purchased the linked set a couple years ago. However, with current prices, you will likely get a better deal if you can find them locally. We could not find reasonable deals online for Canada or the UK either. Look for them in local stores, and if you get really lucky, you might even find the amber colored version.

Herb Grinder

At long last... When you are preparing your buds for smoking or vaping, we recommend using a grinder. This is true whether you are rolling joints, using a bong or pipe, or vaping your buds. Grinding the bud first ensures a more complete burn or vape. 

4-Piece Dry Herb Grinder
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I use and recommend the Golden Bell Grinder linked for the US. It has held up well for me through countless ounces of sticky buds. I selected the best equivalents in the UK and Canada.
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About Our Product Recommendations

At Coco for Cannabis, our mission is to help growers maximize the success of their cannabis crops by providing scientifically accurate information and sharing proven growing practices.

The products that we recommend are the actual products that we chose to purchase and use ourselves. In a few cases, we recommend products that we would buy if we needed them. We do not accept advertising and will not recommend any product that we would not buy for ourselves. We offer this guide as a resource to growers.

We may receive a referral when you purchase products through this page. This is the main revenue stream that keeps Coco for Cannabis up and running! When you click through our links and make purchases you are supporting our work! As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Whether we receive a referral does not influence our recommendations. For example, when products are cheaper to buy locally, we’ll tell you that rather than just recommend a more expensive online option.

Disclaimer:

The information on cocoforcannabis.com should not be considered as financial, legal, or medical advice. You are responsible for knowing and following the local laws that pertain to cannabis cultivation, possession, and use. Decisions to grow cannabis should be made in consultation with a lawyer or qualified legal advisor. Decisions to use cannabis should be made in consultation with your doctor or medical professional.