First Run With Veg Trim - A Few Questions

[Buttsack]

I got some leaf from a friend which was just the bottom trimmings half way through growth, dried them and froze them and got about 0.8 grams of hash from about 200grams. This was my first and second try. I agitated it in the work bag with a cake mixer for about 20 minutes in ice then let it sit for another 5-10 mins. I then slowly did the process through the next 7 bags. I got the most out of the 45 micron bag then about half of that out of 25 and 73 microns.

Just a few questions now:

1 - Did I agitate it too hard and broke the trichomes?

2 - Would a paint stirrer work better in that respect and be more gentle but just as effective?

3 - Should I chop up the leaf before I mix it? Because a lot was getting clumped together and maybe not letting the trichomes drop?

4 - Is dry or fresh wet leaf better?

5 - Is it better to freeze wet or dry, or even at all?

6 - In regards to the work bag can I just work in a bucket, eliminating the chance of damaging the bag and then pour it into the work bag? Or would that push it through the mesh too hard?

7 - Would I get anything out of stems if I grinded up the stems, either to dust or just finely chopped?

Any other suggestions on how long I should stir it for or let it sit for, or any other tips would be good.

I have some other harvest trimmings coming and just wanna do everything the best way to maximize results and minimize time. Thanks in advance

[YukonBikerGuy]

Ok, I'll give it a whirl.
First off, I'll assume you are using a 5 gallon system (the 200g was the giveaway). Also I'd note that the material you are using is not the best. There are usualy few trichomes on vegative material, and the ones that are there are not ripened at all. You will get a much better yield of a much better product if you use bud, bud trim, or frosty fan leaves from nearer the end of the cycle. That said, there is a little bit of hash there to be recovered from your early material. Not sure what you mean by "slowly did the process through the next 7 bags". It doesnt usually take long to get the water to drain through the bags, using the jerk & pull method.

1) the problem with over agitation is that it adds contaminant in the form of fine particulate, as long as the mixture is good and cold, the trich heads will pretty much stay whole at this point. Pressing wet hash will break the trich heads however.

2) the harder you mix, the more particulate. The methods of mixing from worst to first: Paint mixer on a power drill, cake mixer, hand mixed with wooden spoons(a lot of elbow grease needed, but the purest hash), or a bubblenow machine ( a perfect mix every time, better hash in less time with less effort)

3) As long as the material has plenty of surface area to rub against itself and the ice, there is no need to chop it finer, as this again will only introduce more contaminant to the end product

4) I have found that fresh frozen material makes the best hash (again, to avoid particulated contaminant), dry material breaks up too much

5) freeze fresh is better in my opinion

6) I have seen people mix in 1 bucket and then pour into the second bucket containing the bag set to avoid damaging the work bag. As long as all the bags are set down into the second bucket, you wont be pouring it through the mesh, rather raising the mesh through the water/hash mixture

7) Yes, you can process stems. Dont grind them, particulated contaminant bad. (recurring theme here?) The only material that benifits from chopping before making hash is while buds, to increase the surface area and get at the trichs inside the buds

Check out my Veg Trim Hash thread: http://www.fullmeltbubble.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705

Check out the vids of Bubbleman making hash at the cannabis cup expo last year: http://www.fullmeltbubble.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2200

Also check this epic post: http://www.fullmeltbubble.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40


Hope that all helps some, good luck with future runs.
YBG

[Buttsack]

Thanks for the help YukonBikerGuy, much appreciated. I've read a few thread and comments by you and I've learnt a bit, also from others as well :)

With the stems how much am I expected to get compared to trim?

With the bubble now machine is it worth the extra money? Will I get much more hash from it and will it be really noticeable in the quality compared to a hand mixer? How much leaf will the machine hold, because I have 20L bags?

I have some buckets I got from work and they contained grease in them before but I have cleaned them out 100% with isopropyl alcohol so they look nearly new. Is it worth using these buckets? Only reason is that these 20L buckets fit perfectly for my bags.

Thanks in advance for any help. I'll try to reply quicker next time I just haven't had the internet for the past 2 weeks.

[YukonBikerGuy]

Plastic buckets that contain grease or petroleum products, rarely lose the 'taste' of what was stored in them. I would be worried about some of that 'flavor' in with my hash. If you use a pickle bucket, your hash will taste of pickles. Canadian Tire (probably most hardware stores) sells brand new 5 gallon (20 liter) pails in the painting section. Fresh clean plastic devoted to hash, is the way I chose to go. Stems will yield less than trim, but getting some hash from them is better than throwing away the hashy goodness with the sticks. The material limits for the 5 gallon (20 liter) set are 200g of dry material, or 500g of fresh material.

[Buttsack]

Well I'll just buy some new buckets then and keep the flavour. Can you add anything to it to make it taste different? e.g. use some mango or pineapple juice but run it through the 25 micron bags first then put it in the mix.

Can you put stems in the bubble now machine or will they wreck the bags? They would need a harsher mix like a hand mixer wouldn't they?

The bubble now machine on the aussie site looks like this
http://www.bubblebag-australia.net/i/bubblenow-black.jpg
yellow with 1 dial on the bottom right
but the one on the US site looks newer
http://www.bubblebag.com/catalog/images/Bubble%20Now.jpg
blue with 2 dials on top. So is there different models? and what are the 2 dials for?

[YukonBikerGuy]

The Blue/see through ones are the most recent models. I have the old style White/yellow with 1 dial that controls mixing time, so I can't say for sure what the second dial on the new model is.

I (having never done it myself) would not try to add juice for flavoring, but I would be interested in the results if you tried it. I'm thinking that the natural sugars from the juice would cause the hash to smoke and burn black carbon if any were left in it. One thing that I have thought of is using other esential oils that are produced in a glandular trichome head mixed in with the cannabis to 'flavor' it. (Mint, peppermint, & spearamint is the first to mind or eucalyptus, maybe even roses, lavender, or other flowers) Make a portion of the 200g dry material to mix some mint and get a smooth menthol effect while smoking your hash. Although I havent yet tried this , I cannot think of why it wouldn't work. For most bubblehash I make though, I really prefer the taste of the purest bubblehash alone, without adulterants of any kind. Perhaps make the min/rose/ect hash seperate, and then flavor the lesser grades by mixing in some mint hash later? Ok, now i'm just stoned on 90µ hash and rambling on.....

YBG

PS. Please some of my fellow hash makers throw your 2 cents into this hat would ya?