Harvest Yield Planner
Three calculators in one post-harvest workflow. Enter your wet harvest weight and get: expected dry weight after hang-drying, estimated trim time based on style and experience, and exactly how many mason jars you need to cure the whole batch. Covers wet-trim vs dry-trim, all drying environments, and every standard jar size.
Plan your dry, trim, and cure
Weigh whole plants or branches immediately after chop, before any trimming.
Override the 70% fill rule if you pack jars differently.
Per-plant average
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Enter wet weight and plant count to see per-plant breakdown.
Common harvest yield mistakes
- Jarring before fully dry. Stems that bend instead of snap still have too much moisture. Jarring too early causes bud rot inside sealed jars — which you won't notice until you open them days later to find white fuzz.
- Overfilling jars. Packing jars tighter than 70% capacity traps humidity and prevents the gas exchange that makes curing effective. Use more jars, not bigger packs.
- Skipping the ammonia check. When you burp jars the first week, smell each one. Ammonia or a "hay" smell means too much moisture — leave the lid off for a few hours before resealing.
- Forgetting trim weight. Sugar leaf trim is valuable — good for edibles, hash, or concentrates. Freeze immediately after trimming. Don't toss it assuming it has no use.
Expected dry weight
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Range: —
Dry ratio
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wet × ratio = dry
Drying time
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days (stem snap test)
Trim time
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hours (typical)
Trim yield
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grams (sugar leaf)
Cure jars needed
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Burping schedule
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Trim time detail
Fast
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Typical
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Slow
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From chop to cured jar in four steps
Weigh immediately after chop
Wet weight is measured right after cutting — before any trimming, drying, or processing. Weigh whole plants or large branches on a kitchen or postal scale (in grams). This is the most important input. Don't guess or estimate — the dry weight, trim time, and jar count all chain from this number. If you're wet-trimming, weigh before you start trimming. If dry-trimming, weigh the whole plant fresh off the stalk.
Choose trim style and drying environment
Wet trim: remove sugar leaves before hanging. Buds dry faster (4–9 days) but with less terpene protection — better if your drying room runs warm or if bud rot risk is high. Dry trim: hang whole branches and trim after drying. Slower (7–14 days), but sugar leaves protect terpenes and aromatics during the hang. Most experienced growers prefer dry-trim for quality. Select your drying environment honestly — "optimal" means 60–70°F and 55–65% RH maintained for the full dry. If your setup drifts, pick "average."
Read the dry weight estimate and plan your jars
The tool shows expected dry weight as a range (min/typical/max) plus the ratio it used. "Typical" is your planning number — use it to set jar count. The jar count is based on 70% fill: leave 30% airspace in every jar for gas exchange during cure. Overfilling is the most common curing mistake. Buy the jars before harvest day so you're not scrambling on chop day.
Follow the burping schedule
Curing is active work, not just waiting. The first two weeks require daily burping — open every jar for 15–30 minutes and check for ammonia or hay smell (indicates excess moisture — leave open longer). Weeks 3–4: every 2–3 days. After week 4: weekly, or switch to Boveda 62% humidity packs which do the gas exchange passively. Minimum cure time for good flower is 2 weeks; 4–6 weeks produces a noticeably smoother smoke. Use Pro mode with the Harvest Window Planner to time the chop correctly so you're not curing under-ripe flower.
The stem snap test — the only dryness check that matters
Don't jar based on calendar days — jar based on stem feel. Grab a branch and bend it. If it snaps with a clean crack, it's dry. If it bends, it needs more time. Small stems snap first; thick main stems need extra days. Check stems of multiple sizes before jarring. A branch that snaps cleanly on day 7 is ready. A branch that still bends on day 12 is not. Jarring too early is the single most common cause of cured-flower mold.
Wet-to-dry ratios, curing chemistry, and why trim style changes the math
Fresh-harvested cannabis is roughly 75–80% water by weight. The drying and curing process removes that water while allowing enzymatic reactions to convert chlorophyll and harsh compounds into the smooth, terpene-rich result you're after. The wet-to-dry ratio isn't a fixed number — it's a function of trim style, drying environment, and time. Getting these variables right is the difference between losing 83% vs 76% of wet weight, which on a 2kg harvest is nearly 150 grams of final product. See the Harvest & Processing Guide for the full walkthrough.
75–80%
Typical water content
Fresh cannabis is mostly water. Dry weight is what's left after water evaporates — roughly 20–25% of wet weight under good drying conditions.
70%
Jar fill rule
Fill mason jars to 70% capacity maximum. The 30% airspace enables gas exchange — CO₂ and terpene volatiles need room to move during the cure process.
7–14d
Optimal hang-dry time
Slower drying preserves terpenes and allows even moisture migration from inside the bud outward. Fast drying (under 5 days) produces harsh, hay-smelling flower.
Why wet-trim and dry-trim produce different dry weights
When you wet-trim before hanging, you remove 15–25% of the plant's surface area (the sugar leaves). This exposes more bud surface directly to the drying air, accelerating moisture loss. The result: dries faster, but buds lose more total moisture — and the sugar leaves that would have continued transpiring slowly are gone. Typical wet-trim ratio: ×0.20 under average conditions.
Dry-trim hangs the whole branch with sugar leaves intact. The leaves act as a partial humidity buffer — moisture migrates from inside the dense bud outward through the leaf surface gradually, slowing the overall drying rate. This slower, more even dry allows more moisture to leave via evaporation without the rapid surface-drying that causes "case hardening" (crispy outside, wet inside). Typical dry-trim ratio: ×0.22 under average conditions, ×0.24 under optimal.
The practical yield difference: on a 1kg wet harvest, dry-trim yields roughly 220–240g vs 180–200g wet-trim under the same conditions. That's 20–40g per kilogram of wet weight — meaningful on large harvests.
What happens chemically during cure
Curing is not just continued drying — it's an active enzymatic and chemical process. Chlorophyll continues to break down after jarring, converting the "green/grassy" smell of fresh-dried flower into the smoother aroma of cured flower. Starch and sugars convert to simpler compounds. Harsh compounds from incomplete combustion precursors are reduced. The result after 2–4 weeks is measurably smoother smoke with more developed terpene expression.
The gas exchange during burping serves two purposes: it allows moisture that has migrated from the bud interior to the jar atmosphere to escape, and it provides fresh oxygen for the ongoing enzymatic reactions. Without regular burping, humidity spikes inside the jar, creating ideal conditions for Botrytis (gray mold) and bacterial growth. The ammonia smell some growers detect when burping indicates anaerobic bacterial activity — the flower went in too wet.
Trim rate: why the range is wide
| Trim style | Speed range | Typical (intermediate) | Why the variance |
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| Wet trim | 50–120 g/hr | 80 g/hr | Fresh leaves cut cleanly and fold away easily. Faster for dense indica buds. Sativa structure is more complex and slows wet-trim rate. |
| Dry trim | 25–70 g/hr | 45 g/hr | Dried leaves are brittle and crumble; resin gums scissors quickly. Requires more frequent blade cleaning and finer motor control. Dense buds take longer than airy buds. |
Hand fatigue is the most underestimated variable. Trim rate drops 20–40% after the first 2–3 hours — hands cramp, focus drops, cut quality deteriorates. The tool uses intermediate trimmer rates as the typical baseline. Beginners should plan at 0.6× typical (closer to the slow end); experienced trimmers with good scissors and good ergonomics can reach the fast end.
Sugar leaf trim: don't throw it away
Sugar leaves (the small trichome-coated leaves growing from bud sites) carry significant trichome density — often 20–40% of the potency of the buds themselves. The tool estimates trim yield at 14–20% of dry bud weight. On a 400g dry harvest, that's 56–80g of trim that's excellent for: bubble hash (ice water extraction), dry sift, cannabutter, tinctures, or RSO. Freeze immediately after trimming — unfrozen trim loses trichome quality within days due to terpene evaporation and oxidation.
Common drying, trimming, and curing questions
How much will my cannabis weigh after drying?
Typically 20–25% of wet weight, depending on trim style and drying conditions. A well-executed dry-trim in an optimal environment (60–70°F, 55–65% RH, 7–14 days) yields closer to ×0.24. A rushed wet-trim in a warm room yields closer to ×0.18. On a 1kg wet harvest, that's the difference between 180g and 240g dry. The single biggest factor you can control is drying environment — slow and cool preserves more terpenes and results in less total weight loss than fast and warm.
Wet trim or dry trim — which is better?
Dry trim is generally preferred for quality — sugar leaves protect terpenes and slow the dry to an even pace. Wet trim has legitimate uses: high humidity grow rooms (where mold risk on hanging plants is real), warm climates where you can't control drying speed, and large commercial operations where trim speed matters more than terpene preservation. For home growers with reasonable environmental control, dry-trim produces better-smelling, better-tasting final product. For home growers in humid climates or without a dedicated dry room, wet-trim is safer.
How long does cannabis take to dry?
7–14 days under optimal conditions (60–70°F, 55–65% RH) for dry-trim. Wet-trim dries faster — typically 5–9 days — because more surface area is exposed. The critical check is the stem snap test: snap a branch. If it cracks cleanly, it's dry. If it bends, it needs more time. Don't rely on calendar days alone — dry conditions, high temperature, or thin buds can hit dry in 5 days; high humidity or dense colas can take 14. The stem snap is always the definitive test.
How many mason jars do I need for my harvest?
The tool calculates this from your dry weight estimate and jar size at 70% fill. As a rough guide: one quart jar (32 oz) holds about 56g of loosely packed cured flower at 70% fill. For 400g dry, that's about 8 quart jars. Buy more jars than you think you need — it's better to have one jar that's 60% full than to overstuff jars to make them fit. Overfilling traps humidity and suppresses the gas exchange that makes curing effective.
Why does my dried cannabis smell like hay or grass?
Chlorophyll breakdown hasn't completed yet. Hay smell is normal in the first 1–2 weeks of cure and dissipates as chlorophyll continues converting. Two things accelerate hay smell: drying too fast (warm room, low humidity) which locks in chlorophyll before it can break down fully, and harvesting too early before the plant's own enzymatic processes have converted chlorophyll pre-cure. Cure for at least 2 more weeks if you have hay smell, burping daily. If the smell doesn't improve after 3 weeks, the harvest was likely cut too early.
How long should I cure before smoking?
Minimum 2 weeks for smokeable flower. 4–6 weeks for noticeably smoother, better-tasting flower. 2–3 months for the best expression of terpene complexity — long cures are worth it for premium batches. The improvements from curing plateau around 6 months for most strains. Properly cured and sealed flower stores well for 1–2 years without significant degradation. Using Boveda 62% humidity packs maintains the correct jar humidity passively, extending cure quality without daily burping after week 4.
Can I speed up drying without hurting quality?
Marginally, but fast drying always costs quality. The maximum controllable speed without significant terpene loss is: 65–70°F, 55–60% RH, gentle airflow (fan not pointed directly at plants, just circulating). Below 7 days of drying is generally considered fast-dry territory with measurable terpene loss. Drying under 4 days (high temp, low humidity, direct airflow) destroys a significant portion of terpenes and produces harsh flower regardless of cure time. There's no cure-based fix for a bad dry.
What do I do with sugar leaf trim?
Freeze it immediately — unfrozen trim degrades within days. Frozen trim is the starting material for bubble hash (ice water extraction), dry sift hash, cannabutter, tinctures, and RSO. Wet-trim produces trim with some moisture content; dry-trim produces drier, more brittle trim that's better for dry-sift processing. The tool estimates 14–20% trim yield relative to dry bud weight — on a 400g harvest that's 56–80g of usable material. Most home growers undervalue their trim and either discard it or let it degrade before processing.
Drying, trimming, and curing supplies
Harvest day gear is mostly one-time purchases. Good scissors and a proper drying environment repay themselves on the first harvest. The single highest-ROI investment after scissors: a dedicated drying space with environmental control that keeps temp and RH in range for the full hang.
Loupes & USB microscopes
60–100× jeweler's loupe ($10–20), USB microscope ($25–60), handheld digital microscope ($35–80). Trichome inspection is the only reliable harvest timing method — and it's also how you know when not to chop early. Pair with the Harvest Window Planner. A loupe is the most essential harvest tool that most beginners skip.
Trimming scissors
Curved bonsai scissors ($15–30), straight trim scissors ($10–25), spring-loaded ergonomic trimmers ($20–45), trimming trays with kief catcher. Good scissors make the 5–15 hours of trim work significantly more comfortable. Curved blades give better access to tight bud spots. Replace or clean blades at every harvest — resin-caked scissors slow down and bruise buds.
Drying racks & hang lines
Mesh drying racks for buds ($15–40), hang wire for whole branches ($5–10), drying tent kits ($30–80), S-hooks and clips. Hanging whole branches is preferred for dry-trim. Mesh racks work well for wet-trim buds. Never dry on cardboard or flat surfaces — blocks airflow and creates moisture pockets.
Curing jars & Boveda packs
Wide-mouth mason jars in quart and half-gallon sizes ($8–15 for 12-pack), Boveda 62% humidity packs ($12–20 for 10-pack), jar labels. Buy your jars before harvest — running out of jars on chop day is a common scramble. Boveda 62% packs are the best passive curing upgrade: maintain humidity automatically after the first few weeks.
Drying room meters
Small digital hygrometers for dry room ($8–15 each), min/max thermometers ($10–20), data loggers ($25–50 for whole-session logging. Put a hygrometer in your drying space and check it twice daily — RH above 65% in a drying room is a mold risk. A $10 hygrometer is cheap insurance against losing an entire harvest.
Drying room dehumidifiers
Mini dehumidifiers for small spaces ($35–60), full-size units for rooms ($80–200). Drying rooms need RH between 55–65% — most homes run higher, especially in humid climates. A small dehumidifier with a digital controller transforms an inconsistent closet dry into a controlled, repeatable process. Check the Climate Equipment Sizer for sizing guidance.