Most marijuana growers have heard from a fellow grower, or read in a book, that you should hang your marijuana plants upside down when you harvest in order to trim and dry your plants properly.
There are many theories about why you should hang your marijuana plants upside down including one that says the THC drains to the top of the plant from the bottom when it is hanging.
This is not true at all!
THC does not move about the marijuana plant from place to place like water. THC is produced throughout the plant, but it simply does not flow through the stem and roots like some people think.
The reason many marijuana growers hang their plants upside down during harvest is; it’s a hell of a lot easier to trim the leaves and buds off the stems when the plant is upside down and the stems are fully exposed. Also, at every junction that a branch connects to the main stem, you have a natural spot to hang the plant from.
Hanging a plant right side up would be very difficult and would make it very hard to trim since you would not have easy access to the stems and undersides of the leaves.
Laying your marijuana plant on a flat surface while you manicure/trim is not a good idea either, since the resin glands/trichomes are easily smashed and damaged.
Hanging your marijuana plant upside-down is by far the easiest way to manicure and trim around the precious buds without damaging any of the trichomes.
Also, anytime you are harvesting/manicuring, try and place a drop-sheet of plastic under your hanging plants. Sometimes during the several day drying period, trichomes and other materials may fall off your marijuana plants onto the floor. By covering the floor with plastic directly under your marijuana plants, you should be able to save any materials that fall and use them in making hash or other medicated goodies.
Happy Harvest,
Cannabis Chris