Welcome to 420Forums, the South African cannabis community powered by smokyb420.com. Dive into our community where growers connect to share regional insights, cultivation strategies, and expertise. Explore forums for each local terroir of our country, from the Cape Winelands to the Limpopo Valley, engaging in discussions on cultivation, extraction, genetics, soil, and water management. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting, our community encourages meaningful connections and knowledge exchange. Stay updated on industry news, trends, and events. Join 420Forums.co.za, where local cannabis wisdom takes root, and let us grow together.
What your plant actually splits into: the 1 kg class split model
Every plant is a pile of different material wearing a uniform. This is roughly how 1 kg of dry plant material divides up, once the fan leaves are stripped.
The numbers come from commercial harvest data. Industry trim figures put outdoor trim at 25 to 40 percent of flower weight. Grower datasets put bud to trim around 3 to 1. We built the model around those ratios, so treat it as a planning tool, not a promise.
For a well trained outdoor plant, 1 kg dry splits roughly like this:
A class, top colas: 270 g, 27 percent
B class, mid buds: 255 g, 25.5 percent
C class, popcorn and larf: 150 g, 15 percent
D class, trim: 215 g, 21.5 percent
Stem wood: 110 g, 11 percent
The stem wood goes to compost. The bucker takes the popcorn off it first.
Training moves the split more than any other single factor. An untrained plant, a Christmas tree, runs closer to 13 percent A and 26 percent C. A topped plant sits between. A topped plant under a SCROG net flips it: roughly 32 percent A and 12 percent C.
Why? Canopy. The even net means every top gets full sun. Lower growth that would have been larf either gets light or gets stripped early by lollipopping. SCROG gets talked about as a yield trick, and it does add 20 to 40 percent, but the grade shift matters just as much. Moving 10 percent of the plant from C to A is worth more than most yield gains, because the value per gram is several times higher.
The rest of the list, after training:
Genetics decides the bud to leaf ratio. Dense indica-type plants trim light. Airy sativa-type plants can run 25 to 40 percent of bud weight as sugar trim. Our CapeGorilla420 is a hybrid, so we plan for the middle.
Spacing and sun decide how much lower growth turns into popcorn. Crowded plants shade each other.
Plant health decides bud density. Stress makes airy buds, and airy buds land in C.
Harvest timing decides how much of the lower plant matures. Pull early and the lower nodes stay immature.
Cape autumn rain decides whether you harvest on your schedule or the weather's. Wet weather forces early harvests and pushes moldy buds down a grade.
Trim tightness decides where the line between B and D sits. Tight manicure, more D. Loose manicure, leaf left on the flower.
The full model, with the value per class, is on the processing pipeline page: https://420forums.co.za/processing-pipeline-farmer-economics/
Next: what each class is worth.