Larf is a slang word used to describe smaller immature flowers of the cannabis plant. Growers typically remove these to direct the plant’s energy to the top flowers (colas).
One of cornerstones of professional cannabis cultivation is bud density.
In order to achieve density and shape, among all the other characteristics that discriminating smokers desire, the plant must be in ideal conditions. The light must reach the flowers and the nutrients are delivered at optimum levels. When growing cannabis in controlled environments like greenhouses and indoor rooms, the light doesn’t often move like the sun does, the wind doesn’t wisp through the leaves and the soils are seldom providing everything the plant needs to thrive.
The best growers will work to enhance the quality of the flowers they produce and they often do this by removing the flowers that are not in an ideal position to mature. These immature flowers are referred to as larf and they tend to be trimmed away in the growing process. Larf is a slang word that is applied generally to underdeveloped, loose or immature buds, and the definition isn’t specific to flowers on the lower limbs of the plant. I most often found larf on the lower limbs near the center stalk because they were getting less light than they needed. I developed quite an affinity for these little guys along the way though. Because they are immature and often taken from the plant early, they are lower in potency yet they contain many of the terpenes for flavor and effect. As I worked in the garden, I would gather these up, dry and cure them, and enjoy them for personal consumption.
What I loved most about them was they became my method of testing the strain I was growing and micro-dosing THCa at the same time. With larf, you could experience a much shorter “elevation” period that would allow you to enjoy the cannabis and return to your work or daily routine in 30 minutes or so. So, as I noticed myself spending a significant amount of time seeking and removing larf to boost the outcome of my harvest, I laughingly decided I was the Larf Ranger, and have held on to the name because it makes me smile. To this day, nobody has ever called me Larf Ranger, nor do I aspire to it, but I suppose that those who do will be rewarded in some way.