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Black ash with organics

BurnOne

No damn given.
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I've been watching this thread as I do all of them in here. Two things...

1- I don't post much anymore because of arguments. Pay attention Xmobotx.
2- I think the bud isn't dry or wasn't dried properly is the reason for the black ash.

Burn1
 

2bags

Member
I've been watching this thread as I do all of them in here. Two things...

1- I don't post much anymore because of arguments. Pay attention Xmobotx.
2- I think the bud isn't dry or wasn't dried properly is the reason for the black ash.

Burn1

Thanks Burn1.

Interesting you say that. Reason being the sample that burned blackest was the airiest of the buds and seemed to dry the quickest.

Although it felt pretty dry, there was clearly moisture left in the stalk and it hadnt had a proper cure.

I wrote off moisture as a factor though as I'm sure I've had white ash on damp bud in the past.

I will continue to experiment and report results.

1
 

Rromack

New member
As someone mentioned earlier, it may be possible that your n-p-k ratios were off. Too much P or K with not enough N is likely to cause the plant's metabolism to slow down before it has had a chance to use up the P and K, leading to fluffy buds and black ash.
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
I grow in coco/perlite 80/20% with Earth Juice and ACT. Earth Juice is organic. Coco is a different animal than soil.

Lots of opinions about flushing out there, but all I know is this. Last run, 11 strains, a week or 10 days before harvest I poured 1 gal of pH'd tap, 1 gal ph'd RO, 1 gal pH'd RO with Clearex [sugar water] thru each 3 gal AeroBag, then I watered with med. to large amount of runoff till harvest. This was the first time all my strains burned to a white/off white ash. I will do this next time.

The runoff was dark till the end of the flush which tells me there were nutes in the medium that the flush removed. You can tell me that it is unnecessary if you want, but I've seen and smoked otherwise. -granger
 

Gelado`

Active member
Veteran
I agree that it is high moisture that is causing the black ash (incomplete combustion). Try leaving a nug out for a few days under a lamp and see if it still burns black.
 

2bags

Member
Update: I just tried a bud from a different seed plant grown in the same medium during the same run as the black ash plants.

3 day dry and still a bit of moisture left.

Bud burns clean, off white ash and pleasant taste.

I assume this plant has metabolised the nutrients in the medium more effectively. It tended to look more healthy throughout the grow.

1
 

VerdantGreen

Genetics Facilitator
Boutique Breeder
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fan leaves will readily yellow, especially in an outdoor grow where there are usually many more environmental triggers to senescence. its the actual buds you need to yellow or turn a lighter green in order to improve the quality of the smoke

fact is that each plant is different and some will do this much more easily than others. from the same pack of seed some will be much more faded at 10 weeks than others if especially in a rich soil , dry amendments or otherwise.

lots of disagreement amongst organic growers in this, but i find that the natural process of senescence is not always good enough to give me buds that smoke as smoothly as i want them to. i always try to ensure nutrient depletion in my medium, especially nitrogen, in order to give natural senescense a helping hand.
i like to harvest when most trics are milky with a few amber. i dont want to have to wait an extra few weeks and let the tric go past their peak in order to get clean smoking buds, so i make sure they get starved out at the end.
 

BurnOne

No damn given.
ICMag Donor
Veteran
fan leaves will readily yellow, especially in an outdoor grow where there are usually many more environmental triggers to senescence. its the actual buds you need to yellow or turn a lighter green in order to improve the quality of the smoke

fact is that each plant is different and some will do this much more easily than others. from the same pack of seed some will be much more faded at 10 weeks than others if especially in a rich soil , dry amendments or otherwise.

lots of disagreement amongst organic growers in this, but i find that the natural process of senescence is not always good enough to give me buds that smoke as smoothly as i want them to. i always try to ensure nutrient depletion in my medium, especially nitrogen, in order to give natural senescense a helping hand.
i like to harvest when most trics are milky with a few amber. i dont want to have to wait an extra few weeks and let the tric go past their peak in order to get clean smoking buds, so i make sure they get starved out at the end.

More great advise from VG-
This is another reason I like to use guano teas. I can feed the plant the way it needs to be fed for the best finished product.
For those of you who like to use meals in your soil, alfalfa and kelp meal can be made into teas as well.
Just make sure your soil is alive and thriving.
Burn1
 

Team Microbe

Active member
Veteran
Interesting... I've pretty much run Lucas for the last 10 years. Looks like Lucas is balanced for slightly off-white ash. :)

Keep it Clean! :D lol

I noticed your name is The Clean Game, yet I noticed that you admitted to feeding with chemical ferts earlier in this thread. Is that a typo? Or some kind of irony you're trying to send out to make the organic growers laugh? :laughing:

If you are one of us, I love it man. How long have you been growing organic for?
 

TheCleanGame

Active member
Veteran
I noticed your name is The Clean Game, yet I noticed that you admitted to feeding with chemical ferts earlier in this thread. Is that a typo? Or some kind of irony you're trying to send out to make the organic growers laugh? :laughing:

Actually, nearly 100% of organic growers (at least every one I've met so far) have serious issues growing clean cannabis. ---snip---
 
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S

sourpuss

2 weeks in dark? U mean after or before chop?

I found out I was jarring to quick. I hang dry till it feels almost crunchy dry on the outside. Then throw it in a small paper bag and in the basemant fridge over night. Comes out perfect. Feels so dry but then in the jar and it gets a little moisture back. Its done ready for cure.... whitest ash ever.... also did some unflushed bud this way and the smoke came out still pretty damn close to white ash...

Although if you put it in the jar and it doeant get any moisture back you may have gone too far.... prob still burn cleaner than wet jarred.
 

bigshrimp

Active member
Veteran
I have noticed a correlation with late feedings of kelp FPE / molasses and black ash.

Me thinks he is right on suspecting Potassium.
 

Nes

Member
I've been watching this thread as I do all of them in here. Two things...

1- I don't post much anymore because of arguments. Pay attention Xmobotx.
2- I think the bud isn't dry or wasn't dried properly is the reason for the black ash.

Burn1

I'd agree with the moisture thing, though I'd guess maybe underfert had you not said it burns clean with the water cure. BTW wtf is a water cure?

Here's some more cigar based info:
"Soil contains chemical compounds and mineral deposits. These are carried into the tobacco plant by moisture. And every region has its own chemical and mineral 'signature'. This means plants from different regions will contain different amounts of different chemicals and minerals - even if they're the same plant variety.
Cigars made from central Cuban (Remedios) tobacco produce near white ash. Cigars made from Vuelta Abajo tobacco, on the other hand, produce gray ash streaked with white veins. That's because the Vuelta Abajo soil is full of various minerals in roughly equal amounts, whereas Remedios soil is predominated by potassium. (And these two regions are close neighbours; imagine the differences between cigars originating from different continents!)
The lesson here is that gray ash with white streaks and pure white ash are indicators of quality proving that the cigar originated somewhere like Cuba or the Dominican Republic). Black ash, on the other hand, is a bad sign. Tobacco that produce black ash are poor in minerals and produce a very unpleasant taste and smell.
NOTE: This isn't mere quackery! The soil quality-cigar quality connection has been scientifically proved. In fact, in 2001 a a scientist from a Canadian consumer organization proposed that the chemical makeup of cigars be tested to distinguish genuine Cubans from fakes, and that the fakes should be removed from the shelves immediately."
http://www.cigars4dummies.com/cigar-smoking/the-ash-knows-.html
 
S

sourpuss

The more I talk to pros lets call them. The less I hear there being any difference between organic and chem buds. Im sure the perfect organic nute schedule vs the perfect chem nute schedule/feedings. Prob end up with the same product. Everything else equal.
 

Team Microbe

Active member
Veteran
"Flushing" as stoners call it, is utterly pointless in soil applications. If you're in a soilless mix and have fed with chemicals, then flushing would make sense. It sounds like the plants never went through senescence. This will leave left over NPK in the plant itself, and the smoke will burn black. Try encouraging microorganisms to flourish during flowering, feeding the soil and not the plant directly with compost tea (fungal dom) and humic/fulvic acids. If the plant and soil are healthy and balanced, the finished product will burn white and clean.
 

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