Ash color..

[NorCalHal]

I have heard this for a while now, as I am sure most of you have.

I had a great convo with a cool cat that said that you can tell Organic herb by the color of the Ash. The Ash should be white. This holds true for ChemFerts that have been properly flushed.

If not Flushed correctly, the Ash is Black. Thats the story. I have heard this before and blew it off, but I trust the guy who told me recently, so I thought I would give this a second looksee.

Now, I looked this up on the 'net (gotta love google) and I would have to say there is about a 50/50 consensus on weather or not this holds true.

I am SUPER courious. I, for one, cannot say for sure either way, tho I am sceptical, to say the least. I will be starting to pay more attention to the Ash of what ever I burn and keep a track on it.

To me, there seem to be too many other "variables" to say that is the reason for white vs black ash. Strain, cure time, how it was cured (conditions), does it burn white if 5 folks puff on it and toke it up quick vs 1 guy who takes an hour? Just alot of variables that "could" cause this to happen.

But, as I said, I am just not sure. I would love to hear what all the folks have to say here.

 

[Growdude]

Ive never noticed any difference in ash color from flushed and non flushed weed.

 

[SmokinMom]

What about grey? Thats the color of my ashes.

 

[lordhighlama]

I've never noticed a difference myself, but I can't say that I've really paid much attention either!

 

[umbra]

I don't think I ever noticed. Cigars are judged by their ash. White is good. Not sure if it is from organic nutes or not. Hal let me know what you find.

 

[blancolighter]

Yea, I'm a believer in it, but like you said there's many variables to it. One of the big variables I've noticed is how long the flame is held to the weed when smoked.

 

[cadlakmike1]

I don't think I ever noticed. Cigars are judged by their ash. White is good. Not sure if it is from organic nutes or not. Hal let me know what you find.

I collect and smoke cigars. A lot can be told by color and length of ash(how long it can hold itself on the end of a cigar before it falls off). I don't see why this wouldn't hold true for anything that burns, including marijuana. I would love to hear about some definitive answers/tests.

 

[NorCalHal]

I collect and smoke cigars. A lot can be told by color and length of ash(how long it can hold itself on the end of a cigar before it falls off). I don't see why this wouldn't hold true for anything that burns, including marijuana. I would love to hear about some definitive answers/tests.

cadlakmike..what are some of the "traits" you can tell from Cigar ash?

 

[The Effen Gee]

Ah yes, the ash debate...

I have found in my...trials...that the "white" or grey ash theory seems to hold some water.

Seems like properly flushed, but not starved organic bud will yield the same color ash, white-ish grey or close to that in color. Along with superb flavor and undertones that you can only get from a biological aide in the form of bacterium, enzymes and their products. These things cannot usually be replicated in chem-gro's or in rockwhool (sorry hal, the bacterium usually don't last long) constant inoculations are needed. Properly grown, flushed, harvested and cured organic bud I compare to fine cigar or pipe tobacco.

However...

Almost exact results can be replicated in a chem-gro, as far as ash is concerned. Taste however has room for growth.

Recently, I came across some..let's say for this lesson...professional grade top-notch indoor hydro.

This guy had a system down pat and the bud looked, smelled and tasted phenominal. Immediately I wished I had waited until I drove home to smoke.

Nobody but myself and one other associate could tell that this weed was grown in a non organic manner, either in hydroton balls, rockwhool, pearlite, vermiculite or some other inert grow medium.

This bud burned so cleanly it almost disintegrated. Rarely do you get anything like this. The taste was extremely "Clean" tasting. Outstanding.

To us, the bud tasted like diet weed, or bottled water.

...but this is coming from a guy who smokes his joints in golden wraps, the finest tobacco papers. Cleanest rolled joints ever.

So it can go either way as far as ash color vs. organic or chem. Both can yield good flavor and white ash, but the flavor range cannot be replicated with chemical means.

Ever get a bowl that just won't burn?
Or pops and crackles?
Or leaves alot of black crud in your bowl?

These are signs of overfeeding, improper curing or user error.

Too much n, black hard to burn bowl. Too much p, crackle pop. too many micros, poor flavor and hard to burn. You can taste the kelp if you never stop feeding your plants.

In the last three weeks, I use kelp for the first, and Bloom: Final and Gravity. For the final 12 days. No food, only hormones and gravity, which only raises your ppm's and forces the hormone in the root's.

I am not sure how this works, but the ash on my joints can hang for a long time. More than halfway, and we ALWAYS get the white ash.

AND, the white HASH.

 

[NorCalHal]

Great post Effen!

Personally, I flush for at least 10 days before harvest, usually 14. I have been doing this for years.
I would like to get some "non-flushed" herb and check it out, but EVERYONE says they flush, though I do know that not everyone does.
As I said, I have never really paid much attention to it, but it makes sense.

 

[blancolighter]

Ha Norcal, I have the uh, "pleasure" of making that flushed non flushed comparison every now and then. Every now and then I will somehow forget to check a plants trics for a bit (I grow 2 6 week strains, Mango and Mikado, that sometimes just get done a little fast before I can realize it!) and when I do check the trics, it's harvest time, before I have time to flush!

Now I normally stop feeding about 10 days out, then give it one flush about 5 days out, but yea, things get a little hecktic with my 6 week strains sometimes...

The difference is night and day, especially with the Mango. If I do everything right, as soon as I'm done drying, even without a cure, the bud has a nice fruity taste and is decently smooth. A week or two curing my Mango brings out a full on Mango flavor and a smoke thats feel like whispy clouds in the lungs. The ash is white and almost non existant, it nearly disappears.

On the other hand, when I forget to end my Mango properly, the bud is not even worth smoking right after the drying process. It takes about a month of curing to get the taste of the porperly done Mango right after it's dried, and even then it's not near as smooth and the ash is more like something you would see off a cigarette.

 

[umbra]

trouble loading pix today. decided to try an experiment. you decide. flushed or not flushed

 

[Growdude]

trouble loading pix today. decided to try an experiment. you decide. flushed or not flushed

This really is a great debate, I would go roll a joint of some good ole non flushed when I get home and look at the ash but am not sure what jars are flushed are not, perhaps this could tell?

I just dont agree about flushing and taste given the same cure. I grew 2 grows of WW, one I did not flush, I did back nutes down to 800 ppm. And the last grow that was straight water for 2 weeks, and had alot left over from the first grow in jars and I could not tell later what was what and neither could any one else.

 

[cadlakmike1]

cadlakmike..what are some of the "traits" you can tell from Cigar ash?

From the ash on a cigar I can tell if it was hand rolled or rolled by a machine. You can tell whether it was rolled too tight or too loose. You can tell if the tobacco was cured properly. You can tell whether or not the cigar has been stored properly since it was rolled. You can tell the overall quality of the tobacco.

To figure out most of these things you also need to be the one smoking and handling the cigar. I'm not sure I could look at picture of cigar ash and tell too much. The way cigar ash holds to the cigar, the length it achieves, the way it finally breaks off, they are all clues to the makings of a great cigar. I know how I handle a cigar when I smoke it so I know how a good cigar's ash should react when in my hands. An inexperienced cigar smoker might bump the cigar, try to ash it like a cigarette, or do other things that aren't considered proper smoking etiquette, thus changing how the cigar ash reacts.

Quality cigars are never going to have any additives like cigarettes do. We're not talking about philly blunt's here either. The ash will almost always be completely white, more can be told by the other distinguishing things I listed before than the actual color.

 

[umbra]

If I'm not mistaken, the best clue to a cigar are the smell and the taste. Not sure if that holds true for organic vs chem nutes though.

 

[NorCalHal]

...but this is coming from a guy who smokes his joints in golden wraps, the finest tobacco papers. Cleanest rolled joints ever.

Golden Wraps???

Yuck!

Made from tabacco...

RAW papers ftw! check em out!