Black ashes using canna AB w/ long flush.

[MischiefGrows]

I just finished my second round with Canna A/B for coco. They were both very good grows without any deficiencies or burning or any stress at all really. I aim for a 2.5 week flush but some of the strains ended up taking longer than i thought so some even got closer to a 3.5 week flush. However, even with up to 25 days with only plain water, my joints are still burning off a dark black ash with very little to no grey in it. It comes out looking like top shelf meds and the flavor is there and its not harsh at all ( but I know there could be more flavor and it could even be a little smoother). I want my ashes to fall off as white powder and I'm getting the very opposite- it's driving me crazy. I do a feed, feed, water. I start flowering with my ppm's at about 900 and bump up to 1250 or so and then back down after week 5 or so. I use tap water that has a starting ppm of about 50-100 depending on the time of year (i have considered this to be the source of my troubles but no one else seems to think that low of ppm's from tap would cause problems). Other products that i use:botanicare calmag- in flowering i use this at a ration of 2 parts calmag to 3 parts AB for the first 2 weeks. Then i drop it to 1 part CM to 2 parts AB (ex. 5 ML CM to 10 ML of A and B.)PK 13/14- I use this on the middle week, for an 8 weeker i use it on week 4 and for a 10 weeker i use it on week 5. I use it for only one week. Two times in that week @ 6 ML/gallon. I have also considered this a source of causing problems. My plants always seem to like it just fine but perhaps i should start with a lower dose? I would imagine if i was locking out nutrients from my plant, i would be able to tell by the way my plants look first, right? not from ashes 6 weeks later after its dried and cured.Carboload- i use this pretty much up until flush at 6 ML/gallon.Sugaree- I just use this for the last few weeks before flush at 6 ML/gallon.Clearex- Used the first few flushes at 10 ML/gallon.That's it. No weird sprays or any sprays or pesticides at all in flowering. I used botanicare pro previously and never had problems with my ashes burning black like i am with canna. Any help?

 

[MischiefGrows]

I always water/feed to 30% runoff as well. pH starts at 5.8 in veg and i work up to 6.0 during the first 2 weeks of flower.

 

[shadyslater]

hey bro to tell you the truth i've tried flushing and not flushing with very little difference in soil and coir and alway a nice grey ash..

the only way i've had trouble with it smoking funny is if i have'nt fully dried.

sorry i cant be anymore help bro..

ps flushing is a necessity to be rid of chlorophyll A i think is the nasty tasting 1

 

[MischiefGrows]

I considered my drying/curing technique to be the culprit as well considering my plants all fade to a nice autumn color indicating that they have been using up all of their stored nutrients. So i made the effort this time to do everything by the books and feel i did a perfect dry/cure and am still having trouble with my joints ashes burning black. Perhaps this is still the problem? I'm just starting to find that to be hard to believe.

 

[FiveAM]

How does it smoke? Taste, flavor, are they there? And is it harsh?

 

[MischiefGrows]

Aside from the black ash, and some joints not staying lit the whole time , the smoke is up to standards. The flavor is there (could definitely be more pronounced) and it isnt harsh at all. Just dark ashes.

 

[MischiefGrows]

I followed Simons drying/curing method this round. Keeping humidity @50-65 and temps low 50's to 65 (having problems with consistency in the closet. even with a humidifier and a dehumidifier working at the same time). It took 6-8 days to dry depending, and i jarred it when the tiniest stems first started to barely snap, while the larger brances would bend and not quite snap but almost.

 

[shadyslater]

how long did you dry/cure for??

 

[MischiefGrows]

at least 6 days. 8 for some branches/thicker colas.

 

[shadyslater]

see i'd say and this is only a personal thing that when drying keep the rh down well below 50

 

[FiveAM]

grab a bud.. squeeze it. does it crunch on the outside and then feel "spongy" in the middle?

for what it's worth, i would smoke those smaller buds first. let the bigger ones dry some more and then cure out. it will be worth it.

 

[MischiefGrows]

the cure has really just started. only about a week in jars at this point. I have been burping very little this time. only once for a minute every few days just to check on the buds for any signs of mold or what not. I have been doing this because i read recently that burping is perhaps counterproductive to curing. The thought is that new air kills off the enzymes or beneficial bacteria that are vital to the curing process.

 

[FiveAM]

The thought is that new air kills off the enzymes or beneficial bacteria that are vital to the curing process.

but if you aren't dried yet, then your not into curing. its hard to say without seeing/feeling buds.

 

[MischiefGrows]

I'm in no rush. Just trying to find the sweet spot. I went with higher humidity this time to slow the drying process. In my house, RH is normally under 40- previously i dried at whatever the RH was in my house. I think this was causing my buds to dry too fast- killing off the curing process before it starts. So this time i wanted to do the opposite and i may have jarred too early as they are spongy still and the stem at the base of a bud will snap, but on some larger colas, i am noticing that towards the tip of the bud, the stems may still be slightly moist. I tossed a few jars into a paper bag again to let them dry a little more and see if that is a positive adjustment.

 

[MischiefGrows]

FiveAM- in my situation, would you burp jars to release the last bits of moisture in the buds, or would you throw them into paper bags for another day and then go back to jars?

 

[FiveAM]

I'm not positive, I've never gone from bags to jars, and then bag, I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea. Just never done it.

I think the bendable stemmed bud(words, lol), need to be dried more. not cured yet.

 

[MischiefGrows]

Suppose the smaller buds in the jars are in fact dry, would they be burning a more grey/white color ash? or even then, when they are dry, are they still not going to produce a more grey ash until they have cured as well?

 

[bigdaddyg8]

i usually hang branches till they start to get a little crunchy on the outside 45-55 rh 6 or 7 days. branches are bendable . i then chop the buds off the branches . were i put into brown paper bags with a two inch rh meter . when the rh reaches between 61%and 62% i then move from bags to jars with bovida 62% 2-way humidity packs .
just my two cents , thats what i do !

 

[Prestige]

Personally, I find that when my stuff is fully dried, it leaves a whit/grey ash behind and when it is not, not so much, regardless of cure. From what I understand, there is a certain RH (40% if I remember correctly) that if you drop bellow, the cure stops, it is over, even if you reintroduce moisture and up the RH. Also, I have noticed with particularly resinous bud, it is harder to get that white/grey ash.

I like to cure my bud for a good 2-3 months (I use these 2-way membrane RH packets in mason jars). It dries-out more as it cures, I like it when it gets to the point where it just crumbles off the stem when I 'de-bone' it. Very little moisture left, but still very sticky!

Basically, I believe the color of the ash has more to do with moisture than flushing. Wait until it is dry enough to crumble and see if that doesn't help ;)

 

[GR33NL3AF]

Ya I wouldnt blame flushing or nutrients.... I wasn't able to flush my plants last round and I know ppms in the coco were 800-900 when I chopped. The product dried for 7-10 days and was bagged for another 4-5....shit burns real nice...