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What makes ash white or black?

NebulaHaze

NebulaHaze

Administrator
If you burn cannabis, the ash will turn either white/gray or black. Most people agree that white ash is better or more "pure" than black ash, but what causes the difference?

I've purchased cannabis that turns black after being burned, but to be honest, the ash of my home-grown cannabis has always been white. So it's hard for me to say for sure what's causing some people to get black ash, since it's never happened with bud that I've grown myself.
  • Many growers agree that certain pesticides or chemicals make ash turn black
  • It's possible that the drying and curing process can have an effect (for example using heat to dry your buds, or smoking buds that are still wet)
What do you all think makes ash turn black or white?

~Nebula
 
Several factors will determine how completely the cannabis combustion is.. The more completely the combustion the whiter the ash. My 2c.
 
Yes flock is right there is for sure countless factors and we cannot name them all but it all comes to how well it combust. Not what's in it. Certainly there could be chemicals that burn in diferent ways and very harmful pesticides and in not arguing.

So the the thing is the oxigen. Combustion with low oxigen causes soot to form. This is because in a molecular level there was not enough oxigen to burn everything. Every body has seen how a flame is affected by oxigen and how it can cause things to for soot. So when you smoke not dried enough weed the ash will have black in it. i invite everybody to smoke some weed with 70% humidity and some weed at 50% and check it for yourself.
 
I new a guy once that tried growing for the first time.
finish buds looked great.
but he dint no nothing about flusing and when came ta smoke it could not keep it lit. would not burn had ta blast with a torch ta smoke Black black ash real salty tasting caugh like a basted.

That's when we found out about flushing ....lol
 
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It's interesting that was his experience! I've grown cannabis with and without flushing before, and I've never had that happen. When I first grew I didn't know to flush, but my ash has still always been white!
 
I have seen, one time, a plant that when dried and cured would not burn. I really do mean that, cuz I tried. It was free. I tried. It would not burn, but I don't know why.
 
I agree with Nebula, I have pot I'm smoking now that is bought (Purple Kush) and has a much greyer aspect to the ash.
And yes, cannabis I have grown burns white. Must be the TLC. Tender Lovin' Care for you youngins'.
 
I read all the replies. I agree with all of you. It seems we all agree that many factors effect on what is going to be remained (never used such a verb before, wish I've written it correctly:)) in ash. But if it depends on many factors why do Nebula always see white ash in her own buds?

In my idea the darker the ash, the incomplete the combustion. It's what i know is true for sure and this is the main reason that determine the color of the ash.
 
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I think it's not completely flushed...
well flush plants would burn whiter....
but.....
what do I know...
I haven't smoked a joint in over 10 years
damn drug testing employment

But they can't stop me from growing it.. MwA HA HA
 
Nebula will always see white ash on hers because she doesn't have any of the factors we are referring to that cause black ash. I don't pretend to know what all the factors are, but I do know that black ash generally means bad taste.
 
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NebulaHaze, I did a small experiment last night after reading this post. I have been keeping and smoking the 'trimmings' from my plants (lack of planning, or using more of the last harvest). I noticed that when dried and smoked, the un-cured leaf would actually spark and burn rather quickly. I believe that this was due to unused nitrates and phosphates from the nutrients, not having been thru a flush cycle. I did some 'rapid curing' by baking the trim in the oven for two hours at 220 degrees F., this stopped the rapid burning and mellowed the smoke some what but made it very dry and produced a lot of 'black' ash.
Last night I re hydrated the trim by placing an orange wedge in the baggie, don't laugh too hard, I've known folks that used apple slices to keep their tobacco fresh and added a flavor as well. I tried, at varying intervals, burning samples and was pleasantly surprised to find that the re hydration mellowed the smoke and increased the amount of 'grey' ash, indicating a more complete combustion. I can not claim that it also improved the potency at all because of the accumulative effects of such a test (LOL). Here are some photos (for Your amusement!).
 

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In my quest for 'higher' learning (and yes, all puns are intended! LOL), I forgot to give my explanation (or more likely, my quesstomation) of what I think made the difference. The darker, or black, ash must contain a greater amount of un-oxidized carbon in it. The lighter, or grey ash, has the remnants of the plant matter, the silicates and other compounds, the carbon, being oxidized, leaving as CO2. I think that the presence of the small amount of water in the material allows for a more complete combustion of the carbon. I believe that the cured plant matter (both leaf and bud) have the carbon compounds reduced to a more readily burnable state and therefore produces a whiter ash. I could be totally wrong on this as organic chemistry is a very complicated thing and many variables exist and it is way beyond my scope of education.
As to the perceived potency or not, I just had an other bowl (actually a can) and .... what was the question again? (LOL)
 
I always thought it was because the grower didn't flush his or her plant before harvest. Only reason why I believed that was because The Cookie Fam the ones that allegedly created the famous Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies always say in they're you tube videos or documentaries that you can tell if the bud has been flushed properly and also tell if the bud is good by the color of the ashes and obiously they say if the ash is whit le it's good bud meaning it's been flushed properly. So maybe grey or black ash means no good flush or no flush at all before harvest. I believed it because they have created some of the best strain or at least famous strains out that are popular here in California. But now that Nebula Haze said she smoked unflushed weed and had white ashes I don't know..
 
I know I read an article recently in which the company Advanced Nutrients was discussing this very topic, and they brought up two points I noted... the first was the harder to light bud and bud that doesn't burn down to white ash is because of the fertilizers left behind in the plant material. At the time I didn't know what to think so I did some tests on different stuff and in the end I concluded that yes there does seem to a noticeable difference on if you flushed correctly and cured the bud properly it burns down to white ash and was very enjoyable, the stuff that didn't left a more desirable experience from the smoking experience. The second point they brought up was talking about flushing and how not all flushing agents are created the same and by the time I got done asking around about that I really learned a lot.
 
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