Its raining ash! Is this going to be a problem?

Its raining ash here on the Central California Coast because we are in between two big forest fires. I am worried about my plants that are in flower. I have been shaking the ashes off every few hours but some of the buds are already sticky and the ash is sticking. Between the ash and the humidity and the morning ocean dew it seems perfect for mold!
Does anyone already have experience with this problem?

There are fires at both ends of the county and it is literally raining ash!

I really appreciate anyones advice and stories about dealing with forest fire ash and the aftermath regarding bud rot or mold. I was preventatively misting with actinovate or Monterey disease control But I have not misted anything since the ash began.
The last picture is of the car with the ashes building up over the day.

I'm going to use the leaf blower at it's lowest setting to dust the plants until the smoke/ash recedes, then wash them off with a mist nozzle.

I would definitely do research on washing your buds at harvest. Ive never tried it but it makes sense since thc isn't water soluble. Hopefully that can take care of any leftover residue. Not sure what to suggest about preventing mold tho. I think the leaf blower idea is a good idea.

Not sure how many plants you are talking about or how big but maybe a temporary plastic sheet over the plants supported by some 2x4s could help minimize the effect of the ash?

I'm going to take an educated guess here and suggest that the ash won't necessarily encourage mold--since the pH is on the alkaline side it may actually discourage mold. But that's not based on any experience or data.

That said, I'm sure it's making a mess and could definitely affect the flavor of your finished buds.

Is it possible to blow it off periodically? Or can you cover the plants with a fine mesh screen that still allows sunlight and air? Like some sort of mosquito netting?

I've read several experienced growers say they always rinse their buds at harvest in a hydrogen peroxide solution. I'm a little skeptical about getting them wet at harvest time but I suppose if they dry well immediately afterward it would be OK.

Really sorry to hear about the fires. My dad lives in Mariposa so I try and keep tabs on things a little. I looked at the satellite image of the west coast yesterday evening and damn, that's a whole lot of smoke out there. Stay safe.

So I'm in northern California right at the edge of the LNU fire. Seriously right on the edge. 5 miles away from me was evacuated.

I just had to spray them with a mist from the hose to dissolve the ash.

I also had a chop today which I did infact wash the bud before hanging to dry.

Same here in Sac. Just shook the ash off my plants.

An air compressor would be of help, looks good maybe just add a bit of cal mag for flavor. Leave as is. Never wash buds

Sonoma County here- I'm going to use my leaf blower from a distance and maybe mist them down afterwards.

These damn fires have been messing with my harvest. Last year I had to bring in a plant early to harvest because I didn't want the buds to get smoke taint.

I use a shop vac and vacumm over the plants it actually works

If it were me I would throw up some mosquito netting over and around them. Should not block much light but would help keep the ash off them. Just a thought.

Awesome! Thanks everyone for the advice!
I am not seeing any mold so I do think that the ash might be helping keep that at bay!

We have never experienced fires so bad in our area. I am seeing a lot of people in shock and on the other hand a lot of people being very supportive and positive. Its a “cray cray” time in the world but we have to keep thinking positive thoughts and saying positive things And we WILL get through this! It really puts a lot of things in perspective for me.

Thank you all for your time and advice!

I'm thinking about rinsing my plants off with Dawn and water. They are in early flower, maybe 4th week. Any thoughts?

I used a shop vac and cleaner them up

The ashes morning dew was bad for my flowers! Some got mold!!

Mostly the very tops but it hurts to cut of chunks of what would have been big beautiful buds!!!

Everyone keep a close eye on your plants if your also dealing with the raining ashes! I did not spray mine off... I shook them and I preventatively mist Monterey disease control and or actinovate but I ran out of actinovate for a few weeks and have been using a similar beneficial bacteria instead. My area is also really prone to pm and mold....coastal Santa Cruz County...
I am so grateful that its just the tops of my plants and not my home burning down...

TessaMaria said:

The ashes morning dew was bad for my flowers! Some got mold!!

Mostly the very tops but it hurts to cut of chunks of what would have been big beautiful buds!!!

Everyone keep a close eye on your plants if your also dealing with the raining ashes! I did not spray mine off... I shook them and I preventatively mist Monterey disease control and or actinovate but I ran out of actinovate for a few weeks and have been using a similar beneficial bacteria instead. My area is also really prone to pm and mold....coastal Santa Cruz County...
I am so grateful that its just the tops of my plants and not my home burning down...

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Wow I'm really sorry that happened.

But like you said appreciate what you have!

Its ok though. You caught it and dealt with it. You will still have a harvest day

Yes! I will see it as the beginning of a loooong staggered harvest...

Once the tricholms get sticky there won’t be much you can do. Happened to me during the fire in the Columbia River gorge. Burned for almost three weeks in Sept.

Yeah they are sticky for sure my hands are covered in it and it smells so good!!! I use alcohol to get the stickiness off