Deluxestogie Grow Log 2021
- Thread starter deluxestogie
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It's Not Really a Mowing Miracle
I'll just call this happening a John Deeracle. After 48 hours of 2-amp charging, the John Deere started right up. About 10 minutes into mowing the lawn, I suddenly had no steering--again. The steering wheel spun freely. Déjà vu.
I backed up, to see if I could somehow point the lawn tractor toward the shed, but I could not encourage it to turn at all. I got off, and bent over to look at the steering sector gear, viewable only from beneath the frame. There, resting on the ground, sparkled the shiny bolt that was supposed to be attaching the steering wheel to the top of the steering shaft. I then noted that the steering wheel, in fact, could be lifted completely free of the shaft. I'm guessing that the odds of seeing that bolt ever again were small. The bolt acts like a fancy cotter pin, and I suppose that a well selected nail could be passed through the hole, and bent into staying put.
I went inside, and located a nut to fit the bolt, and two lock washers, then reattached the steering wheel to the steering shaft using its proper bolt. I finished mowing. Truly a John Deeracle.
Bob
I'll just call this happening a John Deeracle. After 48 hours of 2-amp charging, the John Deere started right up. About 10 minutes into mowing the lawn, I suddenly had no steering--again. The steering wheel spun freely. Déjà vu.
I backed up, to see if I could somehow point the lawn tractor toward the shed, but I could not encourage it to turn at all. I got off, and bent over to look at the steering sector gear, viewable only from beneath the frame. There, resting on the ground, sparkled the shiny bolt that was supposed to be attaching the steering wheel to the top of the steering shaft. I then noted that the steering wheel, in fact, could be lifted completely free of the shaft. I'm guessing that the odds of seeing that bolt ever again were small. The bolt acts like a fancy cotter pin, and I suppose that a well selected nail could be passed through the hole, and bent into staying put.
I went inside, and located a nut to fit the bolt, and two lock washers, then reattached the steering wheel to the steering shaft using its proper bolt. I finished mowing. Truly a John Deeracle.
Bob
From farther away--standing along the road.
From much, much closer--my Canadian NB-11--maybe a burley.
Bob
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
...And The Winners Are...
Two leftover Little Dutch backups have been selected to go on to the next round, and have been transplanted into my now empty porch corner bed, where they will join our latest survivor, Country Gentleman Corn.
I wish to express my thanks to those who have been eliminated--about 20 other backup tobacco starts, some as tall as 12". They will now participate in the competition for "Who Will Shrivel and Die First", which is being hosted by an unnamed brush pile that is strategically out of sight.
Bob
Two leftover Little Dutch backups have been selected to go on to the next round, and have been transplanted into my now empty porch corner bed, where they will join our latest survivor, Country Gentleman Corn.
I wish to express my thanks to those who have been eliminated--about 20 other backup tobacco starts, some as tall as 12". They will now participate in the competition for "Who Will Shrivel and Die First", which is being hosted by an unnamed brush pile that is strategically out of sight.
Bob
That's where I'm weak, it's hard to let them go after nursing them from wee seedlings into robust plants. That's why I have 54 plants instead of the 18 I planned on. LOL...And The Winners Are...
Two leftover Little Dutch backups have been selected to go on to the next round, and have been transplanted into my now empty porch corner bed, where they will join our latest survivor, Country Gentleman Corn.
I wish to express my thanks to those who have been eliminated--about 20 other backup tobacco starts, some as tall as 12". They will now participate in the competition for "Who Will Shrivel and Die First", which is being hosted by an unnamed brush pile that is strategically out of sight.
Bob
I have no idea how I'll manage getting them all cured. I planted around May 1st and have topped everything but Silver River, which I'll probably top in the next week or two.
Trabzon at 5 Weeks Post Transplant
The plants are mostly 2½ to 3 feet tall, with lower leaves ranging up to 12" in length. I thought it was a good time to photograph them, since I just weeded the bed. Of the 16 plants, one is notably runted, since it was stepped upon by a careless deer the day after it was transplanted. I decided to assist that one, poor plant by removing any weeds and grass near it.
It is a well know law of physics--Isaac Newton--that if you clean one spot on a wall (or a child's face), then you always end up cleaning the whole thing. Maybe that was Mrs. Newton who discovered that one. At any rate, before I knew it, I had weeded the whole bed. I had not meant to.
Trabzon is in the same family of Oriental tobacco as Samsun, Bafra and Katerini, with spade to heart shaped, petiolate leaves. I've found closely planted Trabzon to be highly productive, and easy to sun-cure on the stalk, when stalk-cut.
It will all go untopped. I won't bag this early budding specimen. I think there are three early ones. I'll wait for "middle of the road" bud timing for selecting one to bag for seed.
Bob
The plants are mostly 2½ to 3 feet tall, with lower leaves ranging up to 12" in length. I thought it was a good time to photograph them, since I just weeded the bed. Of the 16 plants, one is notably runted, since it was stepped upon by a careless deer the day after it was transplanted. I decided to assist that one, poor plant by removing any weeds and grass near it.
It is a well know law of physics--Isaac Newton--that if you clean one spot on a wall (or a child's face), then you always end up cleaning the whole thing. Maybe that was Mrs. Newton who discovered that one. At any rate, before I knew it, I had weeded the whole bed. I had not meant to.
Trabzon is in the same family of Oriental tobacco as Samsun, Bafra and Katerini, with spade to heart shaped, petiolate leaves. I've found closely planted Trabzon to be highly productive, and easy to sun-cure on the stalk, when stalk-cut.
It will all go untopped. I won't bag this early budding specimen. I think there are three early ones. I'll wait for "middle of the road" bud timing for selecting one to bag for seed.
Bob
Oldfella
Well-Known Member
Really nice looking plants. I'm sure they'll taste as good as they look.
Oldfella
Oldfella
Over the years, I've grown over two dozen different Oriental tobacco varieties, and rendered an opinion about each of them. Unfortunately, my 2011 tobacco skills were not the same as my 2021 tobacco skills. The result is that the last 3 Oriental varieties that I've grown (Düzce, Trabzon and Prilep 66-9/7) are the "best", "most productive", "easiest to grow". In reality (which I occasionally visit), that is more likely a measure of my own actions--how well I did the job, rather than attributes of the tobacco varieties. My only clear-cut comparison is that Prilep 66-9/7 was truly nicer and more productive than Prilep 79-94. I grew them side by side.
Bob
Bob
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GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
I'm growing Prilep now, and I think I need to start priming soon. Any words of wisdom on harvesting & curing?
With Prilep, I prime the lower leaf, if it begins to truly ripen on the stalk. These I string to hang in the sun immediately, with no fussing about wilting or further yellowing in the shade. Then later, as soon as most of the top leaf is hinting at maturation (even a little bit of corrugation and thickening will do), I stalk cut the remainder, and immediately hang the whole stalk in the sun. If the lower leaf can wait on the stalk until most of the remainder of the stalk is ready for stalk-cutting, then that is my preference, since it is a whole lot less work per leaf. Mi sun is not necessarily su sun. AND...my clothes line is now (after 22 years of nearby sapling growth) shaded for part of the day.
With the strung leaf, I hide it in the shed whenever rain threatens, then hang it again in the sun. With the stalk-hung plants, I pluck off any leaves that have cured, and toss into a bushel basket in the shed, leaving the still green stuff hanging--rain or shine. The presence of the stalk dramatically reduces the likelihood of flash drying green. My sun-curing has typically required about 3+ weeks of sun exposure. Sometimes, I have to roam the nearby lawn after a bout of breeze, to gather a few lost sheep from the grass. Those that are blown off the stalk are always ready to go into the bushel basket.
Bob
EDIT: I subsequently kiln my Prilep for 2 months. If you have a flue-cure chamber, Prilep flue-cures beautifully, and is ready to smoke in a week or so from green leaf priming.
With the strung leaf, I hide it in the shed whenever rain threatens, then hang it again in the sun. With the stalk-hung plants, I pluck off any leaves that have cured, and toss into a bushel basket in the shed, leaving the still green stuff hanging--rain or shine. The presence of the stalk dramatically reduces the likelihood of flash drying green. My sun-curing has typically required about 3+ weeks of sun exposure. Sometimes, I have to roam the nearby lawn after a bout of breeze, to gather a few lost sheep from the grass. Those that are blown off the stalk are always ready to go into the bushel basket.
Bob
EDIT: I subsequently kiln my Prilep for 2 months. If you have a flue-cure chamber, Prilep flue-cures beautifully, and is ready to smoke in a week or so from green leaf priming.
At almost 6 weeks since transplant.
L'Assomption (from the agricultural research station, founded in 1928) is a Canadian cigar variety. Thanks to @ChinaVoodoo for the seed.
Bob
L'Assomption (from the agricultural research station, founded in 1928) is a Canadian cigar variety. Thanks to @ChinaVoodoo for the seed.
Bob
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I somehow posted duplicate pics of the plant height, and left out the leaf length photo. I've fixed that above.
Bob
Bob
I received ¼ inch of rain yesterday evening over a span of 2 minutes. No need to drag out the long garden hose.
Bob
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
D.Stogie,
I know this post is a bit old but I am just now catching up on some of my followed threads here on the Forum. Just had to comment…
BROKEN NAIL OR NOT 14/8 full size beds is a MAN SIZED JOB. I’ve only 5 full beds and can barely keep up. Well done tired old friend.
For me, the greatest labor is in tilling/planting, then in harvesting. Unfortunately, there is a long, placid stretch of summer that seductively requires only minimal effort. "This ain't so bad. It just grows itself."
Bob
Bob
O Hornworm, Hornworm! Wherefore art thou Hornworm?
Maybe it is all the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic. Maybe it is the weather. Today is the final day of June, and yet I have not seen a single hornworm or hornworm egg. I have my BT spray ready at hand, but I have yet to use it this season. And I didn't even have any of the BT last season, since I refused to risk my wellbeing for what was at that time turning out to be an awful tobacco grow anyway.
Where have they gone? Their appointment was clearly scheduled for June 20. They will be recorded as a no-show--for now. Maybe they're all heading north, toward Edmonton, to escape the heat.
Bob
Maybe it is all the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic. Maybe it is the weather. Today is the final day of June, and yet I have not seen a single hornworm or hornworm egg. I have my BT spray ready at hand, but I have yet to use it this season. And I didn't even have any of the BT last season, since I refused to risk my wellbeing for what was at that time turning out to be an awful tobacco grow anyway.
Where have they gone? Their appointment was clearly scheduled for June 20. They will be recorded as a no-show--for now. Maybe they're all heading north, toward Edmonton, to escape the heat.
Bob
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Found the first signs on mine yesterday. Went to the shed to mix up a batch of BT... couldn't find it. Checked the garage, no luck. Wife asks what I'm looking for, so I tell her the BT concentrate. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, I didn't put the cap on tight and it all spilled out. Need to buy some more." 
Amazon to the rescue!
I think the cold winter and very wet spring took a toll on them. I haven't seen many butterflies this year at all.
Amazon to the rescue!I think the cold winter and very wet spring took a toll on them. I haven't seen many butterflies this year at all.
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
Those little buggers can just stay gone as far as I am concerned.
But… the BT is primed and ready. Along with the liquid 7
No sign of them yet here…
But… the BT is primed and ready. Along with the liquid 7
No sign of them yet here…
The forecast here is for a high of 82°F. Hmm. My current temperature in the shade is 87. The humidity is high. I sit on the porch with a bandana on my head, periodically adding a bit of water to it. The oscillating fan helps evaporate the water from the rag, keeping my brain cool enough to choose not to go out to the garden and water my forlorn plants.
Maybe I'll wander out there after dinner tonight, and see if they are still alive.
Bob
Maybe I'll wander out there after dinner tonight, and see if they are still alive.
Bob
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