Virginia Tech Skycam today:
Bob
Bob
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2022
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
Yesterday's New Batch of Cavendish
If I had easily located another standard-mouth, 1 quart Mason jar, I would have made 5 separate varieties. The only free one contained water that I've used as a space filler for several years. So once again, it filled that role.
This is the first time that I've cooked a quantity of my short scrap cigar filler into Cavendish. I have about a half-dozen 1 gallon bags of it, should this prove successful.
The VA Red tips are all of that priming I had remaining from my 2017 grow and flue-curing. Otherwise, I would have filled the jar to the top.
For each of these jars, I misted the tobacco along the way, as I packed the leaf. The exception was the Trabzon, which I packed by grabbing fistfuls of leaf from a large bag, and stuffing them into the jar. Then I estimated how much water to add--and was way off. As you can see in the above image, the Trabzon jar is the wettest. When I dry that leaf, I will sprinkle any excess liquid over the drying leaf, to re-absorb it.
This batch of Cavendish was cooked in a boiling water bath for exactly 9 hours. Why "exactly 9 hours"?
"Bedtime, Kids! Put away your Cavendish, and get ready for bed! Now!"
I will open these sterilized, sealed jars one at a time, just so the trays of drying leaf don't occupy too much space.
Bob
If I had easily located another standard-mouth, 1 quart Mason jar, I would have made 5 separate varieties. The only free one contained water that I've used as a space filler for several years. So once again, it filled that role.
This is the first time that I've cooked a quantity of my short scrap cigar filler into Cavendish. I have about a half-dozen 1 gallon bags of it, should this prove successful.
The VA Red tips are all of that priming I had remaining from my 2017 grow and flue-curing. Otherwise, I would have filled the jar to the top.
For each of these jars, I misted the tobacco along the way, as I packed the leaf. The exception was the Trabzon, which I packed by grabbing fistfuls of leaf from a large bag, and stuffing them into the jar. Then I estimated how much water to add--and was way off. As you can see in the above image, the Trabzon jar is the wettest. When I dry that leaf, I will sprinkle any excess liquid over the drying leaf, to re-absorb it.
This batch of Cavendish was cooked in a boiling water bath for exactly 9 hours. Why "exactly 9 hours"?
"Bedtime, Kids! Put away your Cavendish, and get ready for bed! Now!"
I will open these sterilized, sealed jars one at a time, just so the trays of drying leaf don't occupy too much space.
Bob
Bob
Unlike Prilep flue-cured or Cavendish, the Trabzon Cavendish does not smell like pastry, but its aroma is softly floral and yummy.
Bob
Bob
I have finally completed collecting my seed from 2021. These are now enclosed in a quart freezer Ziploc bag, and stored in my tiny, seed fridge.
Bob
Homegrowngoodnes
Well-Known Member
How many plants did you allow to go to seed?!
I have finally completed collecting my seed from 2021. These are now enclosed in a quart freezer Ziploc bag, and stored in my tiny, seed fridge.
Bob
I bag a single plant per variety. The three from Timor Leste were a problem, whereas the others produced normally. For the left 4 in the bottom row, I ended up tossing out seed, since I had already collected enough for the next 100 seasons. Commonly, a single plant will produce in the range of ¼ million seeds.
Bob
Bob
Homegrowngoodnes
Well-Known Member
Yeah, crazy lotsa seeds! Ha!
I'm slow. I realized today that I have no seedling trays on the wire shelves in my back porch. Room to dry more Cavendish. This is a cruddy, old roasting pan, lined with a sheet of baking parchment. The Cavendish-cooked cigar short scraps offer a dark and deep aroma, though not a cigar aroma. I'll have to stir this a couple of times a day, for drying.
Bob
Snue
Well-Known Member
i can't wait to see your final product, this is making me excited for you haha
And a late entry for the night. This is spread into an unholey 1020 tray.
Bob
ULine S-1291 poly reclosable bags. 2"x 3", 2 mil.
These are what I use for tobacco seed. A carton of 1000 sells at ULine for $14 (less than 1½ cents each). You will find many other uses for them (other small seeds, rare stamps and coins, jewelry, tiny screws, etc.)
2 x 3
125 STOCK SIZES The prices are right on these quality reclosable poly bags. Single-track zipper closure keeps out dirt and moisture. All virgin polyethylene film meets FDA and USDA requirements. Combine sizes for volume discounts. ULINE offers over 43,000 boxes, plastic poly bags, mailing tubes...
www.uline.com
If you want to go cheaper, the big box stores sell similar, though thinner bags in the craft section, packaged in tiny quantities.
Bob
Plastic sieve for a 5 gallon bucket.
Tobacco seed (Nicotiana tabacum) measures about 500 microns. I use sieves to clean my tobacco seed. Into the top of a 5-gallon bucket, I place a 400µ (400 micron) sieve. This will allow dust and immature seed to fall through to the bucket, but will collect the good tobacco seed. On top of the 400µ sieve, I nest a 600µ sieve, which will allow the tobacco seed to drop through to the 400µ sieve below it, but will screen-out chaff and larger debris.
600µ sieve $5.14 each at usplastics.com.
400µ sieve $5.14 each at usplastics.com.
My two sieves have lasted a decade, and are still in excellent condition (stored through the year inside their shipping box). After each seed variety, I carefully clean, wash and dry each of them, inspecting them when held up to daylight, to look for any stray seed—both interior and exterior. So I typically will process only 1 variety of tobacco seed per day.
You should note that seed for Nicotiana rustica is about twice the size, so this sieve arrangement won't work.
Bob
Looks pretty good until Sunday. Lets hope they change that, no one needs a foot+ of snow in one day.
Homegrowngoodnes
Well-Known Member
I would have said saturday...brr lol
Lacking a fireplace, I instead just bought some bread and milk, and then ordered this from Smokingpipes.com:
According to my shape chart, this is known as a cheap ass pipe. $48 for a Rossi Vittoria 8804. It's 6.55" long.
Bob
According to my shape chart, this is known as a cheap ass pipe. $48 for a Rossi Vittoria 8804. It's 6.55" long.
Bob
love the layoutMy 2022 Growing Season Plans
It's a modest tobacco grow for the coming season. There is a rumor going around that I will be 74 before the tobacco transplants go into the ground. So (if said rumor is true) I am content with the grow plan. The bed area for tobacco is 60 square feet less than last season. Instead of tobacco, two half-beds will be planted with food--peas and corn. If my peas fail again this season, then more tobacco plants will replace them. (I did purchase new seed peas.)
I like to plant at least one new variety each year, but my Ainaro (seed collected in Timor Leste, by @Tutu) performed quite poorly last year, due to a number of factors. So my Ainaro seed for this season was provided by a potted, indoor Ainaro. Ainaro is a variety dubbed by @Tutu as a "dark sun-cure" variety. I've sun-cured it on the stalk, producing a deep red-brown leaf with a bright taste. I've also cooked some into Cavendish. I believe it is unique, and worth preserving.
I will be planting 4 plants of the so-called "Pieate Cuban", to reassure myself that it is a mislabeling of Piloto Cubano. Not really a new variety.
Of course, the first draft of my growing plan always changes. (This is actually my second draft!)
Bob
If you roll a short scrap cigar using cigar short scrap Cavendish as the filler, and flue-cured VA Red Cavendish as both wrapper and binder, then subsequently sliced and diced, it yields a smooth, full, non-cigar-like pipe blend. What ratio? Whatever you choose. The smoke pH from the two is quite similar, so any combination is still bite-free. I rolled a fat cigar for it.
