Bob
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2025
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
Bob
Over the past couple of days, severe thunderstorms have caused me to repeatedly shut down my computer, disconnect it, and wait for the thunder to pass. Most of these "severe" storms were light rain, accompanied by thunder and lightening. The heaviest of them passed to the north or south of me. This morning, I stood up the one tobacco plant that was leaning about 30° from vertical.
This afternoon, the real thing hit, with very heavy rain and 50-60 mph winds. Once it passed, I went out to the garden and stood-up that same tobacco plant—now laying horizontal on the ground. Four others were leaning about 45°. They are now upright. There was a wee bit of mud involved.
Thanks to the thoughtful pruning of my tomato plants by deer, the remains of the tomatoes remained upright.
So, 5 out of 19 tobacco plants were tipped by the wind. Those affected seemed to be on the leeward side.
Bob
This afternoon, the real thing hit, with very heavy rain and 50-60 mph winds. Once it passed, I went out to the garden and stood-up that same tobacco plant—now laying horizontal on the ground. Four others were leaning about 45°. They are now upright. There was a wee bit of mud involved.
Thanks to the thoughtful pruning of my tomato plants by deer, the remains of the tomatoes remained upright.
So, 5 out of 19 tobacco plants were tipped by the wind. Those affected seemed to be on the leeward side.
Bob
Bob's Rain Gauge
My weather forecast is for 2.25" rain over a period of 3 hours, starting in about 40 minutes from now. I've placed a metal cooking pot in a level, open area.
Interpretations:
My weather forecast is for 2.25" rain over a period of 3 hours, starting in about 40 minutes from now. I've placed a metal cooking pot in a level, open area.
Interpretations:
- pot floats away: flooding
- pot blows away: hurricane force winds
- pot melts: lightening strike
- pot contains water: measurable rainfall
- pot contains 2.25" water: pure luck
In the ~30 minutes since I made the last post, the forecast has changed. Now the prediction is for only 0.75" of rain. It's a good thing that nobody has to determine their plans based on the weather forecast.
Bob
EDIT: as a side note, all of the milkweed plants (the tobacco-looking plants at the near edge of the pasture) were laid flat by yesterday's storm. With no assistance from Bob, they are now standing upright. A victory for the Monarch butterflies.
Bob
EDIT: as a side note, all of the milkweed plants (the tobacco-looking plants at the near edge of the pasture) were laid flat by yesterday's storm. With no assistance from Bob, they are now standing upright. A victory for the Monarch butterflies.
I thing your forecast is better than anything on TV!Bob's Rain Gauge
My weather forecast is for 2.25" rain over a period of 3 hours, starting in about 40 minutes from now. I've placed a metal cooking pot in a level, open area.
Interpretations:
Bob
- pot floats away: flooding
- pot blows away: hurricane force winds
- pot melts: lightening strike
- pot contains water: measurable rainfall
- pot contains 2.25" water: pure luck
Hmmm. I haven't owned a TV in about 15 years.
Bob
Bob
The rain has passed. It consisted of about 20 minutes of light drizzle. The cooking pot rain gauge doesn't have quite enough water in it to cover the bottom.
But wait! There's more! Really this time. At 8:00 pm I'm now predicted to get a half-inch of rain. Really. They're pretty sure.
So, from a predicted 2.25", then to only 0.75", I ended up with an actual few hundredths of an inch. And now to maybe more later. I'll leave the pot out there.
Bob
EDIT: Oops! That upcoming ½-inch has just been revised to 0.18".
But wait! There's more! Really this time. At 8:00 pm I'm now predicted to get a half-inch of rain. Really. They're pretty sure.
So, from a predicted 2.25", then to only 0.75", I ended up with an actual few hundredths of an inch. And now to maybe more later. I'll leave the pot out there.
Bob
EDIT: Oops! That upcoming ½-inch has just been revised to 0.18".
Back in the 1980"s work took us outside quite a bit, our source for weather reports was the local radio station where they reported every half hour, one morning listening before leaving for work the report was "the high expected today is 76, the temperature right now is 82"
The final forecast for today is 3/8" of rain. I guess that would look more erudite if expressed in digital inches: 0.375 inches.
Bob
Bob
Rather than during yesterdays brisk winds, I sprayed BT just after dawn this morning. Zero wind.
Bob
Bob
An unexpected, swift rainstorm swept through in the early afternoon. It tilted my tobacco stalks once again (and rinsed away the BT that I had applied this morning).
I decided to just leave them as they are, since it's not too bad. The three Prilep plants, shown below, are actually planted in a straight line.
My two plants in the porch corner bed have about 3 months left to be something.
And a surprise volunteer! I just discovered this yesterday, while pulling baby pokeweeds. I almost yanked it, but noticed that it did not have the reddish stalk of pokeweed. It's on the opposite side of my porch steps.
A seed must have washed there from the porch corner bed tobacco plant last summer. The only tobacco that I planted in the porch corner bed in 2024 was L'Assomption 201. Might be. Could be. Regardless, it will forever be "mystery volunteer". If it manages to mature any leaf, I will harvest it and cure it.
Bob
I decided to just leave them as they are, since it's not too bad. The three Prilep plants, shown below, are actually planted in a straight line.
My two plants in the porch corner bed have about 3 months left to be something.
And a surprise volunteer! I just discovered this yesterday, while pulling baby pokeweeds. I almost yanked it, but noticed that it did not have the reddish stalk of pokeweed. It's on the opposite side of my porch steps.
A seed must have washed there from the porch corner bed tobacco plant last summer. The only tobacco that I planted in the porch corner bed in 2024 was L'Assomption 201. Might be. Could be. Regardless, it will forever be "mystery volunteer". If it manages to mature any leaf, I will harvest it and cure it.
Bob
Here I sit. An overheated blob of exhausted codger, sucking down ice water on my front porch, with a fan blowing 15 inches away. I have just squandered 90 minutes of my life (in 90° heat) mowing, once again, an acre of utterly useless grass lawn—riding an expensive contraption that exists only to mow useless lawns—though it is decorated to look like a useful piece of agricultural equipment, while it consumes expensive fuel.
Blob
Blob
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
I never knew the bane of pokeweed until I moved to North Carolina. I pull it constantly from March through November! Every time we get a decent rainstorm another batch will pop up a week later.
If a pokeweed pops up in the right spot, you might just let it grow as a decorative weed.
Bob
Bob
jaredwyoung
Member
We did this last year in our new house in Ohio, as we had never encountered out in Western Nebraska. The little neighbor kid kept telling us it was poison! We're a little more selective of where it grows this year!
This is my volunteer tobacco that popped up beside my porch steps:
The next two are the porch corner plants that I intended. As you can see, neither of them has approached maturity, but they continue to grow. They have been in the ground for only about 1 month.
In the image below, the coloration of the leaves is difficult to capture on the camera, but I can see from the rugose texture of the upper leaves that the plant could be stalk-cut today. I'll wait at least a few more days. (Somehow, I failed to document when I topped these.)
The Prilep 66-9/7 is just beginning to blossom. I will allow these Orientals to fully blossom.
Bob
The next two are the porch corner plants that I intended. As you can see, neither of them has approached maturity, but they continue to grow. They have been in the ground for only about 1 month.
In the image below, the coloration of the leaves is difficult to capture on the camera, but I can see from the rugose texture of the upper leaves that the plant could be stalk-cut today. I'll wait at least a few more days. (Somehow, I failed to document when I topped these.)
The Prilep 66-9/7 is just beginning to blossom. I will allow these Orientals to fully blossom.
Bob
I sprayed BT again this afternoon, under an overcast sky. Yesterday, I did find a full size (as fat as my thumb) hornworm, but it was munching the leaves of a Virginia Creeper vine that was climbing up my pump house siding, far away from my tobacco. I guess hornworms not only tolerate nicotine and tomatine, but also oxalates.
Bob
Bob
adamziegler
Well-Known Member
I am not recommending this, but in certain regions of the country, it is prepared through multiple boilings and consumed. Again... Not recommending, but... it goes to show hunger finds a way.
Many foods that are commonly eaten by humans contain toxins of various sorts. An example is tapioca. It is made from manioc root, which, like pokeweed, is toxic until you extract the toxin by cooking and rinsing. Ditto for kidney beans.
[You can eat polar bear, but eating its liver will kill you. And never eat the stems of rhubarb.] ERROR
Bob
EDIT:
I posted the above, final sentence before my morning cigar! Moments ago, while sitting in the shade of a pear tree, puffing my cigar, I suddenly realized my error. I immediately returned to the house, and brought my computer out to the front porch, to make a correction.
It is the stems of the rhubarb that we make into pies. The leaf, however, is the toxic part.
Bob the Slow
[You can eat polar bear, but eating its liver will kill you. And never eat the stems of rhubarb.] ERROR
Bob
EDIT:
I posted the above, final sentence before my morning cigar! Moments ago, while sitting in the shade of a pear tree, puffing my cigar, I suddenly realized my error. I immediately returned to the house, and brought my computer out to the front porch, to make a correction.
It is the stems of the rhubarb that we make into pies. The leaf, however, is the toxic part.
Bob the Slow
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