deluxestogie Grow Log 2017

[Tutu]

I am glad that the Besuki from Ambulu and Silir turn out to be similar. I'm also happy that it results in non-white-stalk tobacco. I really wonder where Tabakanbau got their seeds from. I hope you'll be curing a few nice wrappers there. The best of luck with that!

 

[Charly]

Tutu : talking about Besuki, I just want to report that the one you sent me are beginning to grow just like the other strains, I will post a picture soon. They were slow the start, but they are growing nicely now.

 

[deluxestogie]

I transplanted only 4 Corojo (Honduras) plants. They are handsome plants with decent leaf size (17" x 10") and count (19). This bagged specimen is 47" to the crowfoot.

By contrast, my Corojo 99 has not blossomed yet, is generally taller, with larger leaves, and it's not finished growing. The Corojo (Honduras) compares favorably to the Coroja (Cuba) that I grew last year, and that has turned out to be some damn good cigar leaf.

Another variety that is new for me this year is Piloto Cubano PR. It is not showing signs of blossoming yet, and is producing some stunning leaves. It's too soon to really be measuring it, but here are the numbers for today:

The finely corrugated leaf surface of Piloto Cubano makes its appearance distinctive.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

How does the flavor of Coroja compare with Corojo 99?

 

[deluxestogie]

Long answer: Coroja is surely a GRIN misspelling of Corojo. So, I believe that Coroja (Cuba) is the original Corojo line from Cuba. The taste/aroma are similar to Corojo 99, and just plain "tastes like Cuban tobacco." I expect the Honduran Corojo to be very close to the original Corojo. We know that Corojo 99 was created to resist some tobacco diseases common in Cuba. But the Corojo 99 is generally larger and more productive (in my soil, at least) than the Coroja and Corojo (Honduras).

Short answer: they are nearly the same.

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

One of my rows is corojo 99, criollo 98 and vuelta a, I planted the 99 on the north end of the row and am glad I did. Big size difference between the Cuban types here as well.

 

[deluxestogie]

Smokes, you are 7+ degrees north of me, so planting to avoid shading is more significant. For me, the mid-day sun in July is off from being directly overhead by only 14º, so the height difference of the plants has to be substantial, before there is any major shading. On the other hand, your daylight hours are longer than mine in summer.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

One of my rows is corojo 99, criollo 98 and vuelta a, I planted the 99 on the north end of the row and am glad I did. Big size difference between the Cuban types here as well.

Do you have any pics of these three varieties to share? I have the the same ones, plus Havana 142 in my raised bed. Vuelta Abajo and Criollo 98 have both reached 6ft in height and are starting to flower. Corojo 99 is somewhat shorter, more dense, and still a ways from flowering.

 

[Gavroche]

Piloto Cubano Pr has coast of very important ?

Piloto Cubano PR a des côtes de feuilles très importantes non ?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I transplanted only 4 Corojo (Honduras) plants. They are handsome plants with decent leaf size (17" x 10") and count (19). This bagged specimen is 47" to the crowfoot.

By contrast, my Corojo 99 has not blossomed yet, is generally taller, with larger leaves, and it's not finished growing. The Corojo (Honduras) compares favorably to the Coroja (Cuba) that I grew last year, and that has turned out to be some damn good cigar leaf.

Another variety that is new for me this year is Piloto Cubano PR. It is not showing signs of blossoming yet, and is producing some stunning leaves. It's too soon to really be measuring it, but here are the numbers for today:

The finely corrugated leaf surface of Piloto Cubano makes its appearance distinctive.

Bob

That's a long yard stick.

 

[deluxestogie]

Piloto Cubano Pr has coast of very important ?
Piloto Cubano PR a des côtes de feuilles très importantes non ?

Yes. The leaf main rib, as well as the secondary and tertiary ribs are large and pronounced, and seem to be unusually rigid. I believe that is one reason that the upper leaf surface is so corrugated.

That's a long yard stick.

When you have tobacco in your yard, what's an extra foot among friends? (That's my infamous "Burial Vault" stick.)

Bob

 

[mwaller]

Here's a comparison of my Criollo 98 (foreground) and Corojo 99 (background). Criollo 98 has narrower, more acutely pointed leaves on a more sparsely populated stem.

Here's a comparison of the leaves on my Vuelta Abajo (Left) and Criollo 98 (Right). Criollo 98 has acutely pointed leaves with smooth edges. The Vuelta Abajo has broader leaves with slight saw-tooth edge. Is this consistent with others' observations?

Vuelta Abajo and Criollo 98 have really confused me this year because I seem to have mixed them up a bit during planting. Many of the seedlings that I *thought* were Criollo 98 turned out to look more like the plant on the left. The only other logical explanation is that I somehow ended up with a mixed bag of seed. Thoughts?

 

[deluxestogie]

In the photos below, the leaf's dimensions are not particularly important, since they will vary from plant to plant, growing bed to growing bed, and year to year. But the leaf shape and character tend to be constant.

My Criollo presents a columnar plant shape, compared to the pyramidal shape of Vuelta Abajo and most other Spanish type varieties.

When you mix up varieties at planting, it's probably a wise practice to assume that they are just gifts from a neighbor, with no known identity. If you make a guess, you might be tempted to save seed from them, and end up propagating an unknown.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

I would venture to guess that your Criollo is different from Criollo 98. What I have looks a lot like this image from Skychaser's site:

This is the source of my Vuelta Abajo and Criollo 98 seed.

 

[deluxestogie]

I would venture to guess that your Criollo is different from Criollo 98.

True. Criollo 98 was developed from Criollo, again, to improve disease resistance. But the relationship is fairly close. In Sky's image of Criollo 98, you can see that the overall plant is columnar, rather than pyramidal. The Criollo 98 appears to be a more productive plant than its parent.

My Criollo [Ti 1376] is an early accession directly from Cuba, 37 years prior to the development of Criollo 98.

Accession was donated. 1961. Cuba

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/accessiondetail.aspx?1305578

This particular Criollo is probably what comprised all the Havana cigars that Pierre Salinger rushed out to purchase for JFK, the day before the embargo bagan.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

The two photos below show why my bud bags are 30" tall. Although the blossom heads are nowhere near as full as they will ultimately be, the bud spikes are now close to their final heights, after only 6 days. Instead of the fragile, tender bud stem that had difficulty supporting the feather weight of the Agribon, the stalk is woody and rigid.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Where I Live

I'm that clump of trees in the lower right corner, just left of the neighbor's paved driveway.

That blue ridge of mountains in the distance is called, strangely enough, the Blue Ridge Mountains. The camera is facing East-Southeast.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

Beautiful, Bob!

 

[Charly]

Seems like a peaceful place !

 

[deluxestogie]

My brother, Richard, dropped by with his aerial drone. Actually, he arrived on a motorcycle, with the drone in a backpack. I am in the process of editing the video footage.

The snapshot shown above is really the "satellite" view of my garden. We shot the video at about 9 am, so the shadows are long.

Tomatoes...tobacco...grapes...It all looks the same from 150 feet. Even the people look like plants. So I've provided a crib sheet.

Bob