ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I worry about the murder chickens.
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2020
- Thread starter deluxestogie
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I'm still stuck on the Murder Hornets...
Praying mantises will save us all from murder hornets
Watch a hungry praying mantis eat an Asian giant hornet in this horrifying video.
www.cnet.com
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Word on the street is that these guys poop a lot. On the street. And on sidewalks, lawns, gardens, golf courses....... According to my dad they are especially triggering to grumpy old men at his retirement complex.
better name for crows, really.
I do wonder of the paradox of such an impolite canadian goose. Maybe they get that way after you kick them out and they come to the US. Anyways they're much better behaved and more useful on plate or in a fartsack/jacket.
Oh, buddy! My back was not happy last night, after my short bout of work with the pick-ax yesterday. For therapy today, I girded my loins, and used the pick-ax to till up one of my half-beds (5' x 6'). They are actually more like 5' x 5', but I don't let that alter my arithmetic. Once a bed has been tilled with the pick-ax, and allowed to rest in the weather for at least a few days, I fertilize it. Then I can go out there with a hand trowel, just bust up the clods, and smooth it for planting.
I know from experience that these chores get easier as I continue to do them each season, but it's always a daunting challenge to start.
Bob
I know from experience that these chores get easier as I continue to do them each season, but it's always a daunting challenge to start.
Bob
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
You're more Canadian than I thought.
The last six weeks of overcast, gloomy, unseasonably cool weather has kept the temperature of my enclosed back porch below an optimal level for adequate seedling growth. Some got a bit more of the rare sunshine than others. But they are all puny. The warmer weather, which will start actually tomorrow, will hopefully produce some transplantable seedlings by the second week in June. But nearly all of them are still alive and perky.
Below is a closeup of the three varieties of interest to @Tutu. There are 4 living seedlings of each variety.
Four more large tobacco beds and one veggie bed left to till.
Bob
Below is a closeup of the three varieties of interest to @Tutu. There are 4 living seedlings of each variety.
Four more large tobacco beds and one veggie bed left to till.
Bob
The Gentle Art of Home Gardening
Bob
Bob
Hmmmm....
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Close, but the eyes aren't quite right. Bob's eyes are more of a cerulean green vs a chartreuse yellow
Thunderstorms coming Saturday afternoon! I still had 1½ tobacco beds to till. I arose at the crack of dawn, inhaled a mug of coffee, then headed out to the garden with my pick-ax. The temperature climbed to 80°F. In three sessions, interrupted by an hour of recuperation between each, I finished all but ½ of the final bed by 3 pm. The sky was blue, with puffy, white clouds here and there.
I checked the Weather Underground page for my spot on earth. My thunderstorms and ½" of rain were nowhere to be seen. Not even an apology for causing me to dig dirt like a mad man. Poof! Maybe rain on Monday. So I'll rest up a bit, then finish tilling (YAY!) my last tobacco bed before dinner tonight. It looks like I'll be able to do the remaining veggie beds tomorrow, and maybe even mow the grass.
Bob
I checked the Weather Underground page for my spot on earth. My thunderstorms and ½" of rain were nowhere to be seen. Not even an apology for causing me to dig dirt like a mad man. Poof! Maybe rain on Monday. So I'll rest up a bit, then finish tilling (YAY!) my last tobacco bed before dinner tonight. It looks like I'll be able to do the remaining veggie beds tomorrow, and maybe even mow the grass.
Bob
It was touch and go for a little bit, late yesterday evening. Finishing that last tobacco bed was just too tempting a goal to sit and rest when I was almost done. It was so, so hot, and I was so, so hot and physically exhausted when I finished, that I wobbled my way on rubber legs back to the house, out of breath and overheated. Porch fan on full blast, and a quart of cold water (part of it dumped onto my head) reminded me of more than a few "rest" breaks during a June hike within the inner Grand Canyon (and that was 30 years ago).
My heart, bless itself, has a max speed of 120 beats per minute. It is incapable of going any faster. At times like late yesterday, it presents me with only two options.
Select Only One:
I'm feeling just dandy today. Instead of digging the veggie bed and mowing the lawn, I elected to just mosey out to the garden with my 10-10-10 fertilizer, and gently sprinkle it onto all the tilled soil. I promise to be more diligent next year. Only if I feel like it, I will go back out and snap a photo of the gloriously worthy dirt.
Bob
My heart, bless itself, has a max speed of 120 beats per minute. It is incapable of going any faster. At times like late yesterday, it presents me with only two options.
Select Only One:
- cool the body
- operate the muscles
I'm feeling just dandy today. Instead of digging the veggie bed and mowing the lawn, I elected to just mosey out to the garden with my 10-10-10 fertilizer, and gently sprinkle it onto all the tilled soil. I promise to be more diligent next year. Only if I feel like it, I will go back out and snap a photo of the gloriously worthy dirt.
Bob
The weeds that I pull from the clods get all their dirt knocked back into the bed, then they are just tossed, helter-skelter, into the grass to die a painful death. The next time I mow, all those dried up weeds will be shredded into oblivion.
Bob
I'm having a bit of rain. Ducks are wandering through my unplanted tobacco beds today.
Bob
Bob
One of the benefits of several contiguous days of rain is that leaf in the shed goes wonderfully into case, and can be stripped from the hanging stalks with ease.
Today I stripped and bagged 16 stalks of Olor and 16 stalks of Lancaster Seedleaf. Because the Olor had a higher leaf count (16-18) vs (14-16) and generally larger leaves, I fit only 8 plants of Olor per bag. All 16 plants of Lancaster fit into one bag.
These will just sit, open, and dry down, until the next kiln run begins. I expect all of the greenish tint to vanish, and for much of the leaf to take on a deep brown after kilning.
I still have 7 or 8 large strings of leaf, as well as 48 Corojo 99 plants, and 6 Little Yellow plants hanging. The most tiring part is that I have to stand to do this, since my shed is too small for a chair and stripping table.
Bob
Today I stripped and bagged 16 stalks of Olor and 16 stalks of Lancaster Seedleaf. Because the Olor had a higher leaf count (16-18) vs (14-16) and generally larger leaves, I fit only 8 plants of Olor per bag. All 16 plants of Lancaster fit into one bag.
These will just sit, open, and dry down, until the next kiln run begins. I expect all of the greenish tint to vanish, and for much of the leaf to take on a deep brown after kilning.
I still have 7 or 8 large strings of leaf, as well as 48 Corojo 99 plants, and 6 Little Yellow plants hanging. The most tiring part is that I have to stand to do this, since my shed is too small for a chair and stripping table.
Bob
I just walked my garden beds, after 4[0] days and 4[0] nights of heavy rain. I used twin trekking poles, to avoid suddenly sinking out of sight, into a hidden, water-soaked mole tunnel. All but the lowest bed (soon to be Piloto Cubano PR Broad) has no standing water. During my 2012 grow, I had two rows of beds lower than that one.
This is my original 2020 layout (which has since been altered a bit):
During 2012, between that lower right "fallow" bed and the Dwarf Apple 2, there was yet another long, planted bed, as well as one to its left. I discovered that they--and the other beds marked "fallow"--don't drain well, and are thus subject to persistent standing water during heavy rain/flood conditions. "Fallow" is Bob's farmer-speak for "it's just going to be lawn grass forever". My entire garden area slopes gradually down toward the road. Today, even at the top of the yard (by my flower bed), the grass and soil were still squishy.
Not surprisingly, the cold, crappy, sun-less weather for the past 6 weeks has taken a toll on my seedlings, even though they are attempting to grow in an enclosed back porch. Growing too slowly, everything too moist, algae, moss and mold celebrating. I'm sure I'll lose some of those. That's not a big problem for me. I'll plant whatever I have, and be just as happy.
But it's rather nice to see a blue sky and the sun shining today, as I sit on my front porch, bare headed, with rolled up sleeves, smoking a mediocre (gifted) commercial cigar, and type this post.
Bob
This is my original 2020 layout (which has since been altered a bit):
During 2012, between that lower right "fallow" bed and the Dwarf Apple 2, there was yet another long, planted bed, as well as one to its left. I discovered that they--and the other beds marked "fallow"--don't drain well, and are thus subject to persistent standing water during heavy rain/flood conditions. "Fallow" is Bob's farmer-speak for "it's just going to be lawn grass forever". My entire garden area slopes gradually down toward the road. Today, even at the top of the yard (by my flower bed), the grass and soil were still squishy.
Not surprisingly, the cold, crappy, sun-less weather for the past 6 weeks has taken a toll on my seedlings, even though they are attempting to grow in an enclosed back porch. Growing too slowly, everything too moist, algae, moss and mold celebrating. I'm sure I'll lose some of those. That's not a big problem for me. I'll plant whatever I have, and be just as happy.
But it's rather nice to see a blue sky and the sun shining today, as I sit on my front porch, bare headed, with rolled up sleeves, smoking a mediocre (gifted) commercial cigar, and type this post.
Bob
I took advantage of the Virginia morning fog to go out to the shed, and strip my 2019 Little Yellow (a Dark Air-Cure variety). Very thick and sticky, large leaves. Although all that remains in the shed now are 7 strings of assorted varieties, and the stalk-hung Corojo 99, the shed is still nearly half full. The sneaky Corojo 99 consists of 48 long stalks full of up to 18 very large leaves.
The good news is that the ropes on the far end of the shed (the most difficult ones to reach) are nearly empty. The bad news is that with only a half-full shed, the humidity inside will drop more rapidly as each day warms. So the remainder of the stripping will require better timing and multiple days to complete.
Bob
The good news is that the ropes on the far end of the shed (the most difficult ones to reach) are nearly empty. The bad news is that with only a half-full shed, the humidity inside will drop more rapidly as each day warms. So the remainder of the stripping will require better timing and multiple days to complete.
Bob
Bob, do you try to add moisture to the shed if needed by placing a large pail of water on the floor, etc...?. I see the fan in The photo. Does this run all the time or just if you feel things are too warm or you need to remove excess humidity?I took advantage of the Virginia morning fog to go out to the shed, and strip my 2019 Little Yellow (a Dark Air-Cure variety). Very thick and sticky, large leaves. Although all that remains in the shed now are 7 strings of assorted varieties, and the stalk-hung Corojo 99, the shed is still nearly half full. The sneaky Corojo 99 consists of 48 long stalks full of up to 18 very large leaves.
The good news is that the ropes on the far end of the shed (the most difficult ones to reach) are nearly empty. The bad news is that with only a half-full shed, the humidity inside will drop more rapidly as each day warms. So the remainder of the stripping will require better timing and multiple days to complete.
Bob
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The tilted box fan (leaning against a covered, 5 gallon bucket) runs non-stop, year-round. The shed always needs circulation, to equalize conditions around and between the leaves. In the shed's one window, I have a controlled double window fan (like you can buy at Walmart) that is set to turn on whenever the ambient temperature is 70°F or higher, year-round. That window fan helps to moderate the high temps of each day. The wood door of the shed is always open, with its screen door normally closed (to keep out birds and large bugs). I have installed a permanent, vertical baffle that blocks ½ the door. In addition, the vertical, wooden boards that are the walls of the shed have no battens covering their joints, so a bit of sunshine is visible from inside, and a breeze will add to the air circulation. The shed serves as a well-enclosed pavilion, rather than a closed structure.
The actual temperature and the relative humidity are up to nature. Stalk-curing minimizes the risk of drying green, and the primed leaf is not primed until its tip has yellowed. For stripping leaf, sometimes I have to wait a week or three for the leaf to come into case. I just look at the humidity curve on the 10-day weather graph on WeatherUnderground. So I can usually predict when the leaf will be in case--down to the time of day.
Bob
EDIT: I do have a remote temp/humidity sensor in the shed, so I can see the immediate interior shed conditions from my kitchen. But it's info only.
The actual temperature and the relative humidity are up to nature. Stalk-curing minimizes the risk of drying green, and the primed leaf is not primed until its tip has yellowed. For stripping leaf, sometimes I have to wait a week or three for the leaf to come into case. I just look at the humidity curve on the 10-day weather graph on WeatherUnderground. So I can usually predict when the leaf will be in case--down to the time of day.
Bob
EDIT: I do have a remote temp/humidity sensor in the shed, so I can see the immediate interior shed conditions from my kitchen. But it's info only.
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
I bet that when the humidity is up, your shed has a wonderful rich tobacco aroma.
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