Deluxestogie Grow Log 2020

[deluxestogie]

Fly Agaric

Amanita muscaria var. formosa It is October, and along with yellow leaves and orange pumpkins, there are large, yellowish-orange mushrooms coming up in my yard in Blacksburg! I found fou…

virginiawildflowers.org

Hummingbirdbath, with gills exposed.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

My quarantine boredom excursion into the fascinating adventures of mushrooms has sadly come to an abrupt end. In accordance with the Law of the Lawn: If you've grown, then you're mown. Buh bye, mushrooms!

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

My quarantine boredom excursion into the fascinating adventures of mushrooms has sadly come to an abrupt end. In accordance with the Law of the Lawn: If you've grown, then you're mown. Buh bye, mushrooms!

Bob

You're just spreading their DNA everywhere, so they are pleased with your callousness, I'm sorry to say.

 

[deluxestogie]

Well, their mycelia were probably transmitting dubious information from the white pine to my unfortunate, Better Boy tomatoes this year.

BBC Earth | Environment, Climate Change, AI, Food, Health, Social, & Technology

As we face the world’s greatest environmental challenges, BBC Earth brings you solutions in psychology, food, climate change, health, social trends, and technology that can make the world a more sustainable place.

www.bbc.com

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Well, their mycelia were probably transmitting dubious information from the white pine to my unfortunate, Better Boy tomatoes this year. View attachment 33840

BBC Earth | Environment, Climate Change, AI, Food, Health, Social, & Technology

As we face the world’s greatest environmental challenges, BBC Earth brings you solutions in psychology, food, climate change, health, social trends, and technology that can make the world a more sustainable place.

www.bbc.com

Bob

Those mushrooms are good for the pine, at least.

 

[plantdude]

My quarantine boredom excursion into the fascinating adventures of mushrooms has sadly come to an abrupt end. In accordance with the Law of the Lawn: If you've grown, then you're mown. Buh bye, mushrooms!

Bob

Oh Deere Spore for latter?
The typical root system of trees is about three times the size of the above ground canopy. Some people argue that the actual mycelial mass that makes up certain species of fungi is the largest land organism. There is a lot going on under foot.

 

[deluxestogie]

If you really want to take a deep dive (or shallow, radial swim) into tree roots, here's a readable article from the Harvard Arboretum:

http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1989-49-4-tree-roots-facts-and-fallacies.pdf

The article is 30 years old, but my trees are all older than that, so they are grandfathered in.

Bob

 

[plantdude]

If you really want to take a deep dive (or shallow, radial swim) into tree roots, here's a readable article from the Harvard Arboretum:

http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1989-49-4-tree-roots-facts-and-fallacies.pdf

The article is 30 years old, but my trees are all older than that, so they are grandfathered in.

Bob

Fun article

 

[deluxestogie]

My living room.

That's Ainaro.

Bob

 

[plantdude]

My living room.

That's Ainaro.

Bob

I can now truly say you are a man of many hats Bob. May your Ainaro grow and prosper.

 

[deluxestogie]

Despite a predicted "warmer than average" winter, my first frost arrived today.

We'll see just how protective the Agribon bud bags prove to be.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

It has been about a week since two consecutive nights of frost down to 30.5°F (maybe a bit lower). The Liquiça and Ainaro (one each) were bagged in advance. At this point, most suckers growing from other stumps show severe frost damage.

So far, the Ainaro has not formed a bud head. Since the very top leaves tend to be as large as the lower leaf in this odd variety, removing and replacing the bag promised to be more work than I was willing to invest, just for a photo of the leaf. As you can see through the Agribon AG-15, the leaves still appear to be intact and green.

The Liquiça was in the process of blossoming when it was bagged. Many--though not all--of those early buds did not survive the frost. Instead, they just dropped off into the bag.

In this close-up of the Liquiça, a few maturing pods are still present, as well as several new buds beginning to form. [I had to chase away one eager honeybee who discovered the newly unbagged blossoms.]

My recently potted Ainaro, which seems to be thinking about forming a bud head, and a small, potted Liquiça are basking on the porch. In addition, I have a potted Viqueque to join them. These go indoors on chilly nights. So the two plants remaining in the garden bed are there mostly for observation of their development when exposed to frost while bagged in Agribon AG-15.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

A cold front just roared (well, more like whimpered) through and dropped the temps all the way down to the mid 60s here

Have you considered a small greenhouse or cold frame?

 

[deluxestogie]

A useful greenhouse here would require pouring a foundation, as well as running electricity and water. So, having thought about it a number of times, I've always concluded that it would be an extravagance.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Why would it require a foundation?

 

[deluxestogie]

Sloping yard. (Except for the parts that flood.)

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Hiding inside the shed:

This mystery, petiolated tobacco from Timor-Leste is still an unknown class of leaf. Below is the appearance today of the leaf primed from the bottom of the two plants, and sun-cured. These will be kilned. They seem a bit darker than any Oriental that I've sun-cured (though the appearance of the plants is similar to Samsun), so I still have no idea what I've got here. Perhaps @Tutu's designation of "dark sun-cured" is the most accurate. Later primings are still sun-curing, but appear to be heading for the same shades of brown.

While there are still maybe a dozen or so Prilep leaves still sun-curing on a couple of the later-cut stalks, the yield for this season (from only 6 or 8 plants) is about ¾ bushel basket. In the photo below, you can see the wide range of colors, from reddish brown to bright yellow to slightly greenish yellow. I will kiln these for 8 weeks.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Maybe for funzies, take a look at
TI 1257
TI 1281
TI 1390
TI 1626
TI 1361
TI 1364
TI 1365
TI 1367
TI 1479

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

TI 718
TI 68

 

[deluxestogie]

Impressive list. They are from everywhere. Nicotine ranges from baby to bull. Blossoms are either pink or white. Leaf attachment in a single variety says both petiolate and sessile. Market range goes from cigar filler to primitive to flue-cured.

TI 1257 height 102 cm
TI 1281 height 53-99 cm
TI 1390 height 45-73 cm
TI 1626 height "head high"; plant shape pyramidal
TI 1361 height "knee-high" to "waist-high"
TI 1364 height "knee-high" to "waist-high"
TI 1365 height 91-96 cm; plant shape pyramidal
TI 1367 height 70-92 cm
TI 1479 height 78-80 cm; plant shape pyramidal
TI 718 height 43-73 cm
TI 68 height 28-58 cm

Without sifting through the details of leaf shape and size and other characteristics, all are much shorter than the distinctly columnar Ainaro, with only those I've bolded even being distantly in Ainaro's height range.

• TI 1257: India; nicotine 53.9; cigar filler [in photo, plant appears vaguely pyramidal]
• TI 1281: Philippines; nicotine 51.5; cigar filler [in photo, leaves appear more lanceolate than Ainaro]
• TI 1367: South Korea; nicotine 24.4; primitive [this one bears a resemblance to Ainaro, but the leaf size is much smaller, and the GRIN seed sample produced both sessile and petiolate leaf attachments (i.e. not a pure sample).]

Gosh, that was fun. I think the answer is none of the above. But it is interesting that other petiolate N. tabacum are out there, in addition to Samsun family Orientals.

Bob