MadFarmer
Well-Known Member
I had a similar winter, yet this year I've killed over three dozen hornworms. Last year I killed four total. (Last year's tobacco was the first tobacco so....)
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2021
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I just bagged Trabzon. Since I grew Trabzon in 2019 as well, and also planted them both in mid-May each year, I can compare their maturation dates. Different year, different weather, same seed batch.
Trabzon:
Bob
Trabzon:
- 2021: 45 days to maturity
- 2019: 55 days to maturity
Bob
Today, I bagged L'Assomption and NB-11. Judging from the state of all the bud heads, I can estimate that they will both likely be at 50% in bloom in about 6 days. So for both, from transplant in mid-May to now is 46 days, plus the estimated 6 more days to actual maturity, this brings them to about 52 days.
Bob
Bob
1¼" of rain last night. Perfect. It was a nice soaking for my dry land, yet created no puddles.
Bob
Bob
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
Great growth and size for 5 weeks. Love your climate..Trabzon at 5 Weeks Post Transplant
The plants are mostly 2½ to 3 feet tall, with lower leaves ranging up to 12" in length. I thought it was a good time to photograph them, since I just weeded the bed. Of the 16 plants, one is notably runted, since it was stepped upon by a careless deer the day after it was transplanted. I decided to assist that one, poor plant by removing any weeds and grass near it.
It is a well know law of physics--Isaac Newton--that if you clean one spot on a wall (or a child's face), then you always end up cleaning the whole thing. Maybe that was Mrs. Newton who discovered that one. At any rate, before I knew it, I had weeded the whole bed. I had not meant to.
Trabzon is in the same family of Oriental tobacco as Samsun, Bafra and Katerini, with spade to heart shaped, petiolate leaves. I've found closely planted Trabzon to be highly productive, and easy to sun-cure on the stalk, when stalk-cut.
It will all go untopped. I won't bag this early budding specimen. I think there are three early ones. I'll wait for "middle of the road" bud timing for selecting one to bag for seed.
Bob
Traffic... maybe not so much.
Good tip on the selection of a seed mother. TY
This was taken at 10:30 am. You can see that this Corojo 99 bed is just now beginning to get sun. It has missed 4 of the ~14 hours of sunlight. That comes to nearly 29% shade. But once the sun hits it, the plants get a double dose the remainder of the day, because of reflection from the white siding.
Bob
The long bed of Corojo 99 at 1:15 pm:
The Corojo 99 grows along the west side of the house. My "front" porch is on the east side. (The road is actually north of the house, but the front door opens on the east side.)
This is one potted North Georgia Candy Roaster squash (with leaves less than half the size of those out in the garden. My potted Corojo 99 stands on the far side of the steps.
Bob
The Corojo 99 grows along the west side of the house. My "front" porch is on the east side. (The road is actually north of the house, but the front door opens on the east side.)
This is one potted North Georgia Candy Roaster squash (with leaves less than half the size of those out in the garden. My potted Corojo 99 stands on the far side of the steps.
Bob
Last night (July 3, because July 4 was less convenient for them) neighbors and nearby municipalities engaged in displays of fireworks. (Why spoil the actual celebration with cochlea-bursting noise and freaked-out pets?) I could hear them all around me, both close by and far away. Search the darkness as I might, all that I could see were fireflies in my yard, in the pasture, in the sky. After a sufficient spasm of simulated warfare--about 30 minutes, all fell silent again.
Bob
Bob
Maryland 609
I chose to wait until late in the day, so the low angle of the sun would highlight the unique texture and edge undulations of MD 609. I think it's a beautiful plant. The leaves are full and wide.
This is only 7 weeks after transplant, so they still have some growing to do.
None of them are showing even early signs of budding yet.
I am growing 11 of these (8 plus 3 orphans in a different bed).
Bob
I chose to wait until late in the day, so the low angle of the sun would highlight the unique texture and edge undulations of MD 609. I think it's a beautiful plant. The leaves are full and wide.
This is only 7 weeks after transplant, so they still have some growing to do.
None of them are showing even early signs of budding yet.
I am growing 11 of these (8 plus 3 orphans in a different bed).
Bob
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
Beautiful, well grown plants..Maryland 609
I chose to wait until late in the day, so the low angle of the sun would highlight the unique texture and edge undulations of MD 609. I think it's a beautiful plant. The leaves are full and wide.
This is only 7 weeks after transplant, so they still have some growing to do.
None of them are showing even early signs of budding yet.
I am growing 11 of these (8 plus 3 orphans in a different bed).
Bob
It's 88°F in the shade this afternoon. The ground looks parched. My tobacco seems to be holding up fairly well, so they're on their own until tomorrow, at which point, I will water them, if I still have no rain.
By contrast, the veggies are unhappy. The one with the loudest voice is my North Georgia Candy Roaster squash, with its serving-platter-sized leaves. When they droop down to the "cruelty to plants" level, I really can't avoid dragging out my long, long, heavy hose, and watering all three veggie beds. At my tender age, I also drag a lawn chair out there, so I can at least sit while the water saturates the earth.
As a measure of just how dry the soil is, I set my hose nozzle to "soaker", which just allows the water to dump out, and directed it 12" to the side of a deep, deer hoofprint. It was over two minutes before any water seeped into that hoofprint. So I just sat in my lawn chair, armed with picaridin on any exposed skin, and slowly soaked the veggie beds. Since I mowed just yesterday, I'll leave the hose stretched out to the garden for now.
Bob
By contrast, the veggies are unhappy. The one with the loudest voice is my North Georgia Candy Roaster squash, with its serving-platter-sized leaves. When they droop down to the "cruelty to plants" level, I really can't avoid dragging out my long, long, heavy hose, and watering all three veggie beds. At my tender age, I also drag a lawn chair out there, so I can at least sit while the water saturates the earth.
As a measure of just how dry the soil is, I set my hose nozzle to "soaker", which just allows the water to dump out, and directed it 12" to the side of a deep, deer hoofprint. It was over two minutes before any water seeped into that hoofprint. So I just sat in my lawn chair, armed with picaridin on any exposed skin, and slowly soaked the veggie beds. Since I mowed just yesterday, I'll leave the hose stretched out to the garden for now.
Bob
Yesterday, I discovered my first hornworm egg. Only one. With rain predicted overnight, and heavy rain predicted for today, I decided to wait until the most probable rain passed, before spraying with BT (first spraying of 2021). This morning, I found several more hornworm eggs. Well, no rain last night, and less than a tenth of an inch of rainfall from the tropical storm scouring the eastern seaboard today. I mixed up some of the concentrate into a one-quart spray bottle. I just finished my first spraying--with the pistol-grip hand-pump on the spray bottle. Who needs a gym? Just keep trading hands, until an entire quart as been sprayed out of the bottle.
Since hornworm always...always eat through the full thickness of the leaf lamina, and the BT works only by being eaten by the caterpillar, I simply misted some BT onto each leaf--whatever surface was easiest to access. I gave my tomatoes and peppers a spritz as well. The greatest benefit of spraying BT is the peace of mind.
Bob
Since hornworm always...always eat through the full thickness of the leaf lamina, and the BT works only by being eaten by the caterpillar, I simply misted some BT onto each leaf--whatever surface was easiest to access. I gave my tomatoes and peppers a spritz as well. The greatest benefit of spraying BT is the peace of mind.
Bob
Bob
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Bartlett pears are my favorite to eat and soften as they ripen (after picked). Concord and Bosc pears remain firm as they ripen. A bartlett pear is ripe when the fruit around the stem yields to slight pressure although I know some people who like to eat them while they are still slightly firm. Pears ripen after they've been picked, but will spoil quickly too.
Had some wind today. I rely on precision instruments to measure the wind.
When the Havanemometer pegs out at 90°, then it's time to rush out to the garden and stand up my tobacco blowdowns.
As a secondary measure, there are other indicators. The fungus below did not land in my lap. But it was dislodged from a big maple tree in the front yard, and landed on the lawn. Interpretation: better have a look at the tomato cages.
Bob
When the Havanemometer pegs out at 90°, then it's time to rush out to the garden and stand up my tobacco blowdowns.
As a secondary measure, there are other indicators. The fungus below did not land in my lap. But it was dislodged from a big maple tree in the front yard, and landed on the lawn. Interpretation: better have a look at the tomato cages.
Bob
Bartlett are too susceptible to fire blight for me to grow, even spraying with Streptomycin. I like the Warren pear best. It's much like the Bartlett but is resistant to blight. It doesn't can well, though. I pick by stem end pressure when they are still green and then refrigerate them. They'll keep for a month or so. You just take out a few and set them on the counter to ripen for a few days. You have to stand over the sink to eat them. I also have Seckel, Blake's Pride, and Ayers, that are all good European pears. I also grow Southern Queen and Shinko, which are crisp, Asian type pears.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Nice!, in an attempt to not have a pear conversation in Bob's grow log I will leave it at that for now. I love pears and am envious of what you described.
First Responders
Can you see them? A gazillion tiny little bacilli, keeping my tobacco safe from hornworms--and any other unlucky caterpillars. I diligently arose at 6 am this morning, to spray BT on the tobacco, while the wind speed was near zero. [Reality: Because I mowed yesterday, and suffered from backaches and borborygmus all night, I could barely sleep. The suspensionless mower causes the backaches, and the very suspensive lumbar support belt required to do the mowing causes everything in my abdomen to move backwards, like a reverse video.]
While I was at it, I did the laundry, ate a bowl of Rice Crispies (I never eat breakfast), rolled a stogie, and brewed up some coffee. Now that it is not yet 9 am, I have a completely empty and meaningless day ahead of me. Guess I'll read some more history of Canada.
Bob
Can you see them? A gazillion tiny little bacilli, keeping my tobacco safe from hornworms--and any other unlucky caterpillars. I diligently arose at 6 am this morning, to spray BT on the tobacco, while the wind speed was near zero. [Reality: Because I mowed yesterday, and suffered from backaches and borborygmus all night, I could barely sleep. The suspensionless mower causes the backaches, and the very suspensive lumbar support belt required to do the mowing causes everything in my abdomen to move backwards, like a reverse video.]
While I was at it, I did the laundry, ate a bowl of Rice Crispies (I never eat breakfast), rolled a stogie, and brewed up some coffee. Now that it is not yet 9 am, I have a completely empty and meaningless day ahead of me. Guess I'll read some more history of Canada.
Bob
The Weight of History
Bob
Bob
First Responders
Can you see them? A gazillion tiny little bacilli, keeping my tobacco safe from hornworms--and any other unlucky caterpillars. I diligently arose at 6 am this morning, to spray BT on the tobacco, while the wind speed was near zero. [Reality: Because I mowed yesterday, and suffered from backaches and borborygmus all night, I could barely sleep. The suspensionless mower causes the backaches, and the very suspensive lumbar support belt required to do the mowing causes everything in my abdomen to move backwards, like a reverse video.]
While I was at it, I did the laundry, ate a bowl of Rice Crispies (I never eat breakfast), rolled a stogie, and brewed up some coffee. Now that it is not yet 9 am, I have a completely empty and meaningless day ahead of me. Guess I'll read some more history of Canada.
Bob
Just remember, if you run out of BT, you can always collect the dead or dying caterpillars and use them to make more. Put them in a blender with water and blend, strain, and spray. LOL I never tried it but remember reading it in organic gardening magazines. I generally use spinosad for caterpillars because I have it on hand for other crops. I haven't found a single caterpillar or leaf damage yet.
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