Deluxestogie Grow Log 2024

[deluxestogie]

there is a "flat" setting on my garden sprayer that is just strong enough to rinse the little bastards off but not tear the leaf

That is what I do with gnats or aphids (when I bother). So long as the leaf is alive, I don't worry about washing away nicotine. Many of the tiny, dead bugs will fall off after color-curing. Otherwise, I just brush them off with my fingertips when I'm about to use the finished leaf.

In the past, I've tried various kinds of brushes to remove dead bugs from newly primed green leaf: auto brush, dustpan brush, paintbrush, etc. Too stiff causes leaf damage. Just soft enough will work for maybe a dozen leaves, then require that the brush be seriously cleaned.

It's all part of the joy of growing one's own tobacco at home.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

The crowfoot of my untopped L'Assomption 201 in the garden (full sun) comes to my belly button. It opened its blossoms in about 50 days post transplant.

By contrast, the crowfoot of my untopped L'Assomption 201 in the bed below the porch corner measures 64 inches from the ground, and it is at 81 days post transplant now. The first blossom will likely open tomorrow. So 82 days to maturity. The hummingbirds, which visit daily, are becoming impatient.

The porch corner plant's leaf width and leaf length are only slightly larger than that of the full-sun plants, but its leaves are notably thinner, and have not significantly matured at this point. It gets full sun about 2/3 of each day.

Bob

Would this growing arrangement work with shade grown varieties to make decent wrapper leaf?

 

[deluxestogie]

Probably. One key to shade-grown is that the plant is growing in soil that has not been invaded by tree roots. I doubt that CT Shade would be a good choice. Many cigar varieties (wrapper class or otherwise) can also make good wrapper leaf when grown in full sun.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

A single tobacco plant is such a beautiful plant. Yesterday, the hummingbirds finally rediscovered their favorite nicotine fix.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

I truly dislike reruns.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

This morning, I went out with loppers and a pruning saw, and cut everything that those two tools could handle. My first goal was to liberate my car. I then drove the lawn tractor over to the remaining, large chunk of branch, tied a rope to it, and had planned to tow it to my brush pile, where it would be cut-up with a chain saw (by my brother) tomorrow. But...the photo below shows where the branch came to rest, after my rope broke in the middle. Good enough.

Below, my L'Assomption 201 at the porch corner is wondering what all this storm fuss is about.

The L'Assomption 201 has continued to increase in the height of both its crowfoot as well as the top of the blossoms. One of my two, potted squash plants did manage to snap off.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

“...the best-laid schemes o'mice an' men Gang aft agley.”
Robert Burns 1785

A hail storm abruptly popped-up mid afternoon today. It was accompanied by lots of nearby lightning, severe winds and another couple of inches of rain. The temperature dropped from 88°F to 63°F in about 10 minutes. The hail began as occasional, pea-sized bits. Then it grew louder. The noise of hail on the siding and metal roof of my house was so loud that I plugged my ears with my fingers. Heavy, ½-inch bullets of ice stormed down diagonally in the strong winds. More branches broke from the trees.

I watched a doe sprint across the pasture, then stop at the top of my back yard to search for her twin fawns, which were apparently sheltering in place somewhere. Then a tree branch large enough to bruise, but not heavy enough to cause significant injury blew down onto her shoulders. She lurched away to the relative shelter of the large walnut trees above my garden.

My cocky, porch corner L'Assomption 201 learned a lesson today.

I still have 2 Glessnor plants and 6 Long Red out in the garden.

In a flash, lovely, wrapper-grade leaves became low-grade filler—if they cure despite the heavy damage.

Just about as much poundage of fallen wood that I worked on clearing this morning fell again. None of this is heartbreaking (other than watching the worried doe get hit with a branch). It is a reminder that easy times are as transient as hard times.

Bob

 

[jclif43]

Mother Nature is a tough mistress! Just a friendly reminder from the universe, whom is in control.

 

[man.in.boots]

if your plants survive and you deside to cure them they might have more nicotine than usual??:/

 

[deluxestogie]

This late in the season, most of the leaf is entering senescence. So I would guess (just a guess) that it will have little impact on the nicotine in existing leaf. I'll just stalk-cut them early next week, hang them in the shed, and see what I get.

Bob

 

[Skafidr]

if they cure

I'll post a message about my own hail-shredded leaves soon, I'm pretty certain you can cure them

 

[MadFarmer]

I will offer my condolences nevertheless.

None of this is heartbreaking (other than watching the worried doe get hit with a branch).

 

[deluxestogie]

As Siddhartha Gautama said, "All things are evanescent".

Bob

 

[WillQuantrill]

“...the best-laid schemes o'mice an' men Gang aft agley.”
Robert Burns 1785

A hail storm abruptly popped-up mid afternoon today. It was accompanied by lots of nearby lightning, severe winds and another couple of inches of rain. The temperature dropped from 88°F to 63°F in about 10 minutes. The hail began as occasional, pea-sized bits. Then it grew louder. The noise of hail on the siding and metal roof of my house was so loud that I plugged my ears with my fingers. Heavy, ½-inch bullets of ice stormed down diagonally in the strong winds. More branches broke from the trees.

I watched a doe sprint across the pasture, then stop at the top of my back yard to search for her twin fawns, which were apparently sheltering in place somewhere. Then a tree branch large enough to bruise, but not heavy enough to cause significant injury blew down onto her shoulders. She lurched away to the relative shelter of the large walnut trees above my garden.

My cocky, porch corner L'Assomption 201 learned a lesson today.

I still have 2 Glessnor plants and 6 Long Red out in the garden.

In a flash, lovely, wrapper-grade leaves became low-grade filler—if they cure despite the heavy damage.

Just about as much poundage of fallen wood that I worked on clearing this morning fell again. None of this is heartbreaking (other than watching the worried doe get hit with a branch). It is a reminder that easy times are as transient as hard times.

Bob

Feel like we should keep a Mother Nature scoreboard, our successful grows would far outnumber the seasonal setbacks.

 

[deluxestogie]

The Agribon AG-15 fabric of the bud bag on my Long Red plant was punctured in several places by yesterday's hailstorm. One hole was large enough to fit my hand... and wrist and entire forearm. (That hailstone must have been quite sharp, and struck the side of the bag tangentially.) I had hoped to allow it to mature for another week or so, but I went ahead and clipped it today. Then I reached inside the bag through the handy new hole, and removed any pods with an open blossom. It's now hanging inside my enclosed back porch, alongside the other three bud heads from this year's grow.

[I wonder if the seed will encode an epigenetic warning for its future babies to watch out for late summer hail storms.]

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

After dinner tonight, with the weather forecast clear, I was just preparing to ride my lawn tractor out to the mostly dried front yard, and tow back some of the larger fallen branches from last night and the night before. Beep! Beep! Beep! "This is the National Weather Service, Blacksburg..." Third verse same as the first. Hopefully, I won't end up being Bob the Eighth, I am, I am.

I sat on my front porch, watching the storm, while smoking a cigar shielded with my cupped hand, to keep it from getting wet in the blowing rain. This is the third day in a row with a severe, late day thunderstorm. Lots of nearby (<¼-mile away) lightning, plus wind and rain. No hail. Some additional tree branches down, including a 3-inch thick 5-footer, stuck vertically in the ground like a fence post. Now the front yard is flooded again, as is my gravel driveway. I'll guess that the drought monitor, which will be updated in 5 days, no longer lists me as being in "moderate drought".

Bob the Third

 

[deluxestogie]

A single point of view is sometimes misleading. Below are the (needless) photos of that fallen branch that seemed to have thrust itself into the ground like a fence post yesterday. Scary thought!

The dramatic view from my front porch.

This perspective at 90° from the porch view shows some cheating going on.

It turns out that the tip of the branch poked itself only about 1" into the saturated sod. It would have continued to lay flat on the ground, if the heavier, immobile branch from storm 1 had not stopped it. No drama here.

And finally, a mug shot of the branch that assaulted the poor, worried doe on her shoulders.

Bob

 

[Anders A]

Hi Bob,

Of topic maybe
When you measure your plants, and you measure the "Stalk diameter", where on the stalk do you measure? At the bottom?

 

[deluxestogie]

So far as I can determine, ARS-GRIN does not specify where on the stalk to measure stalk diameter. My practice is to measure stalk diameter near the base, just above any flair from the ground. I visually scan the bases of all the plants of a specific variety, then measure a few typical ones, for an average. There is always some variability, and little precision here, so a reasonable estimate is good enough.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Late last week, I had some flooding sweep across the garden bed that still contains my hail-tattered Long Red. It would flood, then promptly drain away. So the water itself caused no problem. Three afternoons in a row, the muddy flooding occurred. Prior to that, my best guess for stalk-cutting the Long Red was maybe by today. On inspecting it this afternoon, I think that the events last week were analogous to late fertilization...x3. Some of the plants look greener, and show no progress in maturation.

The 2 Glessnor plants, which experienced similar flooding, were already reasonably mature a week ago. I may stalk-cut them tomorrow.

Bob