K-326, Del Gold, VA Gold, Oxford 237, Paris Wrapper

[CT Tobaccoman]

These are the flue cured varieties I experimented with this summer, 2018, in Connecticut

Del Gold: Happy with this variety. Healthy plants, curing to light brown
K-326: Robust, tall, slower to ripen. Very good
Virginia Gold: Similar to Del Gold, but apparently susceptible to target spot (frog eye.) I won't grow it again
Oxford 237: Bad experience with this. Poor seedlings, then a lot of damage from aphids later on.
Paris Wrapper: Very unusual looking tobacco plant, very large leaves. However, it is curing to a black color. Northwest lists it as a flue cured variety. Paris Wrapper is a real oddball, but very interesting

I have my own method for curing flue cured types, which basically involves forcing the green leaves to turn yellow before sewing them onto lath to air cure. I am happy with the result. I have pictures and will post some later. I grew these varieties to find a type best suited for the Connecticut Valley soil, length of growing season, and adaptability in curing. Most of it is still drying in the barn, but I have finished first and second primings.

Besides these types, I also grew Jaffna, TN-90 Burley, Yellow Twist Bud, and Prilep. Most of these varieties were stalk cut, and I'll talk about them elsewhere. For now, I can say that I definitely want to grow the K-236 and the Del Gold again next summer. I'll probably also try Paris Wrapper again, just because it is so pretty in the field-but I don't yet know if I can use Paris Wrapper for anything.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

In this photo, I am standing between Virginia Gold, on the left, and the taller, more robust K-326 on the right. The outside row, second to the left, is Del Gold

 

[FmGrowit]

I'd like to see the Paris wrapper. It sounds very interesting.

 

[skychaser]

My Virginia Gold hit 7-8' this year with huge leaves. It looked a little small in mid July so I hit it with some extra 16-16-16-7. A little late to be adding fertilizer, but it was what it needed. Never had such a good crop of VG like it before. It worked out ok in the end. Fertilizing that late in the season had me worried but I didn't have much trouble with it ripening on schedule or with curing. I kept selling out of seed so I planted 150 of them this year. Got plenty of seed now. lol And a whole lot of leaf hanging.

Del Gold is a great plant to grow. Very good production, cures well, and smokes great. The one criticism I have is it produces rather large side veins that don't shrink away as well when dried as other strains. More stems to pluck out later if you're fussy about little stems.

Paris Wrapper is a great cigarette tobacco. Mine air cured to a light golden brown. It is an old heirloom bright leaf variety according to my research, but is also used as a wrapper and binder. I guess that is why it has "wrapper" in the name. Grin has it classified as a flu cured strain. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/AccessionObservation.aspx?id=1447300

 

[deluxestogie]

I grew Paris Wrapper 5 or 6 years ago. That was before I had figured out home flu-curing. I believe it was used 100 years ago as a bright yellow "wrapper" for twists and plug.

It's clearly an Orinoco type. I like to think that I could get a larger leaf now than then.

Bob

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I grew Paris Wrapper 5 or 6 years ago. That was before I had figured out home flu-curing. I believe it was used 100 years ago as a bright yellow "wrapper" for twists and plug.

It's clearly an Orinoco type. I like to think that I could get a larger leaf now than then.

Bob

I did have trouble with target spot on the Virginia Gold. The K326 right next to it was unaffected by target spot, and grew a third taller, 6-7 feet, big leaves.
Paris Wrapper cured Black-deep oscuro black! The leaves were so big and thick. I picked and hung 2 primings after yellowing them. Then I stalk cut it with the top several leaves on the plant. Both methods turned black. But such an odd, beautiful plant- I am going to try it again. It is still finishing drying in the barn. I'll post photos once I take it down.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

These varieties are looking good now coming down from curing-except for the Paris Wrapper. After making the leaves completely yellow and then air drying, they dried nearly black and mottled, perhaps unusable. The leaves were very thick and huge on the plants. I don't know how the PW went so wrong. It is still hanging in the barn so I can't really take a good look at it yet. But I will try it again next year, if only because the PW plants look so attractive and unusual in the field. I'll have more info in about a month after I take down all my tobacco from the curing shed

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I'd like to see the Paris wrapper. It sounds very interesting.

Unfortunately, the PW not looking so good. Cured almost black! But I'll know more once I get it down from the barn and take some pics

 

[Hasse SWE]

These are the flue cured varieties I experimented with this summer, 2018, in Connecticut

Del Gold: Happy with this variety. Healthy plants, curing to light brown
K-326: Robust, tall, slower to ripen. Very good
Virginia Gold: Similar to Del Gold, but apparently susceptible to target spot (frog eye.) I won't grow it again
Oxford 237: Bad experience with this. Poor seedlings, then a lot of damage from aphids later on.
Paris Wrapper: Very unusual looking tobacco plant, very large leaves. However, it is curing to a black color. Northwest lists it as a flue cured variety. Paris Wrapper is a real oddball, but very interesting

I have my own method for curing flue cured types, which basically involves forcing the green leaves to turn yellow before sewing them onto lath to air cure. I am happy with the result. I have pictures and will post some later. I grew these varieties to find a type best suited for the Connecticut Valley soil, length of growing season, and adaptability in curing. Most of it is still drying in the barn, but I have finished first and second primings.

Besides these types, I also grew Jaffna, TN-90 Burley, Yellow Twist Bud, and Prilep. Most of these varieties were stalk cut, and I'll talk about them elsewhere. For now, I can say that I definitely want to grow the K-236 and the Del Gold again next summer. I'll probably also try Paris Wrapper again, just because it is so pretty in the field-but I don't yet know if I can use Paris Wrapper for anything.

very good reflection Louie. Also nice to see you here again. Interesting to see that you ain't going to grow Virginia Gold again (most people like that variant pretty much). I see that you grow 'K326' sound like a really good variant do you know if your have resistance against Pvy or not?. Next summer I going to grow two different versions of that one and my Swedish variants Tofta, Per-Pers and Alida/A-his. Also alot of N.Rustica.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I just found VA Gold to be smallish and very riddled with Target Spot, while K326 and Del Gold in rows right next to the VG had minimal TMV issues and grew a whole priming higher (the K326, that is.) Now as I am gradually taking it down, I am happy with the DG and the K but I wouldn't bother with VG again. Heirlooms in general don't have good resistance. No potatoes near me, but there are tomatoes. No mosaic issues yet but sometimes mosaic only shows after curing, so fingers crossed
Next year, planning more DG, K326 and maybe some other robust type currently in commercial production? Any suggestions? I have had my fill of heirlooms.

 

[Hasse SWE]

I just found VA Gold to be smallish and very riddled with Target Spot, while K326 and Del Gold in rows right next to the VG had minimal TMV issues and grew a whole priming higher (the K326, that is.) Now as I am gradually taking it down, I am happy with the DG and the K but I wouldn't bother with VG again. Heirlooms in general don't have good resistance. No potatoes near me, but there are tomatoes. No mosaic issues yet but sometimes mosaic only shows after curing, so fingers crossed
Next year, planning more DG, K326 and maybe some other robust type currently in commercial production? Any suggestions? I have had my fill of heirlooms.

Nope when it comes to flue-cured (Brightleaf) I would keep one to the variants I liked most and perheps look more one the yeild and results than any thing else. Dark variant's and Burley is more my type of tobacco.. lol crazy oral-snuff maker you know..
I think K326 is a good variant, but I will know more if it is a variant for me or not after next season.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Nope when it comes to flue-cured (Brightleaf) I would keep one to the variants I liked most and perheps look more one the yeild and results than any thing else. Dark variant's and Burley is more my type of tobacco.. lol crazy oral-snuff maker you know..
I think K326 is a good variant, but I will know more if it is a variant for me or not after next season.

Nope when it comes to flue-cured (Brightleaf) I would keep one to the variants I liked most and perheps look more one the yeild and results than any thing else. Dark variant's and Burley is more my type of tobacco.. lol crazy oral-snuff maker you know..
I think K326 is a good variant, but I will know more if it is a variant for me or not after next season.

K strikes me as a southern plant, due to longer maturity time and taller size. Del Gold matures fast. Rumored to have been used in Canada. Both light flue types

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Got all the tobacco down from the barn today. Rained all night and leaves finally softened up. Twelve full black trash bags! Del Gold, K326, Paris Wrapper, Virginia Gold, YTB, TN90, Jaffna, Prilep. Some stalk cut, some primed. Worked in the dark the last two hours. Pretty soon, we'll find out what's what. Going to be sorting, trying into hands, packing away. I'll post some pics as I get to it.

Last thing to do this year is to spread some lime on the field before it gets really cold, next day or so.

 

[Hasse SWE]

Lime? That sounds itresting can you explain that little more?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Lime? That sounds itresting can you explain that little more?

I assume you know all about lime but with a different word. Lime is what we call calcium carbonate. The word is related to limestone. It is used to increase the pH of the soil after using nitrogen fertilizers that gradually decrease the pH.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_lime

 

[Hasse SWE]

I assume you know all about lime but with a different word. Lime is what we call calcium carbonate. The word is related to limestone. It is used to increase the pH of the soil after using nitrogen fertilizers that gradually decrease the pH.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_lime

To all is always little to mutch. But I think you are right. Thanks Chinavoodoo. Then I understand much more

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Lime? That sounds itresting can you explain that little more?

I get my soil analyzed each fall for levels of NPK, calcium, magnesium, PH, etc. The State of Connecticut does this for free.

The soil has grown overly acidic since it was last used for tobacco around 2009 and the owner switched to growing hay. A big ice storm collapsed his largest curing barn, effectively ending a third generation Broadleaf family sized operation.

Lime is used to bring up the PH to 5-7, proper for optimum tobacco health. Been dumping a lot of lime for a few years since the soil was analyzed as low as Ph 2.5 a couple years ago. This summer I am finally seeing truly healthy plants. The 2017 analysis showed that my average PH had risen to 4.4-5.3 in different spots. In the Connecticut Tobacco Valley, tobacco growers usually lime the fields each early spring or even also in the fall if necessary, to give the limestone some time to work into the soil. Of course, I had to do a lot of work to bring the plot down to bare soil, removing the 191 tobacco roots and weeds to get to bare ground in order to be able to spread lime. The lime should be tilled into the soil after it is spread.

Growing tobacco seems to lower PH levels in the soil naturally. It probably leaches away in sandy loam soil. Probably by 2020 I will have the ideal PH, so I am still spreading limestone in the fall and "quick acting" lime early in the spring.

There is calcitic lime and dolmitic lime. Calcitic lime (calcium carbomate) is the usual form, and enables tobacco to better uptake magnesium and most nutrients from the soil, Sometimes dolmitic lime is helpful if your tobacco shows signs of other mineral deficiencies. Correct PH for tobacco, 5.5*7.0, enables the plant to uptake easily the soil nutrients that are needed.

We just had some unexpected snow in New England and freezing temps. The snow cover is still here. But it will soon warm up and rain. I hope to get the lime spread before Thanksgiving holidays or during the holiday weekend.

Meanwhile I am sorting , lightly sweating, tying into hands, and packing away my 2018 crop, which I finished taking down from the curing barn last Tuesday under damp and rainy conditions. I ended up with a dozen large black plastic trash bags full of the various types of tobacco that I grew, Flue cured, burley types, oriental, and Jaffna. Lots of work to do right now. 2018 was my best grow as a retiree from the commercial cigar tobacco business since I started growing on my own in 2014. Getting to the point soon to take a lot of photos of my various types.

 

[Hasse SWE]

CT tobaccoman: Thanks for sharing this information. It is easy for me to understand that you can do the cheek for free in Connecticut.
I also like your explanation here it can really help other members on FTT. The same times it's really interesting to follow you and your grow.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

CT tobaccoman: Thanks for sharing this information. It is easy for me to understand that you can do the cheek for free in Connecticut.
I also like your explanation here it can really help other members on FTT. The same times it's really interesting to follow you and your grow.

Thank you for the kind words, Hasse SWE.

Now that I have all my cured tobacco inside, the whole 2018 crop, I am drying it and putting it away to age, I use very large strong and clear ziplock type plastic bags to store the stuff, tightly pressed under pressure. I am keeping seed types and primings separate, like with like, so I can find out how it smokes. There is a fair amount of damage from too much humidity and wet weather while it was hanging in the barn. If I could, I would have lit fires to dry the barn out, but it's not my barn and the owner didn't go for the idea. Half of the barn that I use to cure my tobacco is full of bales of his hay, which is old and getting mouldy, and all that excessive moisture is bad for my tobacco. Frankly, I want to use a different barn, but it is hard to get permission from people.

So, some tobacco from the upper primings of my Virginia flue cured has black spots from excess moisture that later dried. Time will tell if it is usable. But the types that I hung the whole plants, stalk cut, the TN90, Yellow Twist Bud, Prilep, and Jaffna came out great, no moisture damage. Makes me think that, given the conditions in that barn, maybe I should just stalk cut everything. I'm planning another large grow in 2019, around 200 plants, consisting of 2 types of VA flue cured, 2 types of Burley, and perhaps 3 kinds of Turkish, and maybe some MD609.

Soon I'll post photos of my different types from 2018, now that it's here in the apartment.