Marksctm first grow 2012

[marksctm]

Well this was my first year for growing tobacco.
Last winter I was looking on line in to buying bulk tobacco when I saw tobacco seeds. I've smoked over 35 years and I never even thought of growing tobacco.
The only thing I knew was, that it took a long time to age. And that curing and aging took more of an artisan to turn it in to something you could use.
I read on starting seeds, and just wanted to get something started so I could plant in time for a full grow if I could even get seeds to start.
Didn't know what to grow, but knew Burley was in cigarettes, so I got 2 Burleys,
Burley 21, and a Burley that I'm not sure what the strain is.
I set out to grow only 12 plants, just to see if I could grow them.
I ended up planting 55 plants, 32 Burley 21, and 23 of the other Burley.

This is week 1 in the ground.



I don't know how long a thread can be, so I'll skip to before first prime.

 

[marksctm]

This is each week.



I learned so much this year, but got a long way to go. But I busted my cherry on it this year and it went better than I thought it would.

 

[Chicken]

if that was your first run at a grow,

i'd say you did very well.

next year add about 3 more strains to the mix, and you'll have a custom blended cigg.

how do you make them, with a hand-held tube injector,?

i have a powermatic electric cigg injector, and i must say< well worth the money, if you plan on making a lot of smokes,

 

[Knucklehead]

Great grow mark! Thanks for sharing. How's the cure coming?

 

[Knucklehead]

P.S.- This is your thread it can have pages and pages of posts. We'll take it over here and there, get off topic quite often, generally forget what we talking about and start over again. But lead on McDuff we'll follow along as best we can.

 

[marksctm]

how do you make them, with a hand-held tube injector,?

I'm using a Topomatic.

It's been doing a good job so far.
I do have other strains for next year to pick from, I don't know for sure yet the strain's I'm going to plant, but I have seeds for,
AFRICAN RED
AZTEC RUSTIC
DUTCH (OHIO)
FLORIDA SUMATRA
IZMIR OZBIS
LITTLE DUTCH
SHIREY
SILK LEAF AND
TN 90
So I'm looking forward for year 2.

 

[marksctm]

Great grow mark! Thanks for sharing. How's the cure coming?

Curing went great, had a few leaf flash green on me but all in all I think it went ok.

 

[Knucklehead]

That looks like a lot of leaf for 55 plants. I may have to rethink my curing rack I'm about to build. I bet it feels nice giving the finger to Mr. Tax Man.

 

[marksctm]

That looks like a lot of leaf for 55 plants. I may have to rethink my curing rack I'm about to build. I bet it feels nice giving the finger to Mr. Tax Man.

You got that right about the tax man.

 

[johnlee1933]

That looks like a lot of leaf for 55 plants. I may have to rethink my curing rack I'm about to build. I bet it feels nice giving the finger to Mr. Tax Man.

Knucks, That's because he ain't talkin' about how much he stole. -- J

 

[Knucklehead]

Knucks, That's because he ain't talkin' about how much he stole. -- J

I can keep a secret.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I'm using a Topomatic.

It's been doing a good job so far.
I do have other strains for next year to pick from, I don't know for sure yet the strain's I'm going to plant, but I have seeds for,
AFRICAN RED
AZTEC RUSTIC
DUTCH (OHIO)
FLORIDA SUMATRA
IZMIR OZBIS
LITTLE DUTCH
SHIREY
SILK LEAF AND
TN 90
So I'm looking forward for year 2.

Chris, How many plants do you plan to plant next year? and are you growing for just cigarettes? I ask becasue your list of seed is quite varied. If growing for cigarettes only then I would not plant the Fl Sumatra, and Little Dutch. They make a good American style cigars though- very tasty. Also, the only flue cured type tobacco you have is Silk Leaf. Since flue cured is usually mixed with Burley to give a typical American blend, you might want ot get another flue cured for blending purposes.

 

[marksctm]

Jitterbug,
I'm growing for cigarettes, but want to grow some for cigars also.
Not sure on 2013 plant count yet, but got into tobacco just in time last winter to get something started for 2012 growing season. I just wanted to get something growing or I would have to wait in till 2013 to start.

I wish I started with 2 different types of tobacco other than 2 kinds of Burley, but that's what it was.
So needless to say, I'm good on growing Burley for a year or two.

Next years grow is more for a variety of things to try.
African red and Silk Leaf my 2 bright leaf I'm planing on growing.
Izmir Ozbis my Turkish.
Aztec Rustica for anything needing extra nicotine punch. And mixing insecticides.
Little Dutch, Dutch (Ohio) for cigars, and because it was grown a few miles from my house in the late 1800's.
Florida Sumatra for cigar
That leaves Shirey, A dark Virginia variety.
And TN90 A Burley.

I thought that might give me more options on things I can do, (blending, filler,binder,wrapper).
But having all Burley, as I do now, doesn't give me many blending options.
I'm new so, I'm probably going about wrong.

 

[Chicken]

thier is no '' wrong'' when learning what different strains have to offer,

id look at others grow journals, and if they grew a strain you may be intrested in, question them about it,

i'd suggest you consider on enlarging your area, of growing,

giving yourself more room in between the rows, and the ability to grow more plant's.

 

[deluxestogie]

Chris,
In response to your PM about the differences between "Dutch" and "Little Dutch," I have only the ARS-GRIN data.

Dutch: PI 552627 http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1447599
Seed donated 1991 from a holding of the USDA ARS.
Observations: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/obs.pl?1447599

Little Dutch: PI 551282 http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1446218
Seed donated 1991 from a grower in Miamisburg, OH, said to be from a farmer selection introduced from Germany. This is a verifiable heirloom.
Observations: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/obs.pl?1446218

As can be seed from the observation data, the plants are similar, if not identical. My guess would be that they are different cultivars of the same variety, though I have not grown "Dutch" for comparison. The "Dutch" variant seems to be a bit taller, with a higher leaf count, while the shorter "Little Dutch" seems to produce slightly larger leaves. This may be entirely artifact, due to the wide variation is observation data from one grow-out to the next.

You may want to plant at least a few of each, and carefully document any differences. If your plants are indistinguishable, then they're probably the same thing.

Bob

 

[marksctm]

You may want to plant at least a few of each, and carefully document any differences. If your plants are indistinguishable, then they're probably the same thing.

Bob

Thanks Bob so much,
Reading about tobacco and different varieties, I learned about Little Dutch and It's history it has with a small town a few miles from where I live.

Since then I've been trying to find out anything about Miamisburg Ohio's history with tobacco, and what was grown. And the information is very helpful.

I'm planting a row of each, Little Dutch and Dutch (Ohio), #1 For comparison. And #2 I want it for cigars also, and compare taste and aroma of both, and I'm looking forward to growing them next spring.

Thanks again Bob for your time.

 

[johnlee1933]

I'm planting a row of each, Little Dutch and Dutch (Ohio), #1 For comparison. And #2 I want it for cigars also, and compare taste and aroma of both, and I'm looking forward to growing them next spring.

Sounds interesting. I plan on growing more CT shade in 2013. Perhaps we could trade ½ a pound or so of color cured next season? -- John

 

[marksctm]

i'd suggest you consider on enlarging your area, of growing,

giving yourself more room in between the rows, and the ability to grow more plant's.

Chicken I think I am going make it bigger next year, and space my plants and rows farther apart for sure next year.
It was to tight between them this year, and my dickiedo was snapping off leaf. i.e. dickiedo, (When your stomach sticks out farther than your dickie do)

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Since then I've been trying to find out anything about Miamisburg Ohio's history with tobacco, and what was grown. And the information is very helpful.

Chris, Little Dutch was a very popular tobacco for the American cigar industry through the 1880's. It was replaced by Comstock Spanish somewhere about 1890-ish. I wanted to smoke cigars like they did during the great cigar boom so I came up with a very tasty cigar that I smoke which is: Little Dutch for filler, Yellow Pryor for a binder and Glessnor for a wrapper. These are tobaccos that according to Killebrew were used in cigars during the boom time.

 

[marksctm]

Sounds interesting. I plan on growing more CT shade in 2013. Perhaps we could trade ½ a pound or so of color cured next season? -- John

Sounds like a good deal to me John.