Ready to top?

[Shundahai]

My Shirey that I set out the last week of April is doing well, growing tall, about 5' and with some nice large leaves. They are starting to develop a flower head and I am wondering if this is the proper time to top the plants.


Here is an image of the largest plant that shows the development of the flower head to date.



Is this the proper stage for topping, or should I let it grow for a while longer?

 

[grgfinney]

Its the right time to bag it for seed if you need them,I usaully wait till they start opening then top them but I don't think a couple days will make any difference,after you top them they will sucker like mad,then wait 3 to 4 weeks to start priming or till leaves get an alligator appearance or they start yellowing

 

[Shundahai]

Not going to bother bagging, though I may let one or two go to seed. There's no one growing tobacco anywhere near me, and I only have a single variety of tabaccum. I think I'll let them begin to open. Thanks!

 

[Knucklehead]

Not going to bother bagging, though I may let one or two go to seed. There's no one growing tobacco anywhere near me, and I only have a single variety of tabaccum. I think I'll let them begin to open. Thanks!

I didn't think anyone was growing around me my first year either and found out a year later my cousin was growing tobacco right down the road. (Fortunately I bagged my plants anyway) Most home growers don't put up signs or run an ad in the newspaper. If you plan on swapping or sharing seeds with anyone on the forum, we're going to want them from bagged plants, regardless of how isolated you think you are. Pollinating insects can have a rather large home area. Bagging is very cheap insurance.

This sounds like a smart aleck post but I don't mean it that way, I just can't figure out how to say it and sound nice. Friends?

 

[Shundahai]

I didn't think anyone was growing around me my first year either and found out a year later my cousin was growing tobacco right down the road. (Fortunately I bagged my plants anyway) Most home growers don't put up signs or run an ad in the newspaper. If you plan on swapping or sharing seeds with anyone on the forum, we're going to want them from bagged plants, regardless of how isolated you think you are. Pollinating insects can have a rather large home area. Bagging is very cheap insurance.

This sounds like a smart aleck post but I don't mean it that way, I just can't figure out how to say it and sound nice. Friends?

If I do save seed from this crop, it'll be for my own use, but honestly I will likely go with a different, higher yielding variety next year. My space is very very limited and I need to max out the take from what little room I have. Even under the best of circumstances I won't ever come close to growing a years supply here.

As for being the only baccy grower in my immediate area, of that I'm reasonably certain. But I do understand what you are saying. No hard feelings in any way.

 

[DGBAMA]

Even just keeping seed for yourself, bags do have the benefit of keeping some unwanted pests from ruining your seed crop.

I top when the bud head extends above the leaf tips, like the one in your picture.

 

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

Their are several varitys of garden tobacco such as N. alta that are popular garden plants and very invasive , A bag is cheap insurance

 

[Shundahai]

It is my understanding that tabaccum does not cross easily with other species such as N. alata. I have alata growing all over the place, as well as the ubiquitous N. glauca that is a PITA weed in my area.

Their are several varitys of garden tobacco such as N. alta that are popular garden plants and very invasive , A bag is cheap insurance

 

[mrthing2000]

Silly question--but how does one 'prime the plants'?

 

[Knucklehead]

Silly question--but how does one 'prime the plants'?

Priming means selecting and harvesting leaves one at a time as they become mature or ripe and primed in stages, two, three, or more leaves from each plant at each stage of priming. It may take three, four, or more primings over a few weeks to completely harvest all the leaf. Some varieties are harvested by cutting down and hanging the whole stalk. It is cheaper for a commercial grower to whole stalk harvest. Some of the leaf will be more and less mature than others. Home growers have the luxury of selecting and harvesting each individual leaf at it's peak of maturity. The process is called "Priming". The leaves are then strung on wire, or tied to a stick for curing.

 

[mrthing2000]

Thanks! So do you prime by pulling off the yellowed leaves, leaving the green ones until they yellow?

 

[Hasse SWE]

You need to know that not every variants turn yellow. KY:171 will become primed green. I take The leaf in the front and put it in to the stalk; if it say "klick" the leaf is ready if not let it be. Remember to start down and go upside..
If a leaf ain't say "klick" the one over ain't ready so just go to the next plant.

Sorry for my bad English
//Hasse W

 

[deluxestogie]

For cigar leaf, snap off the leaf (abrupt snap of the stem base sideways--using wrist motion) when you begin to see a rough texture on the leaf surface, a slight lightening of the overall leaf color, and when the very tip of the leaf appears to be yellowing. This is "mature." Progress from the bottom of the stalk, toward the top. You can usually prime 3 to 5 leaves from each plant every few days to weekly. For most other uses, wait for the leaves to become "ripe," or mostly yellowed.

Perhaps most important to know is that none of this timing is really critical. If you prime too early, your cured leaf will be a bit thinner, weigh less, and be a bit milder. It may also require longer time to color-cure in the shed.

Good luck with the harvest.

Bob

 

[mrthing2000]

As for topping the plants, I waited until about a third of the flowers opened up, then whacked the stem below the flower buds.

I notice there were some tiny leaves just under the flower buds. I wasn't sure if to cut these as well, so I did half of the plants with them and half without them. Wasn't sure what was 'more correct'.

I noticed a few days later that more buds appeared elsewhere on the stem. I pulled these off too. Maybe I didn't cut it in the right place. It also looked like some buds appeared on some of the stems where the leaves connected. Are these suckers?

 

[deluxestogie]

Once a plant is topped (blossom head removed), then every leaf axil (the crotch where the leaf stem joins the stalk) will attempt to produce a sucker, all of which will eventually produce a blossom head. Just remove all the suckers.

The tiny leaves just below the crow's foot of the blossom head will kiln to very rich, flavorful, strong tobacco, if allowed to mature. Often, though, they are really tiny, and not worth the time it takes to handle them. Any that have time to grow larger and mature may be worth keeping. This is "tip" leaf.

Bob

 

[mrthing2000]

Thanks Bob--that makes total sense and I'm glad I finally understand what a 'sucker' is.

I wonder if 'topping' the plants that I had to beat the frost, before the flowerbuds were up yet, will make any difference. Sort of a pruning rather than a 'topping'. I figure I have maybe 3 weeks before a frost and wanted to speed up the processes. The other plants were traditionally topped and I have to whack those sucker buds every couple of days.