Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Thank you! The hornworms are AWFUL this season. I pull them off every time I go out. Multiple worms off most plants!!
Tobaccofieldsforever 2025 Grow Log
- Thread starter Tobaccofieldsforever
- Start date
Sorry to hear about the hornworms. I don't think we have them up here in Ontario. However, I've had multiple leaves randomly chewed on by who knows what. I sprayed BT a few times in the last month and seems to work.
Johnny II
Member
Nice to see.
It's been a good year for horn worms and bud worms in my neck of the woods this year too. Worse than normal. Thankfully no aphids yet though, which is unusual. A mild dish detergent sprayed on the plants with pressure around sun down helps (don't overdo or it can burn the plant in full sun - about a teaspoon of dish detergent per quart of water) or even a good hosing with plain water slows them down. You'll most likely have to repeat the process every three days or so. I don't use pesticides and don't even like to use dish detergent if I don't have to so I end up making a lot more work for my self by handpicking the worms and fighting the aphids.
Washing the leaves prior to air curing helps with the aphids. If you're stalk harvesting you're probably out of luck though. On years the aphids are bad I'll meticulously hose my stalk harvested plants off before hanging them to cure and they still get covered with aphids about a week and a half latter. At that point I give up and just let them dry down over winter in the garage and then try to take advantage of a high humidity day when the plants won't shatter to go and brush the dead aphids off. I repeat the process again as I harvest the leaves and put them away for storage in late winter/early spring. The aphids are a mess, but leaving a few dead ones behind doesn't seem to affect much. High protein tobacco with added honeydew sweetener I suppose. Probably beats what a lot of the leaves are covered with that are imported from third world countries anyways.
Washing the leaves prior to air curing helps with the aphids. If you're stalk harvesting you're probably out of luck though. On years the aphids are bad I'll meticulously hose my stalk harvested plants off before hanging them to cure and they still get covered with aphids about a week and a half latter. At that point I give up and just let them dry down over winter in the garage and then try to take advantage of a high humidity day when the plants won't shatter to go and brush the dead aphids off. I repeat the process again as I harvest the leaves and put them away for storage in late winter/early spring. The aphids are a mess, but leaving a few dead ones behind doesn't seem to affect much. High protein tobacco with added honeydew sweetener I suppose. Probably beats what a lot of the leaves are covered with that are imported from third world countries anyways.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Now THAT is a beautiful picture.
Excellent work!
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Thank you sir but I am feeling behind this season! I haven’t even topped my plants yet! I may just top them a bit early to get on with it. Still not at the point of half the plants showing an open flower but very close…
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
To top or not to top, that is the question.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Let me rephrase this. What would you do if in my situation? Seems to be getting late in the season and have not even topped plants yet…
"Very close," is good enough to top them. With only a small grow, I tend to top each plant by its individual state of maturation. But with a large grow, just pick a day with nice weather, and top them all. The effect of simultaneous topping is that the plants will then tend to ripen in synchrony.
Bob
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the advice and that is what I shall do. I may stagger top my African red as I plan on flue curing all of it and have limited space in my crude flue curing apparatus. I only grew African red for flue curing this season because I was highly impressed with how it turned out consistently in my particular flue cure box. All my flue cured African red was gone a long time ago and I am left with jars of flue cured bright leaf, Virginia gold and Costello that are (in my opinion) nowhere near as good as the African red was.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Some of my plants this morning.
On the right hand side is my hybrid. It is an ugly plant that almost always flowers last (has not flowered yet) and routinely gets about 8 to 9 foot + tall, but the tobacco is good. This is the F7 Bright X Burley. Bright leaf crossed with the locally selected green stem burley.
On the right hand side is my hybrid. It is an ugly plant that almost always flowers last (has not flowered yet) and routinely gets about 8 to 9 foot + tall, but the tobacco is good. This is the F7 Bright X Burley. Bright leaf crossed with the locally selected green stem burley.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Excellent flue-cures. Put a date on each of them, in case you save them.
Bob
Bob
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Some of my flue cured and burleys/hybrids hanging…
This is a great time of year and then winter is spent looking forward to spring. (and smoking the crop)
Your flue cured looks great. My Virginia Gold attempts are ending up bronze (ripe leaves). What's your set up?
