Buy Tobacco Leaf Online | Whole Leaf Tobacco

2012 grow is a flop

Status
Not open for further replies.

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
Well the crop did improve some, but certainly no prize winning plants here. Most of my virginia are still only a foot tall at most, but i think its the soil, as i didnt get to spread cow manure or anything. PA RED for the most part are doing the best, huge leaves and flowering at 5 feet. Aztec rustica is all hanging now, by the stalk, leaves are too small to prime (time issues). Little dutch is well, little, but yellowing at bottom, so started priming along with harrow velvet and VBL.

Just in the past week i been noticing a lot of holes on leaves, but couldn't find a hornworm anywhere till yesterday, but only found two and drowned them. What i did find though, are a lot of grasshoppers..... what would you guys recomend to get rid of them? Considering i am priming already, i won't worry about them this year i think, but it might be a good idea to be prepared next season.
Also in the process of finishing building a curing barn, complete with outside wood heat with flue running through the barn. Barn is 15x14 feet and roof peak is at 10 feet.
 

Tom_in_TN

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Messages
456
Points
0
Location
East Tennessee
That curing barn is going to come in handy when the cold winds blow.

Glad you got some success of your plants and learned some things that will carry over next year.

Grasshoppers can eat through some leaf in a hurry. I have chickens and even they can not keep 'em at bay in my gardens. Guess you could enclose everything inside Agribon. That is feasible believe it or not. I will play around with the idea and try to get some plants under protective cover next season.
 

BarG

Founding Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2011
Messages
4,997
Points
113
Location
Texas, Brazos Vally
Well the crop did improve some, but certainly no prize winning plants here. Most of my virginia are still only a foot tall at most, but i think its the soil, as i didnt get to spread cow manure or anything. PA RED for the most part are doing the best, huge leaves and flowering at 5 feet. Aztec rustica is all hanging now, by the stalk, leaves are too small to prime (time issues). Little dutch is well, little, but yellowing at bottom, so started priming along with harrow velvet and VBL.

Just in the past week i been noticing a lot of holes on leaves, but couldn't find a hornworm anywhere till yesterday, but only found two and drowned them. What i did find though, are a lot of grasshoppers..... what would you guys recomend to get rid of them? Considering i am priming already, i won't worry about them this year i think, but it might be a good idea to be prepared next season.
Also in the process of finishing building a curing barn, complete with outside wood heat with flue running through the barn. Barn is 15x14 feet and roof peak is at 10 feet.

For them grasshoppers I'd furnish a large group of youngsters with butterfly nets and pay them a token bonus for their catch.;)
 

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
Grasshoppers are crazy, I left a book of matches out and one was eating them in the morning. My tobacco has some chew marks on the edges, real small spots. I'm guessing that's how much of my tobacco is fatal to a grasshopper, about 1mm wide by 1" long lol
 

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
Grasshoppers are crazy, I left a book of matches out and one was eating them in the morning. My tobacco has some chew marks on the edges, real small spots. I'm guessing that's how much of my tobacco is fatal to a grasshopper, about 1mm wide by 1" long lol

Your grasshoppers down south must be wussies, mine seem to be addicted to tobacco, some lavrs are half eaten and they dont seem to even get a bellie ache.
 

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
AAARRRGGHHHHH 5 am and temperature just dropped to 0 celsius.. FROST. NOOOOO DAMNIT. Its too darn early for that. Summer, come back, Pleeeaase! I need 3-4 more weeks.
This has been a crappy summer all around.
 

wazzappenning

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
369
Points
0
Location
edmonton
dont quote me on this, but tobacco is supposed to be able to survive a mild frost. dont ask me how much i dont know.

also someone on here (sorry i cant remember who) said at frost some growers spray the plants with water. it ices up and protects from further frost.
 

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
Well, the frost was mild enough, no damage.
Orchards sometimes use warer misters to lower frost damages, my problem is that i would have to haul water in by truck, and i currently dont have a pump that puts out any sort of pressure needed for misting. But so far so good, hope the nighs stay frost free for a few more weeks.
 

BarG

Founding Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2011
Messages
4,997
Points
113
Location
Texas, Brazos Vally
Well, the frost was mild enough, no damage.
Orchards sometimes use warer misters to lower frost damages, my problem is that i would have to haul water in by truck, and i currently dont have a pump that puts out any sort of pressure needed for misting. But so far so good, hope the nighs stay frost free for a few more weeks.

Large plastic bags overnight works for a lot of plant types prone to frost damage. It may be feasible depending on crop size and also prime any leaves that can be primed. A frozen green tobacco plant will be ruined. It won't matter after its cured.
 

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
We had a good frost last night, i don't think there was any damage to my baccy plants, but its supposed to go well below freezing tonight. So i spent all afternoon picking leaves and piling them into boxes, see if i can get a smokable product out of them. Stalk curing was out of the question, as i have run out of room. Ended up getting some breeding stock rabbits a couple weeks ago, 6month earlier than planned lol
I sure hope that pennsilvania red makes for good smoking as it was the best produ ing plant i had this year. Gotta work o improving my soil big time for me t season, which is hopefully a bit more dry and a bit longer.
 

skychaser

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
1,117
Points
113
Location
NE Washington
We got hit hard by frost last night. Was expecting a very light frost but....so it goes. We picked frantically all day yesterday and into the night and piled it in the greenhouse. Glad we did. Half the field is toast now. We probably got close to another 500 lbs in. I have a guy who I hired to help me plant last spring and he and his girl friend came over today and helped us get it all strung up and hung, Phew. What a long couple days.

Some varieties can take light frosts very well with little to no effect. Others can take none. It's hard to predict which will do ok and which won't, but I have found that in general bright leafs hate frost and burleys do pretty good if it doesn't drop below 30f for more than an hour or so. Marylands and most Turkish types seem to take light frosts pretty well. Rusticas are tough at take a lot. But down at 27-28f, not much makes it. The plants will live but the leaf is pretty much ruined. Some frosted leaf will cure out half decent if picked right away but it dries with a crispy leathery feel to it. It's ok to smoke if you're using it in a cigarette blend, but it definitely ain't A grade.
 

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
Sorry to hear that sky, it deffinately was not a great season for many of us. I have a feeling some of my leaf has suffered some frost damage. Good to know it can still possibly cure ok to smoke. I guess i will fimd out how bad it is. The aztec was harvested a month ago, most others only had some mud lugs taken so far. I wanted to harvest more the night before, but it was pouring rain till late at night, and i already had spent a couple of hours in it picking away. Afraid i may get a cold from that yet. Guess its time now to start planning the next growing season. I will deffinately not do 10 varieties again, thinking 6 at most. And start my seeds sooner and by much larger numbers. Possibly try a float tray system if i can get the trays.
*note to self: must talk to BB about that*
 

SmokesAhoy

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
2,686
Points
0
Location
VT
Sorry to hear it glad you got some in, and thank you sky for that VERY helpful info for northern growers!
 

Ltngstrike

Active Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
35
Points
0
Location
Northeast WA state
I feel your pain Jeap. I am in Newport, WA (45 miles NE of Spokane) and my season was a total flop also. None of my plants have gotten over 6" tall and then the same frost you got wiped those out. Better luck next year I hope!
 

jeapadrenaline

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2012
Messages
123
Points
0
Location
Lumby, BC. Canada
Update: after the quick harvest and frost damage, i left the stalks with flowers and rhe small topmost leafes standing. Haven't had frost since, summer like temps daytime and no rain. The top leaves are growing bigger by the day, didn't get damaged and even some of the stunted 1 ft plants of 3 month age have now shot skywards. No more frost in the forecast for the next 12 days, maybe more. I may get to harvest some more leaf yet, even have a few fast growing ground suckers. I may get to smoke some more home grown tobacco yet.
 

Chicken

redneck grower
Founding Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
4,631
Points
83
Location
FLORIDA
well. it's good to hear, your gonna have a little bit of a harvest,
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top