2015 bonehead, first year grow blog fourth year grow

[bonehead]

i topped my last variety of tobacco (silver river) today after lunch. we are finally getting some much needed rain in ct. all the other tobacco is ripening up nicely. the ytb is the thickest tobacco i ever grew. if the weather is nice tomorrow i will pick my two kinds of frying peppers and cut them up and freeze them for the many months ahead. it is nice when you can take out the amount of cut up frying peppers when you are ready to cook a meal. in a few more weeks i will be cleaning and freezing bell peppers for stuffing. i am getting hungry thinking about food.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Hey Bone,
you in Southington? I am in Glastonbury. We should get together. I have been on Cape Cod last 2 weeks, ignoring my plants. Not sure Glastonbury is getting as much rain as you. NOAA gives .6". Continual downpours on Cape all day. Plan going to CT tomorrow or Thursday for several days topping and picking.

 

[bonehead]

my tobacco is coming in quickly now. it seems i pick some every day now. my shed is almost full with this years harvest and i am not even half way done picking this years crop. i am starting to tire out between tobacco,vegetables and firewood with all the regular yard work still going on. i need a break. i can feel the getting old in my back and legs. a month ago i said i should have planted more. i think i must be crazy for even thinking like that

 

[bonehead]

i finally got the rest of my african red and silver river tobacco harvested. i am done for the year. the silver river was the stickiest tobacco i ever grew. i need a break. tomorrow morning i will fire up the smoker to smoke some trout and a pastrami. i will also be bbqing some chicken for that afternoon and let the trout and pastrami rest in the fridge overnight or longer.

 

[Knucklehead]

I'm finished too except for cleaning seed and kilning the cured tobacco. It's nice to kick back after a long hot summer. I'm on the fence about whether I'll just do a small Oriental grow next year or just take the whole summer off. I have several years of tobacco in storage and the patch and I could both use a long break.
Great to hear you had a productive season.

 

[bonehead]

i would like to take a season off but i am afraid i would grow world class weeds. i know my soil needs a break. what would you plant for the summer to combat the weeds and grass?

 

[Knucklehead]

Ricky60 recommended Tillage Radish so I did a little bit of reading on it and ended up ordering some. I plan to plant perennial clover along with the Tillage Radish. Both are planted in the fall. The Radishes will winter kill, but with up to 30" tap roots to break up compaction, and they bring nutrients back toward the surface where you need it, and they produce tons of green manure. The clover will add nitrogen and will live winter and summer and choke out many of the weeds and grass until you're ready to till it under for more green manure (or green compost) the second spring before planting. I'll seed the Tillage Radish both winters.
http://tillageradish.com/
http://tillageradish.com/benefits/benefits.php
http://tillageradish.com/benefits/weed-control.php
http://tillageradish.com/benefits/enhanced-seed-bed.php
http://tillageradish.com/benefits/reduced-input.php
http://tillageradish.com/benefits/improved-soil-fertility.php
[url]http://tillageradish.com/benefits/reduced-compaction.php
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[bonehead]

thankyou for the info. i must leave quickly because my dog just left after a rabbit.

 

[bonehead]

all my tobacco is color cured now. all i need is some hot dry weather to dry out some of the larger stems. the silver river sure takes a long time to dry compared to every other variety i ever grew but it sure looks nice. it is amazing how all the silver river leaves stick together when hung next to each other.