Deans grow log 2013

[jekylnz]

Looking good bro...looks like you better take care of the weeds by the rd..before they take over your baccy. Lol..
I find once the plants get established at about a ft high. .they block out the light enough to prevent the weeds becoming much of a problem. ..till then. .get in there bro.lol

 

[Dean]

The PA Reds are flowering, not too happy about that at only 10 good leaves, I knew this was a late grow but I expected a bit more growth from them before flowering nothing else seems to be flowering yet so fingers crossed.

 

[jekylnz]

Yea alot of the ones that I planted late around the same time are budding at about a metre high. .. at least we will have more seed for next season. That was my main concern. ..next year will be a better one.

 

[Dean]

I need the seed, so it's not a biggy, I was just surprised and a little disappointed I won't get more from the plants. I toppers 3 and left 2 for seed.

 

[Dean]

Probably my last submition for my second grow as many are starting to flower. Taken some whole plants already.

Bafra are doing well and holding small leaves, have started to prime.

PA Red topped, picked at 8 days so I hope it is a gentler smoke.

Rose... I'm looking forward to trying this one, very compact late growth. Never hit its potential like all that is in. I will get seed so next year will be better. I might plant these a little closer than 2' as the leaves tended to point up always.

gravel bed. This area will be taking on a tonne of poo and compost over winter to improve the soil and hopefully improve the drainage.

FL Sumatra sun grown and to the left a silk leaf on its 3rd sucker, can't beat that plant down with a tradesman or a stick.

FL Sumatra shade grown, same amount of leaves at around the same size, a lot thinner, beignets smaller but more intermodal stretching.

 

[Dean]

I have been reflecting on the season I have had over the last few days. Identifying problematic beds.. More to the point problematic trees shading and rooting in beds. Identified a few that will just not grow baccy or much else for that matter so will be pulling them apart and creating some new beds over winter. Have a few very large trees to prune as well and a new section of bed to dig.

i have identified areas of low drainage and bad soil. The gravel bed is a thorn in my side but is a useful size plot. It need a bit of work so sand and poo will need to be used to raise it a bit. At the moment it is gravel and humous with no real crumb structure. Another bed is all sand so needs some, a lot of organic matter to also create crumb structure. This bed drains way too fast and quickly becomes a desert. It also has trees firmly rooted in it which will be coming out.

i have ordered my cover crop seeds and manure. I have 4cuM of hoarse and that produced in the stable and 6cuM of cow coming, to that I will add a few cuM of chook, tarp it and turn it weekly to produce compost. It should be well and truly finished by the time these plants come out. There is also an old bale of hay here that is mangy so that cuM will also be added to the compost pile.

plant wise I have worked out my silk leaf will give 3 good picks per sowing and suckers to 14 leaves. My shirey I get 2 picks from and won't be planting as many next season. It is just too strong to have in any quantity in my cigs. I need it there but in the background in the blend.
I also have a few more bright leafs to grow and burleys, I ordered a few from sky chaser and the African red I am dying to sow. It looks like it will get the best ground so I can see it out to its true potential.

oriental wise I have now worked out my best bang for buck I think. Some spacings will be less some more. I did enjoy my 12" spacing but reckon I can go to 10 on some, maybe less but it will be annoying come weeding and priming. The Samsun I will continue 18" as I am getting nice large thick leaves that sun cure easily.

the cigar varieties that are in now I cannot really make a call on as they were in very late and have really not performed except to give me seed. Some of which I only had 5 viable seeds of.

The primitives and rustic as will have their own beds to do as they please. I was thinking of using the Aztec as a border plant around the place to green things up.

next season will be big, especially trying to get all the plants in. I reckon 300 but some will be in marginal beds so won't be great producers I am finding the plants in the very sandy dry beds really don't produce well, and the plants under trees in the drip zones don't perform at all. They do produce seed though so I can use these areas for seed production only.

I am also coming to the conclusion that sun curing my brights and orientals is a great way to process, with my brights I am letting them wilt and then yellow a bit more in the shade sometimes it is only a day or two. Then trying to set some of the colour with the sun. I am getting nice Gold to reddish leaf especially after a few very hot days. This has taken out a lot of my problems with green sections and flash curing. The orientals have never been so good and the dark air is sweeter and less harsh than air curing. It also lets me smoke them a lot sooner. Sometimes straight off the line without being ripped apart.

I start planting again August/September so have a lot of time to get my beds right, I have a lot of work to do also. I think I have learnt more about baccy this year than in the last 6. I now know my second sowing needs to go in 2 months before I did it this year but I didn't have any seed to sow. Thankyou guys for the seed and tips and blogs and information and well just being a bunch of alright blokes.

cheers.

 

[Dean]

With flowering in full swing leaves are coming off thick and fast. I have had the oppotunity to try many of the new vars and blend with them. I have been taking a few notes or sorts if you guys are interested of vars in a ciggy form and in pipe. I have kept them as individual vars with a combination of lugs and primed ripe leaf. A lot have been sun cured this year as I have said and I will continue to do so, some plants with little sugar it seems won't sun cure well like little Dutch and Havanas. If it's not sugars that won't let them lighten can someone point me in the right direction of what it is.

i have had a wow of a year with 2 grows, worked out why the second grow did badly and will rectify it for the first season this year. I hope some of the longer maturing plants like the African red will solve the need to try and grow 2 crops.

i will be growing less vars next grow and concentrating production on known producers. I have plenty of seed coming in from this grow that will hold over. I have 5 new vars to test out and a rough six favourites to re grow. I am very excited about growing the prelip it looks to be a real producer and very ornamental to boot, I will be growing it as a background with the Aztecs in front. Wifey is patient but the garden needs to look pretty too. The beds near the house will now hold my smoking baccy with a massive hedged border of Aztec. Broken up with a few feet of poppies and cats faces between vars. I'm calling this one baccy in landscaping 'the urban pasifyer' keep all parties happy.

i am also moving my chilli beds to another part of the property where baccy doesn't compete well for root space. I know the chillis do fine there and are more aggressive in rooting. This opens up another 20 baccy spots.

I have a few theories on photo sensitive baccy vars from what I have in right now but really cannot make judgement till next season. When the first day of autumn comes and a week later many vars are going to seed while some just keep powering on is an indicator to me. Many of the more advanced hybrids are still powering on in cooler wetter weather as is Orinoco.

cheers.