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deluxestogie Grow Log 2016

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deluxestogie

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My seed was started last week, in closed cups, as usual. Today, I was able to transfer seedlings of 4 varieties into their 1020 trays.

This year's varieties:
  1. Coroja Cuba (Pi 405643) [Knucklehead]
  2. Criollo Cuba (Ti 1376) [Knucklehead]
  3. Corojo (directly from Vinca Robaina) [tourist in Cuba]
  4. Baldió Vera (Spanish white-stem burley) [rainmax] {That's Baldio Vera. The accented "o" is screwed up in some browsers.}
  5. Nostrano del Brenta (Italian cigar) [Alpine]
  6. Izmir/Karabaglar
  7. GRIN Unk#10 normal
  8. GRIN Unk#10 TWINNING (fasciated)
  9. Vuelta Abajo
  10. Swarr-Hibshman
  11. Little Dutch
  12. Hacienda del Cura (Canary Islands)
  13. Colombian Garcia
  14. FL Sumatra
  15. Besuki
  16. Long Red
  17. PA Red
Of these, 12 are repeats and 5 (numbers 1-5 above) are new. Thank you to those who provided the seed for these exciting new ones. A special thanks to the tourist who managed to obtain seed directly from the growing tobacco on the Robaina plantation, in Cuba's famed Vuelta Abajo region. (You know who you are, you sneaky devil!)

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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Garden20160325_2153_ClothesDryerWorktable_600.jpg

Clothes dryer work table.

Thanks, all. It's only the mouthwateriness that motivates me to label 60 Popsicle sticks on both sides, stand for hours with tweezers, and check the moisture of the seedlings' soil several times a day. I have to suppress any thoughts of having to dig all the garden beds for now--too exhausting a prospect. It's all a Zen exercise in how to eat an elephant.

Garden20160325_2154_tweezersAndSticks_400.jpg


Garden20160325_2156_seedlingStart_400.jpg


Bob
 

jojjas

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Indeed a impressive list , Can we hope for a video tour in your garden this season , like the beautifull video last year

" A special thanks to the tourist who managed to obtain seed directly from the growing tobacco on the Robaina plantation, in Cuba's famed Vuelta Abajo region. (You know who you are, you sneaky devil!)

Bob
Yeah , i know him too :eek:
 
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istanbulin

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Have a good year, Bob. I see that Karabaglar is one of your repeats. What did you like about it?
 

deluxestogie

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Hey, istanbulin. My Karabaglar is very similar to the other Izmir varieties that I have grown, although it seems to provide a slight pepper edge to the taste. I sun-cured it as strings of leaf, as well as on the stalk. Both cured easily, and are indistinguishable.

The two GRIN Unknown #10 variations are probably both Izmir Ozbas, but they don't seem to be germinating for me this year. This was the variety that developed fasciation on about 30% of the plants. Perhaps the seed from GRIN produced only sterile seeds in the offspring.

Bob
 

rainmax

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... A special thanks to the tourist who managed to obtain seed directly from the growing tobacco on the Robaina plantation, in Cuba's famed Vuelta Abajo region....

Bob


I believe that No.3 is "Corojo 99".
So please, be careful and more accurate when writing about strains.

Good luck my friend... 17 strains... ouch...
 

Brown Thumb

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Good Luck this yr. Bob.
What RH are you keeping the little puppies at.
Nice Cheap tray cover you got there.
 

deluxestogie

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What RH are you keeping the little puppies at.
Nice Cheap tray cover you got there.
"Nice cheap" is my guiding light.

When I fill my starting mix into the cells, I allow the mix to fall in and settle by gravity alone. The excess is scraped away, avoiding any compression. As a result, the soil wicks water in a fashion similar to that in a float tray. Since my tray assembly (holding the cells) consists of an upper tray with holes, a lower tray with no holes (and then beneath it all, a lattice tray for easy support when moving them around), so long as water is visible in the tray with holes, the soil is able to wick it up, without becoming too saturated. And that assures me that there is still a reservoir of water below, in the tray without holes, to maintain humidity.

I check them several times a day at this point. The plastic wrap "domes" stay on for a few days to about a week--giving the tiny seedlings enough time to send down a decent root. During this time, a single layer of Agribon-AG15 provides some degree (~15%) of shade from the sun. Once the plastic wrap comes off, I usually leave on the Agribon cover until I begin to see true leaves.

So, to answer your specific question about the RH: muggy. Since they are exposed to sunlight during at least part of each day, I'm not as worried about mold growth.

In previous years, I provided heat from a seedling heat mat during the first few days. It seems to make no difference here. I do use a heat mat for germination, where it makes a huge difference in time to germinate.

Bob

PS: the Popsicle sticks also serve as tent poles.
 

Chicken

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I had trouble last year getting my Izmir obas to germinate..

Perhaps it's a tricky strain to get going..I didn't bother with it this year.
 

deluxestogie

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Group Suicide

My Besuki decided, as a group thing, that life as a tobacco plant just wasn't worth the living. Every single Besuki in the 1020 tray cells is toast. Every Besuki seedling in the germination jar is also dead. In the same 1020 tray, the other varieties are all doing just fine (with counseling). There is no sign of mold or bugs. The Besuki just all up and died, before forming any true leaves. All the cells in that tray have identical soil mix and identical watering from the bottom. They were exposed to exactly the same sun, beneath a layer of Agribon-AG15.

So I've shuffled seedlings of other varieties to make up for the deficit--more of the Cuban varieties and more FL Sumatra.

After years of tobacco growing, the loss of Besuki feels like dropping a couple of cheesy macaroni elbows on the kitchen floor. Wipe it up, then go eat the rest.

I do wish I had started Havana 322 again this season. After it was too late for a good start, last years Havana 322 was finally perfect for smoking. It turns out to make a dark, dry, woody cigar with rich smoke and excellent burn. Great stuff. Maybe it will make the list again in 2017.

FYI, the Habano Colorado looks, smells and tastes like a hybrid between a mild cigar type and a flue-cure. It doesn't blend well in a cigar (too edgy and acidic), and makes a somewhat stinky pipe blender. Not a keeper.

Bob
 

cigarchris

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How did the house-wall-grown Columbian Garcia and the San Andres from last year turn out? I've been growing Fl Sumatra, Criollo 98, PA Broadleaf, Lil Dutch and Vuelta Abajo as my cigar necessities for the last two years, but I'm looking for some other recommendations.
 

deluxestogie

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Columbian Garcia is a giant plant, and is easily half-again as productive as other varieties. The cured and kilned leaf makes a decent cigar filler--good, though not great. They produce seed very late.

You might look into Long Red and Swarr-Hibshman, both of which are highly productive, and make large wrappers and abundant filler. The flavors of Long Red are not as deep as PA Red or Little Dutch. I would categorize the flavors of Swarr-Hibshman as "general cigarness"--smooth, medium strength, with no distinctive character.

Bob

[Note: Long Red is so long that I have to remove the center rack from my kiln to process it.]
 

Smokin Harley

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Bob, would you happen to have any Ct Shade 8212 seed available? I think the seed I was given is all duds...and while I'm asking ,That Havana 322 sounds nice as well.
Thank you sir.
 

AmaxB

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I especially like the writers style post #15 my deepest condolences. Thank goodness they received the guidance needed all were not lost.
 

cigarchris

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I'm going to have to try the Swarr-Hibshman next year and it seems like everyone is growing Corojo this year except me. I missed the train. To be honest, I didn't even know there was seed available for Corojo, I would've tried it already seeing as how it's a staple of Central American cigars. Not sure who all reads your grow log Bob, but if anyone reading smokes store-bought cigars, the new Eiroa "First 20 Years" are a perfect Corojo blend from the King of Corojo, Christian Eiroa (started Camacho Cigars). I'm still waiting for samples of the new Kristoff San Andres and Cameroon. I spend way too much money on tobacco, but to me, a full humidor is just as beautiful a sight as a full tobacco patch.
 
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