My current garden plan for 2018.
I have to rest several beds, due to virus issues, so the total tobacco plant count is only 128, in 8 varieties. However, unlike most other years, there are no closely-spaced Orientals to pad the numbers. [for example, a single 5'x5' bed can easily hold 44 small Orientals] These will all be full-size plants.
In the spot where my late raspberry bramble faded to nothing, I may dig a fresh bed. Or maybe not.
I was tempted to plant mostly Corojo 99, since it is fabulous. But monocultures are always a recipe for disaster. Piloto Cubano is not on the list, since I really don't have adequate tasting results from the 2017 crop yet.
My two experimentals for this season will be Rabo de Gallo Negro, and Sweet Orinoco, both from Don.
Ideally, all the beds would get a 3 year rest before the next tobacco crop, but that's not going to happen.
There is also the specter of Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterial plant pathogen that is transmitted by insects. It is capable of affecting 379 (and climbing) different plant genera, including all the solanaceae. It is currently at epidemic levels, and has completely wiped out various fruit orchards and olive groves in the Mediterranean. All of Europe and the UK are on high alert for the pathogen. It doesn't seem to be on the tobacco radar yet, here in the US, though the American grape industry is quite concerned. It's been known as "Pierce's disease" on grape vines for over 100 years. We'll see where this goes.
[It's just what we need--another pathogen that affects tobacco.]
Bob
I have to rest several beds, due to virus issues, so the total tobacco plant count is only 128, in 8 varieties. However, unlike most other years, there are no closely-spaced Orientals to pad the numbers. [for example, a single 5'x5' bed can easily hold 44 small Orientals] These will all be full-size plants.
In the spot where my late raspberry bramble faded to nothing, I may dig a fresh bed. Or maybe not.
I was tempted to plant mostly Corojo 99, since it is fabulous. But monocultures are always a recipe for disaster. Piloto Cubano is not on the list, since I really don't have adequate tasting results from the 2017 crop yet.
My two experimentals for this season will be Rabo de Gallo Negro, and Sweet Orinoco, both from Don.
Ideally, all the beds would get a 3 year rest before the next tobacco crop, but that's not going to happen.
There is also the specter of Xylella fastidiosa, a bacterial plant pathogen that is transmitted by insects. It is capable of affecting 379 (and climbing) different plant genera, including all the solanaceae. It is currently at epidemic levels, and has completely wiped out various fruit orchards and olive groves in the Mediterranean. All of Europe and the UK are on high alert for the pathogen. It doesn't seem to be on the tobacco radar yet, here in the US, though the American grape industry is quite concerned. It's been known as "Pierce's disease" on grape vines for over 100 years. We'll see where this goes.
[It's just what we need--another pathogen that affects tobacco.]
Bob