GreenDragon's 2018 Log (First grow)

[OldDinosaurWesH]

I used to set in front of a computer all day. But I've reformed. Now I only set in front of computer when I want to. Big difference!

Now I like to set under a shade tree and watch my tobacco grow. Very relaxing.

Wes H.

 

[CobGuy]

Sounds like a change for the better, for sure ... congrats!

-Darin

 

[GreenDragon]

And they say size doesn’t matter. This is a Little Dutch that fell over today from all the rain we’ve had. It’s over 6’ tall. I thought this was supposed to be a dwarf variety!?

!

 

[deluxestogie]

Well, if you hang the body upside down, his its arms dangling, that's maybe not an accurate measure of height. 3' plant + 36" leaf = 3' plant height. Does that thing have branches?

But it does look impressive hanging there. If the plants that I intend to stalk harvest start getting too tall for my 7' high shed, I have to prime the lower leaves, then cut the stalk at that higher level.

Bob

 

[Levi Gross]

And they say size doesn’t matter. This is a Little Dutch that fell over today from all the rain we’ve had. It’s over 6’ tall. I thought this was supposed to be a dwarf variety!?

!View attachment 24102

my Little Dutch is only two ft tall

 

[GreenDragon]

I refuse to let facts and/or reality interfere with my weird sense of humor!

 

[GreenDragon]

For example, my Little Dutch vs Levi’s

Seriously though, I think I got my seedling in the ground a good 6 weeks ahead of you Levi. You’ll be surprised how much they will take off all of a sudden when they reach a certain size. It’s like they double overnight.

 

[Levi Gross]

That’s hilarious and a good sense of humor is a must have in these crazy times! My Little Dutch is the only variety not showing signs of ripening other than the Semois. I hope they hit a growth spurt soon.

 

[Charly]

And they say size doesn’t matter. This is a Little Dutch that fell over today from all the rain we’ve had. It’s over 6’ tall. I thought this was supposed to be a dwarf variety!?

!View attachment 24102

Oh my !
That's a BIG little dutch !

 

[GreenDragon]

All my primed leaf has now fully color cured. It's time to start fermenting / kilning them while the rest finishes curing on the stalk. As we are in full Texas summer mode (100F+ degree days) I plan on putting the leaf in the attic as a pre-built kiln Daytime temps should be around 130-140F during the day. My only hold up is in finding some bags to put the leaf in to maintain proper humidity during the fermentation process. Any suggestions?

Also, I found this little cutie munching on one of my Little Dutch. I will spare you the gory details of his ultimate demise. (Spoiler! His a** got stomped into the ground!)

 

[BarG]

An impressive worm, I had no worms this year. I found no eggs and only had i plant ravaged.I used liquid sevin when I thought they might be ripe for moth.

 

[BarG]

Its been so hot here I caught a catfish covered in ticks.

 

[GreenDragon]

Well, I think my attic kilning experiment seems to be working well so far. Bought a couple of Rubbermaid tubs instead of bags. Wet the tobacco down with a mixture of 50/50 water and rum, and packed it into the tubs. I separated layers of different varieties with a piece of thick construction paper. Since the tubs don’t seal airtight I had to add some additional water at the two week point. Took them down last night to do a more complete check. So far so good. Strong aroma of raisins and vanilla mixed with tobacco and a slight touch of ammonia. Even the wife said it smelled fantastic! I let them sit with the lids off overnight to offgas the ammonia, then wet them down again for two more weeks in the attic.

 

[GreenDragon]

I forgot to mention that the tubs were full to the top when they first went into the attic! I guess they steam compressed themselves.

 

[deluxestogie]

With daytime temps of 130-140°F, you have yourself a real kiln.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Ya had a great year Green. Using the tubs to cure in the attic is a good idea. I bet they do smell tasty.

 

[GreenDragon]

It's time to take stock and review the fruits of my labors for 2018. Over all I think this years grow was a success. I learned quite a bit about how tobacco behaves in my yard/environment, and also about priming, harvesting, and curing. There were trials and tribulations (hornworms, storms, mold) and also many successes. As a recap, I grew the following Cigar varieties:

Comstock Spanish (Binder / Filler)
Lancaster Leaf (Binder / Filler)
Florida Sumatra (Wrapper)
Glessner (Wrapper / Filler)
Little Dutch (Filler)
Havana 263 (Binder / Filler)
Ct. Long Leaf (Wrapper)

I got the most leaf out of the Lancaster, Little Dutch, and Havana 263, and decent amounts from the rest. Some of my shade grown plants designated for wrappers / binders received too much shade, and did not generate thick enough leaves to be useful. Though a few plants appeared to be in the goldilocks zone and made some very nice wrapping leaves, just not as many as I had hoped. Live and learn!

One nice surprise is that based on some early sampling, while my Glessner did not make many good wrappers (my fault!), it's developing into excellent pipe tobacco.

I learned I prefer to harvest Little Dutch as a whole plant and dry on the stem. With it's very thick central vein when hand primed they were prone to mold. Whole plant harvesting solved this issue. Primed leaves I learned to spread out thinly and turn daily to prevent mold.

After color curing, all leaves were "kilned" by storing in the attic for 3 months in Rubbermaid tubs, then aging in the garage. It's been 6 months since harvest, so I got everything out of the tubs last night to review and rolled 2 puro's of each variety to sample this weekend for initial flavor profiles for blending. All have a light, pleasant tobacco and raisin smell, with the Little Dutch and Florida Sumatra having a deeper tobacco and chocolate aroma.

Here's a pic of the harvest and some of the best wrappers.

 

[Thedbs999]

Nice write up. Good looking results.

Dan