2015 Knucklehead Grow Blog

[Smokin Harley]

All but four varieties are budding and bagged. I'm not getting much height this go around, I've needed some rain for a month and I'm too lazy to run all the hoses I need for water. I found some soaker hoses I'll buy in time for next year.

Maryland 609 on the right. 2-4' tall. Should be ready to top next week.
View attachment 15811

VA 355 Dark Air on the right. 2-4' tall. Topped this week.
View attachment 15812

I primed some Besuki Seco from the four plants. I let them get too ripe.
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Those look really good and actually I'm jealous.... I hope mine perk up like that , I'm still seeing yellowing on my swamped out plants. I've picked/primed those and have them hanging . How long are those Besuki leaves? How do you have them hung...looks like a wire clothes hanger. I think I might be lucky if my few Besuki even survive.

 

[Knucklehead]

Those look really good and actually I'm jealous.... I hope mine perk up like that , I'm still seeing yellowing on my swamped out plants. I've picked/primed those and have them hanging . How long are those Besuki leaves? How do you have them hung...looks like a wire clothes hanger. I think I might be lucky if my few Besuki even survive.

The Besuki leaves are 14" wide and 24" long. The next couple of primings will have some slightly larger leaf. Besuki cures very easy.

That is a wire coat hanger. They work great on small primings. I have four plants each of 17 varieties that I am growing out mainly for seed. Sample and taste is nice, too.

 

[Knucklehead]

I got 20 minutes of a hard rain yesterday. Hallelujah! I needed it. The grass is turning brown and either going into severe dormancy or outright dying, I can't tell which yet. The Maples and Dogwood Tree leaves are really wilted down with some turning brown and I have a big White Oak tree close to the house that is dying from the top down. The rain was mostly run off because the ground is hard as rock and it had mostly dried back out by this afternoon. But, the patch was tilled between the rows a few weeks ago so it is still fairly loose. Every drop that fell on the patch sank into the ground. It was nice.

 

[Gmac]

=Knucklehead;108718]All but four varieties are budding and bagged. I'm not getting much height this go around, I've needed some rain for a month and I'm too lazy to run all the hoses I need for water. I found some soaker hoses I'll buy in time for next year.

Maryland 609 on the right. 2-4' tall. Should be ready to top next week.
View attachment 15811

VA 355 Dark Air on the right. 2-4' tall. Topped this week.
View attachment 15812

I primed some Besuki Seco from the four plants. I let them get too ripe.
View attachment 15813[/

I use a pvc triclkle drip method. I buy 1/2 inch pvc for ten cents a foot from a contractor friend. drill a 1/16 hole for every plant. I have one end of spot at lower elevation so I can run it at 15 pounds of pressure. never increases my water bill. Cheap!
Gmac

 

[Knucklehead]

I use a pvc triclkle drip method. I buy 1/2 inch pvc for ten cents a foot from a contractor friend. drill a 1/16 hole for every plant. I have one end of spot at lower elevation so I can run it at 15 pounds of pressure. never increases my water bill. Cheap!
GmacView attachment 15843

That's a neat looking setup and you get a great deal on pipe.

 

[Knucklehead]

I worked on my 48 Maryland 609 plants today. I pulled grass, pulled off and discarded the mud lugs, then primed the bottom two leaves for curing. They were about 50% yellow with a nice alligator texture. They are now hanging in the shop.

 

[Chicken]

Thanks patch is looking good..I also got to get the weeds under control.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Knucks, how's your Kavala doing? Mine is very big for an Oriental. Getting ready to bloom, so "time to bloom" is about 49 days.

 

[Knucklehead]

Knucks, how's your Kavala doing? Mine is very big for an Oriental. Getting ready to bloom, so "time to bloom" is about 49 days.

They are looking good. Mine have been bagged for a few weeks now. They were one of the first varieties to bloom this year. Priming will start any day now.

 

[DGBAMA]

How's the patch doing? Have a good harvest started?

 

[Knucklehead]

How's the patch doing? Have a good harvest started?

Yes. I have almost all the cigar leaf primed and hanging. The cigarette varieties are almost ready for second priming.

I finally got some decent rain today. Fifth rain since planting in April, and first rain that wasn't a 20 min. downpour with mostly runoff. I was determined to not irrigate this year, I only have chlorinated water anyway. Tobacco stands up to drought very well. I have dogwood trees dying but the tobacco is surviving but short in height. The Dark Air and Maryland only got to about 3-4' tall, but the leaf size is very nice. I'll try to get some photos tomorrow. I'm kind of embarrassed by the tall grass. I went with a semi commercial style grow, generic Admire did a great job on Aphids and I only sprayed Spinosad once all season for hornworms. The leaf is Aphid free with a minimum amount of hornworm holes that I can live with. This has been the easiest grow so far.

 

[DGBAMA]

The Admire has been great for me too. Lack of bugs has removed a lot of stress from the grow. So has the ease of stalk harvesting the air cure types.

I wonder at this point if the Admire offers at least some measure of control for the worms too, I have had quite a few leaves with small holes that should have revealed a worm on the underside, but there was nothing to be found.

 

[Knucklehead]

The Admire has been great for me too. Lack of bugs has removed a lot of stress from the grow. So has the ease of stalk harvesting the air cure types.

I wonder at this point if the Admire offers at least some measure of control for the worms too, I have had quite a few leaves with small holes that should have revealed a worm on the underside, but there was nothing to be found.

I think you could be right. Same here, small holes, no worms. I guess I should read the label for more than just mixing ratio.

 

[DGBAMA]

The "generic" I got is called "merit 2f" which is by Bayer, same as Admire. My label got messed up but it does say Cutworm and Japanese Beetle, under species controlled.

 

[Rickey60]

I agree, so far no aphids and the only hornworms I have seen are less than 1/2 inch. I am using generic admire called macho. Big difference from last year's fight with aphids.

 

[Brown Thumb]

Party Poopers,
Im enjoying my Aphids this yr.

 

[Chicken]

I'm noticing the same..no aphids and a couple small worms..

Maybe this stuff kills them..but it takes longer than b.t.

My b.t. spraying has been more preventive..than me actually seeing worms and then spraying.

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm going to bet my nickel that the vacant, tiny holes were made by some late departed flea beetles.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I agree, so far no aphids and the only hornworms I have seen are less than 1/2 inch. I am using generic admire called macho. Big difference from last year's fight with aphids.

Macho is the brand I'm using.

 

[Rickey60]

What did you think about the K326 you grew? I'm growing some this year that I got from Larry, but I don't know anything about it other than it is a flue cure Bright leaf.