Are these ready for the garden?

[OldDinosaurWesH]

Oh, I forgot to mention in my previous post re: "Golden Burley" Those mid-level leaves are 30" long x 12" wide. The bottom most 2 that are ready to pick are about 27" I'm going to wait a few days 'till I have more to pick in order to make up a decent string of 40 or 50 leaves. I only planted 12 of this type.

Wes H.

 

[mwaller]

Thanks for your comments, Wes.
I did a second priming of my Corojo 99, and a few other odds and ends. There are definitely some leaves that show the characteristics I've been looking for - pronounced 'alligator' texture, yellowing highlights and leaf tip etc. But there are some that throw me for a loop... I see leaves that are pale and somewhat limp... Then there are leaves at low stalk positions that don't appear as mature as leaves further up the stalk, or leaves that appear perfectly mature but do not break crisply from the stalk...
It will be interesting to see how these cure. I'm anticipating much greater success with this round as I can already see some leaves starting to yellow after priming.

 

[mwaller]

Color curing, Round 2, seems to be going much better. This is Corojo 99.

 

[deluxestogie]

Very nice.

Bob

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

I bought a new toy yesterday. Same photos as previous, new camera. Hey! you can actually see these.

 

[mwaller]

Very nice!

I bought a new toy yesterday. Same photos as previous, new camera. Hey! you can actually see these.

View attachment 21535View attachment 21534

 

[deluxestogie]

Maybe I should include "new camera" in the list of required tools, in the growers' FAQ. Excellent photos.

Bob

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

I'm a natural born cheapskate. I've been limping along w/ my little cell phone camera for too long. You can really see the yellowing and splotching along the leaf edges. My friend stopped by a couple of days ago & thought that was insect damage. I had to explain to him it was just natural maturation.

Photo of "Common Smoking Tobacco" which is the only re-grow I have this year. I brought it's ancestor inside after the season was over, and hand-pollinated it. The result looks dramatically different than last years. (much better) I can't explain this. Due to the hand-pollination, and lack of any contaminants, I'm assuming my seed line is pretty pure. I planted 12 of these new seedlings, and they are all very consistent in appearance and growth habit. Maybe it is just the cultural difference due to more experience on my part. These leaves are 27-28" long, 14" wide, and densely packed on the stem. Last year's were maybe 16" long x 6" wide, and not that dense. I think I only picked about 15 or 16 leaves off of each of those from last year. Who knows? Ces't la Vie!



Wes H.

Bob: glad you noticed. Now that I have a decent camera, I'll post some curing photos on my own blog in a day or two. This isn't my blog, thanks for the space MWaller!

 

[mwaller]

A little bit if this, a little bit of that... Oddly enough, the only variety that has not ripened yet for even a first priming is Havana 142,
which was billed as being good for areas with short growing seasons!

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

A little bit if this, a little bit of that... Oddly enough, the only variety that has not ripened yet for even a first priming is Havana 142,
which was billed as being good for areas with short growing seasons! View attachment 21553

What really is a short growing season? I used to be really concerned with that, myself. Now, I think the later it suckers and blooms, the bigger the tobacco plants get. So far, I haven't grown one variety that couldn't make it to the mature stage, except maybe the smallest upper leaves, before first killing frost. True, checking the weather like crazy worrying about whether it'll hit minus 4 vs minus one or two can be stressful, but there's a finality of the final pick that's satisfying. Short season varieties might be more appropriate for Lakota in Saskatchewan, or someone in AK, or northern Sweden, but I honestly don't care any more. I certainly wouldn't care if I lived in WA.

 

[mwaller]

Much of my Round 2 harvest has browned nicely, though several leaves still have greenish stems. Can I start kilning the leaves as soon as lamina are brown, or should I wait for the entire leaf to brown and dry completely?

 

[deluxestogie]

Before kilning, I would wait for the color-cure to complete.

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

I find it better to let the stems dry out, then bring the lamina into case. Fat, wet stems always seem to do something that isn't good.

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

I agree with deluxestogie and SmokesAhoy. Get your tobacco fully color cured, and the fat wet stems dried out before kilning. If you put the tobacco in the kiln with a little green left in it, the finished product may retain same said green. (been there, done that!) Green tobacco is un-smokable trash to be thrown away. (been there, and done that too) I still have a string of green flash hanging around in my basement left over from last year. It is completely unusable, and I just haven't gotten around to throwing it out yet. 50 wasted leaves in the trash mostly because of inexperience.

Tobacco is kind of like salt in food. You can always add more salt if you want it, but it is very hard to get the salt out of your dish when you've put too much in there. Same way with tobacco, if it gets a little dry and crispy, you can always add a little water to re-hydrate it.

Good luck, and happy burning!

Wes H.

Post some pictures of your curing tobacco!

 

[deluxestogie]

If dried green tobacco is large and thin enough, you can use it as candela (green) cigar wrapper. It's an acquired taste, even though the majority of cigars sold in the US in the 1960s were wrapped in candela. (It's like smoking a cigar while sucking on a Certs breath mint.)

Bob

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

I'll take your word for it. I tried smoking some of my green flash last year & that's when I learned an alternate use for the garbage can. Nasty stuff. I didn't want to punish the neighbors by putting this stuff in my wood stove so in the trash it went. I've also had some tobacco that was green around the edges or had green spots...yuck. You can use leaves that are partially green...if you cut the green part out and throw it away. Removing part of a leaf is okay if you are making shred. Whole leaf tobacco for cigars is another matter. And a good whole leaf cigar is just that...good.

Fortunately, with some good advice, and a little more experience I have learned to do a better job.

Wes H.

mwaller: Good luck, happy burning, (just not in the wood stove!) and post more pictures!

 

[deluxestogie]

If you use candela leaf as a filler, it is truly awful. It really is different as a wrapper. It is intentionally manufactured by flue-curing without the yellowing phase. The higher heat cooks the leaf while green. (And how do I know that?)

Bob

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

Okay...I fell for it...How do you know that? And did you punish the neighbors by putting the results in the wood stove?...

Excuse me, It's about my bed-time. I'm starting to get a little punchy.

Wes H.

mwaller: sorry for polluting your blog with a bunch of silly blather. It's my dry sense of humor. My brother says that I do have a sense of humor...a dreadful one at that. (I happen to know he stole that line from a TV show.)

 

[mwaller]

My kiln is up and running! Regulating well...

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

HOORAY!!

Wes H.