You can just bring them indoors, and keep in a garbage bag for a day or three, to avoid frosting.
Bob
China Voodoo 2022 Grow Log
- Thread starter ChinaVoodoo
- Start date
Bob
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
If I didn't have kickass tobacco, garlic, and tomatoes, I think I would find it hard to be positive. Most everything else was a bust. I'm never growing corn again. That was attempt number three.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Corn isn't even good for you.
Hmmm...disparaging one of the three sisters...
My worst corn yields have been with "super sweet" corn. Although heirloom field corn (dent corn) and flint corn have to be ground, in order to eat them (or else cooked into hominy), they always grow super-huge stalks, large ears, and can make nice-sized pipe cobs. Plus...and this is a big plus, there is something ineffably satisfying about corn that you've planted yourself growing 10+ feet tall—even if you don't eat it. You can also grow popcorn, which you can pop and eat (but only if you watch a movie).
Bob
My worst corn yields have been with "super sweet" corn. Although heirloom field corn (dent corn) and flint corn have to be ground, in order to eat them (or else cooked into hominy), they always grow super-huge stalks, large ears, and can make nice-sized pipe cobs. Plus...and this is a big plus, there is something ineffably satisfying about corn that you've planted yourself growing 10+ feet tall—even if you don't eat it. You can also grow popcorn, which you can pop and eat (but only if you watch a movie).
Bob
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
This was an heirloom, regular sweet corn called Golden Bantam. It looked like a sure thing. I've also tried unnamed prestarted homedepot corn, and super duper mega sweet F1 hybrid blah blah corn. Pfft. Maybe I'm too far north. They're growing GMO corn outside the city. But I think it's for dairy feed.
Are you growing it in full sun?
Bob
Bob
And all corn responds poorly to any tree root intrusion.
Bob
Bob
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
That's the best part of the garden, actually. My Delhi 34 and Viqueque did extremely well there two years ago.
Corn is entirely wind-pollinated. So a large rectangle optimizes pollination for random wind. A long, narrow row might or might not get adequate pollination.
Bob
Bob
HillDweller
Well-Known Member
I had a block of about three dozen corn plants. They were coming along slow but sure. About the time it was ready to eat some the neighbors calf got out and ate or trampled them all. Didn't get a single ear to eat myself.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
After 4 days in the kiln, I think the humidity is too high because there's so many leaves; therefore, I cracked the lid a couple mm in one corner. I'll have to see if the temperature stays up overnight.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Your corn was just poorly pollinated. Since you don’t grow a whole lot it may be in your best interest to go around and hand pollinate the silks when the time comes or even simply shaking the plants (assuming the immature silks have appeared on the stalks when the anthers are opening) can greatly improve yield. Each silk poking out of the cob corresponds to a corn kernel and in order to get a full ear of corn, each silk will need to come in contact with pollen from the above anthers to produce a full ear of corn and avoid spotty cobs. There could have been a lack of wind (growing next to a fence) or other environmental conditions may have made it so there was very little overlap between the corn silks developing and anthers dropping. The planting pattern looks fine though.
CORN POLLINATION SUMMARY FACTS
FS is the provider of agronomic, grain and energy news and information
www.illinifs.com
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
That stuff looks great!! I love fire cured tobacco!! Care to share your method or have you already? If it was me, I would just cut some obscure design out of the metal tag and write down what that coincides with on a piece of paper (tag with rounded corners= Greenwood, tag with one rounded corner=Stag horn, etc…) also, what varieties do you fire cure?? Very nice!
Edit: sorry I know I am responding to a post from June…hahaha!!
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
This is the box I built for fire curing. This will show you the construction. Yet, the finished product is a little different and not to be found in the forum yet.
fairtradetobacco.com
Basically, now, I have a 12.75" diameter pipe with a cap, with a chimney that goes into the box where the fan used to be. I burn wood in the pipe which is on the ground vertically. I regulate air flow by digging out a small gap between the pipe and the dirt on one side. I regulate temperature with an electric hot plate with a big pot of water with a loose lid in the bottom of the box. The smoke passively enters the box and leaks out the lid of the box but doesn't significantly heat it. The water in the pot isn't needed once the tobacco yellows.
Fire Curing Attempt: ChinaVoodoo
I built a box last night for fire curing. I'm not sure I'm happy with it. I'll explain. I'm currently running it for the first time. I built a box for less than $50 (CAD). 4-2x4s 12 brackets 2 - 1/4" 60x36" cement boards The cement board was cut into 5-20x36" pieces, 1-20x20" piece, and...
Basically, now, I have a 12.75" diameter pipe with a cap, with a chimney that goes into the box where the fan used to be. I burn wood in the pipe which is on the ground vertically. I regulate air flow by digging out a small gap between the pipe and the dirt on one side. I regulate temperature with an electric hot plate with a big pot of water with a loose lid in the bottom of the box. The smoke passively enters the box and leaks out the lid of the box but doesn't significantly heat it. The water in the pot isn't needed once the tobacco yellows.
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
Very cool. Like an iron pipe? That is a large pipe! I was trying to find the old thread about fire curing in a metal trash can but could notThis is the box I built for fire curing. This will show you the construction. Yet, the finished product is a little different and not to be found in the forum yet.
Fire Curing Attempt: ChinaVoodoo
I built a box last night for fire curing. I'm not sure I'm happy with it. I'll explain. I'm currently running it for the first time. I built a box for less than $50 (CAD). 4-2x4s 12 brackets 2 - 1/4" 60x36" cement boards The cement board was cut into 5-20x36" pieces, 1-20x20" piece, and...
Basically, now, I have a 12.75" diameter pipe with a cap, with a chimney that goes into the box where the fan used to be. I burn wood in the pipe which is on the ground vertically. I regulate air flow by digging out a small gap between the pipe and the dirt on one side. I regulate temperature with an electric hot plate with a big pot of water with a loose lid in the bottom of the box. The smoke passively enters the box and leaks out the lid of the box but doesn't significantly heat it. The water in the pot isn't needed once the tobacco yellows.
Locate it. I work with a guy who grew up fire curing tobacco in the south (well, his parents did and he helped). Only about 5 acres worth but that is what brought the big money. It is also what burned many tobacco barns down in his community…haha!
Making Latakia at Home
Making Latakia at Home PART 1 (of 3) Background I have fire-cured various tobaccos in a trash can smoker (placed on top of a Brinkman smoker), using an assortment of woods: hickory, oak, maple, apple, etc. Each tobacco variety combined with each of the woods that I tried produced some...
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
It's a welders test coupon — a standard test of skill, 12"Sch 40, basically two short pieces of pipe butted up and welded together, just so it can be x-rayed to qualify the welder either for hire, a specific procedure, or a specific project.
Here is @johnlee1933's smokehouse:
fairtradetobacco.com
Smokehouse Log
This new thread is to report experiments, recipes, successes, and failures with the smoke house. As reported in Providing for the Table it is built and the dead gas grill smoke generator was a dismal failure. I just ran the first test with the new barrel generator. I used bits and pieces of...
