CT Tobaccoman's Backyard patch blog

[BigBonner]

I would say it would have to be plain rot . Hot weather and length in the box and the root ball being more moist than the Maryland .
The burley did not have a spot on them when I put them in the box .
This info is good for me to know , This way I may be able to correct my shipping in the future .
I may have to ship with a pad of some kind that will let plants breath a little in the box and absorb up any excess moisture . I thought that the dry wicking soil would draw out excess moisture .
Maybe if I covered the entire plant with wicking soil it will absorb moisture from the leaves and stems .

I know bouncing around during shipping is not good for the plants either .

 

[deluxestogie]

Maybe part of the problem is the time of year they were shipped. Heaven only knows the temperatures that box was subjected to during its delayed delivery.

Bob

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Yes, the July 4th weekend was hot and humid, delivery came on the 6th morning. Bad luck that the 4th was a Friday. I would have got them Friday if not for the holiday, instead of Monday. Holidays are annoying when one doesn't have to work anyways. Even had a little hurricane brush by that weekend.

Larry, remember in the first place I had set out burley that I had grown from seed, but I made an incredibly stupid mistake in a panic over bugs, and all died but one. That is when I ordered plants from you. My lone original survivor is now 20" and growing fast. Mostly I have MD 609 which are looking good, 9" when praying at night. I like the look of them, they look like CT Broadleaf at this stage. I only have 4 or 5 of the burley seedlings you sent me in the patch. Mostly all were damaged too much in shipping--that rot must have developed while the post office had them. The surviving burley seedlings sat for 2 weeks doing nothing, but now are beginning to push up new leaves, but they are only maybe 5", so I don't expect much from them but hey, they still have 6-8 weeks to make something of themselves.

I love that 609. Very nice looking plants.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Larry,

To sum up, the MD rootballs on arrival were very dry but still were intact. The rootballs of the burley were a lot more moist. The burley plants themselves had bent into a U shape and the ones that are still in my patch never really straightened up. I buried them up to the leaves as best I could, but thy still have a bend in the stem where it comes out of the ground. They just got too sweaty in the box, I guess.

No complaints. Unexpectedly, I got a MD patch instead of a burley patch, and I like it. I knew we were taking a chance.

Charlie

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Finding that my plants all wilt about 30 minutes after they get into the full sun. Not surprising to me, since they are pretty much growing in beach sand that is a half mile from the beach. Gray sand. So, water goes down deep fast. So, every sunny day I water them, once a week including a good dose of plant food with extra nitrogen that I get by dissolving urea nitrogen in water and adding it to the plant food.

It is an experiment, but is turning out pretty good. Nearly all their nutrition is artificial. Weeds don't even grow in my patch. Once I water them, they stop wilting and enjoy the sun. I have 24 plants and each one is different in size, and health. Barring any major disaster, probably at least half of them will turn out good, if smaller than they might be if they had better soil.

I'll post pics soon. Just gotta get to town for a digital camera. If I ever try this again on Cape Cod I will put some work into the soil early. This patch was a rush job, started late. Lots of cottonseed meal, sulfur to lower the PH, and lots of blue plant food.The plants need daily attention, frequent feeding and daily watering, since they live in sand, and over half look normal to me.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

So, July 26. MD 609 is coming along nice.

Lots of extra work because of poor sandy soil. I am doing bi-weekly side dress with urea nitrogen and weekly liquid plant food. Monthly, some liquid sulfur to lower the PH. Imiprichloriprid or acephate weekly for bugs, dimethomorph-mancozeb twice so far in case of blue mold, which so far doesn't seem to be an issue this year.

Water almost daily because of poor moisture retention in the sand. Plants wilt fast in the sun but come right back with water. Today I did side dress nitrogen, double dose plant food, acephate-dimethomorph-mancozeb for bugs and mold, since I have to go away for most of next week. Somebody will be here to water them on sunny days.

Gotta say that I'm real happy with the MD 609, which makes up 20 of my 24 plants. They look great, just like they are supposed to look. Next time, I expect to be ready to show some pics.

 

[Knucklehead]

I really like the Maryland 609 I am growing this year. Huge, closely spaced leaves. Maryland 609 makes up 20% of my cigarette blend. It has a nice mild flavor and is low in nicotine. But the flavor is nice. I initially used it to tone down the harshness of some fresh Burley but I liked the flavor so much it is now a staple.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I better order some MD 609 from WLT (assume they have it?) I'm convinced that is what is missing from my cigarette blend. Watched a youtube of a 1940s "documentary" produced by Ligget & Myers about how Chesterfields were made then. Maryland, bright, burley and oriental was the basic blend. There is another kind of film about Camels produced by American Tobacco. Farm to auction to factory. Fascinating machinery. The original Camel contained 5 tobacco types: Bright flue cured, "red" burley, "white" burley, Maryland and oriental. The so-called white burley is used for soaking up the bath of chemicals and flavorings.

But, that MD 609 is a really pretty tobacco plant. Mine have maybe a dozen leaves but they are still close to the ground. Great color. They remind me of how Conn Broadleaf looks at this stage.

CT Broadleaf itself is seed taken from Maryland and mutated in CT and PA for about 150 years now. I wonder if maybe this Maryland 609 isn't Broadleaf's ancient ancestor. I'll guess I'll find out if the leaves become big and floppy and hang down like BDLF, unlike most tobacco that has leaves that point diagonally upward.

 

[Knucklehead]

Grab a pound of Dark Air. Maryland is light on nicotine and I use the Dark Air to bring the nicotine back up. It also adds a nice flavor. My favorite blend so far is 40% Flue cure, 20% Burley, 20% Maryland, 10% Dark Air, 10% Izmir (or Prilep, or a mixture of the two)

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Grab a pound of Dark Air. Maryland is light on nicotine and I use the Dark Air to bring the nicotine back up. It also adds a nice flavor. My favorite blend so far is 40% Flue cure, 20% Burley, 20% Maryland, 10% Dark Air, 10% Izmir (or Prilep, or a mixture of the two)

I do have some Light Air, which is actually very dark. I put a little of that into my cigarettes and my cigars. I am thinking of equal parts Virginia USA flue cured, Maryland, Burley, Turkish, plus a double part of Canadian Virginia flue cured, and a half part of the fire cured. My Turkish is Yendige (sp?) which nobody mentions here. When I tried it by itself it had pretty much no taste at all.

I'd like to try that Xanthi, that is shown in Istanbulin's pics, and Izmir, but I don't need so much Turkish tobacco--would rather buy a half pound or even a quarter of those. I like that Canadian Virginia--used to buy Canadian cigarettes back in the days when they were available everywhere.

Old time premium cigarettes all had Maryland in the blend, like Camels and Chesterfields. Now I don't think that it is used at all anymore by Big Tobacco, since the buy-out. Your blend sounds yummy, but I like more bright leaf in mine--my blends contain about half Bright--I combine Virginia with Canadian. But I want a Turkish that has a definite taste to it--which one has the strongest taste?

And while we're at it, what is Latakia for and how does it taste? Is it a type of Turkish? I notice that it is kind of expensive.

CT

 

[Knucklehead]

Latakia is the ultimate fire cured tobacco from Oriental leaves. Fire cured for several months rather than days or weeks, using local woods and aromatic herbs. The process and which woods and herbs is a mystery that many on the forum would love to unravel. It is used in pipe tobacco. It was originally produced in Syria and on Cyprus. The Syrian Latakia days are over and I understand Cyprian is becoming scarce.

http://fairtradetobacco.com/forums/31-Latakia

As for Orientals in cigarettes, I think Izmir is hands down the most popular. Something like 70% of Turkey's entire Izmir production goes to American cigarettes. Don's Prilep is very nice also.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Thanks for the info, Knuck. I guess Latakia is for pipe blends. My father, who never saw anything but Conn tobacco types used to get a kick out of the word Latakia. He would say, "Is there really such a thing as Latakia?" People would say, "I think so, but no idea what it is." For some reason, Latakia became sort a joke word in the Conn Valley, as some extremely bizarre and useless tobacco. Like, if somebody had a real bad crop, somebody would say, "Looks like latakia there."

It is a word that I always heard but never knew what it really is. Nobody ever heard of Perique either. Some of the old timers in shade never left the Valley all their lives and knew nothing about other tobacco.

Different kind of a world now.

CT

 

[Knucklehead]

You should get a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe to taste and sample your leaf individually. It helps in knowing what each variety will bring to the blends you are working on. It's also pretty neat to pick a cured mud lug off a plant in the patch and stuff the pipe for a quick smoke. I smoke more single varieties in my pipe than I do blends. Samsun-Maden is my favorite, although Don's Virginia Red Leaf is a wonderful single variety smoke in a pipe.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...YVCGS-f6BEXsPprxz0LFvLg&bvm=bv.71778758,d.aWw

I normally like a bent stem, but on the MM pipes for some reason, I have a terrible time passing a pipe cleaner through their bent stems. I go with the straight stems on their pipes now.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

You should get a Missouri Meerschaum corn cob pipe to taste and sample your leaf individually. It helps in knowing what each variety will bring to the blends you are working on.


Good idea. I just ordered some of that red Virginia. Is that flue cured and good for cigarettes? Can it be substituted for regular Virginia bright, or is it stronger? Thought it might give more kick to it. Ordered MD 609 too, and some Olor.

Do you use any of those casings? I don't want flavored cigarettes, but maybe it would help my blend.

I'm in the Conn Valley now. Gotta spend a few days here. I'll be able to look at the tobacco, after I get a digital camera, of course. Hate to leave my plants at home!!

CT

 

[DGBAMA]

The red flue cure is my standout favorite from wlt. Very aromatic and flavorful. Does seem to have more nic than the other flue cured varieties, weather that id's good or bad depends on the individual.

I have not tried Don's casings yet, but I take that they smooth/accent the tobacco blends, more than they give a"flavor".

 

[DonH]

The VA red is definitely stronger in both taste and nicotine than Va Bright Leaf. It's some good stuff, though.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Glad to hear about the VA red. My cigarette blend is about to change, with the MD too. I'll mix in Canadian Virginia and burley, oriental and a little fire cured and see how that is, with the red and the MD. Probably will hsve to experiment with the proportions. Now, I think I can get the blend I have been trying for.

I'm in Conn for a few days. This is where I have my main stash of Conn tobacco. Conditioning 3 hands of 2011 CT Shade. It got real dry, so I'm putting pans of steaming water beneath it in a turned off oven. This batch has multiple primings. My cigar making skills are improving, so I'm ready to try good wrapper. Cured this myself. Veins are a bit big, but we'll see. I have CT Broadleaf, CT Havana seed here too, 2010 and 2011. Might dig out some broadleaf good enough for wrapper too. Have several boxes of this stuff, enough to last a long time.

CT

 

[grgfinney]

Sounds like you are getting close to my blend,40 percent kilned red leaf,30 percent burley,20 percent maryland 609, 10 percent black sea samson, and 1 and a half leaf of fire cured per lb, I kiln all my tobacco except for the fire cure

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

OK, so I bought a digital camera. Problem now is that I have to get a memory card for it. Always sumpin'. Anyway, my plants are looking better every day, so when I finally post pics in a few days they will be pics of nice Maryland 609.

So, I got my 609 and VA Red from WLT. First time I ordered form WLT, and I am very happy with the sealed bags and the excellent condition of the tobacco. Smoked a cig made from just MD 609, and I found that it has a bite at the back of th throat and not much taste. So, I understand why it is used--for that "bite" and certainly it aids combustion. Only a little was used in cigarettes like Camel, Chesterfield in the old days. Haven't sampled the VA Red yet. I'll probably be using it for my blend instead of "regular" Virginia Bright.

My blend is half bright--2/3 of that is Canadian, 1/3 will be VA Red or Va Va. then 1/4 burley and the last quarter will be mostly oriental with a small amount of MD 609. I do love that Canadian Virginia==pale yellow. Still, there is always a harshness to my blends--maybe the all purpose casing that WLT sells might help that?

My tobacco in the backyard is bigger every day, and needs water every sunny day, given that it is growing in sand--you'll see when I get the photos up. Weekly plant food laced with extra urea nitrogen. There are no bugs eating anything now--the only bugs I see on the plants are the Daddy-Long-Leg spiders, which are good bugs that will eat an other bugs, I guess. There are tiny toads now too.

The Conn Agricultural Station has reported Blue Mold in SW Virginia. There are no other reports of blue mold in the USA so far. Since a lot of New England's weather comes from the SW in the summer I will be giving the plants a blue mold prevention application of dimethomorph-mancozeb. The mixture I made has acephate insecticide in it as well. Best time is when the leaves are dry and no rain is predicted. Probably early evening tomorrow.

CT

 

[Knucklehead]

I use the Maryland to cut the harshness of the Burley, especially if the Burley is not aged. Maryland is low in nicotine so I use a tad of Dark Air to raise the nicotine back up and for the added flavor dimension. My blend is 40% Flue Cured (regular, Red, or a mix of the two), 20% Burley, 20% Maryland, 10% Dark Air, 10% Izmir. It's a full flavored but smooth smoke. I can detect no harshness, but there is that slight throat hit, which I like. I also use aged Burley, four to five years old.