CT Tobaccoman's Backyard patch blog

[grgfinney]

Kilning smooths everything no harshness at all in my blend

 

[deluxestogie]

The Conn Agricultural Station has reported Blue Mold in SW Virginia.

Just about the only tobacco growing in SW Virginia is in my yard. No Blue Mold here.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Just about the only tobacco growing in SW Virginia is in my yard. No Blue Mold here.

Bob

Bob, you may have overlooked the fact that your plants could be the carriers, while not showing their own outward symptoms. E magno risu.

 

[deluxestogie]

Honestly, it seems like my general weather moves from WV in a SE direction (except when there is a high pressure center off the coast, in which case my weather moves in from SE Virginia). So I would guess that a spore risk from far SW Virginia (the little tip below KY) would primarily be a risk to NC.

Bob

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Just about the only tobacco growing in SW Virginia is in my yard. No Blue Mold here.

Bob

Yeah, Bob, I wondered about that. Not a growing region. According to the dispatch, somebody brought some infected leaves to the University there. Is there any commercial tobacco cultivation in that county?

Anyway, I didn't spray yet. Not enough of a threat.

CT

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Honestly, it seems like my general weather moves from WV in a SE direction (except when there is a high pressure center off the coast, in which case my weather moves in from SE Virginia). So I would guess that a spore risk from far SW Virginia (the little tip below KY) would primarily be a risk to NC.

Bob

I see. You might be on the downward swing of the jet stream, before it curves northeast. I did read somewhere that this past winter was cold enough in nearly all tobacco growing regions in the US so that the spores didn't overwinter. So if it is coming it will come from south of the border.

In recent years, as we know, KY has been free of blue mold, and it usually appears in Conn by now anyway. This year there is none. We get weather coming up the Ohio Valley, but we also get weather coming right up the coast. Summer prevailing wind here is SW.

Southwest VA today just happens to be having thunderstorms and that system is expected to move slowly toward me and arrive maybe 4-5 days from now--more likely the high that is building here will push it out to sea at NJ. I'm not gonna worry about this report much.

Just thinking out loud here--don't really know what I am talking about.

CT

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Re: deluxestogie Grow Log 2014

Just had the same happen to my first priming of shade grown PA Broadleaf, should've alternated the direction of every other leaf. To be honest, I don't know why I didn't do that already, I keep reading that alternating leaves when stringing helps prevent them from folding together like that. It seems like every year I learn a bunch more about this, but inevitably forget a few things I learned the year before. What do they say, "Two steps forward, one step back"? Sounds like my life in general.

cigarchris,

Just to let you know, when I worked on Conn. Shade we had Swiss sewing machines that fastened the leaves to the lath. A girl stands at a table with two piles of leaves on it in front of her. The leaves are upside down, and the lath runs above on the machine. There are little clips that revolve, and the operator of the machine takes a leaf from each pile in each hand and jams the stems into the clips as the needle passes through. The result is that 2 leaves are sewn together, face to face, touching. There are then 24 leaves on each lath, that is, 12 pairs that touch face to face. Maybe I can put a photo of it here:

 

[deluxestogie]

Interesting process and photo.

Bob

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Hey, cigarchris,

If you end up reading this, growing broadleaf under shade is something I have always wished somebody would do in Conn. It seems like a great idea--you would still get the taste but the leaf would be thinner, lighter and easier to work with. Somebody in the last hundred years must have tried it but I have never heard of it being done. Interested to find out how it comes out.

CT

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

So, have some burley that is showing bud now, 28 leaves. Other burley far behind. MD 609 that is 20" tall, big leaves. Very pleased with that.

This digital camera business has become a major project. Bought the camera, bought the memory card. Memory card doesn't slide in. It came with an adapter that I can' figure out. Must make yet a third trip to Staples 20 miles away before I have pics. Maybe tomorrow.

CT

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

At last, the long awaited pics! New digital camera finally set up, pics in the computer, so here we go.

Below should be some of my Maryland 609. It has been in the ground 5 weeks and is better than I ever expected, given that sand that it is planted in. They are wilting a little in the mid-day sun.



This is my only surviving Burley plant from my original seed below



And here is a row of plants a little behind. Can you spot the one burley among the Marylands?

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Sorry, I tried to get rid of the sideways photo, but apparently the text box only goes so far and the third pic wasn't there. Live and learn. Next time will put pics in separate posts.

So, that's it. When not wilted at all the MD is really big, nice big leaves. Maybe I can get a close up later.

CT

 

[ArizonaDave]

Sorry, I tried to get rid of the sideways photo, but apparently the text box only goes so far and the third pic wasn't there. Live and learn. Next time will put pics in separate posts.

So, that's it. When not wilted at all the MD is really big, nice big leaves. Maybe I can get a close up later.

CT

That's ok. Just a tilt of the head fixes it.

 

[Mad Oshea]

I would water them in the late evening when the sun starts down. Sand looses water fast. Tree mulch helps hold down the evap. as well as other top soil coverings. They look good with all of the shade. Mad-

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I would water them in the late evening when the sun starts down. Sand looses water fast. Tree mulch helps hold down the evap. as well as other top soil coverings. They look good with all of the shade. Mad-

Yes, they wilt within a half hour of being in direct sunlight. I water them around 10am and again at 2pm.

I have a photo to post of the root structure of one of my best plants that my cat broke. The roots are quite shallow, mostly hairs growing off the stem, which I suspected would happen in that sand, so I hoed them 3 times. I'm amazed they are as nice as they are. They were very slow to take off.

CT

 

[ArizonaDave]

I would water them in the late evening when the sun starts down. Sand looses water fast. Tree mulch helps hold down the evap. as well as other top soil coverings. They look good with all of the shade. Mad-

That's what I've been doing. I hope the Weather stays about where it is, because mine are looking good, but with a mid day wilt similar to CT Tobaccoman's.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Here's a pic of my MD 609. The biggest ones are over 5 feet and have huge leaves. But, they are replacements for burley seedlings that didn't make it, so they are planted only 30" apart. They are all jumbled, growing in each other, yet they are doing ok. I topped them last week, and I plan to let them stay into October, weather permitting, before I cut them.

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

I think this guy got too much side dressed urea nitrogen. Hope he sobers up

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

This root is from a MD 609 plant that was growing very well. It was one of my best. This pic was taken about a month ago. It shows the importance of hoeing young tobacco. All the roots that were supporting this plant were hair roots extending from the seedling's stem that I hoed over with dirt. I have very sandy soil, so the plants have not developed very deep roots so far, but this plant was doing great until my cat broke it chasing a moth

 

[DGBAMA]

They look good. I wish you a lot of sun so they can finish out in time.