deluxestogie Grow Log 2017

[Bex]

I wonder if Google Earth shows your plants as well....LOL. There are two mystery red things in your photos - one a bit diagonally away from Richard, and one under the clump of trees at the top of the photo. Difficult to figure out what they are?? Great photos - you live in a lovely place.

 

[deluxestogie]

It is true. I have withheld some information. The mystery red things, as well as some additional items have been identified.

Now, I'm not saying that GoogleEarth doesn't have its merits, but this capture from today is 22 months old:

GoogleEarth's effort.

Bob

EDIT: I'm just saying that my brother can beat GoogleEarth's brother, any day! With his hands tied!

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Um... I think I'm calling the cops...

Google earth shows the shallow graves...

 

[Bex]

Google Earth can be really interesting - I lived in a little bungalow in New York for some years before I moved to Ireland. Google Earth started taking photos - I forget the first date, but the photo of my home was in black and white, with little definition. After I moved to Ireland, the property was sold, and a developer bought the land. He began to tear down all the bungalows. You could see the project, year after year, on Google Earth. There is a photo of my little house, half demolished. The developer apparently ran out of money - or incentive - and the area is now just vacant land. I was able to watch all of this, from 3000 miles away.....
So, the mystery red things are only pine needle mulch. Mystery solved! (Although it appears that you are nowhere to be seen...hmmmm.....)

 

[deluxestogie]

I originally thought I was standing with my arms raised, elbows out, adjusting a blossom bag to the left of a short bed in the center of the image (cf. Old Goat). On further forensic review of the source video, I see that I'm that little pip above the bed left of the corncobs. Ah, the insignificance of humans in the greater scheme of things.

Moments earlier.

I agree that GoogleEarth can be wonderful. I've used it to zoom into Piñar del Rio, in Cuba, searching for tobacco fields. Or the ruins of Machu Picchu. But as Smokes points out, it may sometimes be misleading, especially with regard to the actual topography, which GoggleEarth tends to wildly exaggerate.

Bob

 

[BigBonner]

Um... I think I'm calling the cops...

Google earth shows the shallow graves...

That's what I was thinking

 

[Brown Thumb]

I originally thought I was standing with my arms raised, elbows out, adjusting a blossom bag to the left of a short bed in the center of the image (cf. Old Goat). On further forensic review of the source video, I see that I'm that little pip above the bed left of the corncobs. Ah, the insignificance of humans in the greater scheme of things.

Moments earlier.

I agree that GoogleEarth can be wonderful. I've used it to zoom into Piñar del Rio, in Cuba, searching for tobacco fields. Or the ruins of Machu Picchu. But as Smokes points out, it may sometimes be misleading, especially with regard to the actual topography, which GoggleEarth tends to wildly exaggerate.

Bob

Some neighbors around here would get you committed to a

 

[deluxestogie]

Time for closer photos.

This will be my last advertisement for the benefit of a large bud bag.

After giving up on my okra for this year, these six orphan Havana 322 were planted late. Although they are not quite as large as the Havana 322 that was planted earlier, I think they look pretty good. Certainly worth the bother.

For conspiracy theorists, note the reddish color of the pine needles beneath the pine tree.

At the moment, the Corojo 99 (Robaina) is my tallest variety for 2017. Some have budded; many have not.

Against all odds, these Indonesian Prancak N-1 plants have survived and are beginning to put on some meaningful growth. I think it's still too early to say what characteristics the variety will ultimately show.

The last two photo are simply documentation of the appearance of the grown plants for Piloto Cubano PR and Corojo (Honduras).

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

My corojo (progeny of your last years grow I believe) is also one of the largest, healthiest types in my garden this year too, and also not budding yet. I have high hopes. It's so uniformly great I'm having trouble selecting one for seed.

 

[deluxestogie]

It's so uniformly great I'm having trouble selecting one for seed.

That's easy. Pick the earliest to bud, since you're in Vermont.

On that subject, I've decided to bag multiple Piloto Cubano PR. The tallest was bagged today, but one that is a little slower to bud, and somewhat shorter, appears to have larger leaves. I'll probably mix the final seed together.

What it suggest to me is that the Piloto Cubano in Puerto Rico was being open pollinated, relying on separation for varietal purity. So the heterozygosity of the current generation (in my yard) is not zero.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

That's easy. Pick the earliest to bud, since you're in Vermont.

On that subject, I've decided to bag multiple Piloto Cubano PR. The tallest was bagged today, but one that is a little slower to bud, and somewhat shorter, appears to have larger leaves. I'll probably mix the final seed together.

What it suggest to me is that the Piloto Cubano in Puerto Rico was being open pollinated, relying on separation for varietal purity. So the heterozygosity of the current generation (in my yard) is not zero.

Bob

I have observed big differences in my plants too. Some differences I can attribute to growing conditions, others seem somewhat random.

 

[deluxestogie]

Just now, sitting out on my porch, smoking a cigar, I was buzzed by a loud insect, which clumsily banged against windows, the door, the light.

Then it crash landed onto my little table, beside my ashtray. True to its clumsiness, it landed upside down, and was unable to right itself.

I quickly got the camera, and snapped a flash photo of it in its compromised posture. But also being a helpful sort of person, I offered it the leverage of my pipe nail to right itself. Once it was right side up, it widened the gape of its mandibles, and threatened me. I flashed it again.

Then I went inside and grabbed a ruler. It was a whopping 1-3/4 inches long, not counting the legs. After returning the ruler to its usual place, I discovered that the stag beetle was gone.

The Terminix web site says they're vegetarians, and the males don't bite people. Male stag beetles supposedly have mandibles as large as their body, or larger. So, I think this one might be a biter.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

The Besuki comparison grow is more interesting than I expected. To recap, I am growing Besuki (which is an Indonesian wrapper/binder variety) from three different seed sources. One source is tabakanbau, a tobacco seed vendor in Germany. The other two sources are the communities of Kesilir and Ambulu, both in Indonesia, and both collected by Tutu.

I observed in an earlier post that the Besuki (tabakanbau) resembles a white-stem burley, whereas the other two have normal, green stalks and veins.

At this point in the season, the Besuki (tabakanbau) clearly produces larger leaves than the other two. Also, both the Besuki (Kesilir) and the Besuki (Ambulu) are beginning to blossom. The Besuki (tabakanbau) show no indication of blossoming yet.

Soon, I will begin priming the leaf. I think a final judgement will have to wait for the three Besuki variants to be smoked.

Priming vs Stalk-Harvesting Havana Types

The topped Vuelta Abajo plant in the above photo exhibits signs of maturity (thickening, increasing rugosity) in nearly all the leaves. Last year, I stalk-harvested Veulta Abajo, Criollo (Cuba) and Coroja (Cuba). Contrary to the image of the lovingly primed leaf being pampered all the way to the cigar, these varieties hung as entire stalks in the shed (some of them not coming out until today). I have to say that I have been impressed with the final kilned quality of this leaf. The Criollo and Coroja have both provided over 80% wrapper-grade leaves. They are delicious, sturdy enough for binder use, and burn beautifully. These two taste so good, that often, after using a double Criollo binder, for example, I just skip applying the wrapper.

There are two major considerations in deciding to stalk-harvest primo cigar leaf:
1. Does the variety mostly mature synchronously, or do most of the upper leaves remain thin and immature while the lower leaf starts to ripen?
2. Are you willing to handle the process of stalk cutting and housing the tobacco with the same care used in priming leaf?

If the answers to both are yes, then your method of harvesting and hanging just comes down to your own preference, as well as the suitability of your curing shed for hanging whole stalks.

It's worth remembering that topping a plant accelerates the maturation of the upper leaves.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

It's worth remembering that topping a plant accelerates the maturation of the upper leaves.

Bob

When you top your plants, how much do you remove? I've been simply removing the flower head and the leaflets attached to the base of it.
From the pictures I see, it looks like some people remove more. Thoughts?

 

[Brown Thumb]

Here is a pro at it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=50znbXjt4IU

 

[deluxestogie]

Commercially, topping to a specific number of leaves can maximize pounds per acre. For a home grower, the level at which you top depends on your goals.

If you want to have tip leaf, then you just remove the bud shaft from the crowfoot on up. If you want maximum leaf size, then top fairly low. If you have a delayed plant, and want it to mature before the end of the growing season, then just top it at its current height, or lower.

For cigar filler, I like having tip leaf for blending. But the very tiny, skinny ones are hardly worth the effort of handling them. So when a bud shaft begins to emerge above the plant, I often go down to the first or second leaf below any hint of a lateral bud shaft. For wrapper varieties, tip leaf is usually worthless.

I think that when you're first starting to grow cigar leaf, it's worth preserving even those tiny tip leaves, just to gain an understanding of how small is too small for the energy you're willing to invest.

For massive-leafed American cigar varieties (e.g. Long Red, Swarr-Hibshman, Dutch Ohio, etc.) I usually top fairly low, going for those enormous leaves.

SUMMARY: Top at any height that suits your needs.

Another separate issue that may arise is whether you can prime away all the leaf of a plant that you have bagged for seed. My experience has been that the seed pods will continue to develop and mature, even if every last leaf has eventually been removed. It's the only purpose of the plant--to make seed. Of course you can't stalk-harvest a bagged plant at just the right time for the leaf, but you can prime all the leaf.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

Thanks for the info! I will keep the tip leaves for now to see how they cure.

 

[Tutu]

To begin with, the drone shots are amazing. I've used Google Earth a lot with work, measuring fields of individual farmers. However, the drone shots are way more pretty. They're very sharp. Richard should swing by more often.

As for the experiment, I'm glad you're experiencing the difference. It's seeing up close what my first thoughts were back when I first came across the website and saw your grow logs. We get those white stem plants around here, and that's the white stem burley farmers. Besuki grown here is simply not like that. It's originally from here and it isn't grown anywhere else in a similar proportion. Good to get in some of those results. I'm really interested to see how your curing of the Ambulu and Kesilir leaf will look like. And of the Tabakanbau too actually!

 

[deluxestogie]

Apparently, the "white-stem" genetic defect is shared by varieties in addition to burley. My Baldiò Vera (from Spain), which tastes nothing like burley, has this chlorophyll defect. Also, the Besuki (tabakanbau) tastes nothing like burley.

Chillard's White Angel Leaf (a previously unidentified variety sent to Chillardbee) was, however, a very white-stem burley--a nice one, but a burley nonetheless. The bottom leaves actually turned white on the stalk, but cured to a lovely, light brown.

It suggest to me that the gene defect can be selected by intentional crossing of a known white-stem burley with a different variety for which larger leaves are desired. The chlorophyll defect may cause the plant to compensate by increasing the leaf surface area. It may be that the Besuki from tabakanbau could have crossed with the white-stem burley grown in Indonesia. All very puzzling and interesting.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

Have you grown Besuki before? What does the finished leaf taste like?