deluxestogie Grow Log 2017

[deluxestogie]

It's an overcast morning, but just a smidgen too dry to strip any of last season's tobacco today. I'll probably do a first priming of my Corojo 99 later today.

With 16 Corojo 99 plants, at 22 leaves per plant, I'm expecting at least 6 pounds of finished leaf.

That stogie in my mouth is wrapped in last year's Hacienda del Cura. It's similar in taste to the original Cuban Corojo, though slightly smoother. It's productivity was close to that of my Honduran Corojo this year--that is, okay, but not great. Neither is close to that of my Corojo 99. [Thanks again to the mystery tourist who acquired the Corojo 99 seed.]

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Wow. That must be a gratifying success.

 

[mwaller]

Please post pics of the 1st Corojo 99 harvest. My first priming was a bust, since they were harvested too early. This varietal is less forgiving of early priming than others.

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Early priming is probably the most common new grower mistake, don't be hard on yourself

 

[deluxestogie]

First Priming

This is a series of photos that tries to capture the state of leaf maturity at the time of first priming. I completely ignore the crummy mud lugs, and start looking at the lowest serviceable leaf. It's late in the day, so the sun is low, and the colors are difficult to capture. I had only enough time to prime the Corojo 99. 16 plants x 3 leaves each = 49 leaves on the string. (Not sure where that extra one came from.) The last 6 photos are of the same string of leaf from different viewpoints.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Early priming is probably the most common new grower mistake, don't be hard on yourself

Indeed. 2014, it snowed early but was only 30-32 F so I panicked and picked everything. The lower leaves of one type are really good, but even after kilning 2 months and aging 2.5 years, the rest still gives off a lot of ammonia. They surely could have used another 3 weeks.

 

[Brown Thumb]

It's an overcast morning, but just a smidgen too dry to strip any of last season's tobacco today. I'll probably do a first priming of my Corojo 99 later today.

With 16 Corojo 99 plants, at 22 leaves per plant, I'm expecting at least 6 pounds of finished leaf.

That stogie in my mouth is wrapped in last year's Hacienda del Cura. It's similar in taste to the original Cuban Corojo, though slightly smoother. It's productivity was close to that of my Honduran Corojo this year--that is, okay, but not great. Neither is close to that of my Corojo 99. [Thanks again to the mystery tourist who acquired the Corojo 99 seed.]

Bob

Jeesh they look Super.
Nice Farmers Tan.

 

[deluxestogie]

Nice Farmers Tan.

Does that mean I'm finally a real farmer?

More 1st Priming

All of these 1st priming photos (in this post and the previous one) are an attempt to capture the leaf that I decide to prime. For experienced growers, this photo barrage is overkill. If I felt confident in the textures and colors of the primed leaves appearing in the forum as I see them in person, then I would need many fewer photos. Hopefully these clarify my choices.

Priming at "yellow tip" is the easiest to describe. But I usually go by the texture of the leaf. When it reaches maturity, the leaf becomes thicker, the veins more prominent, and the overall color a lighter green. It's hard to tell, just by looking at a leaf, but with leaves higher up the stalk for comparison, distinguishing the changes of maturity is easier.

Which bottom leaves are so trashy that I don't bother with them? Well, I've gotten pickier over the years. I have lovingly cured and kilned and stored many a trashy leaf...and I've smoked a lot of them. Now, I look at a questionable leaf with the criterion of how it will strike me when I'm selecting finished leaf for a cigar. If I would sigh, and mumble, "It's a shame to just throw it away," then I won't even bring it in from the field. [Handling crummy leaf is expensive--just as much labor as handling superb leaf.] So I've also included some awesome photos of what I consider trash.

I've primed 50 Piloto Cubano PR leaves (~3/plant) and 20 Corojo Honduras leaves (4/plant).

This shows the mature texture the best.

In a week or three, while wandering the tobacco beds, I may discover that some of the trash has mud-cured into truly inspiring leaf, and I may gather it and roll a cigar. These mud-cure cigars are usually mediocre or worse, but occasionally they are very good. [My mud-cured Sacred Cornplanter N. rustica was the only Cornplanter leaf that I enjoyed. All the "good" leaf was awful.]

Bob

 

[mwaller]

Thanks for the photos, Bob! Those don't look *that* different from the leaves I primed. But I'll keep my eyes on them.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

I have lovingly cured and kilned and stored many a trashy leaf...and I've smoked a lot of them. Now, I look at a questionable leaf with the criterion of how it will strike me when I'm selecting finished leaf for a cigar. If I would sigh, and mumble, "It's a shame to just throw it away," then I won't even bring it in from the field.

This.

 

[deluxestogie]

Since I'll be stalk-harvesting a number of my cigar varieties, this item on the JR Cigars website caught my attention:

Henry Clay Stalk Cut Gran Corona. To create this masterpiece, a top-quality 2012 vintage Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper covers a 2010 Vintage Dominican Piloto binder, and a filler consisting of 2012 Vintage Dominican Olor, 2012 Vintage Dominican Piloto, and 2013 Vintage Nicaraguan Criollo.

Full bodied in strength, the smoke delivers satisfying notes of dark chocolate, coffee bean, leather, and spice.

https://auctions.jrcigars.com/auction/henry-clay-stalk-cut-gran-corona/59789677b37a338e668351fd

This is as detailed a cigar recipe as you'll find anywhere from a commercial cigar manufacturer. I know that CT Broadleaf is usually stalk-harvested. Unfortunately, the description does not mention what other component, if anything else, might also be stalk-harvested.

But still, the recipe is

• Wrapper: CT Broadleaf
• Binder: Piloto Cubano
• Filler:
  Olor
  Piloto Cubano
  Criollo

I won't grow any more CT Broadleaf, since it always manages to get Blue Mold here when I grow it. But the rest of the recipe sounds like something I can do. Of the listed filler components, I'll be stalk-harvesting my Criollo (Cuba).

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Breakfast at Baldió's

More gleanings from the shed. Four hands. These huge, blond leaves smell as mild as tapioca pudding, with not the slightest hint of rawness. I've found the Baldió Vera to make a sturdy and reliable binder/wrapper. It makes a spectacular wrapper--in the claro to EMS range, but the taste is mild. That's ideal for a full-bodied filler, though milder blends usually benefit from a more robust wrapper flavor.

I'll have to see how this Baldió Vera smokes without kilning. That quality would be worth identifying. [The kiln has been hijacked for flue-curing, and won't be available for another two weeks.]

Bob

 

[wooda2008]

Breakfast at Baldió's

More gleanings from the shed. Four hands. These huge, blond leaves smell as mild as tapioca pudding, with not the slightest hint of rawness. I've found the Baldió Vera to make a sturdy and reliable binder/wrapper. It makes a spectacular wrapper--in the claro to EMS range, but the taste is mild. That's ideal for a full-bodied filler, though milder blends usually benefit from a more robust wrapper flavor.

I'll have to see how this Baldió Vera smokes without kilning. That quality would be worth identifying. [The kiln has been hijacked for flue-curing, and won't be available for another two weeks.]

Bob

That looks beautiful.

 

[deluxestogie]

Thank you.

The punchline to my previous post is that Baldió Vera truly finishes itself by hanging in the shed for 1 year. I rolled a puro from two of the huge leaves shown in the "hands" photo--a very light leaf and a somewhat darker one. Usually, an unkilned wrapper is immediately identifiable by its sensation on my lips and tongue. Not with the Baldió Vera. There is no aroma or taste of rawness. The puro burned well. The aroma and flavor are quite subdued, arguably bland. But it was enjoyable and very smooth. It reminds me of Mont Calme Brun and other very mild, numbered Havana varieties that (after kilning) are suitable for cigars, pipe blending and even cigarettes.

So, add Baldió Vera to the short list of varieties that do not need to be kilned. Kilned Baldió Vera is slightly more flavorful, but otherwise nearly the same as the unkilned, 1 year old leaf. A strip of unkilned Little Dutch or unkilned PA Red added to the Baldió Vera would make a decent cigar.

Bob

 

[Hasse SWE]

Bob I can't find seed of Balió Vera, Ars-Grin ain't seems to have it listed and not Northwest tobacco seed eather..

 

[deluxestogie]

PM Sent.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

As with white-stem burleys, Besuki from the tabakanbau seed is half-way cured when it's ready to prime. Also like white-stem burleys, it should probably hang in the shed for several weeks after it appears to have color-cured, since its color indicator (the chlorophyll) is defective.

I'll prime the other two Besuki varieties soon, but there's no white leaf or half-cured stuff there. And the leaves are generally smaller.

Bob

Bye bye, July!

 

[deluxestogie]

Empty Criollo Nest

Enjoy them while they're young, and cherish the photos. Before you know it, they've grown up and moved out. Last year, I stalk-harvested the Criollo (Cuba). Surprisingly, nearly 90% of the leaf was wrapper grade when it came out of the kiln. The Criollo leaf size isn't exactly huge, and as a wrapper, it has a dull finish. But it has a rich flavor, excellent stretch, good tensile strength and it burns well. I've mostly been using it as a double binder, with no wrapper on top.

As soon as the top two leaves of the slowest plant begin to exhibit the slightest indication of maturation, I stalk-cut the lot. (I'll allow the seed plant to remain a bit longer.) With the stalk present, the leaves are much less likely to dry green, and I suspect that the stalk causes the final color to be a somewhat deeper brown than if primed. Most of the kilned Criollo was a dark EMS, but with no Maduro.

Piloto Cubano Leaf Size and Shape

This is the 10th leaf above the two seed leaves. The leaves below the 10th were broader and longer, but number 10 is the GRIN standard leaf to measure for length and width.

I worry about how they're doing.

On impulse, I hopped on a Greyhound bus and travelled to visit the Criollo in their new digs.

That's 11 stalks. I cut them at the base with a limb lopper. At 17 leaves per plant, average, about 187 leaves are hanging there. All for hammering in 11 nails (each with a Tyvek tag), then carrying the stalks in. Once the leaves have wilted, I will scoot them closer together.

Bob

 

[Thedbs999]

Deluxe, are these Criollo (Cuba) the same as Cuban Criollio 98 or are there different varieties of Criollo ???

Dan