Interesting idea. But when I use BT, my total caterpillar detections wouldn't amount to more than a few hundredths of a gram for the entire season. Dead hornworms and BT residue in my blender?
Bob
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2021
- Thread starter deluxestogie
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Bob
Big duh! Little Dutch.
It is recorded on paper, so it must be true. I planted 4 Olor, 4 Little Dutch and 8 L'Assomption in this bed. All of them grew beautifully, until the last 10 days, when two of the Little Dutch seemed to be getting considerably taller than the other two. And the two nearest L'Assomption were remaining just as short as the shorter Little Dutch. To be safe, I bagged one of the shorter Little Dutch and one of the taller L'Assomption.
I examined the leaf angles, the vein angles, the auricles, the leaf texture. Nothing definitive, but something was screwy. Finally, this morning, I got down on hands and knees, and hunted for the original Popsicle sticks that were transplanted along with the seedlings.
New truth. I actually transplanted 6 Olor, 4 Little Dutch, and 6 L'Assomption. Just examining the above photo...well...it's pretty obvious. Duh!
Bob
Oldfella
Well-Known Member
Senior moment. Don't worry about it.
Oldfella
Oldfella
Here in Virginia, that is known as a data entry error.
Bob
Bob
Tobaccofieldsforever
Well-Known Member
VERY NICE! I will be growing this variety next year.Maryland 609
I chose to wait until late in the day, so the low angle of the sun would highlight the unique texture and edge undulations of MD 609. I think it's a beautiful plant. The leaves are full and wide.
This is only 7 weeks after transplant, so they still have some growing to do.
None of them are showing even early signs of budding yet.
I am growing 11 of these (8 plus 3 orphans in a different bed).
Bob
Tucked in the middle of my 8 plants of NB-11 (maybe burley), one plant shows clear signs of a virus infection. Since the Deluxe virology lab is closed for summer vacation, I can only guess that this is Tobacco Ring Spot Virus (TRSV). None of the other viral diseases of tobacco even vaguely resemble this. The virus is, like so many others, transmitted by assorted tobacco pests.
The affected leaves on this single plant are on the lower to mid-stalk. None of the upper leaves of this plant appear abnormal. None of the neighboring plants appear abnormal. If this is TRSV, then I expect to see the chlorotic rings eventually become necrotic. I have no plans to remove either the affected leaves or the plant. I'll just observe.
Bob
Everything is pretty dry here. The plants look okay this morning, so maybe the heavy hose haul will be tomorrow.
Bob
Bob
Potted Corojo 99
Keep in mind that this is potted in a Forger's coffee tub, which is roughly 1 gallon.
Plant length to crow foot: 51"
10th leaf length: 18"
10th leaf width: 8.5"
Leaf count: 27
Stalk diameter: 0.75"
This potted plant appears distinctly more columnar than the Corojo 99 in the field. Since it is at the base of my porch steps, I leave it un-topped, so I can watch the hummingbirds stop by. Any seed will be discarded.
Bob
EDIT: for comparison, below I've listed the measurements for my Corojo 99 in the field.
Plant length to crow foot: 68"
10th leaf length: 22"
10th leaf width: 15"
Leaf count: 25
Stalk diameter: 1.75"
Keep in mind that this is potted in a Forger's coffee tub, which is roughly 1 gallon.
Plant length to crow foot: 51"
10th leaf length: 18"
10th leaf width: 8.5"
Leaf count: 27
Stalk diameter: 0.75"
This potted plant appears distinctly more columnar than the Corojo 99 in the field. Since it is at the base of my porch steps, I leave it un-topped, so I can watch the hummingbirds stop by. Any seed will be discarded.
Bob
EDIT: for comparison, below I've listed the measurements for my Corojo 99 in the field.
Plant length to crow foot: 68"
10th leaf length: 22"
10th leaf width: 15"
Leaf count: 25
Stalk diameter: 1.75"
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A Clear Picture
Lacking a personal rocket and space capsule with large windows (and billions of your dollars), just to get a view of how connected we all are, and how fragile the earth's atmosphere is, I have chosen the next best option. I sat out on my front porch. Just looking across the pasture, I can see the particulate haze from wildfire smoke. It has travelled here from the fires on the west coast. That's 3000 miles as the coughing crow flies, but more like 4000 miles along the course of the atmospheric river.
This maps particulates smaller than 2.5 microns. The path of the smoke pretty much follows the jet stream. Below is the Virginia Tech skycam, at 11:30am on this bright, sunny day.
Current Air Quality Status: shared
Bob
Lacking a personal rocket and space capsule with large windows (and billions of your dollars), just to get a view of how connected we all are, and how fragile the earth's atmosphere is, I have chosen the next best option. I sat out on my front porch. Just looking across the pasture, I can see the particulate haze from wildfire smoke. It has travelled here from the fires on the west coast. That's 3000 miles as the coughing crow flies, but more like 4000 miles along the course of the atmospheric river.
This maps particulates smaller than 2.5 microns. The path of the smoke pretty much follows the jet stream. Below is the Virginia Tech skycam, at 11:30am on this bright, sunny day.
Current Air Quality Status: shared
Bob
Here’s some pretty neat images from NASA, taken during last year’s wildfires in 2020. It shows a hurricane colliding with the smoke particulates.
A Meeting of Smoke and Storms
Satellites tracked smoke from wildfires as it spanned the continental United States and followed winds around two hurricanes.
Potted Tobacco Ripe-O-Meter
Maturity of a tobacco leaf is the earliest point at which a leaf should be primed (harvested). This is particularly useful for most varieties. Some, like burley, may be allowed to reach the stage of "ripe", or fully yellow. For stalk-harvesting, I usually wait for the top leaf to show the earliest signs of maturity.
A hallmark of maturation is thickening and increased rugosity (rumpledness) of the leaf. An easier (though slightly later) sign to recognize maturation is a slight yellowing of the very tip of the leaf. A fully yellowed leaf is considered "ripe".
Bob
Maturity of a tobacco leaf is the earliest point at which a leaf should be primed (harvested). This is particularly useful for most varieties. Some, like burley, may be allowed to reach the stage of "ripe", or fully yellow. For stalk-harvesting, I usually wait for the top leaf to show the earliest signs of maturity.
A hallmark of maturation is thickening and increased rugosity (rumpledness) of the leaf. An easier (though slightly later) sign to recognize maturation is a slight yellowing of the very tip of the leaf. A fully yellowed leaf is considered "ripe".
Bob
I primed the bottom 3 or 4 leaves on Corojo 99 in one of my two beds of it. These were strung onto a labeled segment of aluminum fence wire, and hung in the shed. That's first priming at 67 days after transplant, or about 1 week after topping. About half of the volado was so trashy that I just left it on the stalk.
I've found the cured leaf is cleaner if I've primed only one bed (max) at a time. When I try to do more, I find that the roasting sun discourages me from being as diligent, as I stack the leaf. If I have several stacks waiting on the porch floor for me to string them, I'm also not as careful about cleaning.
My intention is to stalk-harvest most of the leaf for most varieties, as soon as their top leaf looks ready. Stalk-cured leaf is always a little cruddier than the primed leaf. But it is dramatically less labor to harvest and hang.
Bob
I've found the cured leaf is cleaner if I've primed only one bed (max) at a time. When I try to do more, I find that the roasting sun discourages me from being as diligent, as I stack the leaf. If I have several stacks waiting on the porch floor for me to string them, I'm also not as careful about cleaning.
My intention is to stalk-harvest most of the leaf for most varieties, as soon as their top leaf looks ready. Stalk-cured leaf is always a little cruddier than the primed leaf. But it is dramatically less labor to harvest and hang.
Bob
The primed leaf loses its rugosity as it loses moisture.
Bob
MadFarmer
Well-Known Member
I discovered this season, if I string it then I have to unstring it.
Clatsopnehalem
Well-Known Member
Such gorgeous leaf right there looks like it tastes and smells excellentAinaro
I grew this unusual tobacco during the 2020 season. The seed was collected by @Tutu from a remote farmhouse in Ainaro, Timor-Leste. One unusual aspect of Ainaro is that the leaves are petiolate (having a bare stem toward the leaf base), like members of the Samsun group of Orientals. The plant is columnar, also similar to Samsun.
@Tutu described this as "dark sun-cured", which is not a class recognized by USDA. From a descriptive standpoint, "dark sun-cured" appears to be quite accurate. I primed the lower leaves, and strung them for sun-curing. After sun-curing, I kilned the leaf for about two months.
The pouch aroma of the shred offers a unique, almost savory character, and does not at all bring to mind any of the two dozen different Oriental varieties that I have grown. Curiously, when shredded, and smoked straight, in a small corncob, the burn is good (better than many Orientals), the taste is interesting and mild, and the nicotine seems to be mild. Unlike many Orientals, I get no tongue bite. So the pH of the smoke is likely "neutral". Another "unlike" is that Ainaro's aroma resembles no Indonesian varieties that I've smoked.
As a pipe tobacco, I would be inclined to toss some Ainaro into a medium blend of burley Cavendish and VA Bright Cavendish. Alone, Ainaro might make a reasonable cigarette blending component, or serve solo.
My remaining challenge is to get some seed from the sole surviving Ainaro plant that I transferred from the garden bed to a rescue pot. As of now, it shows that it's thinking about buds, but has not yet committed.
I'm considering scratching Ainaro from my 2021 grow, if there is seed, since it was occupying a space allocated for an Oriental. I've got time to decide. (Another consideration is that, even if my one rescue-Ainaro does produce seed, it may not be ready in time for starting the 2021 grow.)
Bob
Bob
Clatsopnehalem
Well-Known Member
Oh my that’s a great picture
Bob
What variety is that ?
The variety is "NB-11". It appears to be a burley variety. Its origin is New Brunswick, Canada. Accession acquired by the FTT seed bank from a forum member (@Jack in NB) in 2011. The 8 plants that I grew exhibited some degree of genetic variability. I've selected the best one of the lot for bagging. I'm considering a repeat grow next year, in order to further stabilize the phenotype.
Bob
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Clatsopnehalem
Well-Known Member
That’s amazing I’m curious to hear about the genetic progress on your journey to stabilizing the seed!! I love watching the progress each generation of offspring acclimating to your environment. Has anyone in this community been working on making there own hybrids and sharing there process and progress? I’d like to breed tobacco someday just seems like a lot of work and time.
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