Anders A
Well-Known Member
So beautiful it brings tears to my eyes ....
Bob
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2023
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
This is NewDeere, manufactured only 6 years ago, alongside my car, manufactured 21 years ago. NewDeere came with a bonus, $500 double bagger kit, which is unusable, due to its massive size (won't fit through shed door; prevents tight turns away from shrubs and trees; requires emptying; adds excess weight). So I've added the bonus double bagger components to the heap of useless stuff in the back of my equipment shed.
But it is more comfortable than Oh Deere!, and is capable of mowing the entire lawn in about 70% of the time. And a big plus...it starts easily (Kawasaki V-twin, 18.5 hp).
Bob
I sat out on my front porch at 7 am, with a large mug of coffee. Late June mornings here, above the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, are usually gorgeous. The pasture in front of me appeared thick with haze. The air carried the smell of a campfire built with poorly selected firewood—maybe a little too much sappy wood. On my laptop computer, the air-quality monitor displayed a "meter arrow" in the red: hazardous. Even after lighting a cigar, I could still smell the drifting smoke from elsewhere. I see this as Mother Nature's subtle hint that we all live on the same, shared world.
apnews.com
Bob
Expect a hot, smoky summer in much of America. Here's why you'd better get used to it
Forecasters say the only break much of America can hope for anytime soon from eye-watering dangerous smoke from fire-struck Canada is brief bouts of shirt-soaking sweltering heat and humidity from a southern heat wave that has already proven deadly.
apnews.com
Yesterday evening, I topped the Tofta. I chose to top at about the 17th leaf, which will allow me to harvest tip leaf, in addition to all the larger leaves. Studies on burley have shown that topping level influenced leaf size—the lower the topping, the larger the leaves. So long as the plant was topped no lower than ~14 leaves, the yield in weight was not reduced. That is, with burley at least, between topping at 14 vs 17 leaves, the primary effect is to get fewer, larger leaves with the lower topping. (Labor is mostly correlated with leaf count rather than total weight handled. So larger, fewer leaves mean less overall labor.)
Many commercial growers in the US tend to top low, and discard the smaller, tip leaf. I find that tip leaf of any variety is thicker and more intense than the lower leaf. With no profit considerations to balance, I like to preserve the tip leaf as a unique blending ingredient.
One other topping consideration is that topping accelerates general leaf maturation. So if a plant is too sluggish for the length of the remaining growing season, topping it low will increase the chances of avoiding the first frost.
Below, is a photo of the not-yet-mature NB-11 burley. My visual impression is that the leaf is almost glossy.
By contrast, the Little Yellow (a dark air-cured variety) appears fuzzy with trichomes. And the Little Yellow is stickier to the touch than NB-11.
Over the next day or three, I will need to bag one of my Little Yellow plants, to collect seed. It is easy to simply bag the first one to blossom, which selects specifically for earlier maturation. But the choice is also an opportunity to identify an example that is "typical" for a variety, or look for leaf attributes to encourage in the next generation. My likely choice will be an early-ish bloomer with the largest leaves.
In theory, these long-preserved tobacco varieties are homozygous, which means that there should be no genetic variation (other than spontaneous mutations) from one instance of, say Little Yellow, and the next Little Yellow. In practice, this is almost true. @skychaser mixes the seed from dozens or scores of plants of the same variety, with the goal of preserving their genetic diversity. For open-pollinated crops of all sorts, this practice is important. For "homozygous" tobacco varieties, it's not supposed to matter—but might. [With seed that came directly from the ARS-GRIN seed bank, the homozygosity is likely more convincing than seed that originated from a home-grower's crop.]
I used to bag two plants of each variety, and mix the seed. In my dotage, I have settled on just being satisfied that the ¼-million seeds that I get from the pods of one thoughtfully selected plant will suffice.
Bob
Many commercial growers in the US tend to top low, and discard the smaller, tip leaf. I find that tip leaf of any variety is thicker and more intense than the lower leaf. With no profit considerations to balance, I like to preserve the tip leaf as a unique blending ingredient.
One other topping consideration is that topping accelerates general leaf maturation. So if a plant is too sluggish for the length of the remaining growing season, topping it low will increase the chances of avoiding the first frost.
Below, is a photo of the not-yet-mature NB-11 burley. My visual impression is that the leaf is almost glossy.
By contrast, the Little Yellow (a dark air-cured variety) appears fuzzy with trichomes. And the Little Yellow is stickier to the touch than NB-11.
Over the next day or three, I will need to bag one of my Little Yellow plants, to collect seed. It is easy to simply bag the first one to blossom, which selects specifically for earlier maturation. But the choice is also an opportunity to identify an example that is "typical" for a variety, or look for leaf attributes to encourage in the next generation. My likely choice will be an early-ish bloomer with the largest leaves.
In theory, these long-preserved tobacco varieties are homozygous, which means that there should be no genetic variation (other than spontaneous mutations) from one instance of, say Little Yellow, and the next Little Yellow. In practice, this is almost true. @skychaser mixes the seed from dozens or scores of plants of the same variety, with the goal of preserving their genetic diversity. For open-pollinated crops of all sorts, this practice is important. For "homozygous" tobacco varieties, it's not supposed to matter—but might. [With seed that came directly from the ARS-GRIN seed bank, the homozygosity is likely more convincing than seed that originated from a home-grower's crop.]
I used to bag two plants of each variety, and mix the seed. In my dotage, I have settled on just being satisfied that the ¼-million seeds that I get from the pods of one thoughtfully selected plant will suffice.
Bob
This is the MD 609, growing in the long bed at the house foundation. Notice that the time of day is about 11:30 am, before the bed is in full sun. They are a bit slower than the other varieties. Their bottom leaves were chewed by crickets, but the upper leaves are doing much better.
Last year, I purchased a bag of "adjustable" zip ties, to try with my bud bags. I forgot about them. Below is a Xanthi-Yaka 18a bud head with its Agribon-AG15 bud bag held by one of the "adjustable" ties. It was considerably easier to tie with the zip tie, than with my usual, nylon string.
All zip ties are adjustable, but the standard ones require the use of a thin, narrow, stiff tool inserted between the notches of the strap, and the locking tooth, to release it. The "adjustable" ones have a (Duh!) little tab that lifts the retaining tooth. Inexplicably, the "adjustable" ties cost more.
Bob
Last year, I purchased a bag of "adjustable" zip ties, to try with my bud bags. I forgot about them. Below is a Xanthi-Yaka 18a bud head with its Agribon-AG15 bud bag held by one of the "adjustable" ties. It was considerably easier to tie with the zip tie, than with my usual, nylon string.
All zip ties are adjustable, but the standard ones require the use of a thin, narrow, stiff tool inserted between the notches of the strap, and the locking tooth, to release it. The "adjustable" ones have a (Duh!) little tab that lifts the retaining tooth. Inexplicably, the "adjustable" ties cost more.
Bob
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
Looks like a Mid Life Crises to me.
This is NewDeere, manufactured only 6 years ago, alongside my car, manufactured 21 years ago. NewDeere came with a bonus, $500 double bagger kit, which is unusable, due to its massive size (won't fit through shed door; prevents tight turns away from shrubs and trees; requires emptying; adds excess weight). So I've added the bonus double bagger components to the heap of useless stuff in the back of my equipment shed.
But it is more comfortable than Oh Deere!, and is capable of mowing the entire lawn in about 70% of the time. And a big plus...it starts easily (Kawasaki V-twin, 18.5 hp).
Bob
I'm so far past mid-life that I can no longer walk behind a walk-behind, to mow the property.
Bob
Bob
I spotted the first (very tiny) hornworm today. That's about 2 weeks later than in the past decade. Last summer the first egg was spotted 4 July, and I never resorted to spraying my handy BT.
Bob
Bob
My Xanthi-Yaka 18a was planted roughly 8 inches apart in all directions (36 plants in a 5-foot x 6-foot bed: 0.83 square feet per plant). The bed is likely smaller than its original 5x6, but not by much. [I guess I could have measured the bed while I was out there.] Because this is the densest that I've planted them, I took measurements today. They vary quite a bit, so these are averages.
My promised, soaking rain for this afternoon and tomorrow has been canceled. I have watered none of the tobacco since transplant. Toasty days ahead.
Bob
- Height to crow foot: 43 inches
- Length 10th leaf: 8 inches
- Width 10th leaf: 4 inches
- Leaf count: 18-20
- Days to Maturity from transplant: 63 days
My promised, soaking rain for this afternoon and tomorrow has been canceled. I have watered none of the tobacco since transplant. Toasty days ahead.
Bob
Little Yellow blossom.
Bob
Bob
Yesterday evening, I topped all the Little Yellow (except the bagged one). As of this morning, I finished bagging the 4 varieties from which I will save seed:
Tomorrow, I will join a barbecue at my older brother's house, to celebrate that time when colonial aristocrats declared that they wanted to run things on their own. For the last two nights, due to the current lack of wildfire smoke, my neighbors near and far ignited and exploded a bunch of stuff. [1-2-3-4-5-6 seconds from flash to boom. It's a mile away.]
Bob
- Tofta
- Xanthi-Yaka 18a
- Little Yellow
- Vuelta Abajo
Tomorrow, I will join a barbecue at my older brother's house, to celebrate that time when colonial aristocrats declared that they wanted to run things on their own. For the last two nights, due to the current lack of wildfire smoke, my neighbors near and far ignited and exploded a bunch of stuff. [1-2-3-4-5-6 seconds from flash to boom. It's a mile away.]
Bob
I think my neighbors are multi-tasking and going behind the house to target practice with large calibers. It sounds like a Revolutionary War reenactment back there. I love it but the Chihuahuas are not happy about it.
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If you've ever watched a toddler respond to his or her first fireworks display, then you can understand how Chihuahuas and other pets, domesticated animals and most wildlife regard our celebratory weapon simulation habits: the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Sorry to be such a grumpy old fart on a national holy day.
Bob
Bob
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
It was dry no rain forever.
The fawns were large and never seen rain.
The fawns were so confused they would hide under a tree then run out for a second then back to the tree when it started raining.
Bob
I've got a bunch of topping to do (NB-11, Olor, Vuelta Abajo), once the temp cools down this evening.
Bob
Bob
This evening, four tiny hornworms were spotted (and each turned into a spot) on the mid-upper leaf of Tofta. If this starts to look like a trend over the next few days, then I will begin spraying with BT.
So far, I've topped:
Bob
So far, I've topped:
- Tofta
- Little Yellow
- NB-11 burley
- Vuelta Abajo
- ~½ the Olor
Bob
