Deluxestogie Grow Log 2023

[deluxestogie]

My porch corner MD 609 was transplanted to the ground 121 days ago. (MD 609 typical maturation is 68 days.) I'm going to guess that MD 609 may be photo period sensitive, and markedly delayed by my pitiful, yellow porch light that remains on until about 11:30 pm each night. The plant itself is mid-chest height, rather than a more typical, waist height, and the leaf count seems to be about a third higher.

Or...maybe it's just happier there, with my frequent companionship.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

The tardy MD 609 growing at the corner of my front porch steps has begun budding. My hummingbirds are becoming impatient. This one plant is the only primary tobacco plant yet to be harvested.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out to the garden to dig up all the tobacco stumps, but the ground was too hard and dry to do that. I decided to wait for a couple of days of rain, then dig them. The weather was either too hot or too rainy or too nice for me to bother. So now, I've got a crop of bug-riddled, runted leaves coming up in every bed. The one exception is the Little Yellow. Although the majority of the Little Yellow suckers are as useless as the rest of the suckers, a few of them actually look promising.

If I can see sufficient maturation far enough in advance of a predicted first frost (used to be 15 October), then I will likely stalk-harvest those nicer Little Yellow suckers.

Bob

What's the flavor and nicotine like in Little Yellow?

 

[deluxestogie]

The "flavor" is dark air-cured tobacco. It is a bit brighter in taste than other dark air-cured varieties I've sampled or grown.

ARS-GRIN Pi551289
TC 222
Nicotine: 3.53%

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

My MD 609 was planted at the same time as the other four varieties I grew this year. I've harvested the other four 3 weeks ago, while my MD still has not even flowered yet. Seems the breed is just lazy.

 

[deluxestogie]

ARS-GRIN lists its maturity (half of plants with at least one blossom open) at 53-56 days from transplant. My "fast" MD 609, planted against the white, reflecting wall, matured at 68 days this year.

Are your MD 609 planted where they are exposed to regular, outdoor lighting?

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

ARS-GRIN lists its maturity (half of plants with at least one blossom open) at 53-56 days from transplant. My "fast" MD 609, planted against the white, reflecting wall, matured at 68 days this year.

Are your MD 609 planted where they are exposed to regular, outdoor lighting?

Bob

Yes, that's what is so odd. I planted this year's tobacco crop on a terraced hill that is South facing. The MD was planted in the middle row, and all rows received equal amounts of sunlight. Of course there are so many other variables that could also be affecting this particular spot; root intrusion, soil composition, etc. I'll plant a different variety there next year and see if I get different results.

 

[deluxestogie]

Most tobacco varieties are not particularly photo period sensitive.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Crying Over Spilled Milk

Yesterday afternoon, I purchased a 1-gallon jug of whole milk. I opened it at about 8:30 pm, for a bowl of cereal, then returned it to my refrigerator. At about 10:30 pm, I decided to pour myself a glass of cold water from a bottle I keep in the fridge. It was only that decision that allowed me to notice that there appeared to be a sheen of milk resting on that bottom shelf of the fridge, just above my vegetable storage drawer.

I looked more carefully. Nearly a quart of milk was absent from the newly purchased milk jug. Milk had spread from the shelf, into the veggie drawer, and accumulated in a huge puddle in one corner of the drawer. And some had also seeped to the very bottom of the fridge, and onto the (white) floor beneath the fridge.

I inspected the milk jug, and found a barely visible, sharp dent near the bottom of one side. Milk seeped from it. I used a funnel to transfer the milk into a clean, 1-gallon jug, then expended about 30 paper towels sopping up the mess from the fridge, the floor and the kitchen counter.

Plastic milk jugs with a tiny puncture tend to leak only an occasional drop at a time, until you open the cap, and remove the relative vacuum. Had I not chosen to have a drink of cold water at 10:30 pm, then I would have awakened to nearly a gallon of leaked milk in the fridge and on the floor.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

stoic
/ˈstəʊɪk/

noun

1. 1.
   a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.

 

[deluxestogie]

Finally, the first blossom opened on my porch-corner (in the ground) MD 609. Fully 130 days since transplant. I suppose this might be considered "shade-grown" MD 609. Signs of leaf maturation are about halfway up the stalk. Typical MD 609: Days to Maturity: 53-56; Plant Height: 34½-44 inches.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Robotic Surgery

The top of the power pole immediately across the road from my house was cracking. The power company arrived this morning to replace the pole (with a much taller one). Four hours, start to finish. One pole.

If you have ever seen a video of robotic surgery, this lengthy and delicate, pole replacement process closely resembled it. There were 4 boom trucks, two with buckets and two with various other tools. Except I could see a tiny humanoid fairie at the very end of each bucket, manually controlling the boom movement by increments of inches at a time. And there were 3 pickup trucks, plus a massive rig hauling a new power pole.

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

Them Guys have a set of big potatoes on them.
We just had the helicopter guys working on the high power monster tower delivery lines over the mountain thingies.
That Takes A Set Of Watermelons.

 

[Homegrowngoodnes]

Potatoes and watermelons are staples where I come from!

 

[deluxestogie]

"Mature male hummingbirds are also the first to leave Virginia. They usually depart in early September heading to the tropical countries of Central America. Females and youngsters follow a couple of weeks later. Most birds leave the state by October."​

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My tardy MD 609 has had open blossoms for days. Not a single hummingbird has visited. Today, I topped the plant, to speed up leaf maturation.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

The few hummers I’ve seen this weekend have exhibited a searching behavior looking for blooms and bugs in the landscape floura. They seem to not know where the feeders are leading me to believe that my local hummers have left on their migration and the ones seen recently are just “passing through” on their way to more tropical destinations. See you next year little buddies!

 

[Homegrowngoodnes]

One of my suckered has some pretty pink flowers lol I'm not worried about seed ..

 

[RoperLegacyWoods]

This morning, before the sun turned my curing shed into an air-frier, I finally stripped the leaf from my 32 stalks of 2022, runted Corojo 99. In 2022, I planted 3 beds (44 plants total) of Corojo 99, but only one bed was properly weeded. I planted the other two beds "no-till", and the weeds and grass rapidly took over. This is an object lesson on the value of keeping tobacco well weeded.

In the image below, you see the entirety of the leaf produced by those 32 runted plants.

It might be useful as a pipe blending ingredient.

The next two photos from inside the shed show all the remaining leaf that has hung since 2022. I'm awaiting the arrival of some large, clear bags that I ordered.

Bob

If you were to do it again, how would you build your tobacco shed? What design elements are critical and why?

 

[deluxestogie]

If you were to do it again

I never did it. This was an existing shed, likely built in the 1940s. If I were forced to build another shed, I would likely follow the example of my old shed. Wood floor, vertical wall planks, with slight gaps between, a shed roof covered in metal, and no insulation. It has one window and one door, with a screen door. The height of the ropes I've strung from lag bolts is within a relatively comfortable reach. The uninsulated, metal roof is exposed in the interior, providing heating when the sun shines.

It is about 10 feet by 12 feet. If you grow more than about 150 plants, it might need to be larger, depending on strung, primed leaf vs. stalk-hung. I did the math in the New Growers' FAQ.

A word of caution: My average climate here, above the Blue Ridge, is ideal for a perpetually ventilated shed (i.e. space between the wall planks, shielded window always partly open, and the door left open so the screen door is the only barrier). Old tobacco barns in other regions typically have ventilation slats that can be easily opened or shut, depending on conditions.

Bob

 

[RoperLegacyWoods]

I never did it. This was an existing shed, likely built in the 1940s. If I were forced to build another shed, I would likely follow the example of my old shed. Wood floor, vertical wall planks, with slight gaps between, a shed roof covered in metal, and no insulation. It has one window and one door, with a screen door. The height of the ropes I've strung from lag bolts is within a relatively comfortable reach. The uninsulated, metal roof is exposed in the interior, providing heating when the sun shines.

It is about 10 feet by 12 feet. If you grow more than about 150 plants, it might need to be larger, depending on strung, primed leaf vs. stalk-hung. I did the math in the New Growers' FAQ.

A word of caution: My average climate here, above the Blue Ridge, is ideal for a perpetually ventilated shed (i.e. space between the wall planks, shielded window always partly open, and the door left open so the screen door is the only barrier). Old tobacco barns in other regions typically have ventilation slats that can be easily opened or shut, depending on conditions.

Bob

How do you think central Indiana would compare to where you are relating to curing and weather?

 

[deluxestogie]

You will have to look that up. I just don't know. I am located only about 150 yards from the Eastern Continental Divide, at an elevation of 2070 feet above sea level. You're at about 860 feet. I have weathered mountain ridges scattered around me, while most of Indiana ranges mostly between 500 and 1000 feet, until you get to the Ohio River valley.

Bob