DGBAMA 2015 Grow.... 3rd season

[DGBAMA]

You said you changed a controller, I would compare it to the one you used last year.
My rh controller acts up on the high end of rh. 95% and higher.
I had to calibrate it down to keep it from steaming the leaf.
I meant leaf wilting stage in my last post.
Beers and Stages don't get along too well with me.

so far, just a digital temp controller instead of the Water Heater Thermostat.

 

[DGBAMA]

A nice priming of silver river today, many leaves over 30".

 

[Brown Thumb]

They look nice.
You like that Silver River, How much do you put in a blend.
I like it but don't use much in my blends, just a handful.

 

[DGBAMA]

They look nice.
You like that Silver River, How much do you put in a blend.
I like it but don't use much in my blends, just a handful.

If I had to guess, 20%. Nothing scientific about my CIG blending.

 

[Brown Thumb]

If I had to guess, 20%. Nothing scientific about my CIG blending.

I don't get real fussy about my blends.
1/4 bag of flue cured.
then two hand fulls of this
a couple of splats of that
A twist of this and another handful of that.
why not, another handfull or two of that.
That's a different that's tho.

 

[DGBAMA]

My second flue cure run is done, with mixed results. First priming from Hickory Prior and Big Gem, so maturity and yellowing were scattered. I pushed wilt and dropping rh earlier to see if I could get better color set. It worked, but at the expense of some green in the less mature leaves, the overripe ones turned brown as expected. Learned a lot from this run even though it was all over the place in color.

 

[Brown Thumb]

That looks Good.
Just pulled my second load, not real pretty.
i guess I had some luck last yr. on my side.
I loaded the kiln tonight and will pick one more load.
If it ain't right I give up.
Good luck on your next load.

 

[DGBAMA]

That looks Good.
Just pulled my second load, not real pretty.
i guess I had some luck last yr. on my side.
I loaded the kiln tonight and will pick one more load.
If it ain't right I give up.
Good luck on your next load.

#3 is out, only 4 days, and while not "lemon bright" nice color and best uniformity so far. The difference..... This batch spent 4 days resting in the greenhouse "pre-yellowing" before going in the chamber.

 

[bonehead]

# 3 sure looks good. pre yellowing seems to have helped.

 

[Knucklehead]

That leaf looks gorgeous.

 

[DGBAMA]

Update pic of the big patch. Been a while. Harvest in full swing.

 

[DGBAMA]

Picked 650 leaves of flue cure this morning, 4 varieties.

 

[Brown Thumb]

Looking good, is your leaf ripening up faster than you can kiln it.

 

[DGBAMA]

Looking good, is your leaf ripening up faster than you can kiln it.

Almost. Lol. Having the flue cure spread between multiple varieties has them ripening on a staggered schedule which helps a lot. Next year I will only do three FC varieties, one of the selection criteria is maturation time, early, medium, late, to spread out the flue curing timetable.

The few days hanging in the green house helps too... The pre-yellowing cuts at least a day off of the flue cure cycle and also the leaf dumps quite a bit of the initial water weight and wilts some, allowing a couple extra strings to fit in each run.

Third season, and still learning, mostly streamlining the process. This has been the most relaxed grow so far, considering the work involved.

 

[DGBAMA]

I love stringing on the aluminum fence wire. Fast, and when done can just be folded up and put in totes for storage.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I bought some of that wire and I agree....Nice pile of leaf !!

 

[deluxestogie]

You're making my back hurt. That's an impressive quantity of leaf.

I like to stack the primed leaf, by variety, on the front porch. Then I sit down (sometimes with a fan blowing, music playing, a bottle of chilled well water and a nice cigar) and leisurely string the leaf onto the aluminum wire, watching the clouds drift past. When I first started growing tobacco, I used to squat beside a pile of primed leaf, out in the direct sun of the garden, and string the leaves onto lethal, galvanized steel wire, then place it into a bushel basket to carry to the shed.

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

You're making my back hurt. That's an impressive quantity of leaf.

I like to stack the primed leaf, by variety, on the front porch. Then I sit down (sometimes with a fan blowing, music playing, a bottle of chilled well water and a nice cigar) and leisurely string the leaf onto the aluminum wire, watching the clouds drift past. When I first started growing tobacco, I used to squat beside a pile of primed leaf, out in the direct sun of the garden, and string the leaves onto lethal, galvanized steel wire, then place it into a bushel basket to carry to the shed.

Bob

This one is for you Bob, just to finish your back off for the day. Evening harvest, 550 leaves, Silver River and Bolivian Crillo Black.


And I string the same way..... Pick as fast as possible, then sit on the ground in the shade, turn the radio on, open a cold beverage, light a good smoke, and string away.

 

[Knucklehead]

Dang, BAMA you've been busy as a beaver. Good looking leaf. Are you missing the aphids yet?

 

[deluxestogie]

This one is for you Bob, just to finish your back off for the day.

I got to feeling lazy, so I stalk harvested all my Vuelta Abajo today. Only 16 plants, but I'm feeling it.

Bob