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Krausen89 Grow Log 2021

Oldfella

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Nov 27, 2019
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Far North New Zealand
When I'm sun curing I just prime the plants and hang them on a dedicated line. They start out green but soon get over it and turn a lovely golden color. The trick is not to let them get wet, a bit of a panic should rain be forecast.
Here, (with luck), is a picture of my Virginia Gold. Didn't work never mind,
If you're interested check out my blog 2019 I think. I do nearly all day sun on them so helps.
Oldfella
 

Knucklehead

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With my humidity swings, it depends. If the leaf is going to dry out faster than it can yellow, then I will wilt/partially yellow/or yellow in the shop before moving to full sun depending on humidity. If conditions are right I can prime, wilt, then direct to sun while still green. The maturity of the leaf at time of priming is also important. If you harvest immature, be careful and watch humidity and weather and you may need to make allowances like box yellowing first. If your climate is really humid or it is a rainy season, spread out your leaf further and bring them in before rain. It depends on your climate and local weather.


I prime my flue cure varieties for sun curing at the mature to ripe stage with quite a bit of yellow at harvest, but not as ripe as the burley which I air cure. My orientals will have yellow tips. However, I mainly smoke full flavor cigarettes. Some of my flue cure varieties are harvested at the mature stage, rather than ripe, for milder pipe blends.
 

Knucklehead

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What happens if they get wet? might get a little wet this morning from a chance of rain
Depending on the stage of cure it may wash off some nicotine and flavorful goodness. I’m not sure how “alive” the leaf and whether it would have time to make repairs to itself. I wash aphids and dirt off leaf immediately after priming (within minutes and while the leaf is still fresh and crispy green) because my patch is a few hundred yards from a water faucet. I haven’t noticed any ill effects from it but how would I really know? Maybe, depends. I certainly would not wash brown leaf.
 

Krausen89

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Jan 23, 2020
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Location
Northern Delaware
Depending on the stage of cure it may wash off some nicotine and flavorful goodness. I’m not sure how “alive” the leaf and whether it would have time to make repairs to itself. I wash aphids and dirt off leaf immediately after priming (within minutes and while the leaf is still fresh and crispy green) because my patch is a few hundred yards from a water faucet. I haven’t noticed any ill effects from it but how would I really know? Maybe, depends. I certainly would not wash brown leaf.
Most of them are green. a few semi brown that half cured on the stalk
 

deluxestogie

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Lot of nylon zip-ties there. An alternative would be a long piece of twine looped twice around each group of two or three stems, then passed diagonally over the wood to the next group of stems--all the way from one end of the wood strip to the other. Faster and cheaper, and way easier to remove once the leaf has cured.

Killebrew_lath01.jpg


Bob
 

Krausen89

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Jan 23, 2020
Messages
195
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Location
Northern Delaware
Lot of nylon zip-ties there. An alternative would be a long piece of twine looped twice around each group of two or three stems, then passed diagonally over the wood to the next group of stems--all the way from one end of the wood strip to the other. Faster and cheaper, and way easier to remove once the leaf has cured.

Killebrew_lath01.jpg


Bob
Wish i knew this before lol might still do this with the zipties on to consolidate and the ditch the zipties next year.
 

Oldfella

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Far North New Zealand
Most of them are green. a few semi brown that half cured on the stalk
I agree with @Knucklehead , green leaf, no problems with rain. If the leaf is at the stage of nearly ready to bring in and store rain may affect it. Why take the chance? In saying all this overnight showers don't seem to cause any problems and I for one ain't going running out in the middle of the night to tend my baccy.
Oldfella
 

Krausen89

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Northern Delaware
So at first i thought this was dirt but looking closer it looks like some disease or possibly mildew. I tried looking for some info but couldnt find anything that looked like this. Any idea what caused this? Maybe plants were too close?
 

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Krausen89

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Location
Northern Delaware
So at first i thought this was dirt but looking closer it looks like some disease or possibly mildew. I tried looking for some info but couldnt find anything that looked like this. Any idea what caused this? Maybe plants were too close?
i think i know what caused this. Hopefully nobody on here is dealing with them but the Spotted lantern fly has been taking over here and as they eat the sap from trees they excrete a sap like spray and it gets everywhere. They call the sap honeydew and it gets on plants and promotes mold growth. only thing i can think of. ill have to take a look at the rest of them. hopefully my leaves arnt ruined.

Makes me wonder what smoking this sap does. Prob nothing good.
 

Krausen89

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Location
Northern Delaware
The spotted lanternfly feeds through the bark using a piercing-sucking mouthpart tapped into the plant like a straw. When it feeds, it excretes honeydew, or sugary water on and around its feeding site. This sugary substance encourages the growth of black sooty mold, which is not harmful to humans, but can damage plants and make outside recreation areas unusable
 

deluxestogie

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I find a single snapshot in time difficult to interpret. Is the leaf still color-curing? What method of curing? Is it fully dried out, or still changing? Normal color-curing can appear quite strange at various stages. I find it particularly curious that, if this represents mold, it appears to have spared the stem.

Bob
 

Krausen89

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Jan 23, 2020
Messages
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Location
Northern Delaware
I had these sun cured VA leaves packed into paper bags end of 2021 season in the shed just pulled them out and seperated them some of them look real nice! Rehydrating them now. Thinking about kilning them in these bags for a couple weeks to a month MP
 

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