Old Gasmans 2024 log.

[johnny108]

Advice from the forum (with pictures);

Ripe tobacco leaf

Probably the best available example of a "Ripe" tobacco leaf. This picture is all over the internet and I can't find who to give credit to. This is a Bright Leaf plant which is a Flue cured type. The leaf is allowed to get what I call "ripe ripe" due to the manner in which it is cured. For...

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[Old Gasman]

Yes that makes sense, if the weather was more settled it would be easier to gauge. I think I'll have a couple down now and leave the rest a while. The only place I have to cure the leaf is in my garage, one day it's as hot as an oven, the next it's the opposite which is why I think stalk curing works best for me.

 

[Olmstead]

I’ve read that letting Virginia get over ripe, makes it more flavorful. [...] But that would be a test of nerves against the weather. It maybe a good idea to harvest what you know works, and maybe save a plant or two, as a test?

Doing a few tests is always a good idea. After all, that's how some of the tobacco world's greatest concepts were discovered. I would certainly harvest ≥90% of my crop the normal way, but set aside a few leaves for experimentation. In this case, it's easy. Let the last few leaves at the top of the plant continue to grow for a few more weeks, wait, and find out later. The worst that could happen is you lose them to bad weather. Even if you get a bad storm that rolls in, you could always run out and harvest them quickly.

The only place I have to cure the leaf is in my garage, one day it's as hot as an oven, the next it's the opposite which is why I think stalk curing works best for me.

I have a nice tall shed with an attic that gets very hot, and it's just large enough (and empty aside from some lumber) up there in the rafters to hang a lot of leaf for curing. Having said that, I am interested in this concept of "stalk curing". This is the first time I've heard the term. Is there a thread about it here? If not, what's the basic idea? Thanks in advance for any info.

____________________
My Plants:
Attached is a picture I took about a month ago of one of my best TN90 Burley plants. TN90 Burley has done very well in the often harsh and unpredictable Cape Cod climate. Due to some "life events", I was late planting this year, but today my Burley plants are more than twice the size of what's pictured. Today they're showing their buds for the first time. I have a few of full size, as well as several smaller ones. From May to through mid-June—just as the tobacco was kicking into gear—we had a terrible time with slugs. Strangely, they preferred my tobacco over practically everything else in the garden and the indigenous plants. With several of my plants dead from the assault, I late-planted the extras I had left over in my starting trays. They've done fine, they're just small. Additionally, I grew some American 572 in some planters that are robust but small (~2ft tall), as well as some Rustica just for the heck of it. The latter did horribly and were affected by the slugs the worst (only two made it to flowering, and just barely). Next year I'll be trying other varieties, and I'll be ready for those slugs.

 

[Knucklehead]

I have a nice tall shed with an attic that gets very hot, and it's just large enough (and empty aside from some lumber) up there in the rafters to hang a lot of leaf for curing. Having said that, I am interested in this concept of "stalk curing". This is the first time I've heard the term. Is there a thread about it here? If not, what's the basic idea? Thanks in advance for any info.

Burley and some other air cure varieties are typically stalk harvested commercially by cutting down the entire plant, spearing them on a stick, and hanging them in the barn. After curing and drying the leaves are stripped off the plant in the morning while the leaves are pliable and tied into hands. Stalk harvesting is faster when you have alot of acreage and your labor consists mainly of seasonal migrant workers. They cut it, hang it, and move on to the next farm. Stripping can be done after curing by the family and neighbors after the seasonal labor has moved on.

 

[Olmstead]

@Knucklehead - Thanks for the reply. Those leaves are beautiful, and HUGE! In hindsight, I knew of this method, just not the terminology. My knowledge of tobacco is solid, but not of the growing and harvesting aspect—which is exactly why I made this account.

I have a lot of respect for the families that are still doing this here in America. It's wild to think about how the families of the early American colonies were—in some places—almost entirely reliant on tobacco as a means of making a living. Nowadays we think of tobacco as a luxury item, and most think of it as a "cheap" commodity, but it's really something how much hard work goes into making a quality tobacco product.

Anyways, thanks again.

 

[Old Gasman]

Fantastic photos, thanks for sharing them.

 

[Olmstead]

Fantastic photos, thanks for sharing them.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a great day weather-wise here, so I'll go out to examine and remove the new flowers from the Burley plants, and de-sucker a couple that already flowered. I'll try to remember to bring my phone out and take some more pictures. I should start a grow log thread of my own, since it'd be fun to record my progress and I'm sure there will be lots of things to photograph and discuss.

Something else I'll be doing tomorrow—and for the first time—is a "candela" type test-cure going. The reason I need green tobacco is because one of my bigger goals is to create green tobacco flour for green Kashubian style snuff like what you see pictured in my avatar photo. Unlike with cigars where a grassy aroma is what you don't want, with this snuff, that grassy smell is precisely what I'm looking to obtain. Whether or not I can do it is another story. For this test run, I'm going to use my household convection oven and my kitchen as a lab, heh. I'm going to de-vein and "frog" the test leaves so I don't have to run the oven for days, but I'm figuring about 30 hours will do it. We will surely see!

Thanks & Shout-Outs: Last summer I found a thread started by @FmGrowit about how candela wrappers were made, and how to keep a tobacco leaf green during and after curing (or through a special high-heat curing process). Also, I was further encouraged by @GreenDragon in that thread about candelas, as he made his own very green cigar wrappers using his gas grill as a heat source. Since this was the only literature about the subject of how candela wrappers are made, I'm forever indebted to this forum for that one post!

Question: Anyone know what category the Ukrainian-sourced "American 572" varietal falls under—Burley or Virginia? I bought it from Victory Seeds, but their description of it doesn't specify. I planted them purely out of curiosity. Compared to the TN90 plants, the American 572 has thinner leaves with almost spear-like tips. Whatever it is, the plants are healthy.

 

[Knucklehead]

Question: Anyone know what category the Ukrainian-sourced "American 572" varietal falls under—Burley or Virginia? I bought it from Victory Seeds, but their description of it doesn't specify. I planted them purely out of curiosity. Compared to the TN90 plants, the American 572 has thinner leaves with almost spear-like tips. Whatever it is, the plants are healthy.

northwoodseeds.com has American 572 listed as Oriental/Russian. The description states imported from Ukraine.

Northwood Seeds Providing organically grown seed for home gardeners

 

[deluxestogie]

"American 572" varietal falls under—Burley or Virginia?

The most likely answer is "not applicable". Although classed by Northwood Seeds as an "Oriental", it is a Crimean-developed (Soviet era) "American" variety, that I will assume is some sort of cross between one or more burley varieties and a Virginia.

Американ 572 (American 572) | Сорта табака и махорки

Крым. Скелетно-ароматический среднеспелый сорт воздушной сушки. Один из лучших сортов Американов.

tobacco.professorhome.ru

Bob

 

[Old Gasman]

The Sun! What a scarce sight so I have to make the most of it. Heres the 2 Virginia plants I cut down yesterday enjoying a bit of sunbathing.

 

[Olmstead]

@Knucklehead – Thanks for looking that up for me. American 572 could certainly have some Oriental in its lineage, but it's undoubtedly been crossed with a much larger variety. My best guess is that it was crossed multiple times with an Oriental varietal, but with strong Burley and Virginia lineage, and was developed as a varietal that'd produce well for the climate of the southern former USSR.

While I was researching Kashubian snuff-making, I came across at least half a dozen names of tobaccos I'd never heard of before. This made me realize how many varietals have been created over the years since tobacco was introduced to European farmers in the 1500s. For example, Skoronowski Burley from Poland is smaller and ripens with significantly less yellow mottling than American varietals. Anyways, I love writing and chatting about this stuff, so thanks again!

@deluxestogie - Thank you as well. Your info seems to make the most sense to what I'm seeing in the plants. The attached picture is of one of my American 572 plants. I had some leftover planters, so in they went! Their leaves have the right shape for a Virginia varietal, but the leaves' texture has Burley characteristics, and the thickness is somewhere in between the two. Aside from the question of its lineage, it is thriving in the Cape Cod summer with our hot days and very high humidity (as high as 99% at night and about 85% average for the last two months). Next year I'll definitely be planting it in the ground to see its full potential.

Limonka Rustica – Strangely, this faired the worst of all the tobacco I planted this year. It was the first to germinate, first to flower, but also faired the worst against pests by far. Photos of the small plant full of holes is attached, along with my better specimens. The watermark on the Rustica picture is incorrect; it was taken last week. My garden's a real mess, but I've got a few decent plants—and there's always next year.

 

[Old Gasman]

Well then chaps I've pretty much gathered in all of this years small harvest. The one I was most looking forward to was my Virginia #1 and that was the most disappointing. It grew tall but the leaves were well spaced apart so really it wasnt that fruitful. Also I think the leaves were very thin which made them more susceptible to weather damage. On the other hand my Harrow Velvet did really well, they grew very well and seem to be a stocky and hardy variety and size for size were good producers. It's all a learning game chaps, what varieties are best in your particular environment and so on, next year, if I'm spared, I'll do better.

 

[Alpine]

For a “Virginia” type, in your environment, I would try either Yellow Pryor or White Mammoth: fast growers, little to no suckers, fairly easy to cure, very good yelds. I’ve grown them both with good results, but abandoned them in favor of dark viriginias: stag horn and goose creek red (my favorite “Va” strain). Yields are similar, but the dark Va’s have a stronger flavour that better suits my taste.

pier

 

[Old Gasman]

Thanks for your kind advice Alpine. I have sufficient Virginia types stored up so I was thinking that next year if I'm spared I'd just grow some orientals. Maybe 4 or 5 different varieties but only 3 of each type. Hopefully I can find some that mature early to allow for our unpredictable weather.

 

[Old Gasman]

Summer is over I fear and so is this years tobacco grow, all that remains is to prepare my cured leaves for storage which I'm now doing. I only do a relatively small grow so I tend to wait till the leaves are in case and then remove the mid-rib from each leaf, press them flat then put them in a zip lock bag.

 

[slouch]

Summer is over I fear and so is this years tobacco grow, all that remains is to prepare my cured leaves for storage which I'm now doing. I only do a relatively small grow so I tend to wait till the leaves are in case and then remove the mid-rib from each leaf, press them flat then put them in a zip lock bag.
View attachment 53216

God I want to try a pipe blend cased with Havana club

 

[Old Gasman]

God I want to try a pipe blend cased with Havana club

Ha ha the Rum is strictly for drinking, I kid myself that a glass of it on a cold damp evening is good for me, we have many cold damp evenings here.

 

[Old Gasman]

Well chaps that's my growing and bagging all done for another year, apart from one plant. A couple of years ago I gave my chum one MD609 seedling which he planted directly into his garden and it grew to be an absolute monster. This year I gave him one Virginia plant, which again grew to be huge, much better than mine although mine are grown in a bucket. I praised him on his success but he assured me he didn't fertilize or fuss them at all. However, he did reveal that on occasion late at night whilst drinking a cold beer outside, rather than go inside if nature called he had been known to take a pee on the ground where the tobacco plant was. Who knows?