Photo of my tobacco - OldDinosaur
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OldDinosaurWesH
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Well, they are small all right. A 10 incher was a giant. I hung them in the window of my high humidity curing area. AKA the storage room. This way they will get the high humidity and some direct sunlight in the day. I have done a couple of test strings, and they came out okay. Not very uniform in color, but brown nonetheless.
Bob:
One of the smaller Izmir plants I harvested had the most beautiful pentagonal symmetry! You could look down the stalk and see the five sided spiral. This one was the smallest of all, and had mostly 3 to 5" leaves on it. As a crystal guy, I really appreciate nicely symmetrical things. In mineral collecting, the closer a crystal is to the textbook ideal, the greater the value. I have a Brazilian Aquamarine crystal that is worth a couple of hundred bucks as gem rough. But because it has unusual and very desirable symmetry, it is worth more like $1,500. I don't know if you have noticed, but some tobacco spirals up the stalk with a clock-wise twist, and others spiral with a counter-clockwise twist. Depending on the variety. This Ismir spiraled up the stem with a counter-clockwise twist. Quartz crystals do the same thing, some have a left-hand twist, and others have a right hand twist. Nature is an amazing thing!
Wes H.
Bob:
One of the smaller Izmir plants I harvested had the most beautiful pentagonal symmetry! You could look down the stalk and see the five sided spiral. This one was the smallest of all, and had mostly 3 to 5" leaves on it. As a crystal guy, I really appreciate nicely symmetrical things. In mineral collecting, the closer a crystal is to the textbook ideal, the greater the value. I have a Brazilian Aquamarine crystal that is worth a couple of hundred bucks as gem rough. But because it has unusual and very desirable symmetry, it is worth more like $1,500. I don't know if you have noticed, but some tobacco spirals up the stalk with a clock-wise twist, and others spiral with a counter-clockwise twist. Depending on the variety. This Ismir spiraled up the stem with a counter-clockwise twist. Quartz crystals do the same thing, some have a left-hand twist, and others have a right hand twist. Nature is an amazing thing!
Wes H.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
ArizonaDave:
That was the idea. This way I can have nice aged tobacco. Well aged tobacco is a wonderful thing! And a major upgrade from anything commercially produced.
Wes H.
P.S. I have three cigar types in my grow, as well as a couple of others that could be used in cigar making. I'm going to be interested to see what comes out of the kiln. I have made a few stogies in the past, and want to try some more.
That was the idea. This way I can have nice aged tobacco. Well aged tobacco is a wonderful thing! And a major upgrade from anything commercially produced.
Wes H.
P.S. I have three cigar types in my grow, as well as a couple of others that could be used in cigar making. I'm going to be interested to see what comes out of the kiln. I have made a few stogies in the past, and want to try some more.
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OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Well, for the first time in several years, here come the seasonal rains. We got one or two tenths of an inch overnight. First measurable precipitation since before June 15th. Right on schedule, any time after Sept. 15th would be "normal". Whatever normal means. We're predicted to get rain for the next few days. It would be good if we could get an inch or so out of this storm system. Our farmers certainly need it for fall planting season.
Upside for me is that rain means no frost for the foreseeable future. My contact up north of me has already frosted out. The downside is that it is hard to finish my harvest in the wet. I'm 85 - 90% done, and need a few days to harvest the last few hundred leaves. Of course, the longer the season lasts, the longer my seed heads have to mature.
I'm wondering. Should I be concerned about my seed heads that are currently in bags getting moldy? I've been using 5 gallon paint strainers for bags, and they seem to be pretty well ventilated. Will several days of rainy humid weather effect said seed heads?
Wes H.
Upside for me is that rain means no frost for the foreseeable future. My contact up north of me has already frosted out. The downside is that it is hard to finish my harvest in the wet. I'm 85 - 90% done, and need a few days to harvest the last few hundred leaves. Of course, the longer the season lasts, the longer my seed heads have to mature.
I'm wondering. Should I be concerned about my seed heads that are currently in bags getting moldy? I've been using 5 gallon paint strainers for bags, and they seem to be pretty well ventilated. Will several days of rainy humid weather effect said seed heads?
Wes H.
Nearly every other grower has much wetter conditions to contend with, so I doubt that a few days (or a week) of rain will cause the seed heads problems.
Bob
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Bob:
That's kind of what I was thinking, but I thought I'd seek out other opinions. Even when it's raining, our relative humidity is well below 100% (maybe 70%). And it dries out between storms.
Wes H.
That's kind of what I was thinking, but I thought I'd seek out other opinions. Even when it's raining, our relative humidity is well below 100% (maybe 70%). And it dries out between storms.
Wes H.
I would guess that a good dose of photons between soakings accomplishes the task of zapping surface microbes and fungi.
Bob
Bob
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Yes, those quirky particles that have no mass. Well...sort of.
While I wait for the weather, I'm busy shredding the first of my new crop. I used the "poor man's kiln" process to get this stuff ready to use. Those days are about gone. Time to fire up the kiln.
Wes H.
While I wait for the weather, I'm busy shredding the first of my new crop. I used the "poor man's kiln" process to get this stuff ready to use. Those days are about gone. Time to fire up the kiln.
Wes H.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
I went out & checked my Thermometer/humidity meter. It's 62 degrees and 40% humidity. After spending all summer getting used to the 90 and 100 degree heat, it seems cold. I guess I was concerned about nothing. Those seed heads won't be sprouting any fungi under these dry conditions. My Ismir looks pretty sad standing there with great big bloom heads and no leaves. I wonder if they are feeling cold?
Just doing my best farmer imitation...worrying about the uncontrollable.
Thanks Bob.
Wes H.
Bob:
Re: your earlier post. Put on your particle physics hat for a few minutes. If you excite an atom sufficiently, it will eventually give off a sub-atomic particle called a photon. This is called light. In my younger days they used to define photons as a particle that has no mass. A contradiction in terms. In more recent years it has been proven that Photons do actually have a small amount of mass. Does this mean that eventually after enough cycles of excitation that the atom will no longer give off a photon due to the loss of mass over time? I have never run across an answer to this nerdly conundrum in any of my readings so it ocurred to me to ask you. You know a lot about science, maybe you have an answer. I have my own theory. Please share yours.
Just doing my best farmer imitation...worrying about the uncontrollable.
Thanks Bob.
Wes H.
Bob:
Re: your earlier post. Put on your particle physics hat for a few minutes. If you excite an atom sufficiently, it will eventually give off a sub-atomic particle called a photon. This is called light. In my younger days they used to define photons as a particle that has no mass. A contradiction in terms. In more recent years it has been proven that Photons do actually have a small amount of mass. Does this mean that eventually after enough cycles of excitation that the atom will no longer give off a photon due to the loss of mass over time? I have never run across an answer to this nerdly conundrum in any of my readings so it ocurred to me to ask you. You know a lot about science, maybe you have an answer. I have my own theory. Please share yours.
There you go. Energy in; energy out.
The "resting" mass of a photon is zero. The energy you put into an atom eventually comes out as energy. I don't think many forum members would enjoy a deeper discussion. You can search photon mass for a discussion with messy equations.
Bob
mwaller
Well-Known Member
Wes -
Do you have a favorite among your various Burley types? I'm thinking of growing one Burley next year for use in pipe blends...
Do you have a favorite among your various Burley types? I'm thinking of growing one Burley next year for use in pipe blends...
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
mwaller:
I'll have to apprise you of that after I've had a chance to kiln and sample what I've got. I grew five Burleys this year. I wanted to have a few to sample to see what I might prefer. One of the Burleys that I did grow that is in the cigar category is Kentucky 17. KY 17 has high nicotine content, around 4%, and is a good producer. I have had some that was aged for three years, and found it to be pretty stiff. Way too strong for cigarettes. As a small percentage of a blend, it makes a good accent tobacco. That might be one to try in a pipe blend.
I also have a couple of other high nicotine types. African Red at 2.97% and Ostrolist 6 at a little over 3%. It will be interesting to see how these turn out.
This was my year to experiment with a bunch of different types, 13 in total, and try to settle on a few for regular production.
Check back with me in a couple of months on this.
Wes H.
I'll have to apprise you of that after I've had a chance to kiln and sample what I've got. I grew five Burleys this year. I wanted to have a few to sample to see what I might prefer. One of the Burleys that I did grow that is in the cigar category is Kentucky 17. KY 17 has high nicotine content, around 4%, and is a good producer. I have had some that was aged for three years, and found it to be pretty stiff. Way too strong for cigarettes. As a small percentage of a blend, it makes a good accent tobacco. That might be one to try in a pipe blend.
I also have a couple of other high nicotine types. African Red at 2.97% and Ostrolist 6 at a little over 3%. It will be interesting to see how these turn out.
This was my year to experiment with a bunch of different types, 13 in total, and try to settle on a few for regular production.
Check back with me in a couple of months on this.
Wes H.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Pickings from today and cetera.
Photo 1, two big strings and one small string. Total = 224. 100 leaves Bolivia Criollo Dark (left). 12 leaves Harrow Velvet (center). 112 leaves Kentucky 17 (right). I still have a few hundred leaves to pick and string before I'm done for the year. Total leaf count to date: 6,598. I will easily have over 7,000 when I'm done. Its been quite a year.
Photo 2, fresh shreds. Ternopolskii 14 left, and Harrow Velvet right. My little hand crank shredder I got from WLT does a good job. If you get the moisture correct on the leaves, there is very little dust and fines, just nice shreds.
Wes H.
Photo 1, two big strings and one small string. Total = 224. 100 leaves Bolivia Criollo Dark (left). 12 leaves Harrow Velvet (center). 112 leaves Kentucky 17 (right). I still have a few hundred leaves to pick and string before I'm done for the year. Total leaf count to date: 6,598. I will easily have over 7,000 when I'm done. Its been quite a year.
Photo 2, fresh shreds. Ternopolskii 14 left, and Harrow Velvet right. My little hand crank shredder I got from WLT does a good job. If you get the moisture correct on the leaves, there is very little dust and fines, just nice shreds.
Wes H.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
First batch in kiln.
7 different types, 379 leaves total. I'll be able to be more efficient and put more in there when I get my new shelving. Thanks Bob for the idea (aka: deluxestogie). I haven't had time to make the 30 mile trip and go retrieve said shelving. Meanwhile, I wanted to get my kiln going.
I still have significant tobacco "on the hoof" out in my garden. There are several hundred (maybe 700 or 800?) leaves yet to pick and string. One more day would pretty well finish my harvest. Between having to work for a living, and the nasty weather, I am suffering a delay. Oh well! We all 'gotta make a living. Fortunately, no frost is predicted in the ten-day forecast. The weather man actually said it is supposed to warm up next week. After a long hot summer these 50 and 60 gegree days feel pretty cold. We had two thunder storms come through today that also came with hail. I saw a couple of broken leaves in the garden, but no other significant damage thankfully.
Wes H.
7 different types, 379 leaves total. I'll be able to be more efficient and put more in there when I get my new shelving. Thanks Bob for the idea (aka: deluxestogie). I haven't had time to make the 30 mile trip and go retrieve said shelving. Meanwhile, I wanted to get my kiln going.
I still have significant tobacco "on the hoof" out in my garden. There are several hundred (maybe 700 or 800?) leaves yet to pick and string. One more day would pretty well finish my harvest. Between having to work for a living, and the nasty weather, I am suffering a delay. Oh well! We all 'gotta make a living. Fortunately, no frost is predicted in the ten-day forecast. The weather man actually said it is supposed to warm up next week. After a long hot summer these 50 and 60 gegree days feel pretty cold. We had two thunder storms come through today that also came with hail. I saw a couple of broken leaves in the garden, but no other significant damage thankfully.
Wes H.
I'm glad the hail was kind to your tobacco. It can potentially strip a plant down to bare stalk and stems.
Bob
Bob
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Bob:
We had a minor bit of flooding at my place of work. Fortunately, these storms didn't last long and only caused minor damage. Hopefully, the firefighters in the Cascades are getting a break. And, maybe with the rains I'll be able to get some mushrooms next month!
Wes H.
We had a minor bit of flooding at my place of work. Fortunately, these storms didn't last long and only caused minor damage. Hopefully, the firefighters in the Cascades are getting a break. And, maybe with the rains I'll be able to get some mushrooms next month!
Wes H.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Today's pickings (So far, maybe more later.)
4 strings, 490 leaves of Connecticut Shade. These didn't get enough sunshine and never really got up to their size potential. Biggest leaf was about 18" long. I picked pretty much everything (except the suckers which weren't very abundant) down to fairly small stuff. I'll sort them out later. Second photo: the aftermath.
Wes H.
4 strings, 490 leaves of Connecticut Shade. These didn't get enough sunshine and never really got up to their size potential. Biggest leaf was about 18" long. I picked pretty much everything (except the suckers which weren't very abundant) down to fairly small stuff. I'll sort them out later. Second photo: the aftermath.
Wes H.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
The rest of today's pickings.
Two large strings one small string. Type: African Red. 282 leaves total. These are a smaller thin-leaf type with leaves about 16" in length x about 12" wide. They are also very green, and you have to let them get very mature in order to get them to color cure down.
The leaves are smaller than other types, but more abundant. Plants were between 8 and 9 feet tall at the crows foot and averaged about 50 leaves each. I picked 398 leaves off of 8 plants.
They might make good cigar wrappers. They have the correct physical characteristics for a wrapper. High in nicotine, (in the catalog as 2.97%) and thin with small veins. It all comes down to the flavor. I'll find out this winter.
As of today, my season total leaf count = 7,370.
Wes H.
Two large strings one small string. Type: African Red. 282 leaves total. These are a smaller thin-leaf type with leaves about 16" in length x about 12" wide. They are also very green, and you have to let them get very mature in order to get them to color cure down.
The leaves are smaller than other types, but more abundant. Plants were between 8 and 9 feet tall at the crows foot and averaged about 50 leaves each. I picked 398 leaves off of 8 plants.
They might make good cigar wrappers. They have the correct physical characteristics for a wrapper. High in nicotine, (in the catalog as 2.97%) and thin with small veins. It all comes down to the flavor. I'll find out this winter.
As of today, my season total leaf count = 7,370.
Wes H.
Fifty leaves per plant. That's a lot. Is Africa Red a cigar variety?
Bob
Bob
juan carlos
Well-Known Member
i love this time of year, with the pictures of harvest. what does 7000 cured leaves weigh? 150Lb?
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