ProZachJ's 2025 Grow Log

[deluxestogie]

This one is similar, but definitely different:

Antique Copper Tobacco Canister | eBay

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Bob

 

[ProZachJ]

This one is similar, but definitely different:

Antique Copper Tobacco Canister | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Antique Copper Tobacco Canister at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Bob

No that's the exact one. That is the shop I visited in person yesterday....unless they had two and I missed one.

 

[deluxestogie]

Yup. You are right. I am mistaken. The photos are at a slightly different angle, with different contrast, showing different detail. But the slight slant to the closure of the lid, and the tilt of the lid clasp are identical. It's a lovely item.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

Making several small batches would definitely spread out the risk of a batch going bad, but perhaps you could use your best (small trial) batch to inoculate a larger batch, later on? Some micro flora consistency, along with good records of temps, humidity , activity levels over time, along with varieties, could help with experience, and minimize risk for a “lifetime supply” batch….

 

[ProZachJ]

Action!

 

[ProZachJ]

7 days from sowing, Most varieties showing at least some sprouts. Staghorn showing slow germination again this year...

 

[MadFarmer]

It took 8 days before I had something going in every cell. The Veulta Abajo came up first.

 

[WillQuantrill]

I hear you. Definitely a risk. On the other hand I would really love to get the process figured out from end to end given how much I loved growing the Perique variety and blends containing SJP. A few years of wasting some leaf on non-ideal results would be well worth it if eventually I landed on a homegrown, homemade batch that was spectacular and provided a decade worth of supply.

That being said, maybe a pound or two would be a wiser place to start. I bet this barrel would hold 20.

If I were so inclined to start a spirit quest for the perfect perique, maybe make your own small batch box or barrel out of a similar wood used in St James? The nail keg is still pretty cool find.

 

[ProZachJ]

I've found a second barren in the shed. It is in pieces but all the parts seem to be there. On the base it reads "Richmond Cedar Works, Danville Virginia" based on some Internet sleuthing it may have been a sauerkraut barrel or churn for ice cream. Either way it is a bit smaller and when reassembled may have a better seal than the nail barrel.

 

[WillQuantrill]

You just created another tasting note on the wheel of flavor for pro cigar reviews...mmmm sauerkraut. Haha. Instead of Japanese Whiskey barrel aged, the Texas Reuben Sandwich.

 

[DaleB]

Check out this guy that I found while shopping architectural salvage shops for the project.

View attachment 54394View attachment 54395View attachment 54396View attachment 54397

What an amazing find. I've never seen anything like that. You just don't find that kind of thing around this part of the country; I'm lucky to see a 1960s vintage amber glass tobacco jar once in a while.

 

[ProZachJ]

Del Gold has certainly claimed the position of this year's germination champion. Most other varieties show enough seedlings to end up with the desired plant counts. I'm waiting to move the doubles and triples into individual cells untill I get a bit further past cotelydon stage....and then there is Staghorn...ugh...I guess I need to use like 10 seeds per cell for it to get the number of plants I want...always learning

 

[ProZachJ]

Maybe I should start doing germination testing prior to seeding to hone in on my seed per cell counts for each variety....that would be too logical.

 

[johnny108]

If you use a paper towel-type of method to germinate the seeds, you can seed the trays with only the seeds that actually sprout….
I still seed in small pots, pic the best sprout to stay in that pot, and transfer the others.
Works for me…so far- this year might be a bit “hectic”.

 

[ProZachJ]

In non-tobacco news, tomatoes and peppers doing well.

 

[deluxestogie]

I've found that, in general, tobacco seed germination rates follow a lopsided bell curve. Seed from the immediately preceding season (e.g. seed collected in October, then set for germination a few months later) is sometimes refractory—troublesome to germinate. By the second season, that same seed shows a more typical germination rate. The germination rate of older seed tapers off slowly, year by year. And seed storage conditions affect seed viability.

Add to that the requirement of certain varieties for exposure to light, prior to germination. This is an ill-defined minority of varieties. Sprinkling seed atop the starting soil, and allowing light exposure prior to germination seems to make the light exposure requirement moot.

Bob

 

[ProZachJ]

For the first time in a decade of trying and failing to get automation in place in a greenhouse for my seedlings before they are not seedlings anymore. I've reached the critical point.

Heating/cooling....thermostatically controlled
Lighting....timer controlled
Irrigation....flood tables timer controlled

With both the lighting and irrigation I can monitor and adjust remotely. I just need a few cameras so I can spy on them while I'm away

Still have to flush the nutrients reservoirs manually once ever 10-14 days but maybe next year I'll hook up a controller to that too.

The pics of the tobacco show the flooding in progress. When the pump shuts off after 10 minutes the trays will completely drain and the plants are just running off the moisture the pots and media where able to soak up. The eventual goal is to cycle the media from moist to dry several times per day, but that won't happen until the plants are quite a bit larger.

 

[ProZachJ]

This morning I played seedling surgeon with a pair of toothpicks and moved the duplicates into their own cell. I also played executioner for the excess. Always a tough part of the process.

 

[ProZachJ]

Four days on full automation with me in another county...everyone looks happy.

 

[ProZachJ]

Things continuing to progress.


Bonus pics...
My blending station coming together. Almost assembled enough of the acrylic humidor jars for my individual ingredients...almost.


The peppers and tomatoes on their first day out in the sun.