Spain, 2025 winter grow blog. KY17.

[oldfellainspain]

I wasn't going to grow tobacco this coming year, as my wife wanted me to grow tomatoes, peppers and peas. My roof terrace isn't large enough to grow tobacco as well. She gave me seeds as she prepared the tomatoes and peppers, and bought peas to plant.
When they germinated I got an overwhelming urge to germinate a few KY17 seeds as well. End result.... the terrace is going to be crowded in a few months time.

 

[deluxestogie]

Tomatoes can grow in hanging pots, and the peas can climb on your terrace railing. Good luck with your grow (and your marriage).

Bob

 

[johnny108]

If you buy a clothing dryer, she won’t need to hang laundry, and you can get more space….
(Worked for me)

 

[oldfellainspain]

The tobacco plants are getting a little crowded under the lights. They look so good I don't want to snip overlapping leaves, even though I probably should. I've split them into two trays, but the problem with that is, I only have one light canopy. Is alternate days under the lights an acceptable thing to do, or should I snip leaves? The daytime temperatures here are about 17ºC so the plants could alternate with one day under the canopy and one day hardening off outside. I would bring them in at dusk every night. I would really like to hear views on this please. The plants are in 3" square pots at the moment.

 

[johnny108]

I would trim the leaves, if only to get the plant a bit more ready to deal with insects.
( trimming leaves starts some nicotine production, as the plant responds to what it “thinks” is an attack by a predator).
I frequently alternate plants around my place using artificial light to extend the day, and windows and the balcony whenever there is sunlight.
(Less than 8 hours a day, where I am.)

 

[oldfellainspain]

A warm, but overcast day today, so I've potted up the five largest plants into their (three gallon bag) final homes. I will pot up five more tomorrow and leave the last five under lights for another week or so. Only morning sun for three to four hours this time of year on the roof terrace, but I've got a reflective light corner made from white canvas. The plants have been hardening off for the last couple of weeks, but I'll keep the newly moved plants indoors while they settle in.
For those of you in the U.S., sorry to hear about the devastation in L.A. I hope an end to this disaster is in sight.

 

[ProZachJ]

They look beautiful

 

[oldfellainspain]

They look beautiful

Thank you.

 

[oldfellainspain]

All fifteen KY17 plants now in three gallon containers. They will stay indoors for a week or so, then I will lug them, inside and outside daily. (I'm not sure for how long, I'll see how it goes). I'm trying to keep the soil temperature up above 15ºC.
I've been allocated the top room and roof terrace in the house since my wife and I retired. The terrace was for my plants and the room was my refuge area for listening to music and generally messing around. I enjoy building and restoring old audio equipment, but can't get near half of it at the moment because of the plants. I have to perform yoga positions to turn it on. There is nothing more pleasant, than selecting some music, sorting leaves, de-ribbing or shredding tobacco to a favourite album or two.
I was going to crop the photo to just show the plants, but couldn't resist the temptation to show off a bit of vintage audio equipment. Apologies.

 

[deluxestogie]

Perhaps you should explain vacuum tubes to our members who are under 50 years old.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

"Many years ago, in the Dark Ages, long before Dolby Surround, DAPs (Digital Audio Processors), iPhones, and Spotify, there were huge power hungry machines that people used to heat their rooms. Sometimes, once hot, they would emit smooth, melodious music with warmth and magical brightness...."

Actually, you can't fool me - that's a modern "retro" tube amp. I can tell because it's not housed in a 20 pound 1/8" thick steel cabinet!

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob's take: Vacuum tubes were the things that conveniently jostled back into their proper place when I slammed my hand on the side of the TV set console, in order to correct any problem with the picture quality.

Bob

 

[oldfellainspain]

Actually, you can't fool me - that's a modern "retro" tube amp. I can tell because it's not housed in a 20 pound 1/8" thick steel cabinet!

I first built this amplifier about 5 years ago. I built it into an old 1930's Marconi radio housing so as to make it look "right". I was happy with this build, but I was always thinking, can I make it sound better? A beautiful, warm, clear sound, but lacking something. I yanked it all out of the housing and built a Baxandall Tone Stack into the signal chain. The original only had a volume controI, now I had a bass and treble control to fiddle with as well.
Jump forward 2 years. Although I was convinced the tone stack had improved the sound, I still felt something was missing. Cymbals didn't hiss like I remembered and other subtle little sounds seemed diminished.
One morning, talking with my wife, she pointed out, how many times I had said "eh" or "what" or worse, totally misheard what she said. I went and booked a hearing test. That brings us up to date. A good set of hearing aids to boost the missing frequencies has worked wonders. I once again yanked the amp out of the Marconi housing, and after taking out the tone stack rebuilt it as seen in the photo. The sound is unbelievable. The original build was perfect. The tone stack was a complete waste of time and money. Added bonus..... I can now hear the screaming of the swifts that come to nest every year in this lovely old Spanish village.

 

[GreenDragon]

Very nice work! Glad you are now able to enjoy it as intended.

 

[deluxestogie]

Great stuff. Reminds me of Heathkits my father built in the 1950s, and the ubiquitous, drug store tube testers. I can't recall if my Peavey guitar amp from the 1980s had any vacuum tubes.

Bob

 

[oldfellainspain]

Thanks Bob, GreenDragon, I enjoy the whole process. Woodwork, metalwork, wiring and test.
Now back to tobacco.
Just mixing up a blend for RYO ciggies while listening to Steely Dan: Katy Lied.
From top to bottom.
Homegrown KY17
Dark Burley *
Lemon Virginia *
Oriental *
* Wholeleaf from Germany sold without any other information.

 

[johnny108]

I love doing wiring and test work, too.
I mostly work with switching components/circuits.
I got most of my electrical training in the army (EOD- the guy in the big suit walking towards the bomb).
Always wanted to look into vacuum tubes, thanks for the reminder!

And excellent work on the KY17!
How is the flavor and nicotine strength?

 

[oldfellainspain]

The KY17 is quite mild (flavour and nicotine) as I'm shredding primed, low on the plant leaves at the moment. I want to leave the stalk hung plants a little longer if I can, hoping for a stronger smoke in a couple of months time. Mixed in with the other tobaccos, I'm getting a smooth, pleasant tasting smoke. Hard to tell nicotine strength, but I feel it's enough to satisfy. I only need two smokes with my first cup of coffee in the morning and I'm up and running for the day.

https://www.cascadetubes.com/ If you want to look into vacuum tubes for audio, go with this guy. Superb sounding amps, full schematics, photos and test procedures. I've built three of his many amps over the years. He always responds to questions. Never earns a cent. Does it for the love of it.

You've certainly got some large cojones, being the guy in the big suit walking towards the bomb. I take my hat off to you.

 

[Panosagr24]

@oldfellainspain Hi im interested in buying tobacco from the same seller as you did from Germany. Have you tried the oriental tobacco?Also how many days did it take to arrive? Thanks!

 

[oldfellainspain]

Hi im interested in buying tobacco from the same seller as you did from Germany. Have you tried the oriental tobacco?Also how many days did it take to arrive? Thanks!

Hi, Oriental that I have received has been good. Delivery to me in Spain has taken about 8-10 days.