Dgbama 2014 grow blog

[Brown Thumb]

I did not. Leaf thickness was way off, yield weight clearly low for the number of leaves processed. On a volume basis, I would say most of mine weighs 1/2 - 2/3 of WLT flue cured for shredded leaf.

Mine is way off, that is why I asked. It is good data for folks that would like to flue cure. It would be really hard for us growers to duplicate WLT Flue Cured Baccy. I might be somewhat close but no Cigar for Me either.

 

[DGBAMA]

Mine is way off, that is why I asked. It is good data for folks that would like to flue cure. It would be really hard for us growers to duplicate WLT Flue Cured Baccy. I might be somewhat close but no Cigar for Me either.

Plant and leaf size were good. I am left thinking our weather this summer was the biggest problem; lots of cloudy days, few full sun days, little rain. I feel like I got the equivariant of under watered shade (cloud) grown tobacco.

 

[ArizonaDave]

I'm cleaning a few varieties per day. I have around 120 bags of seed to go through, two each of around 60 varieties. Then the germ test. My seed jars runneth over.

Double Wow!

 

[Brown Thumb]

I had a new spot this yr. and it does not get a lot of light in the morning on one section and it grew great over there. The rest took there time. I am going back to my first good grow, and using the plastic for the walkways and
mulching in between plants and plastic.

 

[ArizonaDave]

Plant and leaf size were good. I am left thinking our weather this summer was the biggest problem; lots of cloudy days, few full sun days, little rain. I feel like I got the equivariant of under watered shade (cloud) grown tobacco.

Hmmm.......kind of like the Ecuador Shade variety?

 

[DGBAMA]

Hmmm.......kind of like the Ecuador Shade variety?

Seems I read E Shade is grown in certain areas with prevalent cloudiness, no artificial shade cloth, so yes good comparison.

 

[DGBAMA]

2014 kiln run is now in progress. About 50lbs net, best guess. No scale.

 

[DonH]

Do your containers have seals to make them airtight, or does it matter?

 

[DGBAMA]

Do your containers have seals to make them airtight, or does it matter?

The kids are not completely air tight, but hold pretty well. Around7-10 days between adding water. I put my rh sensor inside the tote so I can tell when the leaf is getting too dry. Most of it is shredded and in gallon freezer zip locks which will need no moisture added for the whole process. Worked good last year.

 

[Bex]

I've read the whole thread about 5 times. All I can say is wow. If I can get to 1/4 of what you have done in 2 years, I'll be pretty darned chuffed. Great work, and a really information thread, too. Just amazing.....

Edit: Just curious - do you shred all of your leaf after its flue cured? Nothing is stored as leaf?

 

[DGBAMA]

I've read the whole thread about 5 times. All I can say is wow. If I can get to 1/4 of what you have done in 2 years, I'll be pretty darned chuffed. Great work, and a really information thread, too. Just amazing.....

Edit: Just curious - do you shred all of your leaf after its flue cured? Nothing is stored as leaf?

I shredded everything destined for cigarettes. Two totes are cigar leaf. Shredding cuts storage space tremendously, and since there are no midribs to hold moisture, risk of mold is minimized.

 

[Bex]

Hmmm....my shredder makes short work of most of the midribs - and I end up smoking all but the largest bits. So far I have just kept my 'practice' leaf as leaf, in ziplock bags. But I see that the storage space would be cut down a lot. Your stuff looks great!

 

[DGBAMA]

Germination test at 6 days. All varieties collected look good.

 

[Bex]

Is this just a test, or are you actually starting to do another crop??

 

[DGBAMA]

Is this just a test, or are you actually starting to do another crop??

Just testing this years seed. Know it is good before planting for real or sharing.

 

[DGBAMA]

Going to try some indoor Prilep this winter to keep myself entertained. Not wanting a good Germ test to go to waste, I wanted to grow something.

Prilep 12-91 seems an ideal candidate., column form, 30ish leaves and less than 3' tall grown outdoors. I pulled the roots, and they match some pots I found for .49 ea, nicely. Will see what happens. If nothing else, I will entertain myself for the off season.



Outdoors:

 

[DGBAMA]

I now understand the problem with late season air curing. Weather has been great, but high 70s, low 40s with low rh is not good for air curing. A string of leaf from 3 weeks ago is an ugly mix of green, yellow, and brown.

Picked a bunch of nice sucker leaf today, the FC chamber will turn to simple climate control for the next couple weeks. Target 95deg 80%rh and as long as it takes. Brown is good, green is not.

 

[deluxestogie]

The top half of all my PA Red was stalk harvested late. And it just hangs there in the shed getting dryer by the day. Weather has been similar (warm days, chilly nights), but it's also been windy, which prevents the shed from holding moisture the way it does during the late summer. I suspect that most of it will dry green. Too bad. I really love PA Red.

I've commented a number of times about the problems of fall air-curing, despite the ability to produce late leaf. I can juggle small quantities to prevent them from drying green, but a larger batch is dependent on Mother Nature for my setup.

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

Thanks Bob. Your comments have been well noted, just the first time I have first hand experience. I am confident I will get good results from the late harvest, with the climate control and my growing understanding of the curing process.

I have a box of so-so leaf from the year, I think I will try a batch of Perique with it, just to see if it turns out. Nothing to loose, everything to gain. Why not.

 

[deluxestogie]

I've got a batch of 2 year old, gray-green Sacred Cornplanter rustica that appear to be making fragrant, dark Perique. If that stuff can make Perique, then probably any leaf can get the job done. I think yours will turn out fine.

Bob