ripe

This is the first time for me growing this variety -- Harrow Velvet -- and it's a first for me: the bottom leaves appear like they're ready to be harvested but the flowers haven't showed up yet (although the buds are there, I think). Is this situation common? FWIW, I did mess up again this...

One Sucker plants have leaves that are really thick and really dark green. So my question is, how do I know when it's ripe? They're so green, I doubt they will turn yellow until overripe and the leaves are already thick and alligatory. Any suggestions from people who have grown this before?

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...