2018... My Most Challenging and Biggest Grow Ever--Levi Gross

[Charly]

Don't worry about your flue curing strains, you can always sun cure them or air cure them

The kiln is a good thing, but you don't need to worry about it either : you can build it when you have time, since you will only use it when your leaves will have gone through the air (or sun) curing process.

Good luck, your plants look good

 

[mwaller]

Wow, your plants got big! They look great!

View attachment 23777View attachment 23778I feel like I am way ahead of schedule this year and rapidly running out of time for curing arrangements. I am cramming my brain with so much information that it’s got me spinning my wheels on what I want to do. I will air cure a lot of it and sun cure my oriental stuff but I am not geared up for flue curing any of the flue cure varieties. I don’t believe any of them are true bright leaf so I assume it’s ok to just air or sun cure them? I’ve got more time to think about that but I am going to have to come up with a plan pretty soon. I desperately want to build my kiln and have yet to get a solid plan on that one too. Falling short of my goals this season is not an option, I have to much vested in this.

 

[BarG]

That garden looks a lot better than mine.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

That garden looks a lot better than mine.

Agreed. I think you're a natural, Levi.

 

[Levi Gross]

Well, Thank you gentlemen! I am honored and humbled. I follow you both and am blown away by your knowledge! I have a knack for making things grow but my true test is going to be in curing. I’m studying up on all kinds of methods but my heart is telling me to just watch and listen to the plants. They will tell me when they are ready. For fun not wanting to waste anything I hung all of my largest suckers from all of my plants to color and air cure all mixed not knowing what’s what just going with it. I also primed all of my yellowing bottom Samsun-Maden leaves to color up and will soon be sun cured. I found a couple crunchy sun cured leaves and stuffed them in my bowl dirt and all. Well? It was smooth and tasty but no real opinion on it yet.

 

[Levi Gross]

This my good Tobacco men is the first smoke of the season for me! It’s priming of some of my flue cured and I think a couple semois leaf all were yellowed on the plants and pulled off laid in the yard all night and all day today. I am not hard to please and this sun curing business is pretty handy. Maybe I am just lazy. Anyway it was a good cigarette, The rest of the pile will fill a pipe and make one more cigarette for in the morning. I may just air and sun cure everything and build the kiln this winter.

 

[Levi Gross]

Glass Gem Corn, Beets, Pepper plants, volunteer Sarcred Chicamagua Cherokee rustica is everywhere.

 

[CobGuy]

Nice ... I do miss that Glacial, fertile soil of the Midwest.

Heck, we had things growing back in the day by just chucking seeds into the embankments! LOL

 

[Paraord]

Man, those look fantastic. Makes me thing I am the one behind schedule. Very awesome grow so far Levi!

 

[BarG]

Just for grins I throw away the suckers, But when your plants get huge have you decided to prime or wait for the whole plant.? I am not priming this year, I am waiting for the whole plants. heh heh

 

[BarG]

View attachment 23866This my good Tobacco men is the first smoke of the season for me! It’s priming of some of my flue cured and I think a couple semois leaf all were yellowed on the plants and pulled off laid in the yard all night and all day today. I am not hard to please and this sun curing business is pretty handy. Maybe I am just lazy. Anyway it was a good cigarette, The rest of the pile will fill a pipe and make one more cigarette for in the morning. I may just air and sun cure everything and build the kiln this winter.

Do yo have some of that Semois [pipe smoke) I have six of those. And they are doing good.Heh Heh

 

[BarG]

Are you buds with jitterbugdude?

 

[Levi Gross]

BarG,

To answer all questions yes I have been priming and just leaving it in the yard in the grass to sun cure for experimentation use only. But a lot of stuff I am just going to wait on the whole plant unless I get some full on Yellow priming to pick. I do have 8 Semois plants and I have them bagged for seed and brought all of the priming in last evening for some good Yellow up before hanging or sun. I have become impatient and want to try it! I hear it’s good!! I am not exactly aquatinted with jitterbugdude but I read his post often and as far as I know we’re not mortal enemies LOL. Everything has crept up on me this year and all the sudden I’m at war with all my Tobacco foes, WEEDS, WORMS, APHIDS, ENDLESS WORKDAYS ETC. Tomorrow is my last day working for a heavy excavation company and I am going back to something I love and enjoy. I am stepping back into the Millwright world on Monday morning with a fresh start and hopefully better days. Busy all the time and I’m questioning my sanity most days. I topped most of the plants that can be replaced with the same or better strains yesterday, all those suckers I hung dried green so it was a waste of time garage was just smoking hot and dry. Next option is clean out the root cellar and hang top quality leaf down there. Suckers are out the rest of the season they are no good anyway

 

[Levi Gross]

SEMOIS PLANTS BAGGED

I am also ashamed to say that the weeds in my garden are starting to win the war.I’m breaking out the Glystar and hitting them Saturday with caution and fear in my heart. Maybe if I get to scared to spray I will just have to suffer through the back breaking weed mission. They are way worse now than when this photo was taken over a week ago.

 

[Charly]

Tell me, how many million seeds do you want to save from your Semois ?
With only one plant bagged you would already get enough seeds for .... hum ... let me compute.... I would say about 300 years of growing

To be more serious : if you want to save seeds, one plant is more than enough

Weeds are hard to beat ! You are not alone in this fight ! I have troubles with them too (and I have to admit : they always win in the end !)

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

When the weeds get like that, I just scrape with the hoe and hope for dry weather. The tobacco roots are so far down at that point, that a little bit of weed carpet ain't going to affect them if you repeatedly make them start over.

 

[BarG]

You make me laugh.

 

[BarG]

Are the bags just 1 type or 3.

 

[BarG]

I quit woring about my tobacco a while back.I have some very nice maryland and silver river hapining, I am using liquid 7 to kill the bastards that will consume your whole plant.

 

[Levi Gross]

Are the bags just 1 type or 3.

I have several varieties bagged this year. Three bags on each variety