Are you harvesting anything with frost damage? I had some light frost damage this past weekend, I'll be harvesting it in a few days and see what happens.
Chillards FTT 2013 Grow Blog
- Thread starter chillardbee
- Start date
- Status
Are you harvesting anything with frost damage? I had some light frost damage this past weekend, I'll be harvesting it in a few days and see what happens.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
surprisingly, we've had no frost yet and tonight is is expected to be a low of 38f. My luck won't hold out forever though, so if we can stay frost free for at least the next 2-3 days i'll be done everything by then.
So far I've got the main virginia crop in and the perique. I've probably got another 3 sticks worth of virginia that i had planted here and there through the garden. I got maybe 3 - 4 sticks of burley and one stick of the one sucker left to do and I'm confident that I'll be able to have it all in by tomorrow evening. I'm going to gleen the rest of the fallen and misc. leaf too at some point.
So far I've got the main virginia crop in and the perique. I've probably got another 3 sticks worth of virginia that i had planted here and there through the garden. I got maybe 3 - 4 sticks of burley and one stick of the one sucker left to do and I'm confident that I'll be able to have it all in by tomorrow evening. I'm going to gleen the rest of the fallen and misc. leaf too at some point.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
burley is done and one sucker yet to hang.
There was a lot of already cured leaf on the burley asince it was the first one to throw the sucker and in the last 3 weeks we had really good weather. ther is also a lot of leaf that either fell of the plant or too close to the main stem that i'm going to collect and string.
So far it looks like I got myself another buttload of baccy on the cure. It's times like this when I feel truley rich and blessed. I have been sharing some of my baccy too more out of the fact that I'm proud of what I've grown, cured, and processed. People can't believe how smooth yet full of flavour it is.
There was a lot of already cured leaf on the burley asince it was the first one to throw the sucker and in the last 3 weeks we had really good weather. ther is also a lot of leaf that either fell of the plant or too close to the main stem that i'm going to collect and string.
So far it looks like I got myself another buttload of baccy on the cure. It's times like this when I feel truley rich and blessed. I have been sharing some of my baccy too more out of the fact that I'm proud of what I've grown, cured, and processed. People can't believe how smooth yet full of flavour it is.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
It is finished. Grow season of 2013 is at a end. I still have leaf curing and it will likely be 4-6 weeks to being done but as for the garden it is time to till over and start compost for next year. It has been a pleasure to share and grow with the likes of all ya all.
I'm going to start proccessing the baccy now getting it kilned, deribbed, and shredded. Then will come the blending of it to get a nice baccy of my preferance. My wife has just ordered some turkish izmir for me from the store which will be blended to 10-15%. I will be growing turkish next year.
And so I'm looking forward to next years grow. Many more varieties are in the offing for next year amongst the grow outs for criticals. I'll be diffenatly needind the time to get everything together and ready in the garden.
Let the preparations for 2014 begin!!!!
I'm going to start proccessing the baccy now getting it kilned, deribbed, and shredded. Then will come the blending of it to get a nice baccy of my preferance. My wife has just ordered some turkish izmir for me from the store which will be blended to 10-15%. I will be growing turkish next year.
And so I'm looking forward to next years grow. Many more varieties are in the offing for next year amongst the grow outs for criticals. I'll be diffenatly needind the time to get everything together and ready in the garden.
Let the preparations for 2014 begin!!!!
springheal
Well-Known Member
And thank you for your valuable input.
Sounds like you are raring to go for 2014.
Happy New year
Boboro
Well-Known Member
We bettin all our chips on yall down yonder this winter.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm going to miss growing so I'm going to have to live the grow season through our friends south of the equator until I can start up next year.
until I can start up next year.
DGBAMA
Well-Known Member
You will like the izmir. It does well with minimal plant spacing.
It's deja vu all over again.
workhorse_01
Well-Known Member
Half my patch is finished and I'm already missing it. I will be planting the Bafra again next year.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
The curing of the last harvest is coming along nicely and I have an unexpected and pleasant surprise coming from it. When I was hanging it, the H.R. was 20-25% and the heater was keeping it at a nice 72f. after 24 hours the H.R. was 50-60% and since that time it has slowly decreased. It has been roughly 12 days since the harvest and the H.R. is now 30% but this fluctuates and will get higher when it rains and the temp is being held at 85f. The effect that this is having is that it's turning the leaf yellow and then it is drying leaving the leaf a very bright yellow. I'm not sure how this is going to turn out and obviously it's not quit the same as flue curing but it isn't quite the same as air curing (under the current conditions) either. The baccy is the brightest leaf I've had and it has a very nice texture to it and I'm going to have a lot of it too. There is some leaf that is curing a burgandy red though where leaf is on leaf but that stuff looks great too. In my estimation, I'm thinking that this curing will be done in another 2-3 weeks.
That's weird. My humidity dropped to upper 40%, low 50% and I had to move my leaf outside to keep it from drying green. The only thing saving it is the night time dew rehydrates it. The temps are about to drop back down below freezing, so it's going to have to come back into the shop for a few days. Misting leaf and wetting the floor again. Yuck.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
I think I owe it to that the leaf was very mature to even being ripe in some cases. Even the one sucker was showing yellowing in 24 hours. The thing was that out side temps were to cold to get good yellowing anymore and if the days were dry then they would dry green. and the R.H. was higher in the room than outside to start with but the higher temps help them yellower faster before drying. It was kind of like a race to get them yellow before they dried out and this seemed to work good. There will likely be some that will dry green regardless since some leaf might not of been mature enough but most of them have and to a nice bright yellow colour too.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
Well, I've been de-ribbibf the leaf. I thought that it was going to be a daunting task but as it turns out I was able to do what turns out to be about 5-6 leaves per minute at which rate it'll take no time. I've already done the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priming of the virginias and one of the burleys. Once you learn the trick of grabbing and tearing it off, it's easy and fast. I've got a set up so that I have a pail for the ribs and my tote for the deribbed baccy, turn on a movie and have at it.
I just got my turkish baccy from the store. I just had to try some as is and that stuff is going to be an awesome addition to my blend. In learning the blends that JTI uses in it's blend and what all else they do to process it, it's going to be a good smoke.
I am making a shredder albeit slowly. It's going to take time and I will work on it here and there until I get perfection...and who knows when that'll be. So, I will shell out the bucks to get meself a fancy power shredder from the site store for now. It's always nice to have a back up anyway. That being siad, I might try a couple of different designs on future shredders and Leverhead's design is a good idea and I'd like to build on to it.
I just got my turkish baccy from the store. I just had to try some as is and that stuff is going to be an awesome addition to my blend. In learning the blends that JTI uses in it's blend and what all else they do to process it, it's going to be a good smoke.
I am making a shredder albeit slowly. It's going to take time and I will work on it here and there until I get perfection...and who knows when that'll be. So, I will shell out the bucks to get meself a fancy power shredder from the site store for now. It's always nice to have a back up anyway. That being siad, I might try a couple of different designs on future shredders and Leverhead's design is a good idea and I'd like to build on to it.
chillardbee
Well-Known Member
I was deribbing the last of the leaf from the main harvest yesterday while watching this vid
If I could get a shredder like that and my favorite quote was the one about a tobacco farmer knowing that to grow good tobacco requires working 13 months out of the year.
If I could get a shredder like that
and my favorite quote was the one about a tobacco farmer knowing that to grow good tobacco requires working 13 months out of the year.
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
Cool movie, I felt like I was in sixth grade again.
I Like that shredder and destemer also.
thanks for sharing.
I Like that shredder and destemer also.
thanks for sharing.
leverhead
Well-Known Member
Thank you for posting that!
DGBAMA
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing that.
jekylnz
Well-Known Member
Thats a cool video. .I love those old school movies...back when things didn't have to be politically correct
- Status
