deluxestogie Grow Log 2016

[ProfessorPangloss]

I got the growers' guide from the University of Kentucky extension. They recommend ideally you're supposed to scout the crop and always be looking for signs of infestation, and right as it's about to get serious, you spray. From the manual: Treat if there are five or more hornworms (1 in or longer) per 50 plants and topping is at least 1 week away.

They recommend a whole bunch of brands, but the ones I see that are available to the public (as far as I know) are Dipel, Orthene, and Sevin. I can personally vouch for Sevin's ability to knock Japanese beetles dead right off a plant, but Sevin is murder on honeybees, so you gotta be cautious.

Edit: don't do the powder form of these chemicals. I'm an idiot.

 

[deluxestogie]

Spraying with a Bacillus thurengiensis (BT) preparation mostly eliminates hornworms and other larval insects that feed on the leaf. Imidacloprid (Admire, etc.) in the transplant water suppresses aphids.

Plan B, for commercial growers, is to hire a bunch of ag workers to walk the fields, which is the way it was done in the pre-chemical days.

Since my grow is small, and I weed and sucker as I walk the plants for hornworm eggs and other buggers, I am content to not use chemicals.

Both Dipel and Sevin are available in powder form, which might be the way to go for a home grower .

Powders applied to tobacco seldom rinse off.

Bob

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

Powders applied to tobacco seldom rinse off.

Bob

Yikes. Dumb idea. Sorry about that.

 

[deluxestogie]

It's Tomorrow!

Baldió Vera is a variety of (apparently) white-stem burley from Spain.

Below, you can get a better notion of the more yellowish color of the Baldió Vera leaves (left half of the bed), compared to Swarr-Hibshman (right half of the bed).

I have been able to find very little information on this particular strain of tobacco. A little sleuthing reveals the following.

"Baldió" is a term applied to "wilderness" in Spain. Historically this was land that belonged to neither the Crown nor a town, nor to an individual. Such land was available for common use. It seems to be commonly used to refer to the autonomous region of Extremadura, which is west of Madrid, and up against the border with Portugal.

There is also a company known as BALDIO TABACOS S.L., located in Jaraiz De La Vera.

This leads to the even more inviting existence of an area of Extremadura (in the province of Cáceres) that is called La Vera. [We're in the impoverished and rugged neighborhood of Spain from which Francisco Pizarro emerged. He and his brothers did that entrepreneurial conquest of the Inca thing in Peru.]

So we have an area called Vera, in a region known for its (wilderness) Baldió, situated in the Extremadura of Spain.

Th...th...th...that's all f...folks. That's all I know about it.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Sunset on an Overcast Day

No rain today. Just heat and lots of gray. The little white pagoda on two legs, in the mid-left of the photo, is actually the neighbor's La Mancha goat.

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

Your plants are looking good. Since you keep record of your grows how is this yr grow compared to the past grows?

 

[deluxestogie]

Everything is behind. I planted late, and the tobacco won't let me forget that. For comparison, the video walk-through in my 2015 grow log was taken July 17. I'll get what I get.

The Corojo 99, Coroja and Criollo look healthy, as do most of the others. The laggards are Hacienda del Cura (a near total bust), the Little Dutch and the Vuelta Abajo.

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

I'm behind this yr. also. But the tables might turn.
I think it will.

 

[Smokin Harley]

very surprised Dutch was not as good for you...Mine just wouldn't quit.

 

[deluxestogie]

very surprised Dutch was not as good for you...Mine just wouldn't quit.

Location, location, location. And late planting. It has always done better in a different bed.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Heat Wave Edition

I placed an unhusked ear of corn on my kitchen counter. A caterpillar crawled out of the silk end, then died of heat stroke on the counter top.

I've been dragging out my long hose every other day, and watering the tobacco and veggies.

With my month-late transplanting, none of the varieties have shown me any height this summer. But leaf size is excellent, and leaf count is reasonable. A major exception is Little Dutch. It's so midget that I didn't want to post a picture of it. There's still time.

Today, I sewed my Agribon-AG15 bud bags.

Bob

 

[Cigar]

Very nice looking plants Deluxestogie...I really like the criollo,corbja, and the corojo99 plants..about how tall should those plants get fully grown??..around 5 to 5 1/2ft tall ?

 

[Brown Thumb]

They are looking nice, you can tell there hot when the the leaf droops down like yours are.
To freaking hot to pull tho hose out up here.

 

[deluxestogie]

Very nice looking plants Deluxestogie...I really like the criollo,corbja, and the corojo99 plants..about how tall should those plants get fully grown??..around 5 to 5 1/2ft tall ?

Thank you. Most "Spanish" type tobaccos grow to about 5-1/2 feet.

They are looking nice, you can tell there hot when the the leaf droops down like yours are.
To freaking hot to pull tho hose out up here.

Thank you. Yes, it's hot and dry. The last few seasons, I've seldom watered the tobacco, once they begin really growing. This summer, when I finally hefted the hose out there, all the tobacco showed overnight height increase.

An interesting observation that I failed to mention is that while the Criollo and Coroja are just about to blossom, the Corojo 99 (Robaina), in two separate beds, is not yet showing signs of budding. The Corojo 99 is also the tallest of my varieties this year.

Bob

 

[Cigar]

well just read on forum here that the old seed-bank is no longer...so that answered my next question to you Deluxestogie about some seeds from those crillio.corbja...corjo99 plants if you plan to save some of those seeds?

 

[deluxestogie]

I am saving seed of those varieties.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

"I've been dragging out my long hose every other day",

Mrs deluxestogie must be one happy gal by now.

 

[Gavroche]

What is "a gal" please...?

 

[deluxestogie]

What is "a gal" please...?

"Gal" is American slang for a woman, a girlfriend or a spouse. Smokin Harley is attempting to make a bit of humor by conflating "hose" with male genitalia. It doesn't translate well.

Bob

 

[Gavroche]

Thank you, in French the pipe is also a fellatio ...