Sadly we have both clouds AND rain....
And with this high humidity, I have a lot of troubles with mold on leaves that are not completly color cured... not an easy crop for me this year.
deluxestogie Grow Log 2017
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Sadly we have both clouds AND rain....
And with this high humidity, I have a lot of troubles with mold on leaves that are not completly color cured... not an easy crop for me this year.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Bob:
Okay, Permethrin it is. A few aphids don't usually bother me. Normally, I'd just brush them off as I picked leaves. Only by a special request am I getting into the seed business. And even then only sort of, for one variety. I need to keep the developing seed heads clean of outside pollinators and inside pests. I couldn't get Agribon in any kind of timely manner, and I don't have a sewing machine anyway. I'm using 5 gallon paint strainers I get at the local lumberyard. I bought everything he had (4 pkgs. of 2 ea) and have to wait for the freight to arrive today to get more. Which is okay, as I've bagged everything that needs it at this time. Paint strainers were recommended as a viable alternative to Agribon bags. If I were actually in the seed business, these make-shift bags would start to get expensive, but I'm only going to use a dozen or so. I get a lot of suicidal honeybees this time of year. The honeybees don't get along with the nicotine in tobacco. I see a lot of dead honeybees on my plants as a result of this. I try to keep the seed heads pruned off. Fewer dead honeybees as a result. Honeybees are good little critters, and I don't want to kill them deliberately.
What do I need to be concerned about re: using these bags? Is rain going to be a problem? We don't usually get much rain 'till mid-September. Some years not 'till well into October. (Bad for fall Mushroom hunting, if we get rain we get some nice large Chanterelle mushrooms up in the mountains. No rain, no mushrooms, damn!) And on a related note, should I be concerned about using overhead irrigation? I don't want to start molding. Please advise.
Thanks, and wish me luck and a long frost free fall!
Wes H.
Okay, Permethrin it is. A few aphids don't usually bother me. Normally, I'd just brush them off as I picked leaves. Only by a special request am I getting into the seed business. And even then only sort of, for one variety. I need to keep the developing seed heads clean of outside pollinators and inside pests. I couldn't get Agribon in any kind of timely manner, and I don't have a sewing machine anyway. I'm using 5 gallon paint strainers I get at the local lumberyard. I bought everything he had (4 pkgs. of 2 ea) and have to wait for the freight to arrive today to get more. Which is okay, as I've bagged everything that needs it at this time. Paint strainers were recommended as a viable alternative to Agribon bags. If I were actually in the seed business, these make-shift bags would start to get expensive, but I'm only going to use a dozen or so. I get a lot of suicidal honeybees this time of year. The honeybees don't get along with the nicotine in tobacco. I see a lot of dead honeybees on my plants as a result of this. I try to keep the seed heads pruned off. Fewer dead honeybees as a result. Honeybees are good little critters, and I don't want to kill them deliberately.
What do I need to be concerned about re: using these bags? Is rain going to be a problem? We don't usually get much rain 'till mid-September. Some years not 'till well into October. (Bad for fall Mushroom hunting, if we get rain we get some nice large Chanterelle mushrooms up in the mountains. No rain, no mushrooms, damn!) And on a related note, should I be concerned about using overhead irrigation? I don't want to start molding. Please advise.
Thanks, and wish me luck and a long frost free fall!
Wes H.
I'd suggest spraying your seed heads before sealing them in bags. This will prevent budworms from destroying your seed crop. BT or Spinosad work well.
Rain will not be a problem with the paint strainer bags.
Odd observation about the honeybees. I maintain a few colonies and although I see honeybees checking out the tobacco flowers I've never seen any odd behavior. Do you have neighbors that spray toxic stuff?
Did your plants get treated with imidacloprid? That might be why the bees are dying, I've never had bees die from going to tobacco flowers, and if I remember right one of our beekeepers was making tobacco honey.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Yes, I did use Imidacloprid, about 90 days ago. All I can tell you, is that I see sickly honeybees on and around my plants. Last year, as I was standing on my ladder removing seed heads, I saw a honeybee covered in pollen lying there on a big leaf. It was obvious that he was in distress, and not long for this world.
Alpine
Moderator
Same for me, lots of honeybees in the little tobacco patch I let flower only for them. I don't keep the seed pods, but let some tobacco flower because I read (and, IIRC, on this forum) that bees collecting pollen from baccy flowers actually have healthier beehives, less infested by varroa. Never saw a damaged bee, or bumblebee that feed on rusticas very often. Must be something else that's killing your bees OldD
pier
pier
"She" was in distress. Male honeybees are like most other male species. They just hang out in the hive waiting to have sex and be fed by the females. In the late fall they are forcibly removed from the colony.
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Yes, Yes, I'm familiar with the difference between honeybees and drones. "He" is a generic usage. The whole honeybee issue was a sidebar comment to begin with. My question was about bagging seed heads and the potential for rot caused by rainfall and / or overhead irrigation. This is my first experience with attempting to make seed. Unless you have something special, it's a lot easier to just buy the stuff.
I live in a heavy-duty agriculture zone. There is all manner of stuff floating around in the air. I've been seeing multiple spray planes nearby me on a daily basis since Spring.
Wes H.
I live in a heavy-duty agriculture zone. There is all manner of stuff floating around in the air. I've been seeing multiple spray planes nearby me on a daily basis since Spring.
Wes H.
Alpine
Moderator
With agribon bags rain isn't a problem. I seldom irrigate my plants after they reach knee height, and always on the ground. Since paint strainers are far loose woven than agribon, and allow for good air circulation,I think both rainfall and overhead irrigation aren't a problem IMO
pier
pier
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Thanks Pier.
Irrigation is a necessity around here. We only get 20" (50 cm.) of rain per year, and I read in last Sunday's newspaper we have had less than 1/10 of an inch (.25 cm) so far in August.
Wes H.
Irrigation is a necessity around here. We only get 20" (50 cm.) of rain per year, and I read in last Sunday's newspaper we have had less than 1/10 of an inch (.25 cm) so far in August.
Wes H.
I've never had issues with paint strainer bags holding too much moisture. It let's water in and out very easily and doesn't hold water itself so I've never had any moisture related issues with the buds. And it rains most days here.
mwaller
Well-Known Member
Hi Bob-
How do you know when it is appropriate to harvest the seed head? Mine are all still attached, even the Florida Sumatra, which has been fully primed...
How do you know when it is appropriate to harvest the seed head? Mine are all still attached, even the Florida Sumatra, which has been fully primed...
Ideally, leave them bagged and attached until the pods have browned. If you remove the full head after most of the pods have matured (though still green), and then allow them to completely dry indoors, then you should get ample viable seed. The seed itself should not be harvested from the pods until the pods are brown and dry.
Bob
Bob
I purchased a single Power Ball ticket yesterday, for the $758.7 million jackpot. Not even one number matched. In retrospect, if I had bought 150,000,000 tickets, then I would have had a 50:50 chance. Live and learn.
What is curious about this and most big-dollar lotteries is that there is no statistically meaningful difference in your chance of winning, whether you buy one ticket or 1000 tickets. Although NOT buying a ticket assures that you cannot win, buying a ticket doesn't offer a much better chance of winning.
Bob
What is curious about this and most big-dollar lotteries is that there is no statistically meaningful difference in your chance of winning, whether you buy one ticket or 1000 tickets. Although NOT buying a ticket assures that you cannot win, buying a ticket doesn't offer a much better chance of winning.
Bob
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Bob:
Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll have enough time to make some seed. As I have said before, this is by special request. Unless you have something extra special, buying it is a lot easier. And takes a whole lot less time. I will leave these bagged until we are threatened with first frost. Then take them in for drying. Hopefully we won't have our first frost 'till sometime in October. (Normal for this area.) Crossing my fingers.
If it's any consolation, I bought three picks on the lottery & got one number right. Out of 18 different numbers I picked. In statistics class they had a phrase for that, it's called "zero plus..." That's what they are selling...a good fantasy. I read an amusing book a awhile back written by Alan Dershowitz, where he tells a funny joke about the lottery. The book is titled "Abraham - The World's First (But Certainly Not Last) Jewish Lawyer." There is some pretty good humor in it if you are into entertainment reading.
Wes H.
One of my bagged plants. These 5 gallon paint strainers are nice and roomy. Plant is Ostrolist 6 & is a little over 8 feet including the seed head.
Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll have enough time to make some seed. As I have said before, this is by special request. Unless you have something extra special, buying it is a lot easier. And takes a whole lot less time. I will leave these bagged until we are threatened with first frost. Then take them in for drying. Hopefully we won't have our first frost 'till sometime in October. (Normal for this area.) Crossing my fingers.
If it's any consolation, I bought three picks on the lottery & got one number right. Out of 18 different numbers I picked. In statistics class they had a phrase for that, it's called "zero plus..." That's what they are selling...a good fantasy. I read an amusing book a awhile back written by Alan Dershowitz, where he tells a funny joke about the lottery. The book is titled "Abraham - The World's First (But Certainly Not Last) Jewish Lawyer." There is some pretty good humor in it if you are into entertainment reading.
Wes H.
One of my bagged plants. These 5 gallon paint strainers are nice and roomy. Plant is Ostrolist 6 & is a little over 8 feet including the seed head.
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An eight foot tobacco plant is nothing to sniff at. Just for consistency, if you record plant height up to the crowfoot, then the measurements will be compatible with those of GRIN, as well as GRIN Global.
Example (from 2013).
[I really don't remember growing Tabasqueño Prieto.]
Bob
Example (from 2013).
[I really don't remember growing Tabasqueño Prieto.]
Bob
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Well, they were a surprise to me. The seed catalog says about 6' in height, and I was encouraged to try them out. I won't know what the're like till I've had some time to kiln them. That's why I only planted twelve. Just to give them a try.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
As my papa Mikhail used to say about lottery and certain institutions, "suck dem money".
Your seed won't die from frost or freeze, you can safely forget the plant till spring and you will have seedlings cropping up around the site. If you want to ensure highest viability per seed though, pick the pod after the connecting piece is dead and and the pod is browning, dry it out sift the seed and store in an airtight container with desiccant pack at room temp. Indian research cut off after 19 years and 80 or 90% viability stored like this.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Now that you mention it, I had about 8 spontaneous tobacco plants come up in my garden from seed that has fallen there the previous fall. And we're talking -35
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