''experimenting'' with different bacca strains has cost me a lot of bacca.

[Chicken]

ive grown bacca strains i had NO CLUE what to expect when it's smokable, nor how the plant produces/yield,

ive wasted a lot of my growing space over the last 2 grow's.

the plants that grew there, produced no weight,,, and as i think back to the ammount of plants i could have had there, vs, what i got,,,, makes me shake my head<

next year im only going to do the tried and tested strains, that i like for my cigg's

.......................................................................

i havent exactlly figured out which ones will make the cut,

BUT ID stronglly urge someone whom, this upcoming summer to be there first grow,

to do some good research, on each plant strain they plan on growing,

im not complaining about my error's in not researching certain strains before planting them, [ they were fun to grow]

BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH. it may help you when it comes time to light up what you grew,

this has been a friendlly service announcement from MR; CHICKEN

 

[leverhead]

From a different point of view, progress has a cost. I screwed up a bunch of leaf, trying to flue-cure. It is what I wanted to do (flue-curing). If in a year or so I can actually tell someone how to do it with a good chance of success, I'll be happy. For this year, I'll take what I've got and smile.

 

[FmGrowit]

One of the most attractive things about growing tobacco is experimenting with different types and varieties. I've lost count of how many different ones I've grown or attempted to grow, but it's got to be close to 100. This year turned into a complete disaster as far as my grow is considered, but hugely successful in the preservation of a few varieties from the last few remaining seeds available.

It's almost a blessing in disguise that the GRIN is unavailable because it forces me to move on to other aspects of the world of tobacco. This year was supposed to be my first attempt at producing a fine cigar filler and pile fermenting. I know this is going to cost me a lot of tobacco without even having made the first attempt, but it's almost more of the challenge that intrigues me than the result.

It I manage to create a marketable product, I'll find something else to do the next year.

 

[Knucklehead]

Don- Is pile fermenting different from pile curing? Did you try it due to low humidity?

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Yeah I get obsessed with strains, having less choices means trying more as ludicrous as it sounds. It also goes to show that there are reasons that we see some of the same strains mentioned over and over again.it's because they are Good! One of the introduction strains is so bad actually that the only reason you see it mentioned in tests is because they also want to compare something with nearly every negative trait possible(red Russian)

 

[ne3go]

I agree that experiment is an attractive thing. Although my first year of growing was completely wrong with many non-smokable tobacco,I'm looking forward to the next year growing a lot more varieties.

Don- Is pile fermenting different from pile curing? Did you try it due to low humidity?

And some additional questions: How big must be the pile to be effective?(I know that a compost pile must be at least 2 qubic metres to starts producing heat). Can you put leaves from different varieties?

 

[FmGrowit]

I'm not sure there are any definitive answers to these questions...yet...there in lies the attraction (to me). Because I live in a non-traditional climate for fermenting tobacco, my plan was to build the conditions to perform the task.

My initial thought was to use a radiant system under the pilones to control the temperature...to my knowledge, this has never been done before. It seems to me to be a logical expansion similar to the kiln process, but on a larger scale.

I honestly have no idea what the results would be, but using the existing fermentation information, I believe it is possible to achieve a respectable result.

 

[johnlee1933]

Just a slight change of direction -- I would like to thank the members whose generosity has permitted me to sample (a leaf or two) of strains I didn't grow. Their generosity has let me shorten the list of what I want to try next year and given me some interesting smokes. Most notable was a little Silver River. I rolled a puro. The slight menthol/mint after taste was interesting. (My apologies, I have forgotten who sent me the sample but THANKS whoever you are.) -- John

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Most notable was a little Silver River. I rolled a puro. The slight menthol/mint after taste was interesting. (My apologies, I have forgotten who sent me the sample but THANKS whoever you are.) -- John

John..Do I have to remind you??, good thing I didn't put in that $100.00 dollar bill too!..

 

[indianjoe]

Jitter he may have gotten some from another source as well, they say the mind is the first to go

 

[johnlee1933]

Jitter he may have gotten some from another source as well, they say the mind is the first to go

IJ -- Sorry to burst your bubble but the mind is SECOND to go! LOL

John..Do I have to remind you??, good thing I didn't put in that $100.00 dollar bill too!..

JBD -- You were the only supplier. Thanks again. -- John

 

[tekwyzrd]

I know what you mean. There have been a few that didn't produce well for me but after six years growing tobacco I have a sense of what does well and what to expect. There are several types I try to grow every year (mammoth gold, white gold, virginia bright leaf, mohawk rustica) and others that have done well that I use a small amount for flavor (turkish strains, red burley, cherry red, rosa, shirazi, etc) and I try to add a few new strains every year. I'd estimate I've planted around 60 different strains since I planted my first "crop" in 2007. Unfortunately there are a lot of variables and region can affect many aspects of tobacco so descriptions can vary in accuracy. Temperature range, rainfall, soil composition, past land usage, fertilizers, insecticides... all of these affect plant size, leaf size, yield, flavor, drying characteristics, etc. What might grow 12 ft high with five ft leaves that taste like apple pie where you live could grow to three ft tall with six inch leaves that taste like dried fish here. That's where experiences from people in your region are helpful.

This year I re-purposed part of the plantable area to hops so the area available for tobacco was reduced but I managed to squeeze in about 100 plants. I had to pull about two dozen (virginia bright leaf and bolivian black criollo) after a "neighbor" sprayed a two foot wide strip of my yard with roundup. The seeds for the criollo were from Bolivia and I had to pull the plants. %@$#@&! Oh well, next year...

I have to admit that though the plants I grew this year were significantly smaller due to the dry conditions they did extremely well dealing with the conditions and I'm looking forward to tasting the final product when it's ready.

I'm also looking forward to brewing my first iipa next month and my first wet hopped brews at hop harvest time next year.

 

[deluxestogie]

tekwyzrd,
I agree with your comments on regional variability. Drifting (and intentional) herbicide is always a bummer.

Sixty varieties! You're in an exclusive club with a tiny membership worldwide. I would suspect that it's more common to have been elected to the US Senate than to have grown over 50 varieties of tobacco. Thanks for sharing.

Bob