Smokin Harley Grow Log 2015

[deluxestogie]

Leaves that dry immediately to green are pretty much trash. So, humidity control of some sort may be necessary to prevent your good leaf from drying too fast.

Sometimes, after color-curing for several months, thick upper leaf will show brown on the upper surface, and a gray-olive-green on the under surface. In that situation, kilning will usually complete the browning.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

ok guys , its been a while since I've posted anything. Been working crazy hours on nights. Tomorrows shift looks to be my last , great timing too. I've at least had time before work to go out and bag a few flower heads and they've bloomed inside nicely. Nice pink flower heads that just fill the bags . However ,I had to go out yesterday afternoon and pinch off a few heads that I didn't get to bag before they bloomed ....and if you all take a look at the current weather we're having here in south Chicagoland .I just beat a huge band of wall clouds home and backed in the driveway when the downpour came. In the 15 ft dash from truck to into the garage I got drenched..more heavy rains all day with lightning and possible flooding through the week. I'm about ready to build an ark. The rest of my garden(vegetable portion) is pretty much trash. Only crops actually taking this water with stride are the zucchini ,eggplant and tomatillos. Beans tomatoes ,cucumbers and okra pretty much got a beating and drowning. This week when I get some rest get back to a day schedule and out to really put a good eyeball on the baccy ,I'll take and post pics.

 

[Smokin Harley]

New pics, finally. Just got laid off this morning. Now , I can tend to things I love back in the daylight hours of the world ....wife, tobacco, wife,motorcycle riding, wife,tobacco ,dogs,etc,etc.

Kinda cool looking hazy halo look don't you think ^ ? I wish I could have made this effect on purpose, but ,its so hot and humid out today after the downpour we got late last night(with expected heat index of 101) the camera lens fogged up immediately .

Far left in this pic is Little Dutch , that was first flower head I bagged and most of the heads in the bag are already browning out. Vuelta Abajo center and Criollo 98 right. You can see how the weeds just took over with all the rain we've been getting . I have a lot of work ahead of me clearing the competition .

Still waiting on Havana Machu Picchu (right ,lighter green) to shoot a head up. Looking very healthy though. Havana 608 (center) is doing nicely .PA Red to the left , very huge leaves(12"x20" or better) Those 3 in a row spaced out to the far right are the second planting of Criollo98 ,theyre behind by a month and a half. They are also in the section that gets more morning shade because of the neighbors trees. Long Red (light green) is the single plant up front by the stake(backup plant)
Paths are still very walkable between plants .
Seems my plants are short and stout with not much stalk. I'm guessing this is good . some stalks are as much as thumb width. Since we've had all the rain ,I'm wondering should I fertilize any more (referring mainly to the flowered/bagged plants)??

 

[Smokin Harley]

Kiln construction is planned for Tuesday ,right after I go to unemployment office and swing by the thrift store for a crockpot. Seems like a good thing to do since its supposed to rain even more this week. Should have grown rice too.

 

[Knucklehead]

The plants are looking good. I wouldn't fertilize at this point. Late fertilizing can cause poor curing and possibly poor burning cigars.
Start a thread for your kiln build. I would love to follow along.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Probably be a one or two pic thread. pic of the material , then BOOM a pic of a finished kiln.

 

[Knucklehead]

Probably be a one or two pic thread. pic of the material , then BOOM a pic of a finished kiln.

The rest of the thread is for folks to point out what you did wrong.

 

[Smokin Harley]

oh yeah , entertainment purposes...

 

[Smokin Harley]

Since I got the kiln built and currently running it through its paces (maintaining 123*F empty) I went out to the patch to check on the baccy. Primed a few leaves , Va Gold, Criollo and Little Dutch. The one large leaf of Va Gold was what I'm assuming as "ripe" since about 1/3 of the tip end was turning almost creamy white. Many other leaves(mudlugs and large volado) picked had already turned brown and dried . Picked off many suckers from various plants which had been topped. We will be heading down to visit my parents soon so I will check and pick right before we go , then on our return I hope to start loading the kiln. I'm not sure which part of this whole project is/was more exciting...seeing the seeds sprout or the being so close to kilning some home grown tobacco leaf.
I just hope this all works out and I can someday within the year enjoy a nice homegrown, hand rolled cigar of my very own.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Black Mammoth just getting ready to flower....this one took quite a while longer than the rest. But then again , where it is located is in the most shadiest part of the garden. I also have one of the late criollo and 2 of the "back up" Long Reds that are in the shady part of the garden. The plants are quite different . Their leaves are much smaller and more yellow/green than the sun grown ones. I'll make sure when I prime to keep these guys separated from the rest of the primed/curing hands.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Today's harvest consists of little Dutch and criollo 98 seed heads...tomorrow I pick leaves...

 

[Smokin Harley]

Oh boy , im excited again... theres been a lot of long hot days , had some early seedling issues, rain/flood setbacks but today was outstanding...
well, ok, ME .out .standing in the tobacco patch .for about 4 hours total,I had my sawhorses ,aluminum wire, labels for each variety, and a chicken wire table top set up to work at. pickin and a stringin ..I don't have an official weight of what I harvested but I pretty much filled the rafter space in my shed which is 10 x 10 .I'm guessing almost 75 lbs combination of Volado and Seco and a smidge of Ligero , sound right?? VA Gold ,Little Dutch and PA Red were probably the biggest yields and the juiciest stems. I even took quite bit out of the Vuelta Abajo to the point I cut down 3 stalks. It was while I was picking that I noticed how the different varieties had such different leaf texture .Most were gator skinning, yellowing tips, paler leaves than previous ,mottling of color and that famous celery snap when its ready to pick. The Machu Picchu and Florida Sumatra has the smoothest leaf surface even though not a very huge leaf size in comparison .

Just in time too, just looking outside, we are getting much needed rain.
Ill have to get my pics uploaded in the next post.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I realize this pic doesnt look like 75 lbs, this was taken only right after I hung the first batch...I ran about 4 more loads like this to the shed .When its done raining or even tomorrow I'll try to take a pic of the shed full. I'm excited and very pleased with the harvest...
By the way fellow BOTL's , tomorrow is my 48th birthday.

 

[Smokin Harley]

word to the wise(new or not yet growers) and while I'm at it ,a note to self-

Now that I can see the differing and similar textures and plant growth habits, take note what each mature plant/leaf looks like and attempt to never plant similar looking plants beside one another.
Case in point.
I noticed that both Little Dutch and Madole have very similar looking leaves . long ,slender , dark green with heavy veining. If it weren't for height they would look similar and if planted too close in rows they may in fact be picked and mixed within a hand ,and later resulting in a very confusing taste in whatever it was used for (e.g.- cigars) but on the flipside for those who like to experiment with cross pollinating- these two ,could they make a nice cross?

Also Florida Sumatra and Machu Picchu Havana also have a very similar looking leaf - smooth top texture with similar (flatter to the main stem) veining structure. They could be grown side by side and not tell the difference if not labeled properly. Each leaf I prime feels very soft and feel like could make wrapper without problem, but I have to cure these first to really tell.

PA Red is an easy read in my patch , huge elephant ears of lush dark green leaves . Reminds me of midget banana palm trees.

Criollo 98 -I like that its not so big ,and proportional width , nice color and the gatoring and yellowing of the mature leaf . Nice hardy plant.

Long Red ,Havana 608 ,Black Mammoth and so far Ct Broadleaf look very similar in habit , height and leaf color, size and texture. Maybe its just the IL weather this season but if I planted these guys too close and didn't leave enough room , I could easily get them confused.

Gathering knowledge from my first grow ,I think I am going to eliminate a variety or few from my next grow(Black Mammoth and Va Gold for starters,maybe Madole ,not quite sure. ) and either exchange for other Havana or other Cuban varieties or just cut back total volume altogether. I will have those three mentioned seed for trade .

Bob(Deluxestogie), you mentioned back when I planted these that you wondered if I had enough room to walk between the plants. I did , but my row spacing was at best ,minimum . 18 inch between staggered rowed plants , and 30 inches I think it ended up between varietal rows. Next time I know to space them out a bit more. 18 inch between staggered row plants is ok for the smaller variety and 24 between staggered rows within the larger variety and 36" row space will be better.

 

[Smokin Harley]

also noticed-
Ct Broadleaf and Besuki/Bezuki (which is it??) take forever to grow . Is this normal?

 

[Brown Thumb]

Nice looking grow there.
I planted pa red and catterton next to each other and forgot to put it in my notes on my phone.
they look the same to me.
gonna stalk harvest both so time will tell.

 

[deluxestogie]

Nice looking grow there.
I planted pa red and catterton next to each other and forgot to put it in my notes on my phone.
they look the same to me.
gonna stalk harvest both so time will tell.

PA Red should cure much darker than Catterton. Also, the leaf stem of PA Red tends to arch, whereas the stem of Catterton tends to be straight.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

Checked over the patch this morning right after the cure barn check . Looks like I'll be harvesting again soon, if not Sunday then Monday again. Lots of upper viso/ ligero to be picked and will most likely end the grow for a handful of plants. Nice looking mottling ,gatored leaves , yellowing tips and fading green -Criollo 98, Machu Picchu Havana, Havana 608, Florida Sumatra,while others still have yet to be mudlugged or topped- Ct Broadleaf, Long Red.,Java Besuki.
Vuelta Abajo most likely be done on this upcoming harvest .
I'm already planning what to plant and what not to plant next year.
I'll have a few that I'd like to let half the harvest age naturally while kiln speed aging the other. See if any distinct/subtle differences.
Going to pick up some plastic tubs for storage.

 

[Knucklehead]

Great first year. Your leaf looks very nice. I pulled the last of my leaf yesterday evening. Most of the seed heads are harvested and drying in the back of the truck under the camper shell.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Another good harvest-

Just got done pickin and stringin and hangin a few nice loads of:

Vuelta Abajo-cleared 3 stalks
Machu Picchu Havana-seco and ligero (plus the mostly shade grown single whole stalk , looks like it could be all wrapper !)
Havana 608 -seco
Criollo 98 - lots of beautiful Ligero
Florida Sumatra -seco

The Little Dutch is definitely next as it is showing a lot of mottling and tan tips. Maybe Friday on that one.

The rest needs another few days to a week to get a decent harvest.

I just looked at our week ahead weather , we expect highs next week in the low 80's and have night lows in the 50's .
I may have to bring the barn leaf in the garage to get them temperature stabile at night if the newly picked leaf hasn't turned yellow yet. Could I pile them at night and cover them to retain heat,maybe speed up some yellowing ?

The leaf that has been in there color curing for the past week is just about all yellow , still have some PA Red not even a bit yellow yet. Pale green but still very pliable like it was just picked yesterday.