Smokin Harley Grow Log 2015

[Knucklehead]

I think sun scald is a possiblility for varieties other than burley. Bigbonner has to rush the other varieties to the barn. Burley can be left out in the sun to wilt with no problem. Varieties that I sun cure, I wilt or yellow first in the shop.
Someone with a better memory than I have can weigh in, but you may want to get that leaf in the shade. Like fast.

 

[deluxestogie]

Well, you can get away with green leaf being exposed for a while, if it's overcast. If it's full sun, the leaf needs to go into shade.

I am just now beginning to enjoy my Little Dutch from 2014. That was the first season that I stalk harvested Little Dutch (after first priming the mud lugs). It stalk cured without difficulty, and is probably the best Little Dutch quality I've ever grown.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

It'll all be ok ,I'm sure. It was a nice cool , cloudy breezy day, very non-typical of late August in the midwest. Good for baccy pickin' .I did find another one of those damned hornworms munching on a small bundle of just past yellow Havana 608. He had the nerve to take a nice big quarter sized patch out of every leaf in the hand. He paid the ultimate price for that last meal. I got it all hung in the barn and swapped out a few color cured and dry bunches to the garage next to the kiln too. Got 50 of Don's vapor proof bags on request too. Looks like I'll be busy this fall kiln processing leaf and have something to keep busy this winter,whether its rolling (I hope ) or making Cavendish...did anybody ever find a good recipe for leaf chew like a Redman ,Beech Nut or Levi Garrett ? Then, start all over again in the spring with a new batch of other varieties of seed. After seeing how much Dutch I ended up with (and Va Gold) I think I justified my limit of 9 plants each . I even came up with a motto about that- "When it comes to growing Dutch , you don't need as much" .Even though some of the best looking leaf came off of my late planted(2nd batch/back up) Criollo98 and Sumatra, 9 of each is plenty from now on.

 

[deluxestogie]

I grew 24 Little Dutch plants in 2014. Just this morning, I was lamenting how soon it would all be gone. I think I have only about 14 large hands left.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

what do you do with it all ,Bob? Any Pipe tobacco or are you rolling cigars with it?

 

[Smokin Harley]

The entire garden...30 wide by 40 deep , view is from our yard looking back.

front is the baccy patch

little dutch

Vuelta Abajo

single row Va Gold on left, Criollo 98 on the right

The behind times flat...looking better though

Hard to believe this was the baccy patch just 3 months ago.

 

[deluxestogie]

Cigars, cigars and cigars. I'm smoking some Little Dutch right now, blended with PA Red, Machu Picchu Havana, Dominican Olor. It's bound in Tabasqueño Prieto, and wrapped in a dark CT Broadleaf maduro. I just love Little Dutch.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Yes it is. Hard to believe these huge plants come from seed so tiny.

 

[deluxestogie]

Yes it is. Hard to believe these huge plants come from seed so tiny.

Just like us.

Bob

 

[DGBAMA]

Hard to believe this was the baccy patch just 3 months ago.

Amazing and fun when you think about it.

 

[Chicken]

Did the rain stay away?..i recall a while back you was worried about your patch being flooded.

 

[Smokin Harley]

which time? lol. We got more than our share of rain in June . Probably the wettest June I can remember,seems all it did was rain. The baccy patch I planted on the ever so slightly elevated half of the garden plot. I did lose a few plants to flood but the way I planted my rows I put my biggest strongest plants on the south (gate) end and the ones that got flooded out were the ones I didn't mind to lose anyway on the north end of the rows where it is lower ...sacrificial tobacco you might say.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Checked my leaf last evening- barn temp 65 with rH of 75% ...Its awesome to open the doors and smell the mingling aromas of the already color cured tobacco from the first batch and the spice of the fresh leaf now starting to cure. A little grassy , a little tobacco'y, a tad fruit'ish like apricots or even slightly of fermented apples. Some fading green ,some mottled (Black Mammoth is one of the prettiest while color curing to me because while the veins are the last to stay green , the rest of the leaf has turned a bright golden yellow) while others turn yellow almost over night , some still already going only briefly through yellow to brown (i'm finding this typical of Little Dutch very quickly while Pa Red takes its time but not in yellow very long to a reddish brown. Very pretty leaf)

We're having an unseasonably cool week , only mid 70's with mid 50's nights. This weekend its supposed to ramp up again and next week be back up in the 90's .
Probably pull the sole remaining second batch plant of Florida Sumatra for wrapper leaf. Waiting for the top two leaves to start changing first.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Cleaned out the last of the Machu Picchu Havana, Criollo 98 and Vuelta Abajo. Lots and lots of ligero and then a good hand or two of sucker growth volado that Im sure since it hasnt had much grow time , it did have time to grow fairly large leaves that got a good bit of water and cool weather, so, Im expecting that to be incredibly mild and silky textured.

Tomorrow going out to pick another row or two clean. Most likely Besuki (haven't picked a single leaf yet, all looks like good wrapper quality) Long Red , Florida Sumatra and Va Gold. which will leave Little Dutch , Pa Red and the little bit of Madole and Havana 608 left for last.

The 2015 grow is coming to an end. Looks like I can look forward to a solid Memorial Day to Labor Day season for next year.
I can't complain one bit , my shed is full , my kiln is going, I have my vapor proof bags, my cavendish test batches worked.
The next big project for the fall going into winter will be separation of the seed.

 

[kullas]

Sounds like you had a good season and a barn full. What more can a person ask for?

 

[deluxestogie]

Wait until all of the seed pods of a variety are completely brown and dry, before extracting the seed. There's plenty of time.

Seed cleaning is a breeze with the two 600 and 400 micron sieves from US Plastic:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=10876
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37445

Nest the 400 micron sieve into a 5 gallon bucket, then nest the 600 micron sieve on top. Break open your pods into the 600. The seed will fall through into the 400, and immature seed and dust will fall into the bucket. Keep the clean seed that's in the 400 micron sieve.

Store the seed in a cool, dry place.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

thanks for the link ,Bob. sieves are ordered...along with 1000 small 2x3x2mil ziplock baggies for the seed, spray bottles, a few 16 oz containers with lids for my pipe tobacco blends...

 

[Smokin Harley]

Been picking all morning. Long Red , Florida Sumatra and Va Gold(all in the garage now in the shade) got picked clean, I went ahead and picked out the Madole and Havana 608 too as well as the entire 2 stalks of flawless Besuki leaf....taking a water break from the humidity and 90*. After my break , I'm stringing the Va Gold which will take 3 wires . Then head back out to cherry pick the Pa Red and Little Dutch (still picking seco) and the seed heads that haven't turned brown enough yet. Yesterday, apparently ,I left a few small hands of Vuelta Abajo leaves to pick, I guess I hate to totally pick that crop out since its been so prolific.
I'm actually running out of rafter space in the barn (such a dilemma,right?) . May need to bring in a few strings of leaf that are color cured and dry to the garage to be in line for the kiln.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Except for the one wires worth (I end up with a 30 inch wire to yield 22 usable inches of leaf to fit between rafter spacing ) of Vuelta Abajo ligero still standing another week plus the 4 bagged seed heads still browning out on stalks ...

the inaugural (Campo de Tabaco Primero) Smokin' Harley Tobacco Grow of 2015 is officially over .

Took in 13 strung wires of leaf today, which could have easily been 16 but I hung 3 of them up a little droopy .
Had to rearrange the wired leaf already in the barn but I concluded that on a rafter run an 8 inch nail spacing is quite adequate for neighboring leaves not touching. I got to the point of having to bring all of the color cured leaf to the garage and hung up (looped the wire like a ring) the rings of leaf to finish drying on a 1 inch wooden closet pole while it awaits its turn in the kiln.

Good harvest.

MANY Thanks to the FTT memberships' collective conglomerate of brain cells worth of prior knowledge and countless hours of experience and trials and tribulations, my crop was a most successful one.

S.H.

 

[Knucklehead]

Congratulations! You had a great year. Thanks for letting me follow along the journey. It's been a blast.