Smokin Harley Grow Log 2015

[Smokin Harley]

funny you should ask...I didn't pull out the canoe but I did fertilize this afternoon. We are getting yet more rain tonight . Got sent home from work , besides something was going wrong with the plant , it was pouring rain and had lightning in the area . At least made it home to watch the last period of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Our Chicago Blackhawks are victorious..first Cup win on home ice in 77 years.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Tobacco is a very nerve wracking plant...one minute its doing well then you get tons of rain and it looks like its going to die , next minute it looks like its going to survive.
This morning I look out back and most of the plants that were flat to the ground yesterday are now slowly perking up . Sunny out today so far .
Most other plants if they go flat never ever come back . This is simply amazing to me.

 

[Smokin Harley]

yesterday when the sun came out the plants wilted down, this morning I get home from work and look and see the same plants are about half wilted (or if you're an optimist, half upright) but some are totally upright. I forget why this happens. i know its about pressure loss within the cell walls but what causes it?
...and we're expecting even more rain tonight.
How much more of this will these plants take?

 

[deluxestogie]

The plant roots are drowning from lack of air within the soil matrix. Some varieties and some individuals survive better than others.

http://www.ipmimages.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=6965&area=62

I experienced some flooding and standing water in 2013. Here is the sequence:

June 17, 2013.

Standing water on July 4, 2013. Harrow Velvet to mid right.

Drowning as it appears July 7, 2013.

Sun scald after flooding, July 7, 2013.

Harrow Velvet recovery by July 14, 2013.

Although the Harrow Velvet recovered fairly well, its productivity was considerably lower than it should have been. At the time of the worst wilting, I primed the yellowed, bottom leaves, and hung them in the shed to color-cure.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

Interesting...how did those yellow primed leaves turn out...Usable? Smokable?
I have no yellowing ...yet .
How long should I expect either recovery or yellowing (non-reversable Im guessing)? If I experience this same thing, I will try to prime and color cure and see what happens .

 

[deluxestogie]

Harrow Velvet burley tends to yellow very early in the season, from the bottom to the top of the plant, making it ideal for harvesting by priming. Depending on what you are growing, it may not do that. Any leaf that has ceased to grow, and is not too badly scalded, can be primed and hung. Just look for any signs of maturity.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

ok, I got home this morning and went out to check on them , had some of both Criollo 98 and Madole yellowing, so I picked those leaves off. washed the dirt off and will hang them up to color cure, hopefully. Hoping also that picking these leaves may stimulate root growth as if I were to cut the leaves when they were younger. Maybe get them out of the drowned funk.

 

[Smokin Harley]

This morning a few more Madole were yellowed and then as I was picking the suckers from the Little Dutch ,noticed that had some yellowing lower leaves as well, so I picked those off ,washed the mud off and hung them to color cure. Yes, I realize they may not amount to much but I am the kind of person who will try my hardest to save or salvage anything rather than waste or just trash it. I figure at this point the Dutch may at least amount to shredded pipe tobacco if nothing else, cigar filler.
There are more leaves wilted but not yet yellowed .I will wait for those to either perk up or yellow then pick and cure .But, the plants that are still standing after the onslought of rain are actually starting to have a nice growth spurt . We have a few days of mostly clear partly sunny weather to hopefully give those standing a nice boost of sunshine . There are another few days to follow of rain but I sure hope not the amount we had.
This fall after the harvest , I'm tilling in sand and get a few truckloads of dirt and get the grade elevation brought up at least 6 inches. I just can't watch the garden become a swamp again.

 

[deluxestogie]

Tobacco roots seldom go down more than a foot, and are mostly more shallow--within about 6 to 8 inches below the surface. A 6" elevation may make a big difference.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

Mornin' Bob, yes I noticed the plants at the southernmost end of the plot (nearest the gate) which is already 4 inches higher than the dead center (herb box) didn't get as swamped out nor did they wilt. The hardest hit was the ones to the back of the tobacco area which is coincidentally at the lowest elevation. I also noticed the Havana 608 is suffering too. So, 12 inches of soil fill to the center and a good 6 on the south side will do wonders .

 

[Knucklehead]

I think collecting and curing your mud lugs is a good idea for your first season. It's good practice stringing and curing and helps prepare you for the main harvest. They will also help your cigars burn better especially if you run in to a blend that just doesn't burn so well.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I'm so glad you said that. Thats exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Smokin Harley]

well, seems every morning I come home and check on the plants . Little Dutch ,Vuelta Abajo and Florida Sumatra seem to have taken the extended soak better than the others. The Vuelta is by far the best growing tobacco plant of all I am growing. Still a lot of wilt and yellowing going on especially with the Va Gold , I think I will lose more before any get better. Heres the real kick to the stomach. We have more rain coming . I was so hopeful that my first grow was going to be a bumper crop . I planted 9 of each in hopes to get 6 in case of bad conditions,well for a few that was the case, the rest , I'll be lucky to be harvesting off of 3 decent plants. Machu Picchu is plugging along as is Black Mammoth. Criollo is suffering . Out of all I planted in that variety I have 2 definite nice ones , the rest are small and iffy.
I have a lot of soil grade fill to do in preparations for next year.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Vuelta is doing very good still. Shooting up like crazy. I think I better take a close look at it today to make sure it isnt about to shoot up a flower bud. Got another 1.5"+ of rain coming tonight too.

 

[Smokin Harley]

It is confirmed !! I have flower buds formed and forming. Must be all the rain they got last week. The Vuelta Abajo has buds that look like they'll be flowers within the week-which I'll probably miss since we're heading to Wisconsin for a week starting this coming Sunday. Criollo98 ,Little Dutch ,Madole and Va Gold still have the buds just forming , they have the spiky sepals . I'm very excited about this but on the other hand I'm thinking the plants are still too small to give good leaf. Do I top the ones I do not want to flower (i will bag one seed/flower head on each variety) so they will grow bigger leaves or once they set buds to flower are they done growing?? Now I wish I had late started even more plants.

 

[Knucklehead]

They will continue growing for awhile after topping. Your main leaves will grow larger and thicker. They will try to put on more suckers that you will want to keep pulled off. Top the plants after they have begun to flower. GRIN defines Days to Maturity as the number of days from transplant to the patch, to 50% of the plants of that variety having at least one open flower. Commercial growers top the whole field at that point, home growers can choose to top each plants as it flowers.

For seed saving. Bag your selected plants before flowering. If a flower or two has popped out or even if the flower has just begun to elongate from the seed pod, snap off the flower and the seed pod it is attached to. You can then bag the rest of the seed head.

 

[Knucklehead]

I have flower buds formed and forming. Must be all the rain they got last week.

Insufficient data. I'm in a drought and I have early flowering. Other members with early flowering have been getting normal rain and/or irrigating. I have no idea what is causing it.

 

[DGBAMA]

If the Vuelta flowers are open when you get back, just trim off the open ones then bag what is left, or top and allow one Sucker to grow at the top of the plant, it will bud and flower in several weeks.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Just to be safe I'm going to bag the Vuelta before we go only because its the tallest ,strongest plant . If its not fully open by the time we get back i'll just readjust the bag.

 

[Smokin Harley]

ok, so now that I'm to the flower/bud head bagging stage ... that seems pretty self explanatory.

Now, I guess what I'd like to address is the whole picking, stringing, color curing process...
I started with the mud lugs that were starting to yellow post flood for practice. I have those still on wires hanging in the open air in the garage until the midrib dries,right?
Some went right to brown and others are still green . Do I ...can I ....do anything with the green ones,(kiln?)or are they done ? I still as of yet have not built a kiln. Just haven't had time.
I'm hoping I will have time in the next couple weeks to a month . Pretty much all I need to do is hit the Home Depot for the foam ,sealing tape and wire shelving and then the thrift store for the crock pot and wire in the digital controller.
Luckily the tobacco patch has actually dried out and no more plants are yellowing. Tomorrow while I jump myself back into a night shift mode once again(cringe!)
I'll head out and do some scuffle hoe action and rid the rows of the dreaded purslane.