StoneCarver 2026

[StoneCarver]

I harvested all the rusticas. i got tired of trying to pinch their buds. They were flowering faster than I could pinch.
Sorry about the image quality. This is the best I can get out of my camera.
They definitely did better in this location than the one I tried to grow them in last year.
I hung them on wires using a nail in the stalk. The wires are attached to some wooden racks I hung from the floor joists.
In between the floor joists, you can see the same reflective insulation I used for building my kiln.
You can't see the mudlugs but they are inbetween the two rows of rusticas.
I wish I could grow mustard greens like this.

 

[StoneCarver]

I've been priming almost daily. The Vuelta Abajo is totally primed as you can see in this photo.
With how hot and dry its been, I watered everything after I took this photo.
One of my RedRose is heavily covered in aphids. I'm thinking of taking out the whole plant even if it could mature a little longer.
I don't know what else to do about the aphids.

 

[deluxestogie]

If I see too many aphids, I spray them with permethrin (the stuff used on bug-resistant clothing), expecting subsequent rain to eventually rinse it away.

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

I spray them with permethrin

I appreciate the suggestion. I was struggling with finding something that won't affect the taste/aroma/burn quality of the tobacco.
I'm familiar with using pyrethrin but wasn't sure about using it on tobacco besides it being difficult to find locally these days.
We actually did get a little rain last night.

 

[deluxestogie]

Another approach I have taken is to spray (usually the underside of) the leaf with a moderately forceful hose spray. Once dislodged, the aphids are unable to climb back up the plant. But hosing is a delicate dance between rinsing the aphids away vs. bruising the leaf lamina.

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

I tried spraying with water but don't have a means to spray water forcefully enough.
Honestly, I'm not sure if I should be worried about it. The plant has been growing just as well as the other plants.
This is a learning experience for me.

 

[deluxestogie]

If there are aphids on the leaves when they are harvested, they will dry-out and die. Once the leaves are ready for use, the dead aphids can be gently brushed off the surface with your fingertips. Consider it similar to dried dirt on your home-grown carrots.

Bob

 

[PvtPublic]

My most effective method of controlling aphids is to add plants that attract them and ladybugs. The aphids will go to those plants instead, then the ladybugs destroy them.

 

[green_bean]

What plants do you use to attract the aphids away from the tobacco?

 

[The Haroo ln]

More tobacco

 

[PvtPublic]

What plants do you use to attract the aphids away from the tobacco?

We have something called salsify here. I also let yarrow and wild lettuce grow in the same spots for more ladybug habitat.

 

[green_bean]

We have something called salsify here. I also let yarrow and wild lettuce grow in the same spots for more ladybug habitat.

Cool. Thanks.

 

[StoneCarver]

Salsify is good eating. I tried planting it a few times in years past but the seeds just didn't want to sprout. So i gave up on it.
i fully harvested the aphid infested Redrose yesterday. Most of the leaves were showing signs of maturity. I tried to carefully spray the aphids off with water; however, the black spots of mildew they left behind were a bit more stubborn to remove.
Everything is mostly primed now and color curing in the basement.
In the future, I won't be stalk curing rusticas. With how much they littered my basement floor with flower buds, I'd rather leaf cure them which is basically what I did last year. I also found about a dozen hornworms on the plants. I guess the eggs were brought in with the plants. Harvesting the leaves-only makes it easier to inspect for bug eggs whether hornworm or whatnot.

 

[PvtPublic]

Salsify is good eating.

I couldn't agree more! We like to sauté the buds in butter until the tips are crispy. Mmmmm....

What do you do about hornworms? I've never encountered them in Montana.

 

[StoneCarver]

What do you do about hornworms?

Hunt them and squish them. As you've seen on other grow logs, other members here make an effort to spot the eggs before they hatch. Once the eggs hatch, the damage begins.

I liked cooking the roots of salsify in a stew with meat, tomatoes and whatever herbs.

So far, the Redrose is outperforming everything else in terms of leaf quantity and leaf size. Jaffna is a close second. The biggest leaves of these two varieties are around 32inches.

 

[StoneCarver]

Sucker crop. Everything has already been primed and is suckering now.
I just pinched the flowers prior to taking these pictures.
The corn is beginning to tassle.

 

[StoneCarver]

Much of what I had harvested and had already color cured in my basement started growing mold along the midribs. So, I brought it upstairs to dry out. Its been raining a lot this past week and the rH in my basement was averaging 80-85%. I only had to toss out about half a dozen leaves. The light conditions in the basement made it hard for me to tell if they were fully color cured or if they were growing green mold or what. One night upstairs and the leaves are already crispy dry. The tobacco no longer smells like fresh cut grass and smells more like cigars now.

The sucker crop is really perplexing me. I've pinched the flowers off of them 2-3times now and the leaves aren't showing signs of ripening. I'm getting a bit antsy because I want to be done with growth phase and want to bring it all in. I have been harvesting the volado and damaged leaves from the suckers. So, I'm debating on waiting longer or going ahead and taking it all in.

 

[bohdan.zaremba]

I have been harvesting the volado and damaged leaves from the suckers

Is there any difference in flavour between the "primary" leaves and sucker leaves?

 

[deluxestogie]

In colonial Virginia, some towns passed laws prohibiting harvesting a sucker crop, since it lowered the reputation of Virginia tobacco. Generally, sucker leaf, after harvesting the main crop, is of lower quality.

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

Generally, sucker leaf, after harvesting the main crop, is of lower quality.

That's good to know. I don't really care either way because for me its practice material for learning to roll cigars. So for now, I'm more focused on quantity than quality.
I have been making attempts at keeping the sucker leaves separate from the earlier harvested main crop.