Deluxestogie Grow Log 2026

[deluxestogie]

Yikes! This will be my 17th consecutive Grow Log. (The first two were on the HTGT forum.) The glory days are over, but the passion persists.

I will likely grow the following in 2026:

• Dutch Ohio (NP)
• Long Red
• İzmir Özbaş

I haven't decided on a total number of plants yet.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

This is the single, Prilep 66-9/7 plant that grew in my porch corner bed during 2025. While growing there, it received direct sunlight in the morning and early afternoon, and only indirect light during the late day. I initially sun-cured it outside, then moved it to my sun-lit, enclosed back porch in mid-October, as a freeze threatened.

Its color seemed a bright lemon yellow, when back-lit by direct sunlight. This is a flash photo today. This should be a nice pipe-blending ingredient.

If you look closely, you will see occasional, tiny black speckles. These are the bodies of gnats that made the mistake of landing on the underside of the leaves (or on the stalk) while the plant was still alive and exuding nicotine.

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

These are the bodies of gnats that made the mistake of landing on the underside of the leaves (or on the stalk) while the plant was still alive and exuding nicotine.

yum, protein rich tobacco.

 

[deluxestogie]

Yesterday, in finally beginning to organize what seed I will need for this years small grow, I scanned through my data on Oriental tobacco varieties that I've grown. I discovered that the only time I grew İzmir Özbaş was in 2011. This will be an interesting test of the viability of seed that I collected in 2011. Fifteen year old seed!

Bob

 

[The Haroo ln]

Good luck with your season Bob!

 

[deluxestogie]

Thank you.

Bob

 

[rainmax]

I grew İzmir Özbaş was in 2011. This will be an interesting test of the viability of seed that I collected in 2011. Fifteen year old seed!

Bob

Yes, interesting. Only the strong survive. So you will only grow winners... good luck and strong sun.

 

[deluxestogie]

Each winter, when I remove my seed containers from my tiny fridge, I have to:

• allow the closed containers to rest on a counter, until they reach room temperature (to avoid drawing in moisture from the warmer air)
• defrost the mini-fridge, since it's over 40 years old, and tends to slowly cake ice around its little freezer section

Although you can't tell from the photo, the 2011 bag of Izmir Ozbas seed contains way more seed than the more recent seed bags. I used to regularly save all the seed from two plants of each variety. And there may be another two bags of Izmir Ozbas 2011 seed still in its container. I will be curious about its germination rate.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

In order to get a rough estimate of the germination rate of my Izmir Ozbas seed, collected in 2011, I wet a single layer of coffee filter paper, inside a Ziploc bag, then lightly sprinkled it with seed (the dark speckles above the hazy, cut triangle of filter paper), from a tiny measuring spoon. A rough count of the seed is a little over 100. This was sealed, and placed on top of a bookcase in my warm study. The germination percent precision that I need is simply to determine if it is 0%; 25%; 50%; 75%. I'll give it about 3 weeks to answer that question.

Sometimes, old seed is the first to germinate. Sometimes, old seed is really slow to germinate.

[As a side note, Izmir Ozbas translates roughly to "original Izmir", and this variety was no longer available in Turkey. About 13 years ago, I sent some of its seed to @istanbulin (in Turkey), as a repatriation effort.]

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

It's been about 2½ days since I began the Izmir Ozbas germination test. This evening, I believe I'm seeing some seed with tiny white radicles showing, when illuminating the bag with a flashlight. I plan to get a photo in daylight tomorrow. (I inflated the Ziploc with a puff of breath, which managed to cause many of the seeds to follow the water meniscus to the margins. So they are not as nicely distributed as they had been.) I'm hopeful.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

the weather today

KEY: any color = not good

Bob

 

[StoneCarver]

I'm totally expecting that all we get is an ice storm. I'm sure the best of the snow will miss us here. Why? Because it always does.
Nature, I challenge you to prove me wrong! We haven't had a good snowfall here in years.

I've got my woodstove and plenty of firewood. Without electricity, I can still stay warm. If my water pipes freeze up, I have a natural spring out back I could draw water from if needed.

 

[deluxestogie]

In the light of day (day 3), I'm not convinced that I see white radicles on any of the Izmir Ozbas seed. But some of the seeds do appear to be larger, and more egg-shaped, indicating imbibition of water, which is an active process. I may or may not be able to post further updates for a while, due to the ominous weather.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

This is day 4 of the germination test of my 2011 saved seed from Izmir Ozbas. I found it difficult to find a way to photograph this. To my eye, some of those curved radicles show a green color, though that really doesn't show in the back-lit photo. Overall, I counted about 30 seeds that had germinated. I expect more to pop over the next day or two, but 30% germination rate is sufficient for growing.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

I'll end my germination test today. Presently I count about 60 germinated seeds, out of ~100. So roughly 60% germination from my 2011 Izmir Ozbas seed. The secret to effective tobacco seed storage? Dry...dry...dry.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Looking out the window, I just watch 3 deer scamper across my snow-covered back yard. It's 10°F right now. I've never seen deer with their hair standing outward so much. That made them look a bit like burros.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Izmir Ozbas germination test day 5.

Again, I can't catch the green that I can see.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

I am lucky that my electricity remained on throughout the massive snow and ice storm. Since everything in my house (heat, cooking, well pump) is electric, that determines if I can even stay here. The temp is 18°F now.

This morning, I attached my long gaiters to my boots, and zipped them up to just below my knees. I bundled-up with heavy insulation, and a wind layer on top, to keep my body warm. Then I went out to try to shovel away the pile of rock-hard snow that the snow plows have created, that block my roadside mailbox from the mail delivery driver.

After stepping out to my snow and ice covered driveway, I discovered that each step that I took required recovering from the sudden collapse of the top ice layer. There are only about 4 inches of snow there, but about a half inch of ice rests on top. I used my snow shovel to keep from falling. As soon as I stepped beyond the corner of the house, wind gusts to ~40 mph buffeted my body. I managed two more precarious steps, before turning around, and giving up.

The temp will drop to 0°F tonight, and not rise above freezing for at least a week. Looks like I won't be going anywhere until then. I have plenty of non-perishable food.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

On its way to my trash can, I made one more try to capture the green color of my Izmir Ozbas germination test.

I had to fiddle with all sorts of settings in Photoshop to bring out the green color (in this flash photo) that I could plainly see with my eyes.

So...nice germination results. Into the trash it goes.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

My electricity stayed on. Yay! My water did not. Boo!

The best I can tell, I have no frozen pipes. In the wee hours this morning, the pressure control switch on my well pump apparently froze. (That's my conclusion after 5 separate trips out over the frozen snow, through the blowing cold, to enter my spider-infested pump house. An LED headlamp provided a solitary beam of light.)

These days, my diagnostic skills happen in little bursts of recollection, rather than follow a systematic, step-by-step scheme. So, by the fifth trip, I pretty much eliminated all the other probable explanations for having no water in my house. It must be the pressure control switch.

This is annoying, rather than a hardship. I finally spoke with the well and pump service, and they will be out by this evening to fix things. But it once again highlights how truly fragile our intertwined infrastructure systems are. A small fault cascades into a big headache. I'm still unable to get my car out of the driveway.

Bob