Oh ! That's not a tobacco friendly weather ! Keep up !!
I wish you will have better weather now.
China Voodoo 2017 Grow Blog
- Thread starter ChinaVoodoo
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I wish you will have better weather now.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Oh, it's super nice this week. The plants just need to thicken up a bit. The Piloto is doing really good
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
This is an interesting website. http://agriculture.alberta.ca/acis/alberta-weather-data-viewer.jsp
You can select the weather data you are interested in and it will either chart or graph it for you. I'm only a couple blocks from the University farm weather station so it's pretty close to what it would be at my house. Here's the graph I made.
Now if only I knew what a corn heat unit was. All I know is it's above average which must be good.
You can select the weather data you are interested in and it will either chart or graph it for you. I'm only a couple blocks from the University farm weather station so it's pretty close to what it would be at my house. Here's the graph I made.
Now if only I knew what a corn heat unit was. All I know is it's above average which must be good.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Thanks Pete. It looks like the best measure they offer is the growing degree days based 10C. What they do is take an average of the daily temperatures, then subtract the baseline temperature at which the crop grows. They can predict all sorts of things with this info. Tobaccos base line is 13C. So the graph they make is not totally appropriate, but cool nevertheless.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
High 80s today. I was thinking, "awesome". I work at night, eh. So I just woke up and the sky is dark. The power is out. Constant rumble of thunder. Hail warning. Darn it. I gotta find the hand powered coffee grinder.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I've made many a cup of coffee at home with my MSR Pocket Rocket isobutane backpacking stove when the power goes out. I use a 1-cup cone, with a paper filter, so I just need to boil water. I always, always have ground coffee on hand. [I wish I could still backpack.] Since my tap water comes from my (electrically pumped) well, I also keep at least 4 one-gallon jugs of water stashed on the porch.
According to my list of companion growing, tobacco does not like hail.
Bob
According to my list of companion growing, tobacco does not like hail.
Bob
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Lmao.
It's a wicked stove, hey! Super hot, really fast. I love that micro-jet engine sound.
Water isn't an issue, but I've decided I need a generator. The power going out was a reminder that the freezers are full, and that the inverter on the van couldn't power my sump pump.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
It's really nice to see things growing. I'm well ahead of last year. I had 4 extra Delhi 34 plants, 3 of which had to be used due to cutworms and wind. I didn't have any extra Piloto plants, but the damaged ones managed to recover from hare snacking.
Delhi 34 (near), and Piloto (far).
Piloto
Last year the back yard patch stalled for a long time. This was 4 different flue cured tobaccos on June 29, 2016:
This was the Costello in the front patch on June 19, 2016:
Delhi 34 (near), and Piloto (far).
Piloto
Last year the back yard patch stalled for a long time. This was 4 different flue cured tobaccos on June 29, 2016:
This was the Costello in the front patch on June 19, 2016:
Yes, it's good to see them growing 
And they seem to be fine on your pictures
I should even say : your plants seem to be HUGE ! (juging by the size of the person standing behind your plants, see the picture bellow, I just zoomed in)
And they seem to be fine on your pictures I should even say : your plants seem to be HUGE ! (juging by the size of the person standing behind your plants, see the picture bellow, I just zoomed in)
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
Great looking garden. That soil looks rich. I bet they love that.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Thank you. It's rich due to human effort. I moved here a year and a half ago and bought 8 yards of soil, plus I've been using organic fertilizers. This year was a few hundred pounds of alfalfa.
Most soil in Edmonton is approximately that color. Here's maybe a new word for you: chernozem. Due a particular balance between the distance from the mountains, latitude, and altitude, we get a certain amount of precipitation and temperature that maximizes grassland soil depth, without leaching of nutrients, producing a rich black soil. However, it doesn't get lighter to my knowledge when it's low in nutrients due to over-farming.
The soil in the first photo is dry. When wet, it's very dark. The second photo has black colored mulch on top.
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
That's what I love about this site. Always learning something new. Thanks for sharing that.
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
Sharp eye there Charly...lol
Well, CV, when it comes to in-depth knowledge about soil, you chernozem.
Bob
Bob
mwaller
Well-Known Member
That Piloto Cubano is a great looking plant! Have you grown and cured this variety before? How does it taste? Where did you find the seeds?
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Yes, it's good to see them growing
I should even say : your plants seem to be HUGE ! (juging by the size of the person standing behind your plants, see the picture bellow, I just zoomed in)
View attachment 20928
Haha, Charly. That's my owl to keep the hares away.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
This is my first time growing Piloto. WLT sells the leaves. I can't describe it, but it's a great cigar leaf. I was gifted the seeds from the owners of a cigar factory/tobacco farm in Puerto Rico. I actually don't remember the name of the cigar brand. One of them owned a long existing cigar store, and rolled their own, but this partnership was taking it to the farming level. They were just starting up. I still have their contact info and hope to send them the results.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I'm away right now, but I got these photos from my wife today. They apparently are the result of the massive storm that hit Alberta last week.
Oh well. What can you do.
Oh well. What can you do.
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