Deluxestogie Grow Log 2021

[deluxestogie]

Seven varieties; 7 bud bags. I cut the Tyvek tags from a used mailing envelope--labeled with a Sharpie on both faces. I cut the Agribon AG-15 so that each bag (except the small one) requires only two straight lines of stitching. If I don't make these ahead of time, I get lazy, and decide that I really don't need to save seed for any repeat varieties.

My large bags are finished to 30" tall X 24" wide. The small one, for my Oriental (Trabzon), is finished at about 15" X 15".

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

Are we at the point where OG hipsters are into Folgers? That's like irony-ception.

Meta AF

 

[deluxestogie]

I was awakened this morning at 8 am by a deep-pitch, pounding sound, like some kind of construction noise. I got dressed, and looked around outside. It seemed to be coming from the spy tower (new house) being constructed on the hill across the road--about 100 yards away.

A couple of hours later, while working in my study, I was impressed by how well that pounding noise penetrated into my house. After finishing my coffee, I went out to the garden to walk my veggies and tobacco. At the farthest point of the garden (closest to the pounding noise), the rhythm changed. I finally recognized that it was the base register from some sort of recorded music. Only the low-frequency base made it this far. No treble, no lyrics.

I decided to walk down to the construction site, and inquire as to why they were making such a racket so early on a Sunday morning. Before setting out, I mentally rehearsed what I would say. I would scream, slowly, at the top of my lungs,
"YOU WOKE ME UP. I LIVE A HUNDRED YARDS AWAY! ARE YOU PEOPLE HEARING IMPAIRED?..."
Then it dawned on me. OSHA requires that they be hearing impaired on the work site. They play the music so loud, because otherwise, they can't hear it through their mandatory hearing protection.

I returned to my study.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Still, though.

 

[deluxestogie]

The Flowmaster mufflers on the muscle cars (plural) that belong to the neighbor kid (High School senior, I believe) in the other direction from my house... that awakens me on a regular basis.

Whether it's construction workers forced to labor on a Sunday morning listening to some music, or an insecure teenager revving his car engine...it's not much different from my perspective to occasionally having to pick up some stray Lego blocks from the stairway. The sun will rise tomorrow.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

There’s nothing like a freshly mown lawn.

 

[Oldfella]

Bob

Interesting plot bottom left
But looking good.
Oldfella

 

[deluxestogie]

Interesting plot bottom left

Bottom left plot is divided into quarters, foreground to background:

1. okra
2. Chinese eggplant
3. delicata squash
4. Country Gentleman corn

It also got showered with the grass clipping that were blown away from the adjacent tobacco bed. So it looks lighter in color.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Things are getting pretty dry here. Temp is 85°F at 2 pm. I just mowed, since the forecast was for ¾" of rain, starting at...2 pm. The forecast changed in the past 3 hours. Now it's supposed to be less than ½", starting at 4 pm. I can see dragging out the hose again this evening.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Same plants 5 hours later, after a brief, light shower.

Bob

 

[Indianapiper]

Things are getting pretty dry here. Temp is 85°F at 2 pm. I just mowed, since the forecast was for ¾" of rain, starting at...2 pm. The forecast changed in the past 3 hours. Now it's supposed to be less than ½", starting at 4 pm. I can see dragging out the hose again this evening.

Bob

I am trying my hand, again, at a veggie garden. How are you keeping the beds that are not covered in mulch so weed free? Every year I loose the battle to weeds. Its like no matter how much i get after them with the hoe, I can't get infront of them and they inevitably kill off my garden. Sadly my ground is so hard yet(clay) that a hand pushed rototiller does not work at all.

 

[deluxestogie]

A month or more prior to tilling for the season, I carefully spray glyphosate (RoundUp) by hand, over the area of each bed. I till with a pickax, then eventually break up the clods with a small, hand tool. At that time, I remove any surviving weed and grass roots. I've tried a garden torch, and it always looks promising, but never ever kills the roots.

After the season gets rolling, I do have to hand hoe the weeds, but they are not usually too prolific.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I am trying my hand, again, at a veggie garden. How are you keeping the beds that are not covered in mulch so weed free? Every year I loose the battle to weeds. Its like no matter how much i get after them with the hoe, I can't get infront of them and they inevitably kill off my garden. Sadly my ground is so hard yet(clay) that a hand pushed rototiller does not work at all.

The stirrup hoe from Johnny’s Select Seed was a back saver for me in comparison to the other hoes I have used in past. Check out the video below the photo of the stirrup hoe for a two minute video showing the stirrup hoe and some of their other hoes and methods. The stirrup hoe works on the push and pull strokes and the angle is much, much better for your back.

7" Stirrup Hoe | 100% Guaranteed | Johnny's Selected Seeds

Our best-selling cultivation tool. Thin, oscillating steel stirrup easily cuts through tough weeds just below the soil surface, both on the push and pull ...

www.johnnyseeds.com

 

[deluxestogie]

I began the morning with 15 very healthy tobacco orphans, looking up at me with their large, sad leaves. For a fortunate few, not a single one of my peas germinated in their half of a designated half-bed. (Canned peas are sometimes better! So there!) There was room for 4 full-size tobacco plants. Since I had to cut back on my planned MD 609 (because the NB-11 looked so good), I decided to go with the MD 609 in the empty space. There were only 3 nice ones, so three it is. I'm planning to top these three low, to see how much larger the leaves get, compared to my usual practice of topping high.

And beyond the horizon of my "entire garden" photos, my long bed of Corojo 99 has remained hidden. This is the bed that gets only ½ day of direct sun, but that half-day is amplified by reflection off the white siding of the house. So that bed usually performs well.

Bob

 

[Alpine]

In my experience, the lower you top, the thicker the leaves (and a raging inferno of suckers)... I did not notice an improvement in leaf size.

pier

 

[deluxestogie]

Most of the studies I've read suggest greater leaf size and thickness (for burley, at least) with lower topping, but the same weight of cured leaf per plant. Once the topping goes below 16 or 15 leaves remaining, the total weight of cured leaf per plant begins to decrease. I have noticed that Larry's (@BigBonner's) burley leaf is always larger than my own, though I've never grown the same variety. In his topping video, his son seems to be topping them at roughly 16 to 18 leaves (just a wild guess on my part). I've always been interested in the tip leaf (corona), which is small and thick and potent, so I have regularly topped just below the crow's foot of the bud shaft.

Bob

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKyJc9ywMFM

For commercial production, labor is a significant cost of production, and labor cost relates more closely to the total leaf count, rather than the total weight.

 

[Indianapiper]

The stirrup hoe from Johnny’s Select Seed was a back saver for me in comparison to the other hoes I have used in past. Check out the video below the photo of the stirrup hoe for a two minute video showing the stirrup hoe and some of their other hoes and methods. The stirrup hoe works on the push and pull strokes and the angle is much, much better for your back.

7" Stirrup Hoe | 100% Guaranteed | Johnny's Selected Seeds

Our best-selling cultivation tool. Thin, oscillating steel stirrup easily cuts through tough weeds just below the soil surface, both on the push and pull ...

www.johnnyseeds.com

LOL I just bought some of those. (at least the lowes knock off of them) and they do work as you suggest. Should make the task much less arduous.

 

[Brown Thumb]

They Shure are pretty plants compared mine

 

[deluxestogie]

One of my close neighbors. He doesn't seem to trust me.

Bob