The Knucklehead way to Grow a Blog

[AmaxB]

WEll I drank my drink - feeling perky now.... That weather regulaten now that is some tricky business skilled hands at work there....
Going to go get another drink and a fat cig...

 

[Boboro]

I think I mite take the close line next year.

 

[Boboro]

It the time of the year to kick back with the hard stuff!

 

[jekylnz]

It the time of the year to kick back with the hard stuff!

Down at the spring with your copper.bo..mississippi styles..lol

 

[Boboro]

Its not leagle to cook the mash. Ive been tryin to not break the law. Im gonna run for office its the onley job left.

 

[Boboro]

My slowgans, Could I do any wourse.

 

[Knucklehead]

Yall getting a frost knuck? Yhe bag shoud keep froust off. But if you got a bunch of brown pods just get rid of the green ones.

Not yet. In about a week they're predicting a low of 36 and then warming up again. But it's coming down to the wire for sure. I was wondering if the seed bags wouldn't hold off a light frost. It would seem to me that a hard freeze would be what I'd need to worry about.

Looks good buddy. I have started bringing seed heads in when a few of the pods are brown and all the flowers are gone. stalk cutting with just afew top leaves and hanging them.I

I bagged two plants of each variety and I've started harvesting one of the bags when all flowers are dead and at least half the pods are brown. I'm cutting about two ft. of stalk and letting them dry in the sun until the stalk is dry. That way I know the seed have gotten all they're going to from the stalk. Then I'm pulling the pods off and putting them in an open zip lock in a wooden drawer. All pods are drying brown, I just hope all pods are viable. I'll know when germ test time rolls around.

The second bag I'm wanting to leave on the plant as long as possible. If it comes down to it, I'll stalk harvest and hang in the shop with the bag attached. I guess around Christmas I'll clean the pods of seed.

Looks tasty knucks..well done on the colour hold.sun cure..I think thats the way to go when you haven't got a flash flue to do it in..you've cracked it

Thanks Dr. jekylnz. That's what I was hoping when I tried this. If the leaf is sweeter than air cured, even it it's not as sweet as flue cured, I may be satisfied with just sun curing. If so, I plan to build a kiln only this winter. If I don't like the results, I'll have to build a DGBAMA red neck flue curing chamber.

WEll I drank my drink - feeling perky now.... That weather regulaten now that is some tricky business skilled hands at work there....
Going to go get another drink and a fat cig...

What are you putting in that there cigar? The suspense is killing me.

 

[workhorse_01]

If mine aren't ready I'm going to put shade cloth over the back patch, and set a coleman lantern under it. Then run it all night to keep the frost off. The next morning take off the shade cloth. The only one that concerns me is the Metacomet, It's still growing! The rest are bagged and have enough brown seed heads.

 

[DonH]

I'm thinking that if the seeds are mature, freezes won't hurt them. Most seeds can survive in the soil over winter to sprout in the spring. But if the pods are still green, probably not.

 

[Rickey60]

I'm thinking that if the seeds are mature, freezes won't hurt them. Most seeds can survive in the soil over winter to sprout in the spring. But if the pods are still green, probably not.

Just make sure that the moisture is very low before freezing. If the moisture is to high it will ruin the seed. Let them dry for a good while before freezing and they will last many years.

 

[skychaser]

Light frost won't hurt your developing seed heads at all if they are bagged. The bags give them a lot of protection. It takes temps down to 27-28 degrees to burn back blooming flowers inside a bag. Pods that have set and are nearly filled won't be hurt and will continue to mature until they are dry or the plant is totally killed.

I never cut flower heads that still have green pods. If the center of the pod is brown but the outer hull is still yellow or slightly green, they are ok to cut. I'll clip out brown pods if they are starting to crack open and spill seeds but leave the green ones to finish ripening. I have plants that are still alive after successive nights at 22 and 23 degrees and the pods are still maturing inside the bags. Flowers and very immature pods will get killed by hard freezes and drop off, which I find to be an advantage because it eliminates a lot of chaff to sift through later.

 

[skychaser]

Just make sure that the moisture is very low before freezing. If the moisture is to high it will ruin the seed. Let them dry for a good while before freezing and they will last many years.

If you plan to put seeds in the freezer for storage, the moisture content needs to be down to 7-8% to avoid damaging them. Unless you plan on saving tobacco seeds for decades I don't think there is really any need to freeze them. Just keep them in a cool dry place (emphasis on dry) and they will easily be good for 10 years or more.

 

[Knucklehead]

Thanks Sky, that answers my question. It takes the pressure off knowing I can leave them out longer. I'm in good shape.

 

[deluxestogie]

Silica gel desiccant packs ideal for tobacco seed storage at room temp or in a fridge: http://www.jpscorner.com/silica-gel-humidity-control.html

They're available singly or by the dozen, and can be refreshed by 3 hours in a 300 degree oven.

Bob

 

[DonH]

But that leaves the question of whether you can leave seed bags on plants to mature during light freezes.

 

[Knucklehead]

But that leaves the question of whether you can leave seed bags on plants to mature during light freezes.

Sky covers that in Post #1071.

 

[DonH]

Sky covers that in Post #1071.

Thanks, I see that now.

 

[Knucklehead]

I'm yellowing and browning my leaf in the shop, then moving them into the basement of the house to finish drying the stem where it's warmer and the humidity much lower. I just spread out two double heat mats I use under my seedlings and piled my leaf on top of the heat mats. I'm hoping this will speed up the drying of the midrib and keep my assembly line moving along faster and eliminate a bottle neck in the operation. I'll rotate the pile around every evening.

 

[springheal]

How high/low is the humidity when you are yellowing/browning the leaf in your shop and how low in the basement knucks?

May your operation go well with no bottleneck.

 

[Knucklehead]

The humidity in the shop was averaging 70%, now it's average is down in the 60's. The humidity in the basement stays at about 53%. Our temps and humidity are really starting to drop here now. My last leaf may have to be harvested slightly under ripe. I'm running the shop heater at night now, the temps are dropping into the mid 40'sF with day time high's at 70F. In about a week, the projected night temp will dip down to 34F with highs in the mid 60'sF and then start to climb again for awhile.