Tobaccofieldsforever 2021 Grow Log

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Air-cured leaf is fully color-cured when it is brown. May be light brown or darker brown. It needs to age after that (or be kilned) anyway. I consider "drying" to be an unfortunate term when discussing color-curing.

Bob

One more question regarding this topic. With flue curing, are the various colors achieved like the red leaf, lemon leaf, bright leaf etc (using WLT stock as a reference) due to the different stalk position leaves or are they cured differently (shorter/longer, hotter/colder, etc) to achieve these different end results?

 

[deluxestogie]

The only difference in the flue-cure timing and temp is that it takes upper-stalk leaf longer to yellow, but the remainder of the flue-cure is identical. The difference in ultimate color is due to stalk position from which the leaf is primed.

My flue-cured leaf, compared to selected WLT flue-cured leaf. (2017)

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

The only difference in the flue-cure timing and temp is that it takes upper-stalk leaf longer to yellow, but the remainder of the flue-cure is identical. The difference in ultimate color is due to stalk position from which the leaf is primed.

My flue-cured leaf, compared to selected WLT flue-cured leaf. (2017)

Bob

Looks excellent!! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous of all that pretty leaf. How was the sun-cured virginia? Thank you for the help with all the curing questions. I know it's kind of remedial stuff, but I've always struggled with getting a clear grasp on the process in my head. Pretty much entirely because of the use of the word "drying", so thanks again for clearing that up!!

 

[deluxestogie]

"Sun-cured" was a generous term for trash leaf that cured in the mud and sun at the bottom of the plants. It's usually smokable, but seldom worth the trouble to gather.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Looks excellent!! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous of all that pretty leaf. How was the sun-cured virginia? Thank you for the help with all the curing questions. I know it's kind of remedial stuff, but I've always struggled with getting a clear grasp on the process in my head. Pretty much entirely because of the use of the word "drying", so thanks again for clearing that up!!

For me, the final step of the cure is to make sure the stems are crispy, crunchy dry to ensure the stems don’t mold or rot in storage. The stems hold moisture and take longer to become fully dry compared to the lamina. Then I add moisture to low case for bagging or kilning.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Trimaco-2-Pack-Plastic-Bucket-Paint-Strainer/1008387

Just wanted to thank you for the 5 gal. paint strainer bag suggestion. I just bought 2 2 packs and they will be absolutely perfect! I could see them being a little pricey if you had to buy a lot of them (about $4 a pack of 2) but I will only need a maximum of 3 this season. I forgot to look for removable zip ties. I was thinking about using cotton pipe cleaners (Dills) to secure the bottom. Do you see any possible issue with doing this? I was thinking maybe the wire would rust or something and that wouldn't be ideal. Maybe I will just use some twine like you said you do. I may actually have some removable zip ties laying around somewhere. I know I have regular zip ties (which are technically removable if you want to fiddle around with trying to stick something in the tiny slot to move the plastic piece). I guess any type of rope should work. I also wanted to ask after bagging a bud do I need to shake the plant or anything at any point to move pollen around to the flowers? I heard they are self fertile but I don't know exactly what that means as far as pollination goes. Nothing needs to be done and they bear fertile seed or does pollen need to get somewhere with my help?

 

[deluxestogie]

Ties: If you purchase coffee in 1 pound bags, you can peel off the double-wired fold strip, and just use that. I think string would be better than a rusty pipe cleaner.

The tobacco blossom pollinates itself. Your only task is to bag the bud head before the blossoms open (to keep out insects), then allow the seed pods to develop and eventually turn brown, before cutting off the stem below the bag tie. Then they should be hung upside down (bag still on, to catch any seed that drops) indoors to fully dry, before extracting the seed.

Bob

 

[MarcL]

Ties: If you purchase coffee in 1 pound bags, you can peel off the double-wired fold strip, ....

I had a feeling I was not the only one utilizing these things. viva french roast !

 

[deluxestogie]

I have about an 8 year collection of the coffee bag closures. They are great for all sorts of twisty tie jobs that require more muscle. Sadly, I now purchase 3 pound cans of "coffee".

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Ties: If you purchase coffee in 1 pound bags, you can peel off the double-wired fold strip, and just use that.

Good idea, unfortunately I buy 36 oz cans of coffee (Cafe Bustelo)

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I was wondering if it would be wise to add some fertilizer to my plants at this point? I was thinking maybe it would assist them in their recovery and help replace what the heavy rains had flushed out? They are also far along enough that it is probably not necessary but if it would help and not harm them I would consider it. What do people think? I wouldn't use any water due to flooding, but I was thinking maybe urea becuase of the yellowish blotching on some of the leaves.

 

[deluxestogie]

Fertilizing this late in the season may green-up the leaves, but delay their maturation, and may make them more difficult to cure.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Plants are doing much better. They are not all fully recovered but I am happy with how things are going. I thought the worst looking plant in this picture was going to die for sure so I'm happy it's even still around. I'm also wondering if it's too early to bag one of my buds. I will post a close up picture below.

 

[deluxestogie]

This image is from my discussion on crossing, so disregard the comment on trimming.

If you bag the head too early, the weight of the (possibly wet) bag will cause the top of the plant to droop toward the ground. I would wait until you see distinct elongation of the stalk below the blossoms.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I'm having a little trouble deciding which plant to choose to save seed from. I know it probably isn't a big deal but I would like to save seed from the "best" plant to encourage the presence of traits I deem desirable in future crops. This season has been strange with all the rain. The plants that were clearly doing very well in the beginning (before the flood) struggled considerably to recover from the flooding. Plants that seemed like they were a bit behind in the beginning seemed to handle the extra water quite well and are now the "better" plants. However, the plants that were growing quick and bountiful in the beginning are flowering before the other plants. I guess my question is should I choose to save seed from the plants that are maturing faster or the plants that are growing larger? I know that in a normal growing season these attributes are usually found on the same plant so the decision is clear. With the flood damage, I have to choose one or the other now.

 

[Knucklehead]

I'm having a little trouble deciding which plant to choose to save seed from. I know it probably isn't a big deal but I would like to save seed from the "best" plant to encourage the presence of traits I deem desirable in future crops. This season has been strange with all the rain. The plants that were clearly doing very well in the beginning (before the flood) struggled considerably to recover from the flooding. Plants that seemed like they were a bit behind in the beginning seemed to handle the extra water quite well and are now the "better" plants. However, the plants that were growing quick and bountiful in the beginning are flowering before the other plants. I guess my question is should I choose to save seed from the plants that are maturing faster or the plants that are growing larger? I know that in a normal growing season these attributes are usually found on the same plant so the decision is clear. With the flood damage, I have to choose one or the other now.

A few posts about environment and genetics.

the Smokin Harley /Black Lion grow of 2016 is now under way

if a bag is 50# per...i'll take 2 . PM me

fairtradetobacco.com

US Nicotiana Germplasm Collection 2013 Nursery

The problem is that I don't really know. I am aware of the usual guidance about diversity and breeding (for both plants and animals). The numbers involved in tobacco breeding are many orders of magnitude (powers of 10) greater than most of the breeding numbers we deal with. And since it is...

fairtradetobacco.com

US Nicotiana Germplasm Collection 2013 Nursery

The problem is that I don't really know. I am aware of the usual guidance about diversity and breeding (for both plants and animals). The numbers involved in tobacco breeding are many orders of magnitude (powers of 10) greater than most of the breeding numbers we deal with. And since it is...

fairtradetobacco.com

US Nicotiana Germplasm Collection 2013 Nursery

The problem is that I don't really know. I am aware of the usual guidance about diversity and breeding (for both plants and animals). The numbers involved in tobacco breeding are many orders of magnitude (powers of 10) greater than most of the breeding numbers we deal with. And since it is...

fairtradetobacco.com

US Nicotiana Germplasm Collection 2013 Nursery

its really wet. its like living in seattle or something. rain rain rain all the time. the station has had, no shit i just ran the numbers, OVER 25" OF RAIN IN JUNE ALONE. lol Seattle gets 37 inches per year. You have to go out on the Olympic Peninsula into the rain forest to see anything...

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[deluxestogie]

As a general rule, the plant to chose for seed-saving should be one that typifies the traits of that specific variety. Under less stressful circumstances, the presence of a wide variety of phenotypes in a single variety means that the varietal line is not pure. If you start with known, pure varietal seed, then study what that variety should look like, and save seed from a typical plant.

I suspect that the differing response to the flooding is simply the result of which plants were dependent on the deepest roots at the time the water killed the deepest roots.

Bob

 

[Alpine]

I usually choose 5 or 6 plants of the same strain between the 20ish that I grow that are the most true to type in terms of height, grow habit etc. and , regularly bag the first to flower: in my environment with very short growing season, early flowering is the most desirable trait for me. If something goes wrong with that single plant, there’s always @skychaser.

pier

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Whenever I watch a video or see pictures of tobacco topping, it seems like the plant is always in bloom.
Why is this? It seems to me that it would be beneficial to top the plant before any flowers open or pretty much as soon as some buds appear. Doesn't the plant waste a lot of energy and time growing the buds/flowers out and having them bloom only to then have them removed? Wouldn't all that energy instead go into leaf growth if the plant was topped as early as possible? Just wondering...maybe there is something I'm not aware of.

 

[deluxestogie]

For commercial grows, synchronizing harvest time saves money. For home grows, that doesn't matter. Recommendations by extension services is to top the plants when 50% of the plants are showing at least one blossom, and videos of those commercial grows reflect that. For home growing, the ideal is to top each plant after the bud stalk elongates, which is usually just before its first blossom opens.

If you have a few plants that are way behind in growth, compared to the others of its variety, you can help them "catch up" in maturity by topping them at a lower leaf count.

For any videos of growing tobacco commercially, you should examine every choice and practice (and tradition) in a context of why it might be advantageous for a commercial grower to choose that method. It usually comes down to reduced cost and labor.

Bob