Cigar Birthing

[tzaddi]

[SIZE="5"]July 21st Tobacco Garden & Fire Update[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Well for the past two nights we have been able to have our windows open in the evening without succumbing to the smoke. (cough)

Last night the moon was white after so many days of being yellow or not even being visible.

Hurray!!

Here is a photo of the sun from July 9th around 6:30 pm.[/SIZE]



[SIZE="4"]If you know me you know that this thread is the last place where politics belongs but I'm just saying that since George, Arnold and Wally flew over my house the air quality has been a lot better.

Check out the size of this ash that made it's way onto one of my tobacco plants.! This photo was taken on the 10th of July.[/SIZE]




[SIZE="4"]Tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (Linnaeus)
- Don't really need 'em[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]I think that is what they are.

Although the plants have an effective watering system it is important to visit them as often as I can. I found this critter having a meal on July 12th. The tale-tale signs are holes in the leaf and or little droppings.[/SIZE]




[SIZE="4"]Here is an interesting photo showing a worm that seems to enjoy tobacco seeds, notice how it eats a hole into the seed pod and then eats the seeds out making some very nice little brown droppings. For some reason I am thinking Kupi Luwak.

This is one of the potted plants that thinks its a perennial. All in the name of science.[/SIZE]


[SIZE="4"]Speaking of which, here is how it is doing. Note the small leaves and the early flowering, 2 good reasons why one should start from seed for each growing cycle.
[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]The little make-shift garden near the road is holding it's own, as you can see "Orange Kitty" is on guard duty.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]The garden inside the fence is putting out some pretty good size tomatoes and the tobacco is nearly 6' tall! [/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]BTW, the tallest sunflower is over 12 ' tall, remember when they where just pups? [/SIZE]




[SIZE="4"]Some of you may have heard me mention the weekly Herf I take part in called the Grindstone Club, well a while back I took a mascot plant to the clubhouse.[/SIZE]



[SIZE="4"]Here is a photo showing some of this years early pickings. Because most of the early stuff is usually small bottom leaf and tends to get beat up and torn a bit I attempted to cut it up into a size suitable for cigarettes or for a pipe blend.[/SIZE]



[SIZE="4"]Here is the same tobacco tucked into a nice box and ready to put into the "aging box".[/SIZE]

[tzaddi]

[SIZE="5"]So how are the plants in the terraced garden doing? Here have a look.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]These photos where taken on July 20th. The tallest is nearly 5'.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Today I picked the first priming, nearly 20 leaves, with sizes up to 25" x 12"!![/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]So check me out, .[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Rounding out today's post here are a few bonus photos.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]I found this thistle blooming the other day.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]Look who stopped by, although a bit grainy from taking it from inside the house I was happy to see him. [/SIZE]

[SIZE="4"]That does it for today… man, now that this thread has gone "Gold" I can really feel the pressure. [/SIZE]

– Richard

[gvarsity]

Great post again Richard. Those are some fantastic pictures. The orange moon, yellow sunflower and purple horseshoes (wait thats in me lucky charms) particularly stood out. I really liked the layering effect of the unframed leaf with the worm over the image of it's meal as well. Following the progession of the plants is interesting I learn something every update. Glad to hear that the smoke has abated a bit. Thanks again.

[duhman]

Great pictures, Richard.
I don't see a horn on those hornworms. Could they bee something else?
Looks like the hawk is a Cooper's Hawk. They prey mostly on other birds. We have many hawks here but I have never been lucky enough to et a close pic like that.

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by gvarsity

Great post again Richard. Those are some fantastic pictures. The orange moon, yellow sunflower and purple horseshoes (wait thats in me lucky charms) particularly stood out. I really liked the layering effect of the unframed leaf with the worm over the image of it's meal as well. Following the progession of the plants is interesting I learn something every update. Glad to hear that the smoke has abated a bit. Thanks again.

[SIZE="4"]Bob, thanks for checking in. It is fun watching them grow. And mixing up the layout is part of kicking it up a notch now that we are in the "Hall of Fame" [/SIZE]

Originally Posted by duhman

Great pictures, Richard.
I don't see a horn on those hornworms. Could they bee something else?
Looks like the hawk is a Cooper's Hawk. They prey mostly on other birds. We have many hawks here but I have never been lucky enough to et a close pic like that.

[SIZE="4"]You are correct, those aren't horned worms, I am not really sure what they are. Perhaps I should check in with http://calphotos.berkeley.edu// I'll do that. I went out to check for worms after reading your post and sure enough… Now these are horned critters. They are so tiny and blend in so well with the leaf that the only way to find them is unfortunately after they have eaten a hole. I think I dispatched about 5 of them. If you look real close I think you can see the egg case in the lower photo set that it came out of.[/SIZE]



[SIZE="4"]The hawk could very well be a Cooper Hawk, another good call. He was resting on that branch after making a few passes at some other birds.

We do get some "Broad Shouldered Hawks" around here as well.

Thanks Guys.:[/SIZE])

[MarkinCA]

Originally Posted by tzaddi

[SIZE=4]So check me out, .[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4]That does it for today… man, now that this thread has gone "Gold" I can really feel the pressure. [/SIZE]

– Richard

[SIZE=3]Hello Richard,

You do know that Gillette makes a product called a 'razor' don't you?


[/SIZE]

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by MarkinCA

[SIZE=3]Hello Richard,

You do know that Gillette makes a product called a 'razor' don't you?


[/SIZE]

Sorry, my make-up crew had the day off, it was a last minute shoot.

I refer you to my Saturday herf photo in Chico...




Thanks for stopping by.

PS It is even more stubbly today.

[TripleF]

Love tuning into your world Richard!! Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!!!

[gnukfu]

Thanks for the updates Richard!!! Great stuff!

[dwhitacre]

[SIZE="5"]Richard brought a couple of tobacco plants over to our Herf last Saturday!!![/SIZE]


[SIZE="5"]Later I found out that they were gifts!!!

Thank you Richard!!!

BTW - You'll have to show me how to roll my own cigars!!![/SIZE]

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by dwhitacre

[SIZE="5"]Richard brought a couple of tobacco plants over to our Herf last Saturday!!![/SIZE]

[SIZE="5"]Later I found out that they were gifts!!!

Thank you Richard!!!

BTW - You'll have to show me how to roll my own cigars!!![/SIZE]

You bet they are gifts. . Perhaps when you come by for the CigarGal herf we will have time to roll.

PS And big thank you for the Illusione Holy Lance, it is resting with my other lanceros awaiting it's time.

[Spect]

Originally Posted by tzaddi

[SIZE=4]The hawk could very well be a Cooper Hawk, another good call. He was resting on that branch after making a few passes at some other birds.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4]We do get some "Broad Shouldered Hawks" around here as well.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=4]Thanks Guys.:[/SIZE])

Coopers Hawks will have a white-er belly.

[maputo]

Nice looking plants bro, for future reference you can use some black netting to cover your plants while you are not tending to them. Deer hate the feel of it on their noses so the don't bother your plants that much. After years of growing plants here in Montana you learn to deal with the deer

[maputo]

Wow, just took a look at the rest of your photos. Pretty impressive green thumb you have there. Keep us updated when you roll some of those cigars

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by maputo

Nice looking plants bro, for future reference you can use some black netting to cover your plants while you are not tending to them. Deer hate the feel of it on their noses so the don't bother your plants that much. After years of growing plants here in Montana you learn to deal with the deer

Originally Posted by maputo

Wow, just took a look at the rest of your photos. Pretty impressive green thumb you have there. Keep us updated when you roll some of those cigars

Thanks for the tip, they really haven't bothered the tobacco this time around. They prefer to eat flower buds this year. If I do any rolling I'll be sure and post a few photos. Thanks for stopping in.