Hobo Jungle

[webenda]

Thank you Roger.

Do you know how to dry tobacco leaves? After I dry mine they pulverize when I try to roll them.

Another plant in the back yard is blooming, the ten foot high purple prickly pear.


Opuntia violacea

The Purple Prickly Pear, Opuntia violacea, has round purple tinged pads and yellow flowers.

[rogruth]

Wayne,
I have no experience with drying tobacco,only smoking it.[I miss those days.]

The method used in Kentucky is different from that used in Georgia.Each state grows a different type of tobacco.

It appears that each state also does not grow as much as they once did.

[webenda]

Thank you Roger. Different methods in different states you say. Hmmm.

My expert (http://hubpages.com/hub/Tobacco-Growing ... ng-at-Home) says, "A lot of unmitigated drivel is put about over the difficulty of curing tobacco." Based on that advice, I hung the leaves in my storage shed, the one with a solar powered vent fan. They ended up dryer than Jon in his xxx desert assignment.

My expert addresses "dry and brittle" with, " If the brittle bit looks a problem, move them to somewhere cooler."

I'll try curing some leaves in the house. My swamp cooler should slow the curing time.

[kerr]

Wayne you could try this on one leaf. When its picked and after its had a week or two of drying dip it in a fairly strong sugar solution. Sugar is hygroscopic and that should still allow the leaf to dry out enough to smoke but retain a smidgin of moisture enough to prevent it from becoming brittle.

I am a smoker and when I first came to the US I had a hard time adapting to American cigarettes which seemed harsh and 'dry' compared to British ones. What gives, they both use Virginia tobacco? Apparently English tobacco was sugar cured, so I thought, maybe that's the answer.

Never tried growing tobacco but I probably will have to soon. Will have to figure out what the secret is to Captain Blacks flavour, its getting too expensive these days.

Just found this at the bottom of this short article on Cavendish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavendish_tobacco

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Never tried growing tobacco but I probably will have to soon.

Well, if you manage to move over my way in PA, I might be able to spare you an acre,

[kerr]

Never tried growing tobacco but I probably will have to soon.

Well, if you manage to move over my way in PA, I might be able to spare you an acre,

Do you need a caretaker? I could quite happily sit in a caravan in the middle of some rolling meadows contemplating the infinite and taking pot shots at pests! Sounds like just the therapy I need (see my latest entry elsewhere)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Never tried growing tobacco but I probably will have to soon.

Well, if you manage to move over my way in PA, I might be able to spare you an acre,

Do you need a caretaker? I could quite happily sit in a caravan in the middle of some rolling meadows contemplating the infinite and taking pot shots at pests! Sounds like just the therapy I need (see my latest entry elsewhere)

We may have to discuss this at length......

I suggest that we meet in Malta and limit our entourage to the absolute minimum,

[kerr]

i hope I'm not being cast as Josef Stalin...oh, no, that was Yalta!

[webenda]

Thank you for the Sugar Cure idea Mike.

Speaking of cost of tobacco, Tree Tobacco is even higher than Virginia Tobacco:

Captain Black Gold: $3.33 / ounce

Nicotiana glauca: $8 / ounce

Reference: http://www.seekershop.com/nicotiana_glauca.html

[darsenau]

This cactus flowered in just one day, and then it was gone


LATER



Finally



The next day they fell off. They were beautiful while they lasted.

[webenda]

Beautiful Don. Our Hobo Jungle is blessed with blooms once in a while. The delicate fragile flowers are quite a contrast to the prickly plant producing them. Three big blooms at one time were a big effort for a little cactus. Thank you for sharing.

[rogruth]

I have been to Arizona three times.Really liked it,especially the desert.

Unfortunately my visits were always in July [due to my job] and I never have seen the flowering desert.

[darsenau]

We just moved out here last August, so this is our first look at spring in the desert, everyday it looks a little different.
Below is a picture of a one day flowering cactus taken in October last year. The wife bought it on day at Lowes, and the next day it had a beautiful flower that fell off the following day.

[The Dirt]

Hobo birthday today, but hard to tell if she'll get the message. She and her BFF have been off on an extended walkabout, and knowing those two, they could be haunting the trainyards of any state in the Union. She's severely missed in the Jungle.

Doesn't mean she isn't 'near and dear' to all of us!
If you happen to see this, Happy Birthday, Daisy!

[Daisy]

Thanks for thinking of me dear sweet hobo friend, how lovely, you're a truly sweet and rare fellow!

And so nice also to see all these desert flowers in the jungle.