Brooksy and his 2014 bumbling of tobacco growing

[Brooksy]

Steep learning curve. My house is too cold to grow out seedlings (62*). Lots of damp off. The weather is warming now outside so my inside temps are rising also and my transplants are finally starting to grow. CT broad leaf is doing the best. Also have FL sumatra, Habano 2000, Indian black,
cuba crillo 98, WI 901, and long red. Looks like maybe 60 plants total to plant out. more to come!

 

[Knucklehead]

Have you looked into seedling propagation mats? They will raise your soil temps. http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/seedling-propagation-mat/s I have two doubles and one single for five flats.

 

[Brooksy]

Have you looked into seedling propagation mats? They will raise your soil temps. http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/seedling-propagation-mat/s I have two doubles and one single for five flats.

Yep they look good. They sell them locally and I just haven't coughed up the 20 bucks a piece. Hoping they will go on sale at the end of the seedling season. I'd only need enough for 4 flats, unless I become the Iowa King of Tobacco!

 

[deluxestogie]

$20.85 is the lowest price I've ever seen, anywhere. I doubt they will go for any less.

Bob

 

[Mad Oshea]

Have you looked into seedling propagation mats? They will raise your soil temps. http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/seedling-propagation-mat/s I have two doubles and one single for five flats.

I looked into that one Knucks, And they kinda got you on it- It requires the T-stat control.You will pay over 50. bucks to get what is needed. When I didn't have a matt, I used an old heating pad that didn't have a timmer on it. I looked around and got it free.

 

[deluxestogie]

Those basic seedling mats do not require a thermostat control. They simply apply 17w of energy (for the single 1020 size). It just warms the tray a bit. They are usually estimated to raise the soil temp 10ºF above ambient, though this is highly dependent on the environment. I've used them for several years (that same brand, in fact) without a thermostat. If you need precise control, for some specific reason, then you would need to purchase a thermostat.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I don't use a thermostat on mine. If you run your lights on a timer, make sure the mats are plugged in separately and are not being turned off and on by the timer. The mats should stay on all the time, especially in a 65F environment. That's the temperature in my basement. The mats really helped.

 

[Brooksy]

Considering planting some seedlings, got about 16 or 18 big enough to go in the ground this weekend. Going to be in the lower 70's and cloudy the next three days with lows in the lower 50's. Next week the forecast is for rain and highs in the mid to lower 60's and lows 40 to 45. Should I plant with this cooler weather coming or wait another week?
Any opinions welcome.

 

[Knucklehead]

Plant them. As long as the frosts are over you're golden.

 

[DonH]

Yeah, cool overcast and light rain is a perfect time to put them out. Better than when it's hot and sunny. They will be established before the hot weather hits. But don't blame us if you get a late May freeze! Unlikely at this point though.

 

[Brooksy]

OK guys thanks! In the ground they go, the big ones anyway.

 

[daniel draeving]

OK guys thanks! In the ground they go, the big ones anyway.

I think you've got the right idea. Just put the bigger ones out for now and hold off a couple weeks with the rest. If you do get a hard frost it won't be a total loss.
After the winter we just had nothing would surprise me.

 

[janetta007]

LOL, I like them name of your grow blog. It's my first grow also and I feel like I am bumbling too. But these guys are so very helpful.

 

[Brown Thumb]

Welcome, you got the right idea. I just put in 250 big ones but could have done more little ones also.
Its not worth the chance, Mother Nature can be a bitch at times.
Good luck on your Grow.
BT

 

[Brooksy]

I ended up putting in only 16 plants yesterday. I'll put some more in next week after the cool rainy spell thats coming. The ones I planted out look good, no wilts.....we'll see if I get the wilts later this afternoon, temps to be in the 80's with 60% chance of T-storms.
I used a sphagnum moss type potting soil in my cells, won't do that again. Some of the cells were still dry 1/2 way down, never soaked up any water. Amazingly,the plants still looked healthy and had good roots in the wet area.
So far, so good!

 

[deluxestogie]

Sounds like you're doing well.

MiracleGro peat works beautifully. It contains a wetting agent. I do mix it with 1/6 Pearlite and 1/6 vermiculite. The MiracleGro also contains sufficient fertilizer to allow the seedlings to reach transplant size without the need for fussing with fertilizer supplements during that 6 to 8 week interval.

In particular, the MiracleGro peat produces demonstrably larger and sturdier seedlings than any coir mix that I tried.

Bob

 

[Mad Oshea]

Sounds like you're doing well.

MiracleGro peat works beautifully. It contains a wetting agent. I do mix it with 1/6 Pearlite and 1/6 vermiculite. The MiracleGro also contains sufficient fertilizer to allow the seedlings to reach transplant size without the need for fussing with fertilizer supplements during that 6 to 8 week interval.

In particular, the MiracleGro peat produces demonstrably larger and sturdier seedlings than any coir mix that I tried.

Bob

I used the MiracleGrow garden soil this time and wished I used the peat. The plants were hard to work with and were not as productive as with the peat. I did sift the soil and add sand to the mix for the top of the trays. Next year it will be the MiacleGro peat with the sand and pearlite. Sounds like Your plants will make You very happy this year brooksy. I have been known for doing some off the wall things to save a buck, and that one was a dud. LOL

 

[Knucklehead]

I used Miracle Gro Seed Starting Mix this year instead of the potting soil. I was much happier with it over the Potting Soil. It is 85-90% Peat with the remainder being Perlite. It is already strained to a very fine consistency and fortified with fertilizer. My 72 cell trays ran out of the fertilizer after a few weeks and I had to supplement fertilizer.

 

[Mad Oshea]

I used Miracle Gro Seed Starting Mix this year instead of the potting soil. I was much happier with it over the Potting Soil. It is 85-90% Peat with the remainder being Perlite. It is already strained to a very fine consistency and fortified with fertilizer. My 72 cell trays ran out of the fertilizer after a few weeks and I had to supplement fertilizer.

Brooksy, Put this in Your book for next year- I did LOL. You will compile the best for Your grow here. I jumped over a buck to save a dime and cost far more. I am going with the float trays next time as well.

 

[Knucklehead]

Brooksy, Put this in Your book for next year- I did LOL. You will compile the best for Your grow here. I jumped over a buck to save a dime and cost far more. I am going with the float trays next time as well.

I used float trays last year. If you have a greenhouse you can't beat them. If you're going to try to use them in the house like I did, you're asking for a godawful mess. 1020 trays are great in the house. For the float trays, I had to build 2'x3' square frames out of 1x6's and line it plastic (for each tray, they take up a lot of space). It takes a lot of water inside the frame. When it comes time to move the trays outside and back inside, you get water everywhere. If you pull a tray out for a haircut, you get water everywhere. When the plants can stay outside, it's time to take all those gallons of water back out of the float tray frames. I did this with a bucket and no matter how careful you are, you get water all over the floor. Then you have to have a place to store those frames for the rest of the year. That's why I went with 1020 trays this year. Just add water about every third day, no mess. You can move the insert and tray anywhere you want without spilling water, and you can fit twice as many trays in the same area.

If I had a greenhouse, I would use float trays for sure. But if I use them in the house again, my wife is liable to leave me with only half a house.