Well I just finished about 30 hours of weeding since we finally are getting some dry weather so time for some pics. The plants are starting to take off. I had some issues with about 1/4 of the patch where the plants weren't doing well at all. I had put in some aluminum sulfate to lower pH before planting and that 1/4 ended up way too low (around 5) after we got rains. So I put down some wood ash and lime around just those that weren't doing well and they perked up a bit. Then I've been testing the pH and the ones that were doing really well and were around 6.5 or a little below are now closer to 7. But they still look good. Also the ones that weren't doing well are also closer to 7. Go figure. I guess that's why they advise modifying pH in the spring. Part of the issue I think is drainage. The ones that aren't doing so well are in the soggier, poorer draining areas. The plot is not completely flat, so there are some issues there. But with all the rain and the polar vortex, the soil hasn't had a chance to dry out. I will say the polar vortex is much more pleasant in the summer than it is in the winter! But I've changed my view of super hot weather since I started growing tobacco. This should be the hottest time of the year.
The Turkish varieties have shot up in height, even with the close spacing. I should have started way more Turkish. With close spacing you could plant a hundred in a small area. My Izmir Ozbas look beautiful. A nice dark green. The rest of the Turkish are light green. The Djebel have large leaves. They will be pretty crowded when they get bigger. The others are Basma and Alma Ata.
For the non-Turkish varieties, the African Red are the biggest. No surprise there. Their leaves are small, though, and I'm getting the same issue with them that I did last year, some spotting on some of the leaves and some leaves getting so thin at points they develop holes.
The best thing about growing in this new garden is I've had virtually NO PESTS! A few Japanese beetles, a few holes in leaves, but no hornworms, no slugs, no cutworms, no aphids so far. (knocks on wood) I'm sure it will be different next year, but I'm enjoying this now.
Anyway, here are the pics.
