Jimbo's Auckland NZ 2014 grow Blog

[Jimbo]

Started these Virginia Gold 5 days ago in Black Magic Seed raising mix, peat pots and a Propagator from The Warehouse.
I sat the Propagator on one of my homebrew heater pads which i turned on for a hour or so each day. Seeds started sprouting after 3days.

 

[Frozenthunderbolt]

Looking good!
You going to thin the plants back to one per peat pot once they get a bit bigger?

 

[COLIN]

I think you may be starting your seeds a bit early. I would look at starting seed at the end of august that allows you eight weeks to grow your plants up to asuitable size to plant out beginning of November when the ground temperture gets up to 13 plus degrees. Planting out when your ground temp is below 10 degrees will force your plants to flower early and increase sucking. I would spend the extra time sourcing out more flu cure varieties for mixing in your blends.

 

[Knucklehead]

Webby and Jekylnz were growing out several varieties of seed I send over there last year. The deal was that they grow out seed and distribute them to our NZ members. Give them a PM (or email since they haven't been on here in awhile) and see what they were able to come up with. I think they spread them around to other guys for grow outs too but I don't know who all ended up with some. I'll be sending another package over there this year. Hopefully you guys will have a ton of choices in a couple of years. All on the islands.

This is what I sent last year for grow outs this past season:
Golden Burley
Green Brior Burley
KY 908 Burley
TN 90 Burley
Improved Narrow Leaf Maryland
Welks Pride Maryland
Little Sweet Orinoko Dark Air
Shirey Dark Air
Chilean Oriental
Tasova Oriental
401 Cherry Red flue cure
Virginia Bright Leaf flue cure
GL 737 flue cure
Oxford 940 flue cure

They're around there some where.

 

[Frozenthunderbolt]

Webby and Jekylnz were growing out several varieties of seed I send over there last year. The deal was that they grow out seed and distribute them to our NZ members. Give them a PM (or email since they haven't been on here in awhile) and see what they were able to come up with. I think they spread them around to other guys for grow outs too but I don't know who all ended up with some. I'll be sending another package over there this year. Hopefully you guys will have a ton of choices in a couple of years. All on the islands.

This is what I sent last year for grow outs this past season:
Golden Burley
Green Brior Burley
KY 908 Burley
TN 90 Burley
Improved Narrow Leaf Maryland
Welks Pride Maryland
Little Sweet Orinoko Dark Air
Shirey Dark Air
Chilean Oriental
Tasova Oriental
401 Cherry Red flue cure
Virginia Bright Leaf flue cure
GL 737 flue cure
Oxford 940 flue cure

They're around there some where.

I know Todd (Jekylnz) got a bunch of those, I also know he had a few troubles that may have impacted how much seed he could save and pass on though - I flicked him an email yesterday to get an update on his end result and how he's doing.

I'm building a seed bank to be able to send out to nz members - I'll make a post for stickying in an appropriate section sometime later on - think i'm at about 15?16? named varieties with clean bagged seed saved, and a metric shit-tonne of 'misc' seed if anyone just wants to bulk grow and take pot luck!

 

[Jimbo]

Colin and Frozenthunderbolt have very generously offered me a selection of seeds.
My planned crop is

Turkish Ismar
Keller
Yellow twist bud
Glessnor
PA Red
Kelly Burley
Monte Calm Yellow
Shaman Rustica
Little Dutch
Gold Virginia

Anything else i should be growing? I want pipe tobacco mainly

 

[Knucklehead]

istanbulin, our member from Turkey, is liable to get excited about your spelling. The correct spelling is Izmir, for a city in Turkey. Your variety is more than likely Izmir-Ozbas, since Skychaser has just made Izmir-Lebanese available to the public. It's very important to keep the variety names correct and complete. Monte Calme Yellow is another example. There has also recently been a rash of abbreviations that very few members know what variety is being represented. It presents an especial problem for the new guys. No offense, I'm not trying to be a prick.

You have a nice selection of varieties. Best of luck with your season.

 

[Jimbo]

Thinned out the gold Virginia seedlings in the peat pots and moved the extras into 10cm plastic pots.
I put the seedlings pots outside in a mini greenhouse from the Warehouse with a healthy dose of snail bait around each plant.
Started another 20 seedlings in jiffy pots this time and put them in the Propagator.
I have been digging up the garden for soil preparation. Its a heavy clay soil but i have manured it for a few years and although it lay uncultivated last season its not been to hard to dig.

 

[Jimbo]

thinned out seedlings one of the gardens this one gets the morning sun and is a excellent tomato growing spot.

 

[DGBAMA]

I will have to try that starting seedlings upside down.

The yellow ones could be too much water, or not enough light.

You have a nice selection. I will enjoy watching your grow, while we are in winter over here.

 

[Jimbo]

hi DGBama, its not the leaves, the yellow is rabbit-safe snail bait as my flemish giant rabbits freerange and break into the vege gardens if the rabbit proof fence sags.

I still only have the Gold Virginia seeds as the others are being sent via post and the NZ postal service is pretty slack When it comes to delivery times and the Koanga Seed Bank hasnt replied to my emails enquiring about the Hauraki Gold Seeds.

 

[DGBAMA]

I see it is pellets now. I was looking on a small screen.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I will have to try that starting seedlings upside down.

.

I thought those Kiwi's were upside down compared to where we are but never really knew it was true till I saw that pic!

 

[Jimbo]

My Hauraki Gold seeds from Koanga Seedbanks have arrived website description is below

"Large furry leaves, with beautiful bell like pink flowers, for months on end. Found in an old chest of drawers in the house that belonged to an elderly man who had grown this tobacco commercially in the Riverhead area. Sent to us by Murray Joyce"

 

[Knucklehead]

Nice looking plants. They need to be topped.

 

[Jimbo]

Added more well rotted horse manure to the garden beds. Planted some of the Hauraki Gold Seeds into jiffy pots.
NZ POST still being useless and no other seeds arrived yet so the grow is now looking like its just going to be

Hauraki Gold
Gold Virginia

Ordered a well reviewed cigar sampler (alex bradley) to try and educate my tastebuds.

Also started these vegetable garden seeds too

Kamokamo (a moari squash/pumpkin)
Bloody Butcher corn
Isle of Capri tomatoes
Artichoke
Chillies

Also collected some Wharatas to build more rabbit proof fencing for the new gardens.

Considering buying some tobbaco seed varietys off the traders on trademe or if anyone wants to swap i still have two unopened packets of Hauraki Gold Seeds (The packets say 200 seeds but there was more like 500 seeds in the packet i opened)

 

[DGBAMA]

I have a bunch of ytb and Izmir seed from last year's grow. Pm me an address and I will take a shot at heaving some across the pond to you.

 

[Knucklehead]

Skychaser also ships to NZ: Northwood Seeds Retail

 

[Frozenthunderbolt]

Added more well rotted horse manure to the garden beds. Planted some of the Hauraki Gold Seeds into jiffy pots.
NZ POST still being useless and no other seeds arrived yet so the grow is now looking like its just going to be

Hauraki Gold
Gold Virginia

Has it still not arrived! Bloody useless!
I'll give it another bash this week - maybe you'll get a different postie sorting your mail; I've got mail for all sorts of people recently, some with an address nothing like mine . . .

 

[Jimbo]

Planted out first of the Gold Virginia seedlings outside today. Did a mixed planting with corn and Kamokamo and a few tomatoes between the rows.
Have confined rabbits and chook to cages to give seedlings a chance.