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Professor Pangloss' 2016 Saga of Folly

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BigBonner

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Re: Professor Pangloss' 2016 Saga of Folly
What's the latest you ever set in the field? Also, now that you have the float system, would you go back?

The latest I have planted tobacco is June 25 .
I would start planting around May 10th . Me , my son and my wife would set out all our crop . This is not a start date for other states just here in my part of KY

Float plants are a lot easier to grow . I would stay with float plants .
When transplanting float plants they seem to take of better than pulled plants ( Bed plants )

But with bed plants you would pull the biggest plants , leaving smaller ones . You could go over the beds pulling plants several times . Pull one pulling and wait a few days and pull plants again . This was good if you had a acre or more that did not live / or have a good stand .
With float plants you only have one shot . Once they are planted there is no going back to pull more .

Bed plants would wilt down more and would do so for three days before standing up all day long . Early morning they would look fresh and stick up and when the sun came out and heated up they would wilt back down .

Missing plants / If we had plants that died or was just missed when we transplanted . We would wait until we had a good rain soaking . We would pull some bundles of plants and place some in a bucket and walk through the muddy field replacing the missing plants .

Bob

About the freezing cold , we would put straw or extra cottons on the beds to help keep the plants from freezing . They can take a lot of cold weather , more that you would think

We hauled water from the creeks and watered them with a water pump one time a day . I would water when the sun was about to go down .
 

ProfessorPangloss

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How do yall know when to apply a haircut? The transplants in 1020 trays are killing it right now but I want to hold them to let some others catch up. I need to get 60 tomatoes in the ground and execute a substantial excavating job before tobacco can go in.
 

DGBAMA

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I find the best time for haircut is late evening or early morning, when they have assumed a good "prayer position" leaves upright.
 

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How do yall know when to apply a haircut? The transplants in 1020 trays are killing it right now but I want to hold them to let some others catch up.

The smaller ones will catch up faster if you give a haircut to the bigger ones that are shading and crowding the smaller ones. I clip 1/2 to 2/3 of each leaf except the growth bud. At transplant I remove the bottom two or three leaves completely right up next to the stalk and bury the plant up to the first leaf still on the plant. Burying deeper helps to keep the plant upright until the roots have taken hold.
 

ProfessorPangloss

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Here's a pic of my second float tray. This particular shot is of the KY15 burley. I know they need to be thinned - I have been crazy swamped at work and have had no time to fuss with plants - but why are they turning white? I included my super white index finger for color comparison. Could be the Bonnie mix soil. The pro mix was way better, as you can see from previous photos.20160519_163944.jpg
 

Brown Thumb

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I have the same problem every year. Never causes a problem tho.
just a tray or two. Turn kinda yeller. It might just be something or other:confused:
 

Knucklehead

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Here's a pic of my second float tray. This particular shot is of the KY15 burley. I know they need to be thinned - I have been crazy swamped at work and have had no time to fuss with plants - but why are they turning white? I included my super white index finger for color comparison. Could be the Bonnie mix soil. The pro mix was way better, as you can see from previous photos.

Use one tablespoon of Epsom salts per gallon of water. The magnesium will help with the uptake of nutrients. Your fortified soil just ran out of fertilizer. It's time to begin supplemental feeding if you haven't already. If you have, it's the magnesium deficiency and a dose of Epsom salts will green them right up.
 

BigBonner

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Here's a pic of my second float tray. This particular shot is of the KY15 burley. I know they need to be thinned - I have been crazy swamped at work and have had no time to fuss with plants - but why are they turning white? I included my super white index finger for color comparison. Could be the Bonnie mix soil. The pro mix was way better, as you can see from previous photos.View attachment 18009


I will bet that you those are used float trays . Disease hides in them and if not sanitized properly the disease will stay with in the tray .
That looks like Root rot to me . The roots should hang out the bottom of the trays if not then it is root rot , I am betting that it is a possibility . Dampening off ??

Show us your roots if they are not sticking out and what does shows are brown on the ends the root rot it is . I hope I am wrong . Root rot will not let the plants take up fertilizers and sit or dampen off and die
 

ProfessorPangloss

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I will bet that you those are used float trays . Disease hides in them and if not sanitized properly the disease will stay with in the tray .
That looks like Root rot to me . The roots should hang out the bottom of the trays if not then it is root rot , I am betting that it is a possibility . Dampening off ??

Show us your roots if they are not sticking out and what does shows are brown on the ends the root rot it is . I hope I am wrong . Root rot will not let the plants take up fertilizers and sit or dampen off and die

You're right that they are used float trays. I didn't bleach them myself. The roots do hang a few inches out the bottom and they are long and otherwise healthy - as far as I can tell.

Side note: have you seen those floats that are made of the tough black plastic? They look like a great replacement for the white trays. They're supposed to be good for decades instead of just a couple seasons and since they're not as porous as the polystyrene they are easier to clean between uses. Look at these roots. I wonder if the guy sells in small quantities. I might shift to a 200 cell for next year like you do if they're available and not too expensive.
 

BigBonner

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I have not used the new style float trays you have mentioned . I am just wondering if the color being black may pose a problem . Black pulls the Heat ???
The problem with regular float trays is they are porous . They will hold a lot of water and it takes them a while to dry out .

Does your roots look white like this ? If so the make sure fertilizer is there . I have seen outside float beds do that , the rain washes fertilizer out . Fertilizer also will drop low in water unless mixed up good .
exd2KdE.jpg
 

BigBonner

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I just now watched the video of the black trays . It may just be a sales tactic to sell the black trays . I would think that a solid non porous tray would be easier to keep sanitized .
But I wonder why the beds behind them when loading the black tray into water are white Styrofoam trays ???? I question this .
 

ProfessorPangloss

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Those black ones are nonporous, I'm pretty sure. That's why they're easier to clean. It looks like a huge Virginia type operation. Maybe it was cost prohibitive to switch all at once. There was a comparison between plants made in white trays and black ones, but I'd like to see more of that. They advertise that samples are available. You should get some since you're a real farmer and see how they go.

Now regarding my mess, I didn't add any fertilizer to the water, and I know that Bonnie mix is not that great because my tomatoes also look washed out. Guess it's time for the fertilizer and Epsom salts. I went down this afternoon and looked for brown roots. Didn't see any
 

Chicken

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I got a lot of float.trays I'll sell.

I got some black ones not sure how many.

I made a thread with them pictured..it cost $40 to ship 3 of them.but Dr.Bob said it was cheaper to ship 2 at a time.

Mine ain't hardlly been used they are white not tarnished.
 

ProfessorPangloss

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Long time no update. I've been busy as usual - the produce business and going on trips and so forth. It's been a ballbuster, but I've finally gotten some real work done on the vacant lot where I grew last year. I've put out 90 plants so far (lost a few while I was gone, but my neighbor watered for me so it was ok).

So far I have Catterton, Perique, Virginia Bright Leaf, Pennsylvania Red, and Semois (pictured singly up close). I'm going to add some KY15 that I didn't get to earlier (pictured in flats).

View attachment 1820320160625_061439.jpg
 
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