suckering may have saved my crop

[ringanator]

Well hay guy this year started off pretty bad this year. I had over 300 plants that I decided to put out early this year well about a week ago we got a killer frost killed every thing I went out to the garden I got a plesent suprise. ...a new set of leaves growing out of every plants dead stalk....I am pretty sure the won't get as big....but hey anything better then nothing so what can I expect with this?

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Reduced yield. But if that's your only option a 100% increase in yield

We have had members here with long seasons grow a crop, chop the stalk and grow out the sucker crop, if memory serves I think they said the crop was 1/2 to 3/4 of the first.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

That's good news. What's the right thing to do with the old stalk? I would wait a while longer to see if more leaves form higher up. Two of my tomato plants died in the wind. I picked all the leaves off and left the branches. Now I have random leaves forming everywhere.

 

[deluxestogie]

Especially for stalks that are damaged this early in the season, restrict each plant to a single, robust sucker, and you will likely get close to normal production and quality.

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

Their amazing plants. I got one to hook back together after it got eaten in half by a cutworm.
Good Luck, sucks to hear about the frost tho. I Would be bummed out.

 

[ringanator]

I was pretty bum out for about a week I actually went to pull them when I noticed them even the smallest plants have a new set of leaves starting just under soil level......they are amazing but I guess millions of years of evolution they have to learn to survive....

 

[ringanator]

So here a question then at the end of the season what to stop a guy frome digging up the root of there nicest plant and taking clones from suckers for next season grow may be something I will try also these next generation clones if slowed to go to seed may be more frost tolerant then there parents....just a thought

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

So here a question then at the end of the season what to stop a guy frome digging up the root of there nicest plant and taking clones from suckers for next season grow may be something I will try also these next generation clones if slowed to go to seed may be more frost tolerant then there parents....just a thought

I don't think there's anything stopping you. I hope Bob clarifies, but he's been growing a specific plant over and over for years now.

 

[deluxestogie]

Nicotiana tabacum is a perennial in the tropics and sub-tropics. If they are not exposed to a hard freeze that kills the roots, they will come up year after year from the roots. Even here in southwest Virginia, I had some roots sprout the following spring, after an unusually mild winter.

Consider 3 year old chicken or 6 year old beef. With meat animals, we slaughter them at a relatively young age, because the quality of the meat is more likely to be what we hope for. Meat from older animals is perfectly nutritious and healthy, but it is not as tender, and would cost much more per pound (multi-years of feeding and care vs. 1 year of feeding and care).

The plants that I maintained for several years were kept in tiny pots. I can't speak for the quality of what you would get from multi-year matured plants.

Another issue is pests. Once the plants have spent a season in the field, they are all likely to have some degree of pest burden that would probably persist into later years. And if you just leave them in the ground (in a suitable climate), crop rotation becomes problematic.

Finally, it would seem to be far less work to grow fresh plants each year, than to fuss with the huge root ball and supplemental soil that would be needed for potting mature plants.

With a second crop of suckers, you might get something worthwhile and you might not, but it entails little additional work beyond pest management and harvesting. The same return on effort expended is not the case with potting each mature plant to bring indoors over the winter.

We all learn from new experiments. Give it a try on, say 1/2 dozen plants, and let us know how it works out.

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

Now Im Hungry for a nice Porterhouse Steak.

 

[Gavroche]

A mulching or a veil of protection could be effective? ... I believe that the tobacco supports until less 3 ° C

Un paillage ou un voile de protection pourrait être efficace ?... je crois que le tabac supporte jusqu'à moins 3 ° C

 

[Smokin Harley]

I would say to cut the stalks off about an inch above the new sucker growth. Plants grow terminally (tip growth) so hoping for a flush of leaves to pop up the stalk is a long shot,although maybe not impossible. My Va Gold had excellent sucker growth , nearly doubled my crop . Leaves were 80% the size of the main stalk but given the fact the leaves are usually nearly 24 inches long and 12 wide ,80% of that is still not too bad.

 

[ringanator]

I am going to let these new leaves grow out I had some left over plants that I didn't go in when the other one got hit by frost to compare side by side (glad I had spare plants lol) it will be in testing to see side by side if the frost suckers got stunted or not will post pictures though the grow but as I see it anything better then nothing

 

[wrapper]

We have a long growing season in the W Cape, and no frost; ever. After priming mature plants I cut some of the stalks down to about 6" high, selecting one new sucker shoot, and get a second crop of around 12 to 14 leaves per plant.

 

[ringanator]

The first picture is some of the plants that grew from suckers after the frost killed off the main steam.
The last picture is some seed I literally threw on the soil in the garden in June just to see what would happen never suckered only topped the flower head to prevent cross breeding

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Nicotiana tabacum is a perennial in the tropics and sub-tropics. If they are not exposed to a hard freeze that kills the roots, they will come up year after year from the roots. Even here in southwest Virginia, I had some roots sprout the following spring, after an unusually mild winter.

Consider 3 year old chicken or 6 year old beef. With meat animals, we slaughter them at a relatively young age, because the quality of the meat is more likely to be what we hope for. Meat from older animals is perfectly nutritious and healthy, but it is not as tender, and would cost much more per pound (multi-years of feeding and care vs. 1 year of feeding and care).

The plants that I maintained for several years were kept in tiny pots. I can't speak for the quality of what you would get from multi-year matured plants.

Another issue is pests. Once the plants have spent a season in the field, they are all likely to have some degree of pest burden that would probably persist into later years. And if you just leave them in the ground (in a suitable climate), crop rotation becomes problematic.

Finally, it would seem to be far less work to grow fresh plants each year, than to fuss with the huge root ball and supplemental soil that would be needed for potting mature plants.

With a second crop of suckers, you might get something worthwhile and you might not, but it entails little additional work beyond pest management and harvesting. The same return on effort expended is not the case with potting each mature plant to bring indoors over the winter.

We all learn from new experiments. Give it a try on, say 1/2 dozen plants, and let us know how it works out.

Bob

There is one particular plant I am finishing out this year that I want to save seed from. This really got me thinking!

It's too late to get seed from it now, but after harvest I'm going to chop the stalk and dig the root ball, and then overwinter it in a 5 gallon bucket. Thanks for the great idea!

 

[Tutu]

In Brazil I've seen many farmers grow from the lowest sucker after stalk harvesting 5/6 of the plant, and repeat that between two and five times per plant. So you may find plants that have five stalks being grown and cut and a sixth stalk coming as a sucker from the cut fifth stalk. Truly amazing plants indeed