Lefty second try

[ArizonaDave]

I'm told, this lens will work great for phone close-ups: https://www.sciplus.com/p/PHONE-PHOTO-LENS-MICROSCOPE_56504

You'll be able to tell if it's George, Paul, John or Ringo....maybe the 5th Beatle if you can find 'em

 

[Leftynick]

I'm told, this lens will work great for phone close-ups: https://www.sciplus.com/p/PHONE-PHOTO-LENS-MICROSCOPE_56504

You'll be able to tell if it's George, Paul, John or Ringo....maybe the 5th Beatle if you can find 'em

I have replied to you pm before realizing that you posted here.. Thank you for your suggestion.

Sad moment when I wake this morning


my cigar varieties seedling all dried out! Last night I checked before going to sleep, it all still standing strong. I tried to rescue them by watering them, and tried to seperate the leave from the soil to prevent dampening. Chances are I will have to reseed these, as I have no backup plant. All the other varieties I do keep backup but not the cigar varieties. If I get 1-2 plant recover should be enough.. Or just plant them a little late by starting new seed.

Here are my back up plant.



they are bigger than the one I transfered to egg carton.


hopefully I dont have to reseed.

 

[Tutu]

So which varieties are the ones that you still got going?

 

[Leftynick]

After one day, some of the dried plant recovered. 1 besuki plant, few corojo and havana 608.. Other seedlings are fine.

I came up with some idea too prevent the seedlings to dry off.


I put plastic egg carton cover as drip tray. I made hole around the tray to ensure it wont held more than quarter of the height with water. Then i put the seedling in a place where it will receive 8 hour of sun. Will this work?

 

[deluxestogie]

I would suggest a hole in the bottom of each cell, and watering them only from below. The seedlings will need the full depth of the egg carton cells for root expansion, and will not survive in constant water. The soil should be able to wick up water from the bottom.

Also, some partial shade (like thin muslin) may help them from being scorched by hours of direct sunlight, at least until they are larger.

Bob

 

[Leftynick]

I would suggest a hole in the bottom of each cell, and watering them only from below. The seedlings will need the full depth of the egg carton cells for root expansion, and will not survive in constant water. The soil should be able to wick up water from the bottom.

Also, some partial shade (like thin muslin) may help them from being scorched by hours of direct sunlight, at least until they are larger.

Bob

I did have hole beneath each cell. However, before this I water them by spraying water from above. Maybe that is why they sometime suddenly dried up. Because of inconsistency by watering from above.

I am monitoring their progress every half an hour now to ensure no sun scorch. As for tomorrow, because I have to work, I will return them to place where they only get 5 hour of sun.

 

[Chicken]

that soil you dug up looks really rich..... here in florida all we have is sand.... i got to fortify my soil.. which ive done steady for 5 + years.... my soil is getting real good. this year was my first year doing a cover crop for the winter. hopefully when it gets tilled in and decays. it will add to what ive allready done,

 

[Leftynick]

that soil you dug up looks really rich..... here in florida all we have is sand.... i got to fortify my soil.. which ive done steady for 5 + years.... my soil is getting real good. this year was my first year doing a cover crop for the winter. hopefully when it gets tilled in and decays. it will add to what ive allready done,

It only good on the surface. 1 feet below there are nothing but rubbles. I had to dig out bricks just to get 1 feet deep. Hopefully cement, sand and bricks doesn't affect much on the plant.

 

[deluxestogie]

Cement rubble may leach lime into the surrounding soil over time, raising the pH (making it more alkaline). If the pH gets much above 6.7, then tobacco may have trouble absorbing some of the available nutrients. To know, you would need to test the soil pH, or send a sample to a lab for analysis. (Purchasing an inexpensive soil pH meter may be the least expensive way to do this.)

I would suggest doing nothing this season, and seeing how the plants grow. If you see "frenching," then you should look into buying a soil pH meter.

http://www.ipmimages.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=6964&area=62

Frenching

Bob

 

[Leftynick]

It's either I am not good enough or I just dont have talent for growing things.

My current plant on my backyard are showing signs of TMV. I am being very carefull with this grow by washing all my hand and equipment with antibacterial soap whenever I have to touch my plant.




And this happen while I found something good, like these paper pot to place my seedlings.




Hopefully, other strain I am growing will be much more resistant against TMV. I know TN90 is resistant, but I have no flue cure variety that resistant to TMV. Maybe I should just quit.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Hey lefty, don't get down on yourself. Everybody's back yard, climate, and soil offers unique struggles. I had pseudomonas or something like it on some plants last year. Oh well, I still came out with more tobacco than I started with.

 

[Hasse SWE]

I don't think you shall quit. But remember that even if a variant is resistant it doesn't mean it can have it.You ain't seem like a man how gives up, so I hope you keep one trying

 

[Leftynick]

Thank you China Voodoo and Hasse. It just I am feeling quite down lately. However, whenever I smoke my last crop, give me some hope that I can do better. And my seedlings are showing healthy growth so I think I better carry on.

I have cleared the plant that I suspect infected by TMV. I will plant all other seedlings on different bed but it is too close with current one so hopefully it wouldn't infected too.

Few notes for the paper pots.

- it seems like a good idea for me because I have many recycle paper from my day work.
- I use it because Deluxestoogies say that my seedlings in egg carton will need full depth for root, so I think bigger pot will give advantage for root growth.
-If I were to do it all over again I will double the paper, as it will easily tear after watering and my kittens love to play around the pot and destroy it.
-it's cheaper than seedling flat but takes a little work so I dont think for bigger grow than mine will be beneficial. It also can only be use one time, so seedling flats might be a better investment.
- I dont know the full strength of the pot whether it will survive until transplant, or I will have a mess of soil. I do keep as many as possible seedlings on original sowing container as back up. Maybe if you start indoor, in much controlled environment the paper pots will be much better than mine.
-water the pot after you put it in final location. I water the pot before moving it and as you can see, it cannot handle being moved.
- not everything you watch on internet is good idea. For me, although it is cheaper, but it just too much work and too fragile. YMMV

 

[Leftynick]

I am way behind my update. Seems like everyone else also starting their seed. As usual, some pic first.



these are my seedlings. I am fighting to keep my kittens from destroying my seedlings, well last night they did it. Half of my seedlings' paper pot were destroyed. I am able to replace the pot, put chicken wire around my seedlings this time with top closed to ensure they will not enter the area again. One problem is, the cigar seedling were mixed up. Maybe 2 or 3 pot has different seedlings than original. Some of the other seedling were toppled, I am able to rescue them. Supposedly do the first haircut this week, however, I think I should let the seedling to rest from the mass destruction from my kitten for a week before giving them haircut, as some of the toppled plant were uprooted. Hopefully it will be better next week.

It is a nice weather to plant here in Malaysia. 1 day of rain and 1 day of sun for almost 2 weeks now. My little dutch plant were growing some very nice leaves and the early big gem plant has grow some big leaves. Forgot to take picture of them. Will try to add some picture this afternoon if I had the time.

Oh yeah, I added another bed for my tobacco. Seeing that I have too many extra backup seedlings, I decided to add another bed for them.. I think around 40 plants. I doubled cigar varieties and add whetever left of my seedlings, mostly velvet harrow and gold dollar. Excited to see whether I can handle this many leaves at once.

 

[deluxestogie]

There is no need to clip the seedlings (give them a haircut) until their leaves are large enough to begin to shade one another.

Bob

 

[Charly]

They are growing very well !
The kitten have not mercy .....

 

[Leftynick]

There is no need to clip the seedlings (give them a haircut) until their leaves are large enough to begin to shade one another.

Bob

Noted Bob. I thought clipping the seedling encourage more root growth. Look like I will leave them be.

 

[Leftynick]

My early transplant
Little dutch. 1 plant is growing nicely, while the other are not so.

On the side is Samsun

The bigger one has begin budding.

My early big gem plant.


My current seedling. Another week or two in seedling pot.

The smaller seedling on the back is due to reseed, because of attack from my kitten. I think I will transplant that one on other bed, a little late.

 

[deluxestogie]

Noted Bob. I thought clipping the seedling encourage more root growth. Look like I will leave them be.

Leaf clipping, by triggering a "damage" response, does encourage root growth. I would suggest waiting for the leaves to grow larger, so that they recover more easily from the loss of leaf surface (loss of photosynthesis) that is the result of clipping.

There is a point at which the leaves suddenly begin to multiply in number and grow dramatically in size. Clipping at this point prevents them from shading their neighbors, while also causing the roots and stem to thicken.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

It only good on the surface. 1 feet below there are nothing but rubbles. I had to dig out bricks just to get 1 feet deep. Hopefully cement, sand and bricks doesn't affect much on the plant.

And to think you did all that with just a hoe. Big props to you friend. Digging something like that with a shovel is hard enough but a hoe...wow. Looks great.

It's either I am not good enough or I just dont have talent for growing things.

My current plant on my backyard are showing signs of TMV. I am being very carefull with this grow by washing all my hand and equipment with antibacterial soap whenever I have to touch my plant.

View attachment 20033
View attachment 20034

And this happen while I found something good, like these paper pot to place my seedlings.

View attachment 20035
View attachment 20036

Hopefully, other strain I am growing will be much more resistant against TMV. I know TN90 is resistant, but I have no flue cure variety that resistant to TMV. Maybe I should just quit.

Lefty, don't ever quit. Its been my experience in gardening that things don't always go as planned. Many of the folks here have worked through issues and are willing to help folks like you and I. What's that old saying?.....The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.... Never quit my friend.