Greenmonster714's Grow Log 2017

[Tutu]

If you wouldn't know the history of the plot you'd say it looks splendid! So do your seedlings!

So just a little more input on the previous subject from another corner of the globe. Over here there's hundreds of small channels and sluices that flow through little villages. This irrigation channel system was set up by the Dutch. When you drive past, you'll see one person taking a dump, and 10 meters downstream they're washing their clothes and brushing their teeth. It's disgusting. But! Most tobacco farmers that I work with make wells, from which they use water to water their lands. So in practice they wash their clothes in other's waste, but they're too afraid of "bad bacteria" (how most of them describe it) to use it on their land, tobacco in this case.

 

[Charly]

Yes ! you have a lot of space to grow your tobacco ! I am jealous
And your seedlings are growing well, it will be a good year.

 

[greenmonster714]

If you wouldn't know the history of the plot you'd say it looks splendid! So do your seedlings!

So just a little more input on the previous subject from another corner of the globe. Over here there's hundreds of small channels and sluices that flow through little villages. This irrigation channel system was set up by the Dutch. When you drive past, you'll see one person taking a dump, and 10 meters downstream they're washing their clothes and brushing their teeth. It's disgusting. But! Most tobacco farmers that I work with make wells, from which they use water to water their lands. So in practice they wash their clothes in other's waste, but they're too afraid of "bad bacteria" (how most of them describe it) to use it on their land, tobacco in this case.

I know what you mean. Hard to believe folks can survive in unsanitary conditions like that but somehow they do.

Yes ! you have a lot of space to grow your tobacco ! I am jealous
And your seedlings are growing well, it will be a good year.

Yeah man, I've probably prepped more ground than I'll need. Now I can start planning what goes where. But first I've got to find out exactly how many plants I'll be working with. I also need to start planning where to hang all the leaf..lol.

 

[Gavroche]

. I also need to start planning where to hang all the leaf..lol.

Problem first !

 

[rainmax]

View attachment 20408View attachment 20409

I believe that this is beautiful place for tobacco.
It looks well drained sandy soil. Bravo, expect monster plants this year.

 

[greenmonster714]

Problem first !

Yes, it is a problem. I do have access to the horse barn though. That would be my last resort. I think it is to open. The two ends have no doors that I could control the air flow. I plan on building a small shed and my neighbor has a small shed he said I could use if I need to.

I believe that this is beautiful place for tobacco.
It looks well drained sandy soil. Bravo, expect monster plants this year.

Last time you made a remark on my thread you said tomorrow you will see some green in those tins. Well, the next day I did. Now your saying I'll have monsters...lol. I hope that is true. The soil here is rather sandy. A hard rain can drop 2-3 inches and within a few hours it is gone. Sinks right in. There is a layer of clay under the sand but obviously not enough to keep water standing.

I did a count today and have roughly 370+ plants. Some may fail in the garden so I have plenty of replacements if needed. I think I am going to plant them in the garden in stages. Maybe then I won't have two or three varieties ripening at the same time. Whatever happens I'll just have to deal with it.

 

[greenmonster714]

Okay, so I am weak. I told myself no more but once again my inner voice has fallen upon deaf ears. I guess I could try to blame all you guys for posting all those sweet home rolled cigars but I know its just me, myself and I..lol. Anyways, I got on ebay and Northwoodseeds and ordered a few cigar type strains. The three I got from ebay could be total busts. I'll just have to grow them and see. I bought them because they were cheap and could be used for cigars. Ya'll have probably never heard of them but here goes.
1. Hiltonia
2. Habana2000 x Gold Harvest
3. Connecticut Leaf - Said to be grown by Nisqually Tribe in Washington State. ??? hell if I know (I should have this one by tomorrow)
I'm not sure what I'll get from these. If they do well I'll bag them. If not I'll let them fade into memory.

The next two are from Northwoods so I'm sure they will be what they say they are.
1. Pennsylvania Red
2. Goose Creek Red

I figure I'll have these and some of the other varieties I'm growing to make a nice cigar. I have roughly on average 190 days of frost free growing weather down here so I should be okay with these getting ripe sometime in late summer. These additions to what I am growing now make it a total of 25 different varieties.

I'm going to be up to my neck in leaf this year but I'm having fun so far and that's all that really matters. Along with my tobacco we just set out tomatoes, okra, cabbage, peppers, strawberries, pickle cucumbers, green beans, and watermelon today. Next week I will finish the plot over on the other side of the barn and plant about 3-400 sweet corn. Its gonna be a busy summer.

 

[Charly]

Booooo ! you are weak ! madness is not far !! take care !!!
Seriously stop adding new strains or I will be tempted to add more myself
With 25 different strains you are not far from my own madness : 28 ! I am not sure if all 28 varieties will make it to the ground (I have some seedlings that do not want to grow well...)

I think you can't go wrong with Pennsylvania Red, I don't know how Goose Creek Red will do in cigars, I am growing these two strains too, so we will find out together
Since I have no place left to grow more, I am already preparing my whishlist for next year Completly CRAZYYYYY

Never heard of Hiltonia before it will be interesting to see what it will give.

 

[greenmonster714]

Since I have no place left to grow more, I am already preparing my whishlist for next year Completly CRAZYYYYY

Oh, not completely crazy Charly. Funny you mention that. I have been putting together a list for next year as well. Now all I have to do is cut it down from 97 varieties to something a little more manageable.....say 87...lol.

 

[Charly]

Now all I have to do is cut it down from 97 varieties to something a little more manageable.....say 87...lol.

!!!!!! LOL

This year, with nearly 30 strains, I will see if I can grow/cure/store all of them correctly, so next year's crop will be adapted to what I will learn this year.
I think it's already a lot a work, but that's the way I want to go, so I can taste a lot of different tobacco.
If everything goes well, in 2 or 3 years I will be able to cut the number of strains to only a few that I really love !

 

[Tutu]

Next year, cut 10 or 15 strains, but also grow a few you didn't grow this year. You've gotta keep exploring man!

 

[Charly]

Next year, cut 10 or 15 strains, but also grow a few you didn't grow this year. You've gotta keep exploring man!

If it was for me, I might have not write what I had in mind correctly

If this year's crop works fine, I will probably try the same number of strains (about 25-30) next year, with about 15 to 20 new strains.
I will probably do the same the following year and maybe the next too.
After a few years trying a lot of new things, I will begin to reduce the number of "new" strains, growing more strains I already know and love
But with so many interesting strains I will for sure continue to try a few new strains each year

 

[greenmonster714]

If it was for me, I might have not write what I had in mind correctly

If this year's crop works fine, I will probably try the same number of strains (about 25-30) next year, with about 15 to 20 new strains.
I will probably do the same the following year and maybe the next too.
After a few years trying a lot of new things, I will begin to reduce the number of "new" strains, growing more strains I already know and love
But with so many interesting strains I will for sure continue to try a few new strains each year

I'm kinda thinking the same way Charly. Its going to take a few years to find what I like and when I do I'll probably still be trying new stuff.

Next year, cut 10 or 15 strains, but also grow a few you didn't grow this year. You've gotta keep exploring man!

No doubt about that Tutu. Growing a learning about new tobacco is the fun part I think. This year its all new to me so yeah I'm a little overboard with the varieties but I've got all the time in the world really and I can't think of any other way I'd like to spend the summer.

 

[deluxestogie]

All good things must end. The more varieties you grow, the more varieties you will find that you love. The more you love them, the more you want to continue to grow them. Eventually, you'll have to dedicate a tiny garden area for the newcomers. The rest will be reserved for varieties that you can't abandon.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

All good things must end. The more varieties you grow, the more varieties you will find that you love. The more you love them, the more you want to continue to grow them. Eventually, you'll have to dedicate a tiny garden area for the newcomers. The rest will be reserved for varieties that you can't abandon.

Bob

Exactly what I'm shooting for. Find what I like and go from there. Its going to be a long trial and error but I'll make it. Problem I have lately is all these projects the wife wants to do or have already started and need completed. I think that's called the HoneDew list.

 

[greenmonster714]

So, after posting a thread about what size these need to be before planting in the garden. I have decided to do what Planter suggested. Today I trimmed all my plants that are outside on the porch. The smaller ones I left along of course but all the others have been trimmed. Due to the fact they are all pretty well damp from the last watering I will probably try to feed them a very mild taste of miracle grow to maybe help boost their growth a little. About another week of growing out and I will officially find them a new home in the ground. I'm pretty excited about finally getting these in the garden.

Here's some before and after pics. I think they are doing well so far.


After

 

[deluxestogie]

Wait for the soil to be relatively firm (not soggy) before transplanting. Immediately after transplant, soak 2 cups of water around each one. After transplanting, the plants will stall for a week or so, before resuming growth.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Wait for the soil to be relatively firm (not soggy) before transplanting. Immediately after transplant, soak 2 cups of water around each one. After transplanting, the plants will stall for a week or so, before resuming growth.

Bob

Okay, good know information. I'll make sure the soil isn't to damp in the garden before planting. Most garden plants I've put out I usually dug a hole and filled it with water and then placed the plant and backfilled. Would that be to much for tobacco? That week or so they get settled in is going to be a long one..lol.I'm a bit excited to see them explode with growth.

I've been working the soil a bit. The other day I reset the sod buster to the deepest setting i could get and spent about an hour digging down as far as I could get it. I let it sit for a day and then hit it with the disc. I plan on using the disc one more time and then start planting. Not sure if I want to use the small foot attatchment on the sod buster to make rows. Would that be a good idea? Or should I just get everything as flat as possible and just start planting?

Since I've been doing all this digging I am finding that there is a lot of clay in the tilled earth. Sand on top and clay about half a foot deep in most areas. I hope they do well in that mixture.

This may seem a bit soon but I am trying to plan a cover crop for the fall. Any suggestions from you experienced growers? I'd like to find a crop that is fairly cheap and effective. One that is easy to grow and turn into the soil in the spring.

 

[deluxestogie]

I always place the tobacco transplant into a dry hole, then fill the dry soil around it. The water soaking then settles the particles around the roots.

I know nothing about machinery in tilling.

Red clover has been a popular cover. It has to be tilled under before it sets seed. I've used lentils (from a bag purchased at the grocery store). Since all of my tobacco is grown is circumscribed beds, surrounded by grass, erosion is not much of a problem for me during the winter.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

I always place the tobacco transplant into a dry hole, then fill the dry soil around it. The water soaking then settles the particles around the roots.

I know nothing about machinery in tilling.

Red clover has been a popular cover. It has to be tilled under before it sets seed. I've used lentils (from a bag purchased at the grocery store). Since all of my tobacco is grown is circumscribed beds, surrounded by grass, erosion is not much of a problem for me during the winter.

Bob

Well, if that's the way you do it I will copy that method. Maybe someone that uses machinery will pipe in. I've never used the tractor like this. I usually just haul hay around and stuff like that. Never planted a garden using it.

I will look into the red clover. Like I said it may be a bit early but for some reason I like planning stuff out. It seems like when I do that I tend to actually do it instead of putting it off. Plus, making plans is the fun part.