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Late season nitrogen boost?

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OldDinosaurWesH

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My growing season is winding down. My plants are definitely getting mature, you can see it the leaves. Many of them have been in the ground for 100 or so days now. I'm anticipating having most of my crop harvested by the second or third week of September. Ever since day one, I have planned my fertilizer applications according to this mid-September timetable. As a consequence, my main production is slowly depleting its available Nitrogen intentionally.

My question becomes...I'm holding a few plants over for seed production. I am intent on leaving them in the ground as long as the weather holds. That could be well into October around here. Should I give these holdovers another shot of nitrogen to keep them green and growing? Normally, I would want the Nitrogen in the soil to deplete as the plants are nearing maturation.

tobacco seedlings 65 11-16-16.jpgtobacco seedlings snow.jpg

Sorry about the poor quality photo, but this was my last plant of the season last year. Photo was taken November 16th, 2016. I wasn't holding this one for seed, but just seeing how long it would live. Last year was one of those exceptional years where we didn't get a killing frost until mid-November. As you can see, this individual is getting pretty ratty. But the silly thing was still putting on fresh blooms right up 'till I cut it down.

As an interesting sideline to the really mature plant story, I hung it whole stalk in my basement, and the blooms stayed fresh for the better part of two weeks. While they were hanging upside down, they tried to turn around and point upward toward the light. I guess there is more water & nutrients in that stem than I'd ever imagined.

Opinions, speculation?

Wes H.

Second photo taken approximately two weeks after first photo.
 
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deluxestogie

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Opinions, speculation?
My best guess is that all the white stuff in the second photo is frozen precipitation that has accumulated on any horizontal surfaces. (It's just not kind to be showing us photos of snow in early September. Before Labor Day even! The reality will strike soon enough. And I was sitting out on my front porch this afternoon, eating a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream.)

I can't imagine any benefit to using more fertilizer at this point. The seed will mature with or without it. Since tobacco is a perennial, tropical plant, it's like the Energizer Bunny, until it freezes to death.

Bob
 

Chicken

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the plant finishes it's need for nitrogen about 2/3 into the grow.. if you add anything late in the grow. make it potash....the last number of the N.P.K. scale,
 

OldDinosaurWesH

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Well...after having an exceedingly long and mild fall, winter came with a vengeance shortly after the first of December. The snow got deeper and it got down to -10F. And it didn't let up 'till mid January. I got really tired of running tire chains. But...that's the weather! There's no predicting it, you just live with it. And throw another log in the stove.

In re: more fertilizer, your answers are kind of what I expected. I used to be in the fertilizer business too. This is why I've timed my applications and rates the way I've done. Fertilizer on wheat is a little different than fertilizer on tobacco. So I thought I'd seek out opinions from those with more experience than I have with tobacco. Interesting to hear what Chicken says. My timing on fertilizer applications has been almost exactly in keeping with what he has to say. As the hippies used to say: You been sending me some waves or something?

Thanks.

Wes H.

Agronomy quiz: Why don't you fertilize peas?
 
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Chicken

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heres you the official tobaccoo fertilizer analysis chart.... i deliver tone upon tons of this stuff each year. to major bacca farms in florida and south georgia,,,

..IMG_20160425_125314202.jpgIMG_20160425_125314202.jpgIMG_20160425_125302271.jpg
 
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