MWaller 2018 Grow Blog

[mwaller]

Most most my seedlings continue to have spindly stems, so I decided that replanting was in order. Worse yet, a number if my Piloto Cubano seedlings we're starting to yellow and wither....

When I dumped the old Espoma mix from the pots, it came out like a soggy brick. It's possible that I packed them too tight, but I suspect the Espoma mix is just too thick for these seeds. I repotted most of the seedlings with Jiffy mix, which is much more finely textured. Some were left as controls... We'll see what happens!

My poor Piloto seedlings...!

 

[Levi Gross]

I hope you can pull them through recovery.

Most most my seedlings continue to have spindly stems, so I decided that replanting was in order. Worse yet, a number if my Piloto Cubano seedlings we're starting to yellow and wither....
View attachment 23053
When I dumped the old Espoma mix from the pots, it came out like a soggy brick. It's possible that I packed them too tight, but I suspect the Espoma mix is just too thick for these seeds. I repotted most of the seedlings with Jiffy mix, which is much more finely textured. Some were left as controls... We'll see what happens!
View attachment 23054
My poor Piloto seedlings...!
View attachment 23055

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

mwaller:

When I transplant my seedlings from the starter pots into a larger pot (2 1/2") I put the roots / stems as far down into the soil as practical. From the 2 1/2" pots, my seedlings go directly into the soil in mid to late May. Even in a more advanced stage of development (3-4" tall), the stems tend to be a little on the spindly side. I end up using a lot of stakes to keep my plants upright 'till they are bigger and have formed decent sized stems that can stand on their own. Even then, I frequently have to use large wooden stakes (this is highly dependent on the tobacco variety) to keep some of my plants upright. I use a product that I get at the craft store called Chenille Stems to tie my plants to the stakes. Chenille Stems are also known as Fuzzy Sticks and resemble longer and fuzzier versions of a pipe cleaner. Chenille Stems come in packs of 100 and cost a whole $3.00! Chenille is french for "Fuzzy", or "Caterpillar".

Another thing I always do is plant two or three seedlings in the 2 1/2" pots, and let them "sort it out for themselves" as to who is going to be the biggest and most robust. It seems that in the plant world as well as the animal world, a little competition is a good thing.

Wes H.

 

[deluxestogie]

I always do is plant two or three seedlings in the 2 1/2" pots, and let them "sort it out for themselves" as to who is going to be the biggest and most robust.

When they compete from within the same little pot, they grow more spindly. I recommend, if you plan an intermediate pot between starting and the final transplant, that you make it a single plant in each pot.

Also, you can transplant to the field a few inches deeper than it grows in the pot.

Bob

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

Yes, I have tried the intermediate step. Perhaps I need to elaborate on my technique. The intermediate step created a lot of extra work with no visible benefits. It has been my experience that when planting two or three seedlings in one pot, one of the seedlings quickly outpaces the rest. Making selective "pruning" pretty easy. By the time I put seedlings in the ground, only one plant is left in a pot. (Ah scissors, what a wonderful invention.)

When I work my soil up, I hill the dirt up to a height of approximately 6". When I plant in the hills, I set my seedlings down in the ground as far as possible. Usually up to the first leaves, thus burying some of the visible stem underground. This technique seems to work more than 50% of the time re: good solid stems. As I said in my previous post, the erectness of individual plants and strength of stems of same is highly dependent on the specific variety. As an example, African Red is a very tall and slender plant (9 plus feet tall). Without substantial staking, A.R. won't stand up on it's own. At least not in my windy climate where we get 60 MPH gusts from time to time. Several of the other (mostly shorter) varieties stand up nicely without any staking. Gold leaf 939 had particularly thick robust stems requiring no staking. Bolivia Criollo Black, which were 9 to 10 feet tall, required very little staking, as they too had thick robust stems.

With seven new (to me) varieties this year, I'm sure I'll have my share of surprises.

Wes H.

P.S. mwaller: this is your blog not mine, apologies for the excess clutter.

 

[mwaller]

Straighten up and Fly Right!

(I believe he was singing to my seedlings...)

 

[mwaller]

Last autumn, a mature hemlock in our front yard fell during a windstorm. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and no property was damaged. While the loss of this tree was deeply troubling for what it could mean for our other trees, it inadvertently created some of the best tobacco-growing space on our property. The soil here is well-drained, and it receives more sun exposure than any other location.

The precise cause of the hemlock's demise has remained elusive. When it failed, there were signs decay in the root structure:

We asked a consulting arborist to evaluate the stump,and sent samples of the decay to a plant pathology lab for analysis. Both concluded the tree failed due to a fungal infection, but they were unable to identify the exact pathogen.

Yesterday, I decided that the stump had served its purpose and needed to go. So, I set to work with my chainsaw:


In the process of chopping up the stump, I stumbled on this smoking gun:

This would appear to be the fruiting body of Heterobasidion annosum - aka annosum root rot. I am still waiting for confirmation, but I'm pretty sure we've found the culprit!

 

[mwaller]

Meanwhile, the indoor nurturing of seedlings continues. This image shows Criollo 98 "Prieto."
The samples on the right were repotted in Jiffy starting mix; samples on the left remain in their original Espoma starting mix.

While the repotted seedlings are doing fine, the undisturbed plants also seem to be doing well - perhaps even a bit better. The latter plants do still have spindly stems, so it remains to be seen how this sorts out in the long run.

 

[mwaller]

The Izmir Ozbas seeds that I planted 7 days ago have already germinated into healthy looking sprouts:

Soon it will be time to thin these guys.

 

[mwaller]

Criollo 98 "Prieto" and Piloto Cubano "ChinaVoodoo" seem to have survived their transplant ordeal and are growing well. C98 on the right, Piloto on the left:

 

[mwaller]

This year has also become a great Duzce experiment - I'm growing three different versions of this varietal! I first became aware of Duzce when Jitterbugdude sent me a sample among other orientals he grew. Duzce was a clear favorite - it had an incredible incense-like aroma that was unlike anything else I had tried. I had to learn more, so I read up.
Much of what has been written on FTT about Duzce came from Istanbulin, who spent a great deal of effort trying to acquire seeds for this varietal. Eventually, he was able to get seeds from the Ministry of Agriculture in Turkey. These were distributed to other FTT members, including JBD. I believe this to be the origin of my first Duzce seeds that are shown here:

In a web search, I came across a Canadian seed vendor (Spicy Acres) who claimed to also have Duzce that he got in trade from an American collector. I decided to try this Duzce "Spicy Acres" for the sake of comparison. Here it is, growing slongside Izmir Ozbas from NWTSeeds:

Finally, I tried to obtain Duzce (Pi 494152) from GRIN, but my request was politely declined. Lucky for me, Deluxestogie came to the rescue with seeds that were grown out by Knucklehead from an earlier GRIN order... I just received these seeds yesterday, and got them planted today. Here they are, next to some NWTSeeds Prelip that have already sprouted:

 

[Levi Gross]

Looking good! How big is the Düzce?

 

[Levi Gross]

No fare you posted that as I was writing my question. Question answered

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm going to guess (hope) that all three Düzce varieties are close enough to be considered the same variety.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

I'm going to guess (hope) that all three Düzce varieties are close enough to be considered the same variety.

Bob

Spicy Acres Duzce looks quite different...

 

[deluxestogie]

The photo is not very clear, but the Spicy Acres plant appears to have petiolate leaves, and looks more like Bafra or Bursa, rather than a Basma type. I look forward to your comparison grow.

Here is istanbulin's photo of the Düzce leaves that he received, along with his seed. They seem to be sessile, and quite Basma like (clearest on the far left).

Bob

 

[mwaller]

No fare you posted that as I was writing my question. Question answered

Lol!
Can you guess which plant grew from the first seeding, and which are from the seed you sent?!

 

[Levi Gross]

I believe the big fat one at the bottom is your Original. The other little buggers are the type we are growing??

Lol!
Can you guess which plant grew from the first seeding, and which are from the seed you sent?!

 

[greenmonster714]

Spicy Acres Duzce looks quite different...
View attachment 23174

I grew prob ten of his tobaccos last year. They are fresh seed and you will get germination but some don't really match up to classic pictures of the variety ya grow. I've found that NWS is the jewel of tobacco seed or any beans from the farmers here on ftt.

 

[mwaller]

I believe the big fat one at the bottom is your Original. The other little buggers are the type we are growing??

Correct! They should all be the same plat, because the seeds came from the same source. But the big one has a few weeks head start!