FarmVille 2018
Welcome to my grow blog! This is my first time growing tobacco. I plan on keeping the entire operation inside my apartment. I will be growing tobacco that I hope to use primarily for loose leaf chew; however, I may also try to make some moist snuff (I really like WG Kodiak), and may also try rolling a few cigars.
I look forward to sharing the process and would very much appreciate any feedback!
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Preparation
I built a frame to suspend my lights out of PVC Pipe. I bought these T5 grow lights off amazon. I have a digital thermometer adjacent to my plants.
Here is what my set up looks like today:
I have a tower fan blowing a very light breeze across my plants to the temperature below 95 degrees (my lights can get pretty hot, especially when they're so close to my plants).
Grow Log:
2/27/18 - I filled my cells with Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting mix. After moistening the soil for a few days, I planted Burley 21, TN 90 LC, Small Stalk Black Mammoth, and White Mammoth (bought them off amazon from Sustainable Seed Company). I did not use any fertilizer. I put the plastic cover over my cells. I turned my lights for 8 hours each day. I kept the soil moist (although not moist enough, as I later realized) by putting water in the underneath tray, as well as occasionally spraying the surface with a very light mist (using this spay bottle) 2-3 times a day.
Each rectangle represents 6 cells.3/5/18 - Wahoo! I woke up to sprouts!I also found out I hadn't been putting enough water in the botom tray because a couple of my cells were visibly dry. This stunted the growth of some of the seedlings a little bit.
3/7/18 - Keeping the soil good and moist. Misting 3-4 times each day. I learned that seedlings shouldn't be exposed to temperatures over 95°F, so I moved a tower fan adjacent to my growing table and set it to the lowest setting. The light breeze keeps the heat from getting too high.
3/12/18 - Good growth! Today I started thinning out weaker plants from each cell. The Burley 21 is growing noticalby faster than the others. Overall, they're all growing well except for the couple of cells that got too dry at the beginning.
3/19/18 - Growing, growing, GROWING! All of the plants have taken off really well. I noticed that some of the cells have little white roots that have poked through the bottom of their cells and are dipping directly into the water tray underneath. I plan on transplanting the larger ones ASAP.
3/20/18 - The plants are out of control. It looks like some of the leaves grew a centimeter overnight.
Transplanting
I don't have any pots. Instead, I think what I'm going to do is transplant the bigguns into solo cups that are filled with more MG Moisture Control Potting mix. I'm going to poke 3 holes poked in the bottom of them and set them in another container sort of like a larger watering tray. My long term plan is to transplant the biggest plants into 5 gallon buckets once they outgrow their solo cups. Questions (Please help!)
- What about fertilizer? I bought some Miracle Gro All Purpose Plant Food today. Should I use it on the soil of my solo cups before I transplant them? If so, how much?
- I also have some Miracle Gro Cactus, Palm & Citris Potting Mix. Should I mix some of that in with the soil in my solo cups?
- Is there anything I should be doing differently?
