We will see how this year's plots go considering I've got 3 little sets of hands picking around the garden now
Here's my tobacco list for this year:
I plan to have close to 200 plants spread among a couple different plots throughout the farm.
Also will be growing pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini, swiss chard, lettuce, rosemary, parsley and sweet peppers.
The vine bearing plants will be grown along side (and allowed to grow into) a 20x10 barley patch that'll be harvested early summer (hopefully just in time for the vine plants to really take off). The straw left over from the grains should in theory act as a mulch, and choke off most of the weeds in the area around the plants/fruit.
This year - I'm attempting to go no till. My plots were planted heavily with cereal rye/barley which will be crimped off come 3 weeks prior to planting. Which again should act as mulch once killed off.
I just started the tobacco lastnight, so hopefully with all this cold weather we've had I'll have a little buffer zone in which to get the plants going. I'm also growing these in true top soil, not "seed starting mix" such as in years gone by. I'm also growing natural/organic this year so hopefully I won't be lacking in yield. Most of my crop is going strictly towards nasal snuff so leaf quality isn't too much of a factor, and pound yield is pound yield.
Pictures to come!
Here's my tobacco list for this year:
Variety | seed year | |
Big Gem | PI552343 | 2012 |
Harrow Velvet | PI552650 | 2012 |
Golden Burley | PI552644 | 2012 |
Maryland 609 | PI552452 | 2014 |
Maryland 609 | PI552452 | 2013 |
Xanthi Yaka | PI552418 | 2013 |
Xanthi Yaka | PI552418 | 2014 |
Yellow Twist Bud | PI552784 | 2011 |
Yellow Twist Bud | PI552784 | 2013 |
PA red | PI552741 | 2014 |
I plan to have close to 200 plants spread among a couple different plots throughout the farm.
Also will be growing pumpkin, cucumber, zucchini, swiss chard, lettuce, rosemary, parsley and sweet peppers.
The vine bearing plants will be grown along side (and allowed to grow into) a 20x10 barley patch that'll be harvested early summer (hopefully just in time for the vine plants to really take off). The straw left over from the grains should in theory act as a mulch, and choke off most of the weeds in the area around the plants/fruit.
This year - I'm attempting to go no till. My plots were planted heavily with cereal rye/barley which will be crimped off come 3 weeks prior to planting. Which again should act as mulch once killed off.
I just started the tobacco lastnight, so hopefully with all this cold weather we've had I'll have a little buffer zone in which to get the plants going. I'm also growing these in true top soil, not "seed starting mix" such as in years gone by. I'm also growing natural/organic this year so hopefully I won't be lacking in yield. Most of my crop is going strictly towards nasal snuff so leaf quality isn't too much of a factor, and pound yield is pound yield.
Pictures to come!