First timer: @Jacob perry
- Thread starter Jacobp
- Start date
-
- Tags
- grow blog new member rustica
Just an update the small stalk mammoth and yellow twist bud still haven’t sprouted up. I’m doing my best to keep them watered but I have been working some crazy hours. But they atleast get a good drink once a day (the container there in has a hole in it) sadly. But the rustica are doing good definitely seeing some growth and also have some smaller seedlings of that that sprouted up.
Attachments
Oldfella
Well-Known Member
Use some Silicone sealer to plug the hole. You can get the one that they on fish tanks so it shouldn't harm your plants.
Oldfella
Oldfella
Well I got a few sprouting 2 black stalk mammoth and 2 yellow twist bud I guess the water trick worked thanks @Oldfella everything else is doing fine and really shooting up I’m realizing how disorganized this is I have different stages of growth which I’m guessing will be a pain later but so far I’m really enjoying the expirence
Attachments
Well I transplanted the rustica and have some of them a haircut. Everyone is doing fine except the mammoth and yellow twist bud. All but one perished. I’m not sure if it was the heat or the cold ( we have had a few cold snaps and some really hot days) and I’m really bummed out about that and wondering if it would be worth it to try again this late into it or just wait until next year? Any thoughts?
Attachments
Check your average first frost date for the fall:
You'll need 6 to 8 weeks to go from germination to transplant, another 8 to 12 weeks to complete a harvest of leaf (and an additional few weeks if you intend to collect seed). Then the issue is weather conditions during color curing.
Bob
Lookup your first and last freeze/frost dates by zip code
Welcome to the famous Dave's Garden website. Join our friendly community that shares tips and ideas for gardens, along with seeds and plants.
davesgarden.com
You'll need 6 to 8 weeks to go from germination to transplant, another 8 to 12 weeks to complete a harvest of leaf (and an additional few weeks if you intend to collect seed). Then the issue is weather conditions during color curing.
Bob
If nothing else you will learn alot from the experience. It took me three seasons to feel comfortable with what I was doing. Go for it!
If I’m adding it up right it may be close but I think I will give it a shot!
Attachments
Everything is coming along nicely I think. I believe it’s about time to transplant the ones in jiffy pots to their forever homes. And the twist bud and black mammoth are sprouting up nicely. Hope the weather cooperates where I can use them.
Attachments
Alpine
Moderator
Those are flower pods on top of rusticas right? When were they sown? How long did you keep them in pots? What strain of rustica is it? All these things can make a difference… If I were you, I would transplant in full ground as soon as possible, snap the flower buds off, select ONE sucker to let develop… and cross my fingers.
pier
pier
I grew a few varieties of N. Rustica one year, none of them were very tall compared to N. Tabacum. Since it's an unknown variety, it's hard to say how tall they should get. If I remember correctly, I didn't top them or pull off the suckers, I just let them bush out. The best curing result I got were those leaves I let yellow on the plant before priming them. Alpine grows N. Rustica quite regularly and could offer better advice.
They were sown about the third week of March. I’m not sure if the strain, they have been in pots the entire time and I can’t put them into the ground because I don’t own the place. So should I still snap the flowers off? Is this a really bad thing I’m assuming?
Alpine
Moderator
No, it isn’t. It is, in fact, regular agronomical practice for tobacco growers. But once you snap the flower bud off, the plant will begin to develop suckers like crazy (in hopes to form a new flower head) and the leaves on those suckers will be few and small. Of course, you can let the plant develop as it wants, and still harvest leaves AFTER they have naturally turn yellow on the plant. Leaves will be less potent in terms of nicotine but still have the typical “wet dog smell” before kilning. If you can’t transplant in a garden, let them do their thing, enjoy the bumblebees buzzing around the yellow flowers (curiously, N. tabacum flowers attract honeybees, N. rustica flowers attract bumblebees, at least where I live), harvest, cure and kiln the leaves. It will be very instructive for your next year grow, and you’ll end up with more tobacco than you started with. Some well developed rustica strains are far more productive than traditional First Nations strains: if you are interested in productivity rather than tradition, I suggest to grow GC1 rustica next year. @skychaser has seeds of it (and many more).
pier
Edit: the most productive strain I know of is Bakun Black (110 grams per plant on average), but I’ve never been able to put my hands on it… YET
pier
Edit: the most productive strain I know of is Bakun Black (110 grams per plant on average), but I’ve never been able to put my hands on it… YET
Last edited:
Alpine
Moderator
Yes! And harvest the leaves when they are fully (or almost fully) yellow. The most common error of first time rusticas growers is to harvest too soon.
For traditional use, only a little tobacco is needed as far as I know.
pier
For traditional use, only a little tobacco is needed as far as I know.
pier
skychaser
Well-Known Member
I would just let it grow. Topping Rusticas doesn't really work like it does with Tobaccum strains. It usually just makes them angry so they grow twice as many sucker branches twice as fast. You end up with even more flower heads and overall smaller leaves. I've grown 17-18 different strains. They all have some very similar characteristics, but there are some strains that mature very quickly. I've seen a couple that go from seed to first blooms in 9-10 weeks. http://nwtseeds.com/Shtambur.htm
Most take longer and the plants usually grow quite a bit more after those first blooms appear. None of them I have grown have ever gotten more than 30-36 inches tall, except for Isleta Pueblo. It can get 5' or more and produces some of the biggest leaves I've gotten. http://nwtseeds.com/Isleta Pueblo.htm
Sacred Cornplanter and Mohawk have produced fairly large leaves. Aztec seems to be the most productive over all for me. All those start to ripen in mid summer. Rustica can be hard to cure and get a nice looking color to it. It's definitely best to leave the leaves on the plant until they are at least half yellow or fully yellow. A good rule of thumb for all tobacco is "if your not sure if your leaf is ripe yet, it's not ripe".
I do have some GC1 seed. I got some large leaves from it but not near as big as some other people have gotten. Mine ended up getting planted at the end of a row where the sprinkler didn't reach very well that year. It did pretty good but I need to grow it again in a better spot.
Ok. So this may be a dumb question but will the leaves mature at different rates or so it happen around the same time. The bottom leaves on a couple of them are yellowing but the leaves themselves are really small. Thanks for all of your help
