Are these ready for the garden?

[mwaller]

The plants in the raised bed seem to enjoy the murderous (by WA standards!) heat we've been having here. Making progress...

 

[greenmonster714]

Murderous heat..lol. Yeah man, they are loving it. I've got a very limited amount of experience with tobacco but they seem to love the sun and heat. Your raised beds rock. Healthy happy plants.

 

[Charly]

Yes, they LOVE heat (far more than I by the way...).

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

The plants in the raised bed seem to enjoy the murderous (by WA standards!) heat we've been having here. Making progress...

They look really good. We're getting nice possibly more reasonable weather. High 20s all week, with double digit nights. The tobacco will be off to a nice start.

 

[mwaller]

I put some Corojo 99 in the front yard where they get excellent sun exposure, but the soil isn't as rich. These are at least 2 weeks behind the rest, so it will be interesting to see how they fare.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

They'll grow fine, you can always hit them twice a month with miracle grow if they don't seem to be keeping up with the ones in the superior soil. If the spot works out well location wise, after you harvest dig out a bunch of that dirt and plant that stump for another tobacco crop next year. Wood below the soil line makes for rich soil that keeps getting better year after year. Just cut it into enough pieces so you can cover the plot where you intend to grow and leave about 6-8" soil on top for the roots to have something initially to grow into. It'll just get better every year as it breaks down.

 

[mwaller]

So, I made a mistake in my planting... one of the Corojo 99 plants is clearly NOT Corojo 99. Based on the growth habit, it could either be Vuelta Abajo or Criollo 98. Is there any objective way to tell these varieties apart? Do the differences become more apparent when the plant matures? These seeds were supplied by NWTseeds, FWIW.

 

[deluxestogie]

I have not grown Criollo 98. Here's what info I can provide.

Criollo more columnar plant shape; Vuelta Abajo more pyramidal
Criollo auricle does not descend the stalk, while Vuelta Abajo exhibits a half descending auricle.
Criollo (for me, at least) has a darker pink blossom.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

Thanks, Bob! Never thought to check out the auricule (had to look that one up!). I will have a look...

 

[deluxestogie]

I will have a look...

Leaf auricles are usually distinct by late June or early July. Immature plants are often not helpful.

Bob

 

[mwaller]

On a separate topic - I've noticed that some of my plants - the Vuelta Abajo in particular - have started to sucker.
Should I remove these suckers as soon as they appear?

 

[deluxestogie]

On a separate topic - I've noticed that some of my plants - the Vuelta Abajo in particular - have started to sucker.
Should I remove these suckers as soon as they appear?

Remove suckers as soon as they are large enough for you to do it without injuring the plant.

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Vuelta seems to have a portion that just sucker almost instantly, just pick them off as they appear.

 

[mwaller]

Continued progress...

 

[greenmonster714]

Yeah man, those are looking good and healthy. Nice job.

 

[Charly]

Great ! it grows well

 

[mwaller]

Status update...

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Pretty good in 5 days

 

[mwaller]

My plants rumors of Sunshine in the forecast and decided to perk back up!

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Amazing how they start to run once they find their feet.