Can you sow tobacco in winter in propagator without grow lights?

[aaroncherryred]

Hi I was wondering if you can grow tobacco seeds on windowsill in winter without grow lights with a propagator and indoor heater. I live in Yorkshire UK. I have seen videos of people getting milk cartons and cutting them in half and putting the sown seeds out in the snow with compost filled in the milk cartons. But then I realized how come my plants don't grow indoors on windowsill in propagator with indoor heater but others that grown in snow in winter are germinating? Am I not getting enough sunlight. Am I not waiting long enough for the seeds to germinate? (Most I have waited for a seed to germinate is 2 weeks) 1 out of say 40 seeds came up but grew about a centimetre in a half and then stopped growing.

My propagator ranges from 15c - 20c and my heater fully warms up a room in about 5 - 10mins. I keep the heater blowing for about half an hour not directly hitting the plants but relatively close and leave a fan on the plants when heater is blowing. I sometimes open the window for few minutes when do get them some fresh air. I turn the heater back on after a few hours for another 30 mins to keep the room warm. Am I just going to need grow lights for winter sowing to work? My plants can get 6HR + light during winter but can be days without getting sunlight at all (this can be over 4 days+ without light at all) I grow with Canna soil and Multipurpose Compost, Use Miracle grow plant feed as well as bio feed. I also use tap water and store bought water.


If anyone could tell me what to do to grow a tobacco plant without much light in winter would be a lot of help!!

THANKS!!!

 

[aaroncherryred]

Also I wet the soil and wait about an hour then transplant the seed and sprinkle on top of compost and mist spray the other side of the seeds a few times twice a day.

 

[Old Gasman]

Do you mean you sow the seeds then put compost on top of them?

 

[LeftyRighty]

NO - DO NOT COVER SEEDS WITH SOIL OR COMPOST

Generally, new plants need 10 to 16 hours of light, ideally with grow lights, but I've had success with fluorescent, incandescent & LED bulbs, not ideal but it works. Just set whatever lamps or fixtures that you have, about a foot above the pots, near your window if you want. Check temperature, as incandescents get hot.
I get germination in as early as 5 days, but generally 7-10 days, and keep temperature at 70-75 deg F (20- 24 deg Celsius), and it's OK to cool a few degrees overnight.

FYI... I sprinkle my compost/potting soil with a light coating of sphagnum moss (not the same thing as peat moss). Do the same with germination pots and/or individual grow pots. This hinders/prevents fungus or damping off of newly sprouting seeds. Lightly tamp down soil and firm the surface before sprinkling seeds on the surface, and keep soil moist (not wet). Seeds that slip down deeply between chunky soil may never germinate. Most tobacco prefers light to germinate.

I transplant newly germinated seedlings as soon as I see the first tiny speck of green, into individual pots. Although they may be tiny green plants, they may already have a 1/4 to 1/2+ inch root, or more, and must be carefully handled to transplant so as not to break this root.

 

[loui loui]

For indoor growing there is one simple rule, the better setup the more fun.
With a good light you can grow strong plants from seed to flower. Look at my grow blog for more information about the light. Look for grow lights with samsung lm301b or lm301h leds for the most fun per watt.
Today I got my first flower!

 

[aaroncherryred]

I keep tobacco seeds at the top of compost when germinating. Or sometimes sprinkle a tiny bit of compost over the top sometimes


Was just wondering how the seeds can survive in snow when winter sowing tobacco. I have a vid here to show you what I mean

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yKK4l4XVqSg


Nice plants loui loui looks nice!


Thanks for the info people !!

 

[loui loui]

Don't use compost, compost contains too much nutrients for small plants.
Don't put anything on top of the seeds, tobacco seeds need light to germinate.
The gardening store have special low nutrient soil for seed starting, use that or just soil.
I used a mix of 75% soil and the rest was vermiculite and perlite. Near 100% germination rate.

 

[HillDweller]

Don't use compost, compost contains too much nutrients for small plants.
Don't put anything on top of the seeds, tobacco seeds need light to germinate.
The gardening store have special low nutrient soil for seed starting, use that or just soil.
I used a mix of 75% soil and the rest was vermiculite and perlite. Near 100% germination rate.

He might benefit from your grow tent thread if he needs to grow indoors. It's very informative.

 

[MadFarmer]

Don't use compost, compost contains too much nutrients for small plants.

Don't put anything on top of the seeds, tobacco seeds need light to germinate.
The gardening store have special low nutrient soil for seed starting, use that or just soil.
I used a mix of 75% soil and the rest was vermiculite and perlite. Near 100% germination rate.

There may be a language barrier with our UK friend:

"compost is compost but it’s also what Brits call potting soil..."

In the Garden: Potting soil — or is that compost?

There’s a battle brewing, not so much here, but it’s underway in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom. Watch any of the British garden shows like “Gardeners’ World” where viewers

www.therecord.com

 

[Old Gasman]

Just to confuse things, for starting tobacco, tomatoes, cucumbers and such like I buy seed compost. Really it's just very fine soil, think of molehill soil that has been sieved.

 

[loui loui]

Don't use compost, compost contains too much nutrients for small plants.

There may be a language barrier with our UK friend:

"compost is compost but it’s also what Brits call potting soil..."

In the Garden: Potting soil — or is that compost?

There’s a battle brewing, not so much here, but it’s underway in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom. Watch any of the British garden shows like “Gardeners’ World” where viewers

www.therecord.com

Thank you, I did not know this!

I ment the nutrient rich compost, it is not for seed starting.

Seedlings can be stunted in growth or even die if there is too much nutrients in the soil.
It is possible to make your own seed starting mix by mixing potting soil and vermiculite ratio 50/50.

Usually just potting soil is OK for seeds but nutrient rich compost-compost contains way too much nutrients for seeds.

 

[loui loui]

Just to confuse things, for starting tobacco, tomatoes, cucumbers and such like I buy seed compost. Really it's just very fine soil, think of molehill soil that has been sieved.

What really sets it apart is that it contains way less nutrients than regular potting soil, it can also be used to plant cacti cause cacti don't like a lot of nutrients.