Deluxestogie Grow Log 2023

[deluxestogie]

The bed in the left foreground is my vegetable necropolis, which I have re-seeded. The foreground right is a veggie bed that has yet to be seeded.

While photographing the NB-11 bed, one of my sneaky apple trees poked me in the back of the head with a small branch, so I failed to frame the entire bed.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

It's been two days, and all my tobacco transplants are alive.

I treat my new seedlings as though they are growing in float beds in a greenhouse, even though they are actually resting on wire shelves at the windows of my enclosed back porch. They tend to get a little over ½ day of direct sunlight through the glass, from the time they are quite tiny. I use no grow lights. I do not pack soil into the inserts, but simply fill them, then scrape away any excess, so the soil mix remains relatively loose. There is always water in the 1020 trays without holes, and whenever the soil in the inserts begins to dry a bit, I add water beneath them, into the 1020 trays with holes. They soak up what's there within a day. I clip the leaves 4 or 5 times prior to transplant.

Without further hardening or drying, or gradual introduction to reality, they go directly from the enclosed porch to the garden bed, with 2 cups of transplant water per plant, to settle the soil around the roots. For me, in my area, this works fairly consistently, so long as I start germination 2 months prior to last frost.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

My 10-10-10 low-chlorine fertilizer dose comes to ¾ cup of the tiny stones per 30 square feet of bed. [I use the application rate stated for tomatoes.] For me, that is 1½ cups per full-size bed, and ¾ cup per half bed. I measured out enough for the entire garden into a bucket (a saved, ice cream bucket), and spread the appropriate fertilizer onto each of the beds today.

Two years ago, I demonstrated to my satisfaction that ordinary rain water slowly dissolves the little rocks. So it will have to dissolve in the rain, and sink into the ground over the next month or so.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

The Xanthi-Yaka 18a has been in the ground for two weeks. They have now begun to perk up.

The other varieties are still looking bedraggled, but are alive.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

The Xanthi-Yaka 18a has been in the ground for two weeks. They have now begun to perk up.

The other varieties are still looking bedraggled, but are alive.

Bob

2 weeks to perk up?
Now I don’t feel as bad that my recently transplanted seedlings haven’t been doing much for the last week.

 

[deluxestogie]

Tobacco transplants typically remain in "transplant shock" for about 2 weeks, then begin to grow rapidly.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm expecting rain to begin later today, and total about 1 inch over the next few days.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

My ornamental tobacco for 2023. I decided against potted tobacco to view from my front porch. [Setting up frigate-quality rigging to enable my tall plants in small pots to tack against the wind was a major project last year.] So I selected a hardy orphan from my tray of leftover seedlings, and planted it directly into the soil at the corner of my porch steps. It is MD 609.

I will allow it to blossom in the open, to attract hummingbirds.

Bob

 

[johnny108]

I was planning on comparing my container garden yields to your coffee can……

 

[deluxestogie]

Bob

 

[Homegrowngoodnes]

Would it be effective to use water soluble fertilizer after the rain? If it rains after application, Would it wash past the roots? I am half afraid to give em more water. It has rained a good bit for each of the Las two days but the plants look like they're Hungry!

 

[deluxestogie]

If the soil has already been adequately fertilized, then I would not be inclined to add more fertilizer for a few weeks. But I never use liquid fertilizer on my tobacco.

Bob

 

[Homegrowngoodnes]

Fish emulsion is what I have...n milk...lol it is basically planted out in compost though. Think I should ride it out? Corn, beans, tomatoes, asparagus, strawberries all doing well...tomatoes had yellowed some and greened up in a dew days after I dosed with a milk/fish emulsion/rain water solution. It seemed like a calcium deficiency...they are rocking now though! I pruned suckered and am attempting to root a few that were about 3 or 4 inches long! I haven't gotten my flowers planted out to help with pests though and the herbs are lagging too.

 

[deluxestogie]

Eastern Towhee nest with chicks.

This view from my bathroom window is with the blinds raised, and both the primary window and storm window raised out of the way. I'm afraid (for the birds safety) to also remove the window screen. So this shot is through the screen.

That darker, rounded hump at the top of the nest is, to my best count, 5 fluffy chicks sleeping in a pile. This clever site selection never gets rain on them. And I've noticed that my usual wasps are avoiding attempts to build their own nests anywhere under the eaves of the shed. (Or, they tried, and died.)

Bob

 

[Brown Thumb]

What kind of steak do you grill and enjoy a cigar after.

 

[deluxestogie]

During nice weather, I smoke multiple cigars a day. They are not celebratory for me. But I enjoy them to the fullest.

I can't recall the last time I grilled something. With just me here to impress, most of my cooking is done in a skillet or pot or the toaster oven. The last time I purchased a ribeye, it was...gulp...$5.89 a pound.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Misty Sunday morning sunrise. A perfect view from my front porch, for sipping a mug of coffee with my breakfast cigar. 60°F, with a light breeze. A Robin chips its semi-melodic racket from the maple tree. Shortly after a bunny grazes its way past, a solitary, Mourning Dove waddles up the driveway, thrusting its head forward with each step, like an obese chicken.

My ¼ inch of rain yesterday evening never fell. So I'll have to consider dragging my heavy hose out to the garden today. While the tobacco transplants seem fine this morning, the veggies are appearing sluggish. My next rain chance is unlikely until the start of June.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

My long bed of MD-609 is still in the shadows, and difficult to photograph, so I skipped it.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

They are taking off now. They look great.

 

[deluxestogie]

Eastern Towhee babies.