Grow log 2023: @Anders A

[Anders A]

23 days after sowing (KY171 and KY17)
I plan to put these out in the open in about 2 months and until then I will several times cut off the leaves that cover each other (haircut), and I will try to go brutally hard on them and see how it will work.

 

[Anders A]

Today I planted all the 12 varieties I planned to grow this year. I was planning to do this around March 20th, but my patience ran out when I woke up last night

 

[Anders A]

It changes quickly with the weather. Lots of snow the other day, and today almost all the snow is gone.





In two months I hope to be able to plant the first plants in the tobacco field.
I'm aiming for Saturday 13 May with the first plants

 

[Anders A]

Today is one month after sowing the seeds (KY17 and KY171) and two weeks after moving the plans to the plug tray.
The plants shall remain in this plug tray until it is time to plant them out in about 8 weeks, (may 15)

I haven't started hair cut the leaves yet, I'm not sure when it's time to start, maybe someone can give me advice on when it's time to start?

 

[Alpine]

There isn’t a fixed rule for the first haircut. Looking at your trays, I would begin to cut away 1/3 of the bigger leaves so they don’t shadow the other little ones. Use sharp scissors washed in a weak solution of ammonia and water and well dried before use. In a couple of weeks, if needed, you can cut off another third.

pier

 

[Anders A]

At what point do you think you can completely remove the plastic cover over the plug trays? When the plants are as big as they are today, (like in the picture), is there any point in keeping them?

 

[deluxestogie]

When the domes come off will depend on the relative humidity (RH). Within a heated home amidst a very cold environment, the RH may be very low. Once the plants are more than a 5cm (~2in), they can tolerate low RH well. The dome will simply reduce the frequency of watering. In a humid environment, a dome can encourage mold and damping-off of tiny seedlings.

Bob

 

[Anders A]

8 days after sowing

 

[Anders A]

March 20, first hair-cut done

 

[Knucklehead]

The plants look very happy.

 

[Anders A]

The plants look very happy.

Thanks. Yes it looks like that, good color and they look strong and healthy. So far so good

 

[Anders A]

Today is the time to move the plants to their own cells in the plug tray.

 

[Anders A]

Now all the plants have been moved to the plug tray. And outside it's snowing again

 

[Knucklehead]

Looks cold outside. Brrrr.

 

[skychaser]

What is your last average frost date there? It's another 10 days until I even start my seed. I can't plant them out until May 25th.

 

[Anders A]

What is your last average frost date there? It's another 10 days until I even start my seed. I can't plant them out until May 25th.

Around the 15th of May, but I will take a chance with 24 plants of KY17 and KY171 and put them out at the beginning of May (if the weather forecast looks decent), the remaining 100 plants I plan to put out in the middle of May. The previous two years I have planted everything on May 22, and every year I have thought that I am about a week late.

 

[skychaser]

About 1 year in 10 I could get away with planting the first week of May. And about 1 in 10 it will freeze at night until the first of June. It's too big of a gamble for me to target my planting date any earlier than May 25th. And even then I go by the weather trend. I can hold them in the greenhouse for another week or two if necessary. I've seen frost as late as June 4th. I have way to many plants to even think about covering them all, and if they got frozen that would be it for the year. The season is too short here to start again. So when it is safe to plant, it becomes a planing frenzy to get everything in the ground NOW. This year it is looking like a 2500 plant frenzy. But I sent 24 more strains of seed off to the lab last week for retesting. So that number might grow larger yet.

 

[Anders A]

About 1 year in 10 I could get away with planting the first week of May. And about 1 in 10 it will freeze at night until the first of June. It's too big of a gamble for me to target my planting date any earlier than May 25th. And even then I go by the weather trend. I can hold them in the greenhouse for another week or two if necessary. I've seen frost as late as June 4th. I have way to many plants to even think about covering them all, and if they got frozen that would be it for the year. The season is too short here to start again. So when it is safe to plant, it becomes a planing frenzy to get everything in the ground NOW. This year it is looking like a 2500 plant frenzy. But I sent 24 more strains of seed off to the lab last week for retesting. So that number might grow larger yet.

I understand that you can't take chances if you have as many plants as you have. Personally, I dare to take a chance on a smaller number, and choose those that I think took a very long time to mature last year. Even if I wait until the end of May to plant everything, I risk the frost taking everything in early June. But I will have about a hundred reserve plants in case that happens. And the reserve plants are varieties that mature very quickly.

 

[Anders A]

Winter keeps its grip for a while longer, it snowed again last night. But the tobacco grows indoors, completely unaware of the weather outside

 

[Anders A]

Second haircut