Grundle's 2012 Grow Log

[Grundle]

Reserved to record this years experiences. I am starting late so this should be interesting. I don't have any tobacco photos for you so I thought I would post a teaser with some grapevine porn.



I have been growing these for 4 years now and this year will be the first good crop. I am excited =]

NOTE: This front page serves as a summary for my growing log. If you want to see pictures or more detailed information, just flip through the log and you will find what you are looking for.

06-07-2012

• Ordered 3 CT Broad Leaf and 3 Kelly Burley seedlings. They should arrive in 3 days, most likely early next week.
• Decided to use no-dig gardening approach to prepare for the seedlings. The weekend will be a perfect time to prep before they arrive.

06-08-2012

• Received my seeds today (Did a happy dance). Filled a tray with peat moss, moistened it with a spray bottle and sowed approximately 50 seeds. Seeds are the strain "Small Stalk Black Mammoth" (SSBM). I am left with a surplus of 950 seeds. I will find something to do with them.
• Bought Peat Moss, Mushroom Compost, and ganked a bunch of newspapers for building the no-dig beds tomorrow.

06-09-2012

• Built one no-dig bed.

06-12-2012

• Got an email today saying my plants have shipped.
• Decided to try a second method of germination. Place seeds on a moist paper towel and then enclose inside a sealed plastic bag. I am interested to see if the germination rate is quicker, and also which method has a higher percentage germination.

06-14-2012

• Saw the first signs of germination
• Note: Wife threw away my second method germination attempt mentioned above, so no data will be obtained from that experiment.

06-15-2012

• Received and transplanted the seedlings into the no-dig beds.

06-21-2012

• First leaves appear on SSBM germinated seeds.

06-22-2012

• Transplanted 8 SSBM seedlings using tweezers into peat pots.

06-23-2012

• All 8 seedlings were dead by morning. NOTE: On the next try I will try to scoop up under the seedlings as to not disturb the rooting. Most likely, it was probably too early to try this since the seedlings are still at a delicate stage.
• Temperatures hitting 100 F, plants are showing signs of stress.

06-28-2012

• Perforated the newspaper layer beneath one of the plants with a long rod.
• Added Nitrogen fertilizer to the same plants. Will be monitoring this plants to note any difference in growth.

 

[BarG]

You must have alot of patience to cultivate and care for your plants 4 years to reap the rewards.. You won't have any trouble in the patience dept. I hope for tobacco. Looking forward to any new Pics. of your new challenge.

 

[indianjoe]

Your grapes look good!

 

[workhorse_01]

How do you stop the little black spots on the hull ? My dad's get them each year and people tell him he cant eat them it's supposed to be a fungus i guess ? After 4 yrs of not eating the grapes he's about ready to cut the vines down.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

I don't get spots on my grapes but then again I foliar spray them with a combination of fish, kelp,molasses, potassium bicarbonate and/or phosphoric acid. I also check the Brix levels often and adjust my foliar program based on the readings

 

[Grundle]

How do you stop the little black spots on the hull ? My dad's get them each year and people tell him he cant eat them it's supposed to be a fungus i guess ? After 4 yrs of not eating the grapes he's about ready to cut the vines down.

The problem with black spots is that there are several diseases that can cause this. It could be "black rot" (Guignardia bidwellii) or "black spot"(Elsinoe ampelina) commonly called anthracnose Both of those are fungal infections.

The problem with fungal infections is that if it has already started up this year, then your crop is going to be a wash. You have to get on it before it even shows up. Based on what you have said I am leaning towards black spot. Check the vines too for black spots as well.

Lucky for you the treatment is the same for both infections. You can spray with Copper Oxychloride or Mancozeb for prevention. If you see leaves or berries developing the spots prune them immediately. If you notice black spots on any of the canes you will want to remove it as well. Hopefully that can limit the spread and get you set with clean vines for next year.

Before bud break next year you will want to spray with Oxychloride again as a preventative measure No reason to chop the vines, they just need some TLC.

I don't get spots on my grapes but then again I foliar spray them with a combination of fish, kelp,molasses, potassium bicarbonate and/or phosphoric acid. I also check the Brix levels often and adjust my foliar program based on the readings

This sounds like a magical mixture. You mind sharing your recipe? What is the kelp, molasses, and fish for?

 

[Grundle]

I have put some thought into what I want and have come up with an approach. I am pressed for time this year, due to other obligations, so I really won't be able to double dig or till like I normally do. I am going to try an approach called no-dig gardening. The hippy permaculture crowd is really into this approach for many save the planet reasons, but I am mostly attracted to it because it is really quick, which is what I need. With several layers of straw, grass clippings, and compost I have a ready-made bed in 25 minutes.

I decided to take SmokesAhoy's (YARR!) advice and get some seedlings. Today I ordered 3 CT Broadleaf and 3 Kelly Burleys, with the intention to make cigars when they are done. I am still going to start the SSBMs from seed and see if they make it to harvest. If they do, then I can practice some blending options. and learn more about properly building a cigar.

For my reference the following are the layers I will put down.

1) newspaper
2) grass clippings
3) straw
4) compost - add some worms to this layer...
5) grass clippings
6) straw
7) compost

 

[Jitterbugdude]

This sounds like a magical mixture. You mind sharing your recipe? What is the kelp, molasses, and fish for?

It is kind of magical. A few books I read about 20 years ago were heavy into the theory that basically plants get eaten by insects as well as fungal infections because they are not at optimal health. Optimal health is reflected by a high Brix level. Brix is a measure of carbohydrate content and there is a direct correlation between carbohydrate content and mineral content. The foliar spray increases Brix levels and hence nutrients so that the plant is healthier. I'm not sure how much science backs up that theory but I know that by keeping (or raising) Brix levels in my plants that fungal infections become non existent and insect pressure diminishes greatly ( does not go away though, I still need Bt). I also use minerals in my foliar spray such as copper sulfate, iron sulfate etc. The copper as well as the potassium bicarbonate that I use are simple anit-fungals all by themselves so maybe that's why I do not get fungal infections-Brix levels be dammed. Big grape growers use Brix meters to determine the optimal time to harvest their grapes

I'll dig up my recipes in a few days, maybe over the weekend.
In the mean time:
Fish is used to supply Nitrogen
Kelp is full of nutrients as well as plant hormones
Molasses is also full of minerals and also acts as a spreader/sticker ( makes the spray cling to the leaf)
Potassium Bicarbonate supplies Potassium but it also directs directly on fungals by breaking their cells

 

[Grundle]

I had to work late last night, so I will be taking off from work early today. I am going to start working on my "no-dig" beds. I just have to see if I can track down some hay and compost. I'll start at Lowe's and then head to several local nurseries. Oh yea, I gotta find enough newpaper to cover my plot. I'll upload some progress pictures later this evening.

@Jitterbug - Thanks for that information. I always thought brix was a measure of the sugar content within the ripening grapes. I didn't realize it was used for more than just grapes either. I need to go research more, because obviously I don't understand it correctly. I am also itching to see your recipe. I want to try this myself.

 

[Grundle]

I ended up coming home to multiple disasters. Once I got home from buying what I needed for the no-dig beds my wife wanted to go shop for a new toilet/sink, so it was out the door again. When I got home the house was an oven and I soon realized the air conditioner wasn't working. Called my guy and spent the evening working on it. Well, at least I got to put my seeds in a seed tray. That made me happy, and tomorrow morning I will get up early and do the work that needs to be done before heading off to study.

 

[Grundle]

I was finally able to build a planting bed today. Now i have something ready for when my 6 seedlings arrive next week The following are the steps I took to build it. I think it took me 2 hours, but this was including cutting the grass for extra compost and going back and forth between my work and the air conditioner repair guy.


1. Select a nice spot to build a bed.


2. Put down a layer of newspaper as a weed-stop and get it wet.


3. Put down a layer of grass


4. Put down a layer of straw


5. Put down a layer of compost (Peat + Mushroom Compost)

6. Repeat from Step Two. The following is my finished product


Materials list:

• One Bale of Peat Moss
• 2, 40lb bags of Mushroom compost
• Grass clippings from back yard
• One straw "seed mat" (not the kind with seeds sown with the mat)
• A bunch of free "Pitch Weekly" newspapers

 

[Grundle]

It looks like I saw the first signs of germination this morning. Several places in my seed bed I could see tiny spots of green. That makes me happy. By tonight I'll have a better idea Roughly five days from sowing to germination...I have been so impatient it seemed like forever, but putting it into context it was really quite fast.

My plants from newhope seed shipped earlier this week, so I expect them to arrive today or tomorrow. When that happens you can expect some new pictures of the shipped plants and also the germinating sprouts

 

[deluxestogie]

Grundle,
Take pictures of the packaging and shipping containers for those New Hope transplants.

Bob

 

[Chicken]

im intrested in seeing the outcome of your grow,

your '' additives,'' the newspaper straw,, e,t,c,

is impressive indeed,

i just used a felt roll to cover the rows,to keep the weeds, out,

 

[Boboro]

I use news papper and oak leaves You till them in in the fall to build organic materials in the soil.

 

[Grundle]

I got my seedlings yesterday, and I was pleased as pie! To oblige Bob I took some pictures of the packaging, which I will document in this post. I didn't have enough time to document the transplanting so I will do that in another post.

On a positive note, I ordered 3 plants each of two different varieties. When my package came I counted 6 plants of the CT Broadleaf and 4 plants of the Kelley Burley. That is roughly $12.00 extra that newhope gave to me free. I have to say thanks to newhope for either being very generous, or hiring people who can't count. Either way you have made me a very happy customer

The starts came in a tiny box.


When I opened the box everything was covered with paper.

Removing the paper I saw my two bundles of tobacco, properly marked. The bottoms were enclosed in an envelope and rubber banded together. I could feel the moisture through the paper, which I was pleased to note. The leafs are a lighter color, probably due to lack of sunlight during transit.

Untying the bundles I notice that the rootballs look healthy, but very packed together. Looks like they were taken directly from a small pot and sent to me. Giving them some extra space during transplant should allow these guys to really get going.


More to come soon.

@Chicken - I am also interested to see what happens. I have never tried this before, and I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't worried. One thing that really concerns me is the speed at which the peat base I used dries out. I checked my garden plot yesterday and everything was powder dry. Hopefully that mushroom compost I mixed in will balance and help hold in some moisture.

 

[deluxestogie]

Thanks for the packaging pics. The plants are grown in float tray cells. It's interesting that no plastic wrap is there. Only paper. I've obtained many seed varieties from New Hope Seed, and have always been pleased with the germination rate.

Bob

 

[BarG]

You won't be dissapointed in the least Grundle. That was a wise decission, and I'm glad I bought some myself. Theyr'e growing right before my eyes. I got some seeds from Bonner and other members also that were all of excellent quality. I'm gonna s..t if I end up with 6' tall plants this year for the amount I have growing.

 

[johnlee1933]

You won't be dissapointed in the least Grundle. That was a wise decission, and I'm glad I bought some myself. Theyr'e growing right before my eyes. I got some seeds from Bonner and other members also that were all of excellent quality. I'm gonna (((s..t))) if I end up with 6' tall plants this year for the amount I have growing.

Tim, You are permitted to say "SPIT" It's OK. We are all big boys.

John

 

[BarG]

Say it don't spray it....LOL....I was wondering if there may be a few virgin ears around here.