KoceFF Grow log 2022

[Oldfella]

Could be expensive to use vinegar. I'm not sure if is worth it, I think that the result would be short-term. You may be better off using an acidic fertilizer. I'd look into it a bit further before pouring vinegar all over the place.
Oldfella

 

[koceff]

@Oldfella Actually i think it would be the cheapest using vinegar. The chemicals usually take longer to do their thing, that is why I am considering vinegar, it is suppose to act a lot faster. After the season is over i will use some chemicals but now it is too late fot that.

 

[deluxestogie]

You might look into a more reliable method for testing your soil pH, before treating the soil based on colorimetric strips, which are intended for testing solutions.

Amazon.com

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

Did the soil have any other usual characteristics?
I had one bed of alkaline soil when I started out. All the vegetables I grew in it grew slowly and fruited late. When it would dry out it would form a crust on the top that was about 1/4-1/2" thick.

I ended up applying soil sulfur to it and I think that helped. It was my tobacco bed last year.

 

[koceff]

@deluxestogie I am planing to buy something like that tomorrow, I don't trust the strips.
@MadFarmer This is the soil. Last year after few days with above 100f.

 

[koceff]

I have put CT Broadleaf and Corojo in 1020 cells yesterday.
They are on the balcony and get direct sun for an hour maybe in the morning.
This is the weather forecast for the next days.
I am not sure if I should keep them inside, leave them outside, cover them with something, how much direct sun daily...
I may ask some basic questions bcz I tend to repeat some mistakes

 

[Knucklehead]

I have put CT Broadleaf and Corojo in 1020 cells yesterday.
They are on the balcony and get direct sun for an hour maybe in the morning.
This is the weather forecast for the next days.
I am not sure if I should keep them inside, leave them outside, cover them with something, how much direct sun daily...
I may ask some basic questions bcz I tend to repeat some mistakes

When is your last average frost?
I generally start hardening off the seedlings about two weeks prior to my last average frost date, gradually increasing exposure to sun each day over those approximately two weeks, while occasionally going outside to keep an eye on them for signs of distress. I have forgotten them for a couple of hours and when I got there they were clearly not happy with the neglect and the tips of the leaves were a white color that eventually turned to a dead brown. They recovered but had I not remembered them in time I may have ended up with toasted tobacco seedlings. I usually stop all water and fertilizer to the plants that last week to toughen the plant and minimize shock when they go to the field and get abandoned to the elements. Exposure to wind during hardening is beneficial. The plants respond to the wind movement by strengthening the stems and putting out more lateral roots as a brace against the wind. Hardening is just a gradual incremental shift from pampering the plants inside to turning them over to Mother Nature outside.

 

[koceff]

@Knucklehead Today 15th April is the last average frost but next week couple of nights are going to be almost freezing. The temp during the day is about 20 celsius, I know i should expose them to sun slowly but average night temp, as I can see on the weather forecast , is around 7 celsius. Is that too cold for young seedlings? Should i cover them with or bring them inside?

 

[deluxestogie]

I would bring them inside at night.

Bob

 

[koceff]

I have transferred the seedlings. 77 slots each tray.
1. Corojo
2. Florida sumatra
3. Little Dutch
4. Conn. Broadleaf
5. Criollo 98
6. Dom. Olor

The last two didn't sprout very well so they share a tray. The PA Red is out of the game.
About 380 seedlings. In the coming days I will fill up another tray with the remaining ones of the first 3.
I am watering with boiled tap water, hope it will be ok. I managed to find this about our city water. They use gaseous chlorine,
chlorine dioxide , liquid sodium hypochlorite, ozone and ultraviolet. Not more than 0.5mg\l but mostly 0.2-0.3mg\l. For regular household drinking water they use just gaseous chlorine .

 

[koceff]

Now we'll see if i am going to smoke some cigars this summer...

 

[koceff]

I've sprayed some leaves yesterday and put them in plastic bag. I puled one out this morning and dried it with hairdryer. It was burning nicely. I am going to roll one cigar with those leaves this evening and we'll see if it is going to be ok.
I also sprayed one cigar made before just to see how it's going to turn out.
8oz KNO3 to 1 gal. destiled water.

 

[Oldfella]

I've sprayed some leaves yesterday and put them in plastic bag. I puled one out this morning and dried it with hairdryer. It was burning nicely. I am going to roll one cigar with those leaves this evening and we'll see if it is going to be ok.
I also sprayed one cigar made before just to see how it's going to turn out.
8oz KNO3 to 1 gal. destiled water.

Hmmmm!!
Good luck with that.
Oldfella

 

[koceff]

Something is not the way it should be .
This is Little Dutch. They were first to sprout and fastest growing. Now they have stopped growing and are doing this instead.
They are inside under a window and i leave them outside once a day or two. The soil is moist under the top layer.

 

[deluxestogie]

It looks like some of the leaves have been either scorched in the sun or exposed to frost. So long as the growth tip is viable, they should resume growth.

Bob

 

[koceff]

@deluxestogie No frost since they were put in the trays. But they were in the sun for an hour or so in the morning a few days ago.

 

[Oldfella]

Does the sun shine through your window and hit the plants? Also I noticed some lumpy soil in a couple of pots. Make sure that the roots are covered. Otherwise as Bob says so long as the growth tip is okay, leave them alone.
Oldfella

 

[koceff]

@Oldfella I made sure they are covered well. There is no direct sunlight on them. I guess that one time they were out on the sun was too much for them.

 

[koceff]

I am not happy with the growth. They should have been much bigger by now. I don't have any pictures.
Yesterday I planted them in the garden. I was planning to do this a month ago but things don't always go our way.

Florida Sumatra x70
Dominican Olor x35
Criollo 98 x30
Little Dutch x35
Corojo x66

The weather is warm but not too much, cloudy periods during the day, and a bit of rain here and there.

 

[koceff]

Day 5 in the garden. Every single transplant is alive and well. Ok, there are 3 or 4 that are not doing ok but maybe they are just shy. To be honest I am surprised. I thought there will be maybe 20-30 survivors. I am very optimistic that way I am going on vacation monday for a week so i watered them very generously today and we'll be seeing each other in 10 days. Hope they are going to wait. Any body from Greece here?