Lefty second try

[Leftynick]

I primed some mud lugs today too
I took only those who were really yellowing/browning.
Why did you discard the dried leaves ? Were they already composting ?

Yes. It is already composted/rotted. I dont think it can be usable. Everyday raining also makes it rotting faster. As you can see in the picture, I also primed the one that has browning/yellowing. The one that's browning just turn from green to brown without yellowing first.

 

[Charly]

I discarded some rotten/composted leaves too, but I saved a few brown ones, they did not smell like compost, I will wait to see if they are smokable
I love priming my tobacco
... well, in fact I love so many things about tobacco !!

 

[Leftynick]

Looks like I am gonna have small harvest this year.

this waterlogged bed seems doesn't want to grow any bigger. I tried giving them mix of chicken organic pellet and fertilizer to boost the grow a bit but the rain just washed away the fertilizer. I am lost now, dont know what to do next. Maybe I just harvest small this year and provide soil improvement for next year.

The other bed is growing nicely despite I dont till them too much before planting.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Back when I lived with my parents, there was a low area in our yard that would collect water. There was no way to drain it away. Dad and I dug out an actually cubic, cubic meter of dirt and clay by the edge where the water met our sidewalk. We filled the hole with gravel. We never had water in the yard again. There's the space between the gravel, probably nearly 250L, and a much greater capacity for the water to spread out into deeper layers of the soil. You might want to consider something of the sort next year.

 

[Leftynick]

Back when I lived with my parents, there was a low area in our yard that would collect water. There was no way to drain it away. Dad and I dug out an actually cubic, cubic meter of dirt and clay by the edge where the water met our sidewalk. We filled the hole with gravel. We never had water in the yard again. There's the space between the gravel, probably nearly 250L, and a much greater capacity for the water to spread out into deeper layers of the soil. You might want to consider something of the sort next year.

I think I will try your method if my compost aren't enough to make raised bed next year. The problem is I takes out all the stone and never replace it with anything else. So the bed is lower than the soil around it. I never consider that as problem as this is my first time gardening. Well, better luck next year.

 

[Charly]

Hi Leftynick,
I am sorry your plants doesn't want to grow
If you don't want your soil to be waterlogged, you can either make raised beds, or do what ChinaVoodoo suggests.
The idea is to allow water to get out fast (easier to say that to do).

If it can make you feel better : I have some troubles with my crop too : APHIDS ! They bring Potatoe Virus Y to more and more plants in my garden !!! about the quarter of my plants are already infected...
Well... we both have to find solutions to do better next year

 

[Leftynick]

Hi Leftynick,
I am sorry your plants doesn't want to grow
If you don't want your soil to be waterlogged, you can either make raised beds, or do what ChinaVoodoo suggests.
The idea is to allow water to get out fast (easier to say that to do).

If it can make you feel better : I have some troubles with my crop too : APHIDS ! They bring Potatoe Virus Y to more and more plants in my garden !!! about the quarter of my plants are already infected...
Well... we both have to find solutions to do better next year

Yeah. That is all we can do now. Take notes and hope for better next year. If only I spent more time preparing the bed.

My garden has trouble with aphid too, but they attack other plant. My eggplant were swarmed with them I had to throw them away.

I just hope the other bed can grow bigger, as that is where I plant my cigar and flue cure variety. At least I can be satisfied with all virginia blend.

 

[Leftynick]

my attempt to save this year crop. Hope it's not too late.


I bury the stalk until the last leaves to ensure it won't waterlogged again.
I take the soil from the other bed. This soil is where I till all the weeds when I clean the bed. It contain sand, soil and a lot of rotten compost so I hope it will also help my plants to grow bigger.

 

[Gavroche]

Many producers of tobacco cultivate on mounds, e think that to make a mound allows to check(control) better the mixture compost / earth(ground), and allows a good flow(selling) of waters of watering or pluvial. I read as well in my book " tobaccos " of F Bère, as it was necessary to build channels in the mound and to leave 5 cms before the first leaf).
Good luck


Beaucoup de producteurs de tabac cultivent sur buttes, e pense que faire une butte permet de mieux contrôler le mélange compost / terre, et permet un bon écoulement des eaux d'arrosage ou pluviale. j'ai lu aussi dans mon livre "les tabacs " de F Bère, qu'il fallait construire des rigoles dans la butte et laisser 5 cm avant la première feuille.
Bon courage

 

[Brown Thumb]

Good Luck, At least you have not given up.
They look like they might make it if you don't get too much rain.

 

[Leftynick]

Good Luck, At least you have not given up.
They look like they might make it if you don't get too much rain.

I am getting a lot of rain with storm this week. The storm is still here while I am typing this. The additional soil seems to help but still lost few plants due to the rain. They just wilt and die.

I dont have any update this week. My wife were giving birth pre maturely (7 months pregnancy) by surgery last sunday and I have been to hospital a lot. My baby boy is still in NICU because of premature lung. I have to go to hospital everyday to send milk, not time to tend the garden.

 

[ArizonaDave]

Your wife and baby come first!

 

[deluxestogie]

I wish the best for your tiny one.

Bob

 

[Charly]

I wish the best for your family too !
Congratulations for your baby !! take care of him and his mother
Your tobacco can wait, family is way more important

 

[Brown Thumb]

I wish your new family the Best, The hell with the Baccy.
BT

 

[Leftynick]

28th July 2017



Yesterday 10th August 2017

Just as I get a nice growth, today it is raining non-stop and there were flash flood near my place. My nice bed is flooded this morning. I wonder what happen to the weather. Last year, around this time we have drought that nearly dry our water supply. This year it is non stop raining.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Can you get wood mulch and make little mounds under the plants? In wet weather it'll help the water to run off. In dry weather, it'll help to slow evaporation. It also lessens the amount of mud under the leaves.

 

[Leftynick]

I dont think I will be doing anything for this year in my garden. I barely have time to tend the garden juggling between going to hospital to visit my child, send milk to him and housechores (my wife give birth through surgery) with my day job in hetween. The only thing I do these past month were harvesting any leaves that seems mature enough.

However, next year I will definitely make raised bed for my tobacco. I think I will get decent yield, way smaller than I expected, but enough for experimenting. I started this project with expectation of 1 year tobacco supply, but if I get even half than that, I would be satisfied. The cost of planting my own is way lower than buying.

 

[ArizonaDave]

I dont think I will be doing anything for this year in my garden. I barely have time to tend the garden juggling between going to hospital to visit my child, send milk to him and housechores (my wife give birth through surgery) with my day job in hetween. The only thing I do these past month were harvesting any leaves that seems mature enough.

However, next year I will definitely make raised bed for my tobacco. I think I will get decent yield, way smaller than I expected, but enough for experimenting. I started this project with expectation of 1 year tobacco supply, but if I get even half than that, I would be satisfied. The cost of planting my own is way lower than buying.

Is there any place near you where you can get some sand or gravel? In the 5 gallon containers, I've put sand/gravel at the bottom, although raised beds for next year might help. Sounds like you have your hands full with family right now. Arizona (usually a desert), just had one month straight of rain, with more on the way, and we have clay soil too.

 

[Charly]

When the weather is not with us...

This year is very different from last year for me too : last year I begun transplanting and we had 6 weeks of nearly non stop rain, this year we had one month of very hot and dry weather...
Next year might be easier