Nathan's first grow blog 2020

[Nathan Esq]

I sowed victory seeds long red, sustainable seed, cuban criollo 98, and victory seed 'Havana' on 2/8/2020. I'm using six Dixie cups with coco coir, inside a pan of water covered with plastic wrap. I will transplant into coir/perlite 75/25 and 7 gallon grow bags in my backyard. I live south of Tampa, Fl. I havent made arrangements for fermenting yet, trying to get my other half get used to my growing tobacco in the backyard first. Let's see what happens!

 

[Charly]

Take care not to give them too much water. If there is standing water in the bottom you should remove the plastic sheet to avoid mold.

 

[Nathan Esq]

I should uncover eventhough they haven't sprouted yet?

 

[GreenDragon]

I would, also dump the excess water. You want the soil to be moist, not wet and soggy. That's an invitation for mold/rot. At this point it would be best to get some fresh air circulating around them to dry out the soil some. The seeds should have absorbed all the water they need to germinate at this point.

 

[deluxestogie]

The solid-bottom, plastic, 8 ounce freezer jars in which I germinate tobacco seed are filled about 3/4 with my soil mix, a quarter cup of water just poured into each, then seed is lightly sprinkled on the top surface. I close the screw-on lids, rest the closed jars on a seedling heat mat, and never fuss with them until the seeds have germinated (typically 4 to 14 days). Once the seeds in a particular jar have germinated, then I leave the lid ajar. That is pretty much the point at which I transfer an individual, germinated seed or tiny seedling into a private cell in a 1020 tray.

Bob

 

[Nathan Esq]

2.12.20 -Got sprouts in 5 out of 6 cups

 

[Nathan Esq]

One month in and the little guys are comming along. The "Havana" seem to be a little behind. The plants have been on my back screen porch. Ive been slowly hardening off, they are now up to full sun outside until about 11 a.m. I havent added fertilizer yet, except the little added to the coir originally.

 

[MadFarmer]

For fermentation check out GreenDragon's 2018 grow log. He used his attic and plastic tubs, which is what I plan on doing this summer.

 

[Nathan Esq]

Hmmm. I live in FL, that might work. I've been putting off the fermentation thoughts for a while. My other half still thinks I'm nuts for trying to grow tobacco. I thought I'd wait for that part.

 

[Nathan Esq]

Lost one early and another one from someone "helping" by watering from above. 2 may have been damaged from wind, we'll see.

 

[Nathan Esq]

Down to 2 potted plants from 6. The red marker I used to write with is completely gone, so I have no idea what I have. I think 1 criollo98 and 1 long red. 3 user error deaths, 1 "bad seed" (it just never grew past sprout stage. These 2 are what is left at 55 days and transplanted to 7 gallon bags with rubber mulch bottom 25%, and Cococoir top 75%. I'm using General Hydroponic (GH) nutrients micro and bloom only in equal amounts w/ some Cal/Mag added. Also hydrated the Coir with Cal/Mag amended tap water.

 

[MrMotion]

Sorry to see the early losses, I grow hemp in coco and use GH for my nutes too (indoor). My tobacco is soil though, hemp gets most of my attention, I need the tobacco to get its nutes from the ground haha. Mind sharing your nutrient schedule and ratios? Be interesting to see how they respond, I got a couple of extra bags, might put a couple bacca plants in them and see what happens, I've got plenty of GH.

 

[Nathan Esq]

No nutes until the 1st set of real leaves @ 30 days,then mixed full strength adding micro first then bloom and Cal/Mag as recomended on container. I mixed that at 1/4 strength, I increased the nutes to 1/3 strength a week later. About 5 days ago I transplanted into containers and the next day started with 1tsp/gallon of each. They seem to like it just fine. I've got tomatoes doing well on the same regiment.

 

[Nathan Esq]

I've grown tomatoes this way before with great success.

 

[Nathan Esq]

Anyone know what is causing this damage? Checked last evening all is fine. This morning this damage appeared. The small specs are bits of coco coir.

 

[deluxestogie]

Two likely scenarios.

1. Birds are ripping and puncturing the leaf, in order to eat bugs.
2. Birds are ripping and puncturing the leaf, thinking all those tempting dark bits of debris just might be bugs

Remedy for now is just some row cover, like Agribon AG-15.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

My first guess is something stepped on them, most of them look like tears with the exception of the largest one with the chunk missing. Second thought, did you have any hard winds? My third uneducated knee jerk guess with very little evidence would be a snail. Regardless, time for a good inspection, paying particular attention to the underside of the leaves.

EDIT: just saw Deluxestogie’s post so change my first guess to his correct analysis and then descending order but I do think he has hit the nail on the head again. Unerring nail aim that guy. Uncanny even.

 

[Nathan Esq]

Yep, makes sense, because it doesnt look like insect damage that I've seen before but I'm not sure. I did see some marks in the mulch, that seemed like a small critter. I googled Agribon 15, it says 90% light penetration, and it's super cheap. Sounds like it beats 7 dust, which wont stop birds anyway, and I'm a bit hesitant to spray something that I want to smoke. Thanks.

 

[deluxestogie]

For baby plants, cut a sheet of Agribon AG-15 the size of the bed, and just drape it directly onto the plant bed. Anchor it with a few fist-size rocks along the margins, and maybe a rock or two for the middle of the bed, if it billows in the wind. The plants will grow well beneath it, and rain will pass right on through. When the plants are more robust, and begin to lift the Agribon substantially (~a few weeks), then remove it, hose it off, if needed, and store it dry for next year. As a row cover, it will last for at least three years, if kept clean during storage.

Agribon AG-15 is also what I use to sew my bud bags (sewing a Tyvek tag into the margin of each bag, for labeling). I don't reuse those.

Bob

 

[Nathan Esq]

BTW my tomatoes seem alot more durable.
I can see why tobacco has a spiritual element to it. They start off so tiny and delicate, but turn into a massive strong plant.