CobGuy
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That's a beautiful site! 
Paraord's grow blog 2018
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Levi Gross
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I agree, that is a beautiful sight! Some of them buggers look pretty anxious for some nutrients.
Paraord
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Update, they are growing out. Cant wait till they start growing UP! I think they could stand another miracle grow bath. Its been pretty darn dry here lately and have been slacking on getting water down (preoccupied with chainsaw work). Snapped a couple pics quick before work this morning.
mwaller
Well-Known Member
Your plants look excellent!
I wouldn't be too eager to water unless your plants are looking droopy in the evening. Tobacco seems to thrive on a little bit of neglect.
I wouldn't be too eager to water unless your plants are looking droopy in the evening. Tobacco seems to thrive on a little bit of neglect.
Levi Gross
Well-Known Member
Your plants are looking good. And I agree don’t baby them to much. I have learned over and over that they really can take some abuse.
skychaser
Well-Known Member
No, it doesn't. It can tolerate things many other plants can't, but it certainly doesn't thrive on neglect or abuse. Your plants are now in their most active growth phase. Unless water a major cost to you, don't wait for rain. Water it!
Paraord
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Thanks guys! I gave them a good watering last night and gave them a good soaking. I did have a question on the grass between the rows. Should I use that old chicken bedding/droppings to smother out the grass? I ask because maybe the grass taking away the nutrients that the smaller ones could be using.
Heres a few more pictures of the largest and smallest
Heres a few more pictures of the largest and smallest
I can't answer your question about using chicken bedding. That adds more variables than my brain can handle.
Simple, shallow tilling (or weed pulling) would be helpful. If you can keep the competition at least 8" away from the tobacco, it will definitely grow larger and more rapidly. The larger your grow, the more challenging weeding becomes. Tobacco farmers (multi-acres) usually just plow between the rows, but they tend to have significant sod grass only at the margins of fields.
In my grows of up to 200 plants, I squat down there and pull all the weeds and grass by hand, usually the day after a soaking rain. If I pull the roots along with the plants, then it minimizes my having to pull the very same weeds repeatedly. I try to do a thorough weeding every two or three weeks, and yank obvious offenders on a daily basis.
For very dry soil, a scuffle hoe can be used to glide along the surface, shaving away the grass and weeds. But it may need to be done weekly.
Bob
Simple, shallow tilling (or weed pulling) would be helpful. If you can keep the competition at least 8" away from the tobacco, it will definitely grow larger and more rapidly. The larger your grow, the more challenging weeding becomes. Tobacco farmers (multi-acres) usually just plow between the rows, but they tend to have significant sod grass only at the margins of fields.
In my grows of up to 200 plants, I squat down there and pull all the weeds and grass by hand, usually the day after a soaking rain. If I pull the roots along with the plants, then it minimizes my having to pull the very same weeds repeatedly. I try to do a thorough weeding every two or three weeks, and yank obvious offenders on a daily basis.
For very dry soil, a scuffle hoe can be used to glide along the surface, shaving away the grass and weeds. But it may need to be done weekly.
Bob
Paraord
Well-Known Member
Thanks Bob! Not that I needed something to do outside but that was enough motivation to go and hoed the beds, gave most of them a wider berth to the sod on the edges. Now it looks a bit more respectable, and hopefully the tobacco agrees!
I just noticed the Washington Monument on the far side of the reflecting field. Very patriotic.
Bob
OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
Oooh...A jari mower. I wish I had one.
Wes H.
Wes H.
Paraord
Well-Known Member
Had a fella give that to me. Was sick of moving it around the barn cause it always flooded. a 4 dollar float later and she does just fine.
So today I was back to hoeing getting what I missed the other day and its clear my neglect in the watering department took its toll. Everything was much bigger, greener, healthier looking. On my biggest Indian Black I noticed what looks like will be seed pods or flowers. I wanted to keep some from this one but do I clip them now and if so will another flower come up later?
Its only 20" tall and is the tallest of the lot so far which have been in for a month.
Whats the general consensus all? In the mean time I will smoke this frog morton I found in my office and get another chapter or two in of 'Lonesome Dove'.
I would suggest allowing the budding plant to just continue. That will allow you to observe how rapidly the bud head matures, and when the blossoms are just about to open, go ahead and bag the plant.
This early in the season, if you top the plant, then allow a top sucker to create another bud head, that can serve just as well, but then you've stimulated suckers all the way down the stalk.
Bob
This early in the season, if you top the plant, then allow a top sucker to create another bud head, that can serve just as well, but then you've stimulated suckers all the way down the stalk.
Bob
skychaser
Well-Known Member
I agree. Let it grow for now. Sometimes you get an odd one that blooms prematurely. Topping it now will cause excessive suckering.
There is quite a noticeable difference in your plants from today's photo and the one you posted 3 days ago. Watering and weeding has defiantly helped. Grass is a bitch. It's hard to kill out, and it sucks up your nutrients and a lot of water. I try to keep a clean edge at least a foot back from the plants.
Chicken bedding would be an excellent addition to the soil. I would add it now and work it lightly into the top soil. Use it sparingly if it has a really high poop content. Chicken manure is very potent stuff. If you do add it, do it asap. It will need a week or two to start to sink in and release its nutrients. You don't want to add any fertilizers after mid season. That's about July 10th for both you and me. You want the nitrogen in the soil to be depleted by mid to late August so they will start to ripen. Extra nitrogen late in the season will keep the plant green and can make curing difficult.
If you can get some chicken bedding next spring, work in a good amount a couple weeks before planting. The plants will love it, what ever they are. And have a couple truck loads delivered to my house too.
Paraord
Well-Known Member
Ya know I didnt really look at the two pictures side by side until right now. Saturday to Tuesday. It looks like darn near all of em doubled in size. Ill let this guy grow for a while, thanks Bob and skychaser.
Also this weekend Ill get that chicken manure on the beds, maybe use the torch to kill the inbetween sod, and keep the water going. Seems to really have helped.
Also this weekend Ill get that chicken manure on the beds, maybe use the torch to kill the inbetween sod, and keep the water going. Seems to really have helped.
Young tobacco leaves are very sensitive to intense heat. I wouldn't bring a torch anywhere near the tobacco.
Bob
Bob
Paraord
Well-Known Member
Noted and nixing the torch. Thanks Bob!
Paraord
Well-Known Member
Well either they are gonna love me and grow or hate me and die......learning experiences right? I gave each plant about half a football sized shake. enough to cover the ground and not have a thick layer.
Pictures for reference- chicken poo to shavings ratio
......and about now is where I remembered I gave them some miracle grow water on Saturday too...... I suppose I could go back out and rake it out before I let it water. Think it'll be good or did I just murder my tobacco if I leave it in?
Pictures for reference- chicken poo to shavings ratio
......and about now is where I remembered I gave them some miracle grow water on Saturday too...... I suppose I could go back out and rake it out before I let it water. Think it'll be good or did I just murder my tobacco if I leave it in?
Paraord
Well-Known Member
Ok, my head got the best of me and I raked excessive manure out of the beds and into the centers. I figure itll leech anyways and wont burn the plants. Hopefully.
Total I brought in was a little over 2 wheelbarrows full. I wouldnt call it fully composted, but its old and new thrown in a pile from last year to this year. Some from the top some from the bottom. Next year I wont go into this so haphazard. Time to turn on the sprinkler and see what happens.
Total I brought in was a little over 2 wheelbarrows full. I wouldnt call it fully composted, but its old and new thrown in a pile from last year to this year. Some from the top some from the bottom. Next year I wont go into this so haphazard. Time to turn on the sprinkler and see what happens.
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