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RbwGeorge's Blog 2023: Growing "Rustica/Machorka" and a Cigarette Blend

RbwGeorge

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You made the smart choice- I haven’t found a single good brand of potting soil in Germany. I’m going to mix cheap tomato potting soil 50/50 with cow manure. Maybe some sand to loosen it up.
Ive heard that tobacco really likes loose soil.
Here the Soil is pretty dense and very high in nutrients.
Im going to loosen it up every once in a while with a plow or something.
I hope your plan works out.

Now my thoughs revolve around helping my plants to "stand up" and keeping them safe from pests.
Im also wondering what "Bags" i could use to save some of the seeds without getting cross pollenation.
And my biggest fear is mold after harvesting the leaves, followed by the leaves not turning brown.
When i have some time ill browse the forums a little.


Cheers
George
 

RbwGeorge

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Machorka9.jpgMachorka10.jpg

Hey everyone,
it seems like my plants are standing up, but they have gotten thicker leaves and i t hink they have lost a little volume.

My first plant was attacked by a snail,
ive read that putting mulch around the plants helps against them?
I cant use Snail poison because of dogs.

Cheers
 

Knucklehead

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Hey everView attachment 46129View attachment 46130

Hey everyone,
it seems like my plants are standing up, but they have gotten thicker leaves and i t hink they have lost a little volume.

My first plant was attacked by a snail,
ive read that putting mulch around the plants helps against them?
I cant use Snail poison because of dogs.

Cheers
It depends on the mulch. Slugs can hide under chunks of wood but sharp mulch like crushed egg shells or crushed sea shells can keep slugs away. There are some pretty good tips on google or youtube.
 

RbwGeorge

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A Family member recommended me a slug poison thats non toxic to our dog.
Our dog is very picky about food anyways, ill see if it tries to eat it or not.
If not ill use that aswell as ash.
Does it make sense to remove the half eaten leaves?

Cheers
George
 

RbwGeorge

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Machorka11.jpgMachorka12.jpg

Hello everyone, i hope youre having a good day.

My plants have been safe since i have put some ash and a bit of (dog friendly) slug poison around them.
Its interesting to see how different the leaves of Machorka and N. Tabacum look already. Machorka/Rustica has much waxier glossy leaves, while N.T looks matte and brighter.

Thank you all for reading and all your good tips

George
 

RbwGeorge

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Hi everybody.
Something kept digging in my mulch so i built an improvised "fence" around my plants.
I used some firewood and drenched it in something similar to linseed oil, to make it a little more durable.
The Machorka/Rustica plants really seem to like it here.
The Rot Front seems to grow pretty well too. Oriental and Virgina are the smallest.



Machorka15.JPG

Ive planted some mint and basil in those pots.

Cheers
George
 

RbwGeorge

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Germany
Hi everybody.

Today i saw the first Flowers, and instantly removed them on my rusticas. They seem to mature a little faster than tabacum.

8F07A411-27ED-45CA-B8B9-01D346C71D78.jpeg
128568EE-8680-4FD3-86DE-DF4177338084.jpeg

I hope using my fingers is the correct technique to remove them.

Here you can see the difference between rustica and tabacum growth.

8F70C546-0C51-4A5D-B702-CFC76B0CB111.jpeg

Ive kept some flowers on 3 or so plants. If i remember correctly, they return after removing them though. I dont know when its the right time to keep them for future seeds.

I need to order those paint bags now.

Im wondering if some tomato fertilizer would be helpful.

Cheers
George

PS: I really missed that feeling of sticky fingers after removing the flowers
 

deluxestogie

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My limited experience with N. rustica is that they branch (sucker) prolifically, blossom nearly continuously, and are difficult to manage in the same fashion as N. tabacum varieties.

Low chlorine tomato fertilizer is good for tobacco. Avoid adding fertilizer late into the growing season, since that will delay ripening of the leaf, and make color-curing more difficult.

Bob
 
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