WesternLeaf’s 2022 Grow Blog (First Tobacco Grow)

[WesternLeaf]

So I got a bit of a late start out here in Utah this year, the seeds were planted June 10th and this is where they are at now. My plan was to put them in my garden next week.

There are three varieties African Red, Louisiana Perique and Burley. I won’t be too bummed if they don’t produce much but I should get something, the first frost out here is usually mid October.

Does this sound like a good plan? I think I will give them some fertilizer when I plant them some of the leaves are a bit light green/whiteish and they have been in a sunny window so I don’t think they are light green because of lack of light.

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. Be sure to read our New Growers' FAQ.

How many plants do you intend to grow? It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks after germination for plants to be large enough to survive in the garden bed, but only if you thin them to 1 plant per tray cell or peat pot. Thin yours (pluck out or transfer) and then give them another few weeks. That will be cutting the maturation time pretty close to first frost. You might also consider planting them into pots (2 to 5 gallon), so they can come indoors during the early frost days.

Bob

 

[WesternLeaf]

I still have to figure out plant spacing in the garden but I was hoping for at least 9 plants. I have some separate peat planters I could transplant into to give them some more space. Here is a pic of the separate peat planter, would this work to let them get bigger in before I plant in the garden?

 

[WesternLeaf]

I had a bit of a disaster on my first attempt at transplanting, I just ripped the rootball apart and then put the transplants outside for a few hours a day in the shade and it resulted in 27 of 30 plants dieing.

So I tried again with my backup seedlings I kept (phew) by putting the roots in water and carefully separating then keeping the transplants inside and it worked! So I’m definitely going to have to plant some plants in 5 gal buckets to extend my season as much as possible.

 

[BrotherJ]

Good move keeping backup seedlings. For any plant, I think they need about a week or 10 days after any sort of root shock to stabilise before they take any other pressures.