Wruk53 2024 Grow Log

[wruk53]

Wow, congratulations, those look great and healthy looking. I planted mine on the very same day, also in Florida, and mine are 1/100th that size. What kind of lighting are you using

I've been using this light for about 3 years now, If I remember correctly, it cost about $150.00 or so when I bought it. I believe that the trays I use are just as responsible for the good results as the lighting. Check out the Winstrip trays at Neversink Farms site. They have a very large opening at the bottom plus a slit that goes from the bottom to the top of one corner, providing more air flow than regular trays which reduces the chance of waterlog and gives better root growth. They're not cheap, but they are very sturdy and should last a lifetime.

​

Horticulture Lighting Group 135 Watt V2 RSpec Quantum Board DIY Kit (Full-Cycle / Flower)​

This light is dimmable from 60 to 150 watt, I have it adjusted somewhere toward the middle range to lower the heat output. My cabinet is 22"X11", just large enough to fit one 1020 tray inside. The light hangs about 14 inches above the tray. I have an exhaust fan mounted over a cutout on the top of the cab for cooling.
Here's part of the description:

• Dimmable (driver) from 60-150 Watts
• 250 watt HID replacement
• Veg Footprint 3' x 3' (9 sq ft)
• Flower Footprint 2' x 2' (4 sq ft) to 2' x 3' (6 sq ft)
• 3500K + 660nm white light full spectrum for better result

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

I've been using this light for about 3 years now, If I remember correctly, it cost about $150.00 or so when I bought it. I believe that the trays I use are just as responsible for the good results as the lighting. Check out the Winstrip trays at Neversink Farms site. They have a very large opening at the bottom plus a slit that goes from the bottom to the top of one corner, providing more air flow than regular trays which reduces the chance of waterlog and gives better root growth. They're not cheap, but they are very sturdy and should last a lifetime.

​

Horticulture Lighting Group 135 Watt V2 RSpec Quantum Board DIY Kit (Full-Cycle / Flower)​

This light is dimmable from 60 to 150 watt, I have it adjusted somewhere toward the middle range to lower the heat output. My cabinet is 22"X11", just large enough to fit one 1020 tray inside. The light hangs about 14 inches above the tray. I have an exhaust fan mounted over a cutout on the top of the cab for cooling.
Here's part of the description:

• Dimmable (driver) from 60-150 Watts
• 250 watt HID replacement
• Veg Footprint 3' x 3' (9 sq ft)
• Flower Footprint 2' x 2' (4 sq ft) to 2' x 3' (6 sq ft)
• 3500K + 660nm white light full spectrum for better result

Wow, you are very serious about your growing! That's a heavy-duty light, and very much explains your great results. My light is a cheap $20 20W double LED hanging bar from Amazon, and unfortunately as this is just a bit of a lark/hobby, I can't justify a larger purchase. If I finally have some results with what I have, maybe next year I'll progress to a much better set up like yours.

 

[deluxestogie]

this is just a bit of a lark/hobby, I can't justify...

The sun is your friend.

Bob

 

[wruk53]

I transplanted the seedlings today. The 2 weeks forecast looks good, no temps below about 48 at night, mostly 70's during the days. The last frost date here is Feb. 3, so I should be okay.

12 Badischer Geudertheimer, 12 Rot Front and 36 One Sucker.

 

[wruk53]

Two weeks from transplant. I think they look about like they should at this stage.
You may have noticed that the back row seems to have swelled a little bit, once again, I couldn't stand to throw away the extras, so I added ten more containers of One Sucker.
I have 46 OS, 12 BG and 12 RF for a total of 70 plants.

 

[wruk53]

I spent about 3 hours yesterday stripping the midribs from the Fall crop. I wound up with close to 5 pounds of destemmed leaf. Approximately 3 and 1/2 pounds of One Sucker and 1 and 1/2 pounds of Little Yellow. I'm going to make a batch of Little Yellow puro snus soon. I'll give a review when it's done. I've been storing the tobacco in the attic to speed up the aging and it smells very good already.

 

[wruk53]

Three weeks from transplant. To me, the RF and BG look exactly the same. Same color, leaf shape and rate of growth.
This crop I decided to reuse the mulch from the fall crop, I mixed it 50/50 with new mulch. The extra 10 that I planted a few days later were planted in new cypress mulch. I don't know if you can detect any difference between the two, but the pic titled OS2 is with the mixed mulch and OS1 is the new mulch. The ones planted in new mulch are healthier looking and growing slightly faster. I don't know why, maybe some pests were carried over in the old mulch. I gave them an extra shot of calcium nitrate for a few days, and it seems to have perked them up a bit. So, from here on out it will be new mulch each time.
The weather here has been kind of screwy, lots of rain and cooler than average temps. Not real cold, just cooler.

 

[johnny108]

Polygon55 once stated that BG was bred from Brazil Bahia. I wonder if Rot Front shares the same lineage?

 

[deluxestogie]

 

[wruk53]

I'm a little worried about the BG and RF, they are less than 4 weeks old and they're already putting out suckers. Also, I suspect they are about to bolt into flowering judging by the way the center shoots look. I've had that happen before with Ahus; they started flowering after about the fourth or fifth leaf formed. The One Sucker is developing normally.

 

[wruk53]

Today is 4 weeks from transplant. I guess they look okay, I always think they should be larger than they are. Yesterday I took off a few of the small bottom leaves that were lying on the mulch.

 

[wruk53]

Comparison photos of One Sucker at same age from 2023 and 2024. It was a mistake to reuse the mulch from the fall crop, I suspect that the old mulch is harboring an infestation of nematodes. I'll just run with it though and see how it turns out. I have ten plants that were planted in new mulch, and they are much healthier and larger than the others. The bottom 9 buckets in the 2024 pic are some that were planted in new mulch.

 

[deluxestogie]

Have you considered the difference in growing weather as a possible variable?

Bob

 

[wruk53]

Have you considered the difference in growing weather as a possible variable?

Bob

If you look closely at the 9 plants closest to the camera and compare them to the ones above, there is a lot of difference in the size, health and vigor. Those 9 are in new mulch, the others are a 50\50 mix of used and new mulch. The ones in new mulch were planted 2 or 3 days after the others. We have had some unusual weather though; it has been cooler and more overcast than normal.

 

[Knucklehead]

If you look closely at the 9 plants closest to the camera and compare them to the ones above, there is a lot of difference in the size, health and vigor. Those 9 are in new mulch, the others are a 50\50 mix of used and new mulch. The ones in new mulch were planted 2 or 3 days after the others. We have had some unusual weather though; it has been cooler and more overcast than normal.

It will be interesting to compare them at harvest.

 

[wruk53]

5 weeks from transplant.
BG and RF are budding already. I'm undecided what I want to do with them. I might just top them and see if I can salvage something. Or I might cut them down and see if they develop a decent sucker.
OS is smaller than usual, but okay otherwise.
I sprayed this morning with BT and Spinosad. A lot of the leaf has a fair amount of damage from some unknown pest. I've inspected the plants several times and haven't seen what's causing it.
We had almost 3 inches of rain yesterday and there's a chance for more this morning.

 

[deluxestogie]

damage from some unknown pest

Try going out at night, with a flashlight.

Bob

 

[wruk53]

6 weeks from transplant. I included 2 pics from last year's spring crop at the same age, as you can see, this year's crop is much smaller. At first, I attributed it to reusing the mulch from the fall crop, but now I'm inclined to think it is because of the weird weather we've had due to El Nino. It has been cooler, cloudier and wetter than normal for several weeks. Credit to Bob for planting that thought in my head! The weather seems to be straightening out, so maybe they will somewhat catch up to what they should be.
The BG and RF are already flowering though, so I don't expect much from them.

 

[Old Gasman]

Cool cloudy and wet you say, we call that Summer here. But seriously, your crop looks great.

 

[johnny108]

What’s the leaf count on the RF and BG?