DonH's Grow Log

[DonH]

Thought I'd move this from my intro post and update:

I decided to grow last fall, and spent a ton of time reading on the this and another forum (how were we ever able to do anything before the Internet?) and got excited about it, but got absorbed with work this spring and then realized it was already May before I ordered seed. So I got some seed (Virginia, Kelly Burley, and Shirazi) and started them, thinking it can’t really take a full 6-8 weeks to get them going. Well, yes it does. So I looked into ordering plants and ordered some from BigBonner. Great product and service as always, and I was off and running on June 4, not much later than the usual Memorial Day as the absolute latest last frost day in my part of the country, only problem being that this was an especially warm winter and spring so they could have gone in much earlier.

I planted 19 Virginia Bright Leaf, 17 Burley, and 9 Smyrna #9 (a Turkish/Oriental variety). I got 35 of them in the ground right away. I didn’t have room for more, so I put 25 in small pots. That day was called away on a 3-day business trip at the last minute, so I was anxious about the plants. But the weather was favorable for transplanting, four days of gentle rain so they weren’t shocked by sun and heat at transplant time. When I got back home, the plants were alive but not looking too good. But everyone says to wait three weeks for the roots to get established. The plants I got were pretty large since it was late in the season and I planted them at the same depth they arrived in (in other words, not putting the stem part where there were no leaves or yellowed leaves underground). I have heard different takes on which way is best.

I decided to create another garden plot for the extras, which involved manually digging up turf in an uncultivated part in the back of my property, adding composted cow manure, lime, and fertilizer. I was able to put 12 more plants in the new plot, putting them in deeper. Due to the time spent preparing the plot, these plants went in 10 days later on June 14.

But the plants in both plots were still looking weak: yellow leaves except for new growth, small leaves, not much growth. Some of that is normal, tobacco plants take a while, up to three weeks, to get established while they are growing roots, but then when the hot weather comes in July, they take off. But this seemed worse than it should be after they had been in the ground for a week, so I sprayed them with liquid fertilizer and put some in the ground around the plants. That helped a bit. I put the regular dry fertilizer in the soil a little late, although in the first plot, I had put in lots of compost in the fall (including composted chicken manure from our chickens) and ashes from our wood-burning stove over the winter. But they still looked weaker than I thought they should (I know, I know, leave them alone) so I got a nice electronic PH tester and found out in the original plot that I had put compost and ashes in the PH was 7. Which I was surprised by since the soil is traditionally acid where I live, white pines and blueberries grow wild in the woods around the property. So I fertilized them with liquid fertilizer for acid loving plants and that brought the PH down a bit to about 6.8 in the old plot and 6.5 in the new one.

I used BT for worms and have had no problems and so far no problems with slugs. On June 9, I was going out of town for a day and I wanted to spray the plants with a soap/pepper solution, but I did it in the middle of a sunny day. Big mistake, the leaves got scalded by the sun. That weakened them considerably, especially the Burley. I had boiled the pepper solution for a while in case the peppers were carrying Tobacco Mosaic Virus, so I was worried that I might have spread that by not boiling enough. It turns out, though, that the new leaves were fine.

I also still having problems with yellowish leaves. I read that that might be due to Magnesium deficiency, so I sprayed them with a solution of a couple of tablespoons of Epsom Salts in a gallon of water and the plants responded immediately. So the next day I watered them with the Epsom Salts solution and the leaves are now a nice dark green. Again, the lesson was to get a full soil test first!

We had a real heat wave last week with temperatures reaching 97F two days in a row. That burned some of the leaf buds, especially on the Burley but otherwise it was good for the plants. The Virginias are now doing really well, but the larger leaves are 8 inches long and they and the Smyrnas are adding leaves fast. The Burleys are recovering in the first plot where they have been in the ground for 20 days. I still have six or so plants left in small pots that are doing well that I can use for replacements for the ones that fail in the garden.

I also saved one seedling of the Shirazi seeds I planted, thinking I will put it in a 5-gallon container, and I will be getting Azteca Rustica seeds that I will try to grow a few of in containers this year since they mature quicker.

Ten days later, what a difference. I'm getting the July growth spurt, especially on the older plants.

Here is what they looked like 5 days after putting them in the ground in early June. This is a row of Virginia Bright Leaf:




Another view of the VBL from the other direction:



Here's what they look like now four weeks later:





Actually that's what they looked like yesterday morning. They're bigger now. It's fun watching them grow in July.

Here is a the small patch I dug up and planted on 6/15. These are 3 rows and 1 plant Burley and most of a row of Smyrna #9. This picture was taken a week ago, they are just starting to take off now.



In my main plot, I have three and a half rows of Virginia and a two half rows of Smyrna and a long row of 7 Burleys. For some reason two of the Virgnia rows are growing faster than the other rows. The Burleys were set back more than the others by the leaf burn I got after spraying them with pepper/detergent spray in the sun last month. But the Burleys started taking off this week.

I'm starting to think I will actually get a crop. So far no serious pest problems. One of the good things about planting late was I think I missed a lot of the larva stage pests. I let my chickens go around my back yard, but we had to fence them out of the garden area, because they dig up the soil around the plants and jump up and eat the tomatoes, but I wonder if just having them nearby helps to keep the insects at bay. I have applied BT twice and Spinosad once. Out of the 48 or so plants there are only several leaves with small holes in them. We do have earwigs, but they haven't yet bothered the tobacco much. I think the leaves must have some nicotine in them because in the morning I see dead small flying insects on the leaves here and there.

We're having our first week of no rain at all, so I am resisting the temptation to water. The soil under the straw mulch is still moist.

Now I just have to build a kiln.

 

[johnlee1933]

DonH, Looks great ! Good luck with the rest of the season. You might want to keep your eye open for a dead fridge or freezer. They make a pretty good kiln. Up here in Yankee land the insulation helps with energy costs during winter kilning.

John

 

[DonH]

Things are going really well in the patch. A few of them are over 5 ft. tall now. Some of them are growing several inches a day. We had a couple weeks of dry hot weather which was perfect. Now were getting some thunderstorms but not too much rain which can be a problem in New England in the summer. The tallest Smyrna at 5.5 ft. just budded. I probably should have let the flowers go for a while but I topped it in my excitement.

 

[johnlee1933]

Lookin' good man

J

 

[Aaron]

very nice! looks like you'll have a harvest soon

 

[DonH]

Time for an update. Plants have been growing very well in spite of the fact that I have been traveling a lot. In the last 12 days, I have been home just one day. And I'll only be home only three days out of the next 13. I thought the busy time of tobacco growing would work for me since August usually is the slow time at my job. Not this year. Which is good, because if I wasn't busy I'd probably have been laid off by now! I am worried that I won't have enough time to prime leaves, control pests, watch for humidity levels on drying leaves, etc.

The pests haven't been too bad considering. Probably because it's my first year. I have had a few aphid like things on some of the new growth on some plants, but I sprayed them with soapy water when I'm there. But I haven't seen them since Tuesday, so I'm a little worried about what they'll look like when I get back. A couple plants blew down when I was on a two day weekend trip last weekend, but I was able to prop them back up and at least one will definitely make it. The weird thing is those plants were staked (I haven't staked them all) but the winds were strong enough to unravel the tomato twist ties I used to attach them to the stakes.

The Virginia Bright Leafs have done the best along with the Smyrnas which are 8ft tall now. The Burleys are showing less height but the leaves are huge. The Burleys are also showing more yellowing and haven't flowered yet whereas the Smyrnas and Virginias have started to flower. Since we are now about seven weeks from possible first frost time where I live, I am thinking I will top all the plants this weekend, even if they haven't flowered yet. Does that make sense?

Although due to the yellowing of Burley leaves I may fertilize them one more time with fish/seaweed emulsion and Epsom Salts which they have responded to well. I haven't fertilized for a few weeks now and the Smyrnas and Virginias have nice green leaves and are already flowering, so no more for them.

Here are some pics from last Saturday:

 

[BarG]

Theyr'e lookin good. They went from little squirts to some nice lookin plants. Your gonna love that home grown burley. That looks like a really lush area where your growing, was that a fresh grow area.

 

[DonH]

Theyr'e lookin good. They went from little squirts to some nice lookin plants. Your gonna love that home grown burley. That looks like a really lush area where your growing, was that a fresh grow area.

No, those pics are from an area that has been a garden for more than ten years. Which helps in New England because the soil is rocky and shallow. I've been putting compost into it for years. I do have another smaller patch that is new and those are doing well too, they were just planted ten days later. They have grown well. Like I said in Mass. we have had the best possible weather for tobacco we could have. That makes me anxious to finish the process well. I might be more knowledgable next year, but the weather and pests will probably be worse.

I'll feel a lot better when I get them properly dried. I've been testing hanging a few lugs and some green leaves I broke while tending the plants.

 

[BarG]

I'll feel a lot better when I get them properly dried. I've been testing hanging a few lugs and some green leaves I broke while tending the plants.

DonH
Won't we all, If I can get cured out before any kind of rainy season sets in I'll be a happy camper. I plan on harvesting the rest of my crop less 2 varietys by sunday eve. and have it hanging. I'm 2/3 the way thru now. We are hot and dry days with good and humid late at nite and very early morn. You can work any cured tobacco up till about 10 or 11;00 am.
Perfect for my air drying.

 

[Tom_in_TN]

DonH, good looking plants. You have done a good job of amending the soil and they have responded well and look real lush. The yellowing of Burley leaves may indicate maturity and there may be no need to fertilize them anymore because it may signal it is time to harvest the bottom leaves even though they have not flowered. You could haverst bottoms and then the middle leaves a week or so later. I bet they will have started blooming by then. And, as your area is due to cool down a bit from the summer heat soon there is no need to over-fert the plants. I primed bottom leaves and cured them 3 weeks ago. The middle leaves are already nearly cured and the last of my TN90 burley tip leaves were harvested last week. They were showing early signs of yellowing. Now, after a few days of hanging they are yellowing and will cure out OK in about 7 to 10 days, We had very humid air and will get some cooler, dry air coming into East TN this weekend.

 

[DonH]

DonH, good looking plants. You have done a good job of amending the soil and they have responded well and look real lush. The yellowing of Burley leaves may indicate maturity and there may be no need to fertilize them anymore because it may signal it is time to harvest the bottom leaves even though they have not flowered. You could haverst bottoms and then the middle leaves a week or so later. I bet they will have started blooming by then. And, as your area is due to cool down a bit from the summer heat soon there is no need to over-fert the plants. I primed bottom leaves and cured them 3 weeks ago. The middle leaves are already nearly cured and the last of my TN90 burley tip leaves were harvested last week. They were showing early signs of yellowing. Now, after a few days of hanging they are yellowing and will cure out OK in about 7 to 10 days, We had very humid air and will get some cooler, dry air coming into East TN this weekend.

Thanks, Tom, that sounds good not to do any more fertilizing, because my time will be limited to one day and a half this weekend, so I will focus on pest control instead. I also need to buy some wire for hanging.

 

[BarG]

Thanks, Tom, that sounds good not to do any more fertilizing, because my time will be limited to one day and a half this weekend, so I will focus on pest control instead. I also need to buy some wire for hanging.

DonH
What are your curing plans for a hanging area?

 

[Tom_in_TN]

I used some 17 gauge, electric fence wire for those thick burley stems and it has worked well for the other leaves too. Good growing weather is still ahead!!! And yeah, it's a good idea to get them bugs before they eat your crop!!!

 

[DonH]

DonH
What are your curing plans for a hanging area?

I am going to hang the leaves for color curing in my garage. Our garage has four windows and is separate from the house. My wife didn't want me to use the porch. But we did a lot of cleaning in the garage and I moved out the lawnmower, chainsaw, snow blower and anything that might emit fumes. That means I can't put my car in it either, so after they are color cured and dried, I will move them to my attic for long term hanging.

 

[Chicken]

^^^^^

that sounds like a good plan,

did you buy you a powermatic shredder,?

 

[DonH]

^^^^^

that sounds like a good plan,

did you buy you a powermatic shredder,?

No not yet. Little low on funds at the moment but I'm tempted. Maybe next month.

 

[DonH]

Believe it or not, I just finished tying the tobacco into hands. I couldn't wait any longer for the last fifteen leaves to dry. My wife wants to put her car in the garage when it snows for some reason. They ones that didn't totally dry were all Burley. It takes a long time for those Burley mid ribs to dry. Since there are only 15 not fully dry, I can just bring them inside. I think that was the biggest problem I had from starting the plants a few weeks late. There wasn't a lot of warm weather after harvesting them this far north. Hopefully we won't have a late frost this spring.

Many thanks to BigBonner, without being able to order his seedlings late (around June 1) I wouldn't have had a crop this year. And the plants were fantastic. I am going to try to start my own seeds this year, but it's nice to know if I screw it up I can order some from Larry.

Still haven't built a kiln. I am going to look around for an old freezer, but the idea of waiting until summer for them to air cure doesn't seem so bad now that it's only six months away and I have a cellar full of whole leaf to tide me over.

It was fun looking back over the pictures in the grow log in December.

 

[Knucklehead]

Great grow DonH. I'm glad everything worked out for you. Those were some clean looking leaves.

 

[Chicken]

i went without a kiln for 2 years,

then i did a small one, [ it worked o.k. ]

but all it did was feed my desire for a bigger kiln,

the one i got going now, is perfect,,,

i'd go big the first time, you'll wish it were bigger if you go small.

 

[DonH]

Yeah I may need to go bigger on the kiln. My wife has her eye on a ten acre farm a mile from where we live now. It has a barn with electricity and water! It also has a horse barn with seven stalls so we could offer rough boarding to offset costs. We'll see- a lot of things would have to fall in place but the idea of having a real barn for tobacco instead of a garage is very appealing.