I think the potting soil I’ve been using is low in nutrients because my small seedlings leaves are a pale green/yellow. From a previous post, it seems like it’s a nitrogen deficiency. Does anyone have any recommendations for some nitrogen fertilizers for them?
Fertilizers recommendations for young tobacco starts
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ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Pale seedlings are more likely due to over watering.
Can you share some photos?
Can you share some photos?
Old Gasman
Well-Known Member
Any decent seedling compost should have sufficient nutrients, perhaps overwatering as ChinaVoodoo suggested, or maybe not enough light.
Yeah here’s a pic. What’s weird is I don’t think I’m overwatering. I’ll give it about 1/4-1/8
Of an inch water every 3-4 days. It gets so dry that the surface dirt gets hard and hydrophobic.
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ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
As you have algae growth on the soil, it is safe to say it's too wet.
Also, seedlings that small would not have nutrient deficiency unless you were growing them in moon regolith.
Also, seedlings that small would not have nutrient deficiency unless you were growing them in moon regolith.
Got it. Well, that is good to know. Is that normal for the soil to get that dry though? How much/often should I water for bottom up feeding
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
My advices are to probe the top to see how far down it is dry like that, and if you have any extra seedlings, to try to get the whole thing out. You will be reassured that those tiny little plants' roots are probably all the way to the bottom already, and that it's only dry for the top 1/8-1/4".
Then just start watering less and less until it feels right.
wruk53
Well-Known Member
If I'm using a sterile mix that doesn't already contain nutrients, I use Miracle Grow for tomatoes mixed with water at only about one quarter strength and a few grains of Epsom salts. A quarter of a teaspoon of MG per gallon of water and a small pinch of Epsom salts. You can water with this mix whenever the cells need water without worrying about burning the plants and it provides plenty of nutrients for seedlings.
So I probed the tobacco and it is pretty dry all the way down to the last 1/8th inch. The roots are probing out of the bottoms of the tray into the catch tray with is assuring but that seems like very little water for them. They are still very very pale, and I have reduced watering to maybe once or twice a week. The algae is still on the surface as well. Any recommendations on what to do? Should I continue to water and if so how much/how often?
I second the wruk53 post.
Burley needs a tad more fertilizer than flue cured.
Tell me about float tray systems
I know some of you big guys use float trays. Tell me about them! I only grow about 100 plants a year but am really thinking I might benefit by switching to them. Also, the float trays I see advertised that hold about 50 to 90 some plants, are they the same thing you guys use? or is the...
Interesting, I had never heard of a float tray before., I wonder if it would be too late to transfer mine to one. I noticed this morning that some of burley colored up a bit while some leaves were literally white like a sheet of paper.I second the wruk53 post.
Burley needs a tad more fertilizer than flue cured.
Tell me about float tray systems
I know some of you big guys use float trays. Tell me about them! I only grow about 100 plants a year but am really thinking I might benefit by switching to them. Also, the float trays I see advertised that hold about 50 to 90 some plants, are they the same thing you guys use? or is the...fairtradetobacco.com
BigBonner is a commercial grower in KY. I was mainly showing his different fertilizer recommendations between some of the different varieties.
I tried two float trays in the basement, the frame was made from 1x6 covered with plastic. The plants did good but the method made an awful mess in the house and when I was ready to dump out all the water I had to do it with a pail, had to made several trips, then sopped up the remaining water with a towel, rung it out, repeat. It was a messy pain in the butt. I'm happy with the 1020 cells.
My sense of it is that a float tray system would be advantageous (lower labor / cost) when you intend to start a thousand tobacco seedlings or more. It allows one individual grower to manage and regulate watering, fertilizing and repeated clipping—all within a greenhouse that has drains in the floor.
Bob
Bob
Yeah unfortunately, I live in an apartment and don't have the space for that. I suppose I will just use the water tray. I came back from a weekend trip and the burley look even worse than before, I literally cannot emphasize how white the leaves are, they are literally paper white, not a single ounce of green or yellow in them. Oddly enough I have another tray with burley that is doing pretty well although I used the same potting soil, same amount of water, and same seeds.
4 4 4 tomato soil
Belated welcome to the forum, @Cloudbear. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.
Bob
Bob
Bamabaccy8a
Member
I grew tobacco for 2 yrs when i still lived in Illinois . I used commercially available fertilizer but was told and found true if nitrogen was applied too heavy too long in the grow , the tobacco turns out close to fire retardant.
Since my Southeastern relocation and gardening in general, ive started looking hard into regenerative gardening methods . Ive found the KNF ( korean natural farming) and Jadam , which is a natural liquid fertilizer made solely by the natural organic matter you have at your immediate disposal ,aka compost, and a simple parent soil on your property , with the aid of a simple boiled potato or 2 depending on volume, mashed , added for a microbe nutrient source not unlike yeast to a wort makes beer ... in short , its a fermented compost tea .Full of micronutrients and active microbes . Ive found and added amounts of dead nettle which adds its own form of natural nutrients ,such as nitrogen, calcium, etc and microorganisms to the mixture and allowed to ferment in a bucket for 2 weeks.
It works on everything im growing in the veg garden . I started using the method in last years gardening season and im very satisfied with its outcome. I had pepper plants reach 6ft tall. Yielding 4 gallons of dehydrated peppers from just 3 plants . Tomatoes ,okra and cucumbers were astounding amounts of harvest. Bugs were never an issue as years prior . Never in my entire life and lifetime of gardening had that ever happen before using commercially available fertilizer.
I have a few tobacco seedlings in the greenhouse at the moment, and i just sowed more yesterday. Ill be growing with the jadam applications exclusively .
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