First attempt at growing tobacco (Burley) need advice please.

[oldfellainspain]

Thanks everyone for tips and advice. I'll do a little trial and error testing on a couple of plants and see where that gets me.
I've read many threads over the past couple of days. This forum has so much information. Very glad that I joined.

 

[oldfellainspain]

Thanks everyone for helping out. Lot's of advice to take onboard. I'm going to try and get more nitrogen in the soil mix and also see if I can water correctly.
Having a heavy clay mix hasn't helped. I've probably half drowned the plants up until now and probably got very poor root growth as a result. I'll limp along through this crop and hope I get something smokable at the end. Next year will be different.

 

[Controlled Chaos]

I got started a little later than I probably should have but it's definitely thriving in whatever mixture of soil, coir and vermiculite it's growing in

 

[oldfellainspain]

What strain (or class) of tobacco are you growing? From the pictures, they look like some sort of “primitive” (I.e. not much agriculturally developed) strain. Anyway, the plants seem to be struggling to reach light (and sun), usually tobacco don’t have such long internodes… don’t be afraid of the sun and temperatures: tobacco plants (if watered enough, NOT too much) love full sun and heat. Beautiful azulejos on your terrace, by the way.

pier

The packet of seeds I bought here in Spain are labelled Kentucky Burley and cost €2.50. I've just been looking on the Northwest Tobacco Seeds website and see that they stock 30 different strains of Burley and they ship worldwide. Unfortunately they charge $32 to send to Spain plus I have to pay import duty (amount unknown). They also provide a seed inspection and phyto-sanitary certificate (compulsory) for an extra $58. So, just over $100 one gram of seeds.

Traditional Spanish Azulejos are beautiful.

 

[oldfellainspain]

Just personal experience with fertilizer on the one Virginia plant I've got going right now, but I'm using Dyna-Gro Foliage Pro (9-3-6) and have been using 5ml/gal with an additional 3ml/gal of CalMag at almost every watering and it's looking pretty healthy. On the bottle it says to use that much per gallon for weekly feeding but it gets that every day or every other day. I'm also using pH Down to get the water between 5 and 6 pH. I'll share a picture once I finally get home so you can see how short and leafy it is. No signs of nutrient burn even though according to the bottle I'm using much more than recommended. This week I've backed off to see if there are any changes without adding nutrients so we'll see

I think I'll up my fertilizer use to two or three times a week on some plants and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Old Gasman]

The packet of seeds I bought here in Spain are labelled Kentucky Burley and cost €2.50. I've just been looking on the Northwest Tobacco Seeds website and see that they stock 30 different strains of Burley and they ship worldwide. Unfortunately they charge $32 to send to Spain plus I have to pay import duty (amount unknown). They also provide a seed inspection and phyto-sanitary certificate (compulsory) for an extra $58. So, just over $100 one gram of seeds.

Traditional Spanish Azulejos are beautiful.

Try these chaps for your seeds.

Sellers of highest quality tobacco seeds - Tobacco Seed Company

60 varieties of the finest tobacco seed for you to grow your own tobacco at home.

www.tobaccoseed.co.uk

 

[Alpine]

Northwest tobacco is the retailer site owned by @skychaser where he sells large quantities of seeds to other vendors.
The site for small scale growers (like us) is www.northwoodseeds.com
Shipping costs are about 4€ with no tax fees.

pier

Edit: the site linked by @Old Gasman sells seeds provided by northwoodseeds (@skychaser)

 

[johnny108]

The packet of seeds I bought here in Spain are labelled Kentucky Burley and cost €2.50. I've just been looking on the Northwest Tobacco Seeds website and see that they stock 30 different strains of Burley and they ship worldwide. Unfortunately they charge $32 to send to Spain plus I have to pay import duty (amount unknown). They also provide a seed inspection and phyto-sanitary certificate (compulsory) for an extra $58. So, just over $100 one gram of seeds.

Traditional Spanish Azulejos are beautiful.

I order from Skychaser (http://www.northwoodseeds.com/)
all the time, and he ships to Germany within 10 days, no problem. It arrives as a simple letter.
Does Spain have some form of extra customs check?
What strains of burley were you interested in?

 

[oldfellainspain]

Hi Old Gasman, Alpine, Johnny108. Thanks for the links. That's sorted me out for next years seeds. I'm not sure what to buy yet. Definitely Burley, but I need to read up on different strains. Any recommendations would be welcome. As I'm so new to this, I guess how easy it is to grow in pots and cure would be important. I like a relatively strong smoke so nicotine content would be important as well.
Spain does random checks on anything entering the country from outside the EU. I've paid no tax at all on some things, but paid hefty taxes on others. I build stereo valve (tube) amplifiers as a hobby and can only get the transformers I need from the USA. They are expensive and I had to pay about 20% import tax on them. The tax (if any) on the seeds would be tiny so I'm not worried about that. It's more the chance they'll be confiscated. I'll order soon, that way if there are any problems I'll have time to find a different supplier.
I'll try the UK supplier too.

 

[johnny108]

Hi Old Gasman, Alpine, Johnny108. Thanks for the links. That's sorted me out for next years seeds. I'm not sure what to buy yet. Definitely Burley, but I need to read up on different strains. Any recommendations would be welcome. As I'm so new to this, I guess how easy it is to grow in pots and cure would be important. I like a relatively strong smoke so nicotine content would be important as well.
Spain does random checks on anything entering the country from outside the EU. I've paid no tax at all on some things, but paid hefty taxes on others. I build stereo valve (tube) amplifiers as a hobby and can only get the transformers I need from the USA. They are expensive and I had to pay about 20% import tax on them. The tax (if any) on the seeds would be tiny so I'm not worried about that. It's more the chance they'll be confiscated. I'll order soon, that way if there are any problems I'll have time to find a different supplier.
I'll try the UK supplier too.

“Outside the EU”……….
Stick with Skychaser. I’m so used to his seeds, I had some Amazon seeds take a full 7 days to germinate, and I was wondering what was wrong!
If you have trouble with getting your stuff through Spanish customs, let me know via PM. German customs is far more reasonable, and inside the EU.
KY17 is a 4% nicotine plant with high yields. Might be the one you’re looking for

 

[Alpine]

Since you’re planning your next year grow, and have plenty of time, I strongly suggest to buy one (or, even better, both) of Bob’s books: “grow your own cigars” or (and…) “tobacco plant varieties for home growers”

pier

 

[oldfellainspain]

“Outside the EU”……….
Stick with Skychaser. I’m so used to his seeds, I had some Amazon seeds take a full 7 days to germinate, and I was wondering what was wrong!
If you have trouble with getting your stuff through Spanish customs, let me know via PM. German customs is far more reasonable, and inside the EU.
KY17 is a 4% nicotine plant with high yields. Might be the one you’re looking for

Thankyou. That is a nice offer, should I have difficulties with Spanish customs (they can be a bit over enthusiastic sometimes). I shall probably order in the next week or so. I will keep you informed. I have considered KY17. I need to read up it more, but it sounds good.

 

[oldfellainspain]

Since you’re planning your next year grow, and have plenty of time, I strongly suggest to buy one (or, even better, both) of Bob’s books: “grow your own cigars” or (and…) “tobacco plant varieties for home growers”

pier

Before I order I will get “tobacco plant varieties for home growers”. I've just checked it out and it is available on Amazon.es Thanks again for all the help and advice.

 

[oldfellainspain]

It's been a hard week. All my Burley plants have umbrella like leaves at the top of the plants now. All newer leaves are curling under along the leaf edges. For the last couple of days I've sprayed the leaves, and last night watered the bags with a calcium/boron corrector, following the instructions religiously. From what I've read I might see an improvement in a week or so. I've also read that adding calcium/boron can make no difference at all, especially if the root system isn't delivering the nutrients.
Right from the start I've worried about root growth, as I'm pretty sure I over watered to start with. I've pulled down the sides of the bag and washed off the soil on one of the worst affected plants to see the root size. The bag is approx 8 inches high and 8 inches in diameter. As you can see from the photos the roots are by no means filling the bag. Any advice please.

 

[johnny108]

It's been a hard week. All my Burley plants have umbrella like leaves at the top of the plants now. All newer leaves are curling under along the leaf edges. For the last couple of days I've sprayed the leaves, and last night watered the bags with a calcium/boron corrector, following the instructions religiously. From what I've read I might see an improvement in a week or so. I've also read that adding calcium/boron can make no difference at all, especially if the root system isn't delivering the nutrients.
Right from the start I've worried about root growth, as I'm pretty sure I over watered to start with. I've pulled down the sides of the bag and washed off the soil on one of the worst affected plants to see the root size. The bag is approx 8 inches high and 8 inches in diameter. As you can see from the photos the roots are by no means filling the bag. Any advice please.

It looks like the soil might have been too heavy.
I use a massive amount of perlite in my containers, and the roots spread everywhere.
Attached is the soilless mix I use. I hydrate the 10L bricks of coconut coir with full strength triple-20 fertilizer.

 

[oldfellainspain]

I agree with that 100%. The soil here has a huge clay content. I don't think I should have used it at all. I used it as 30% of the mix.
What do you think of the root size? Can I repot a plant that is getting on toward 3 feet in height?

 

[deluxestogie]

You can transplant your big tobacco.

Have you measured the soil pH?

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Do you water from the top or bottom?
Are you sure you are allowing the soil to dry out between waterings?

My go to last resort when I don't know what else to do is epsom salts, which is magnesium sulfate. If there is a magnesium deficiency, it inhibits the uptake of the nutrients. There can be nutrients available, but the plants can't use them. The good news is it can't hurt. I use one tablespoon per gallon of water. I've seen fast results when the leaves stayed pale even after fertilizing.

Agree with Bob. Check pH.

Here is a study done of foliar application of calcium to tobacco. No increase in yield.

https://www.coresta.org/sites/default/files/abstracts/2016_APPOST14_Vann.pdf

 

[johnny108]

I agree with that 100%. The soil here has a huge clay content. I don't think I should have used it at all. I used it as 30% of the mix.
What do you think of the root size? Can I repot a plant that is getting on toward 3 feet in height?

After seeing the root development (or lack there of), I’d repot.
The mix I posted is good, but it’s borderline hydroponic- so liquid fertilizer would be the best.
I wouldn’t add any time release stuff, not this late.

 

[oldfellainspain]

My original mix was clay soil, potting soil and drainage sand in equal quantities. This ended up as a nightmare as the soil just wouldn't drain. The root growth on the plant I'm going to re-pot is tiny. I've just filled a larger pot with just potting soil and a small amount of sand to help drainage. I hope that leaving out the clay soil will let the soil drain better and encourage root growth.
The soil pH is just over 7. Is this too high? I have plenty of coffee grounds from a nearby bar. Should I use them to lower soil pH? If so, what's the best method to add them?
Sorry to ask for so much advice continuously, but I'm concerned that I could lose all the plants. If this leaf curling problem isn't sorted out will the plants die or will I just end up with stunted plants and not much useable leaf.
Still married, just not talking much.