FrostD’s 2024 Grow Blog

[FrostD]

Today kicks off my 2024 season! This is the start of my 3rd season of growing tobacco. It is also roughly 30 days earlier than last season and much much earlier than my first season. Many lessons learned over the last 2 years, so hopefully I don’t repeat many of the same mistakes. Lol.

I grew 4 varieties last year and way too many plants. It was interesting trying out different pot sizes and how they effected overall plant growth & production. Out of the 4 varieties (CTBL, CT Shade, Habano 2000, and Criollo) I was able to squirrel away seeds from all but the CT Shade.

So, I decided to choose 6 varieties this year and keep the plant counts of each down to 3-4 of each…. Absolutely no more! Ha ha ha! As I will be keeping them in 5 gallon buckets or big pots. I wanted to grow some types based upon the following criteria.
1. Different categories of types
2. Some that are quick to maturation
3. A couple that would pay homage to Wisconsin
4. 4 of the varieties chosen, my lady picked out

Varieties chosen:
-Adonis-Dark (Early Season)
-Bahia-Oriental (35-42 Days)
-Comstock Spanish-Cigar (43-50 Days)-WI
-Little Cuba-Primitive (37-38 Days)
-Little Dutch-Cigar (40-47 Days)
-Wisconsin 901-Cigar 55-60 Days)

Thank you @skychaser & Northwoods Seeds!


Started with a soil that I picked up from a work client and know the owner of this soil company. It was procured last last year in the season and I mentioned I would try it out this season. It had a decent amount of Perlite already in it, but wanted to add more “airiness” to it. So, put together a mix of basically 2 parts soil to 1 part Perlite.


Added some water to the mix and filled and labeled some small pots. Covered them up with plastic wrap and secured with rubber bands. No holes were poked into the plastic wrap… yet.


Cleared a side off of the cigar rolling workbench in the basement to hang an LED light for when I need to power it up, which will probably be in the next day or two. Also, to plug in a heat mat for the seeds. I wrapped it in a towel… is the towel necessary, probably not. Was just worried about placing the mat directly on the workbench. Will most likely just remove the towel altogether and just let er rip. On the left side of the workbench we setup an Aerogarden and are starting some veggies for the garden from seed. Store bought started plant costs start to add up over time. Just a cost cutting measure and allows my lady to work with starting plants while I play with the tobacco plants. I will be helping with starting more veggies & flowers as well.

Tobacco starters:


Last item to take note of for today is the ambient temp/rh in the area we are starting seeds from today (65F/41%RH):

 

[FrostD]

Day 5 from starting seeds. Poked some holes in the plastic wrap tops and removed the rubber bands holding the plastic wrap down. I figured with an additional top for the tray they are in, that should suffice. Some plants are starting to get growing! Also, turned LED light up to ~25%

Comstock Spanish: 5-6 just starting


Adonis: 2 little starts


Little Cuba: 9


Little Dutch: 9


Bahia:18


Wisconsin 901: 10

 

[FrostD]

Day 12 from seed. Off to a decent start! Light I cranked up to ~25% and filled the tray they are in with about 1/2” of filtered water to be able to be wicked up into the medium. 1 variety ended up getting a little dried out, but some seems to be bouncing back. You’ll see which one…

Comstock Spanish: 17 plants so far


Wisconsin 901: 12 plants


Bahia: 19 plants and they have the most growth out of the other varieties. A little leggy. With turning the light up to 25%, fingers crossed they get a bit stronger. Will turn up the light as needed, but have some veggies & flowers starting as well next to them.


Little Cuba: 6 plants still holding on. At least 3 that are struggling. Yes, these are the ones that the media dried a little more than I wished.


Little Dutch: 13 plants


Adonis: 14 plants


Will probably let these babies go another week or 2 to get some more growth before transplanting to individual cells or pots to run them before a final transplant.


Items to note:
-Always make sure the media doesn’t dry out completely. As in bone dry. Plants don’t like the dehydration.
-Bahia seems to kick off and grow super rapidly!

 

[FrostD]

Day 19 from seed! Transplant day! Will be sifting through these little ones and putting into individual cells. A couple before pics & some observations.



Comstock Spanish: Best looking overall growth. Most largest leaves out of all varieties.

Bahia: Decent leaf growth. Most leggy out of all varities.

Wisconsin 901: Good growth. Very similar to Comstock Spanish.

Little Cuba: Slight leggy plants. Smallest growth overall. Perhaps a little stunted due to the soil drying out too much a week ago. Surprised there wasn’t more growth since they are directly under a grow light.

Little Dutch: Looks like 50-50 on these ones. 1/2 show some more growth over others. Not leggy at all. Similar to Comstock Spanish & Wisconsin 901.

Adonis: 2nd to last on overall growth. Some slight leggy growth. Similar to Litte Cuba but some plants show larger leaf growth than Little Cuba.

 

[FrostD]

Mixed 3 solo cups worth of the seed starting soil posted above to 1 solo cup perlite. Added a little over 1 solo cup of filtered water into the mix and stirred it up. The amount of mix made was perfect for 36 cells with very little left over. No water is in the tray under the cells, just mixed into the soil for now. Babies are back under the grow light & on a heating mat. Will add water to the tray under the cells when either the cells get lighter or once I start seeing the top of the soil starting to dry out.

After pics:

The Culling


Down to 6 plants of each variety. Plan is to transplant 3-4 of each variety. So, there will be a couple back ups of each.

 

[deluxestogie]

The four inserts are symmetrical, and can potentially be rotated incorrectly to their labeling on the tray. It might be worth using a scissor to clip the same corner of each insert, or just insert a toothpick into the same corner of each insert. That way, when you remove an insert in order to add water, there will be an indicator of how it was rotated within the (labeled) tray.

Bob

 

[FrostD]

The four inserts are symmetrical, and can potentially be rotated incorrectly to their labeling on the tray. It might be worth using a scissor to clip the same corner of each insert, or just insert a toothpick into the same corner of each insert. That way, when you remove an insert in order to add water, there will be an indicator of how it was rotated within the (labeled) tray.

Bob

I was thinking that as well. My lady helps water them when I’m out of town on work trips. I mentioned that we will have to be careful. I think the toothpicks in the corners to use as indicators should definitely do the trick! Good call Bob!

 

[deluxestogie]

Every year since the forum began, the two most common problems are:

• overwatering
• varietal identity confusion

Bob

 

[FrostD]

Day 26 from seed:

All seem to be adjusting to their individual cells. Soil was starting to look close to dried out mid week. I thought I was going to lose a couple of the Little Cuba. However, after filling the bottom of the tray with some filtered water & rotated them 180 degrees, they bounced back. A couple are still a little shorter due to the lack of water. Most robust growth so far seems to be Comstock Spanish & Bahia. Average growth it appears in the Wisconsin 901, Adonis, and Little Dutch. Toothpicks are doubling as a riser of sort for the lid. It’s been working alright keeping the humidity up and allowing some airflow.

Edit: Turned the dial on the light up to about 50% on Thursday this past week. Giving the plants a little more light.

Next update will be in couple weeks as I have a work trip coming up to Spain for 7 days. Thankful that my lady will keep an eye on the water level.

Things I need to keep an eye on:
-Last signs of freezing temps outside. This year has been super odd. Last year I think I started seeds a couple weeks late. This year I may have been a couple weeks early.

-Setup & watering for when the lady and I go on vacation to Jamaica the first week of April. I’m thinking by then I should be ok if I fill the tray with a little bit of extra water the day before.

 

[deluxestogie]

Trip to Spain. Vacation. Ah, the life of a tobacco farmer.

Bob

 

[FrostD]

Trip to Spain. Vacation. Ah, the life of a tobacco farmer.

Bob

Right! Here I am wishing I didn’t have to travel about every other week for work. On the plus side, at least it’s a job in agriculture! I think I’d much rather have some land and a greenhouse to grow more plants in general. That’s the plan when I grow up! Lol!

This will be my first trip ever to Spain! Not looking forward to how long that flight will be stuck in small small seats in a can with wings. I’m hoping that some NyQuil will help me zonk out for the majority of the flight. Hotel that my boss and I will be staying in is off La Rambla in Barcelona. Sounds like a big open market right by the hotel which sounds interesting. I hear that pickpocketing is kinda bad in the area. So, need to keep the alert level up. Looks like some fantastic architecture in the area! Hopefully, will be able to get some down time to scope out a couple places.

 

[deluxestogie]

It was at Los Caracoles restaurant in Barcelona, that the staff gathered around my then 4 year old son, to watch him finish eating his own huge bowl of their famous snails. If you can, do visit La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudi. It was incomplete when I was there in the early 1980s.

Bob

 

[FrostD]

It was at Los Caracoles restaurant in Barcelona, that the staff gathered around my then 4 year old son, to watch him finish eating his own huge bowl of their famous snails. If you can, do visit La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudi. It was incomplete when I was there in the early 1980s.

Bob

I’ll add it to the list and see if I can snap some pictures to share! Appreciate it Bob!

 

[Plinsc]

Grab a front pocket wallet before you go on your trip, might save some hassle.

 

[oldfellainspain]

If you can, do visit La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudi. It was incomplete when I was there in the early 1980s.

Bob

Still incomplete. The target is to have it finished by 2040. I've visited Barcelona 3 times in the last 10 years, as it's only a quick 30 minute flight from where I live. It is a remarkable city. If you have the time, pay to go inside the Familia Sagrada, but get tickets online as the queues for the ticket offices are huge.

 

[FrostD]

Will post up plant pics tomorrow. Just wanted to share some other pictures from my work trip to Barcelona, Spain!

A couple of highlights:
-St. Josep La Boqueria is fantastic! The hotel I stayed at was right next to it off of Las Ramblas!

-Rao a block or two off of Las Ramblas had the best tapas and is in the top 3 most amazing food I’ve ever had IN MY LIFE!

-Touch Karaoke bar in Barcelona was a huge hit with myself and our distributors from the U.K.

-La Sagrada Familia is breathtaking! Worth visiting 100%

A seafood dish shared amongst for of us in St. Josep La Boqueria


Barcelona Cathedral


View from my 2 very small “balconies” off my hotel room. Right at the entrance of St. Josep La Boqueria.



A couple smoked Old Fashion’s at Numero Tres bar while waiting for our dinner reservation at Rao.


Other various pics around the city:






Too many other pics taken! Next up will be of La Sagrada Familia…

 

[FrostD]

La Sagrada Familia














Truly breathtaking & awe inspiring! So many fine details put into each sculpture be it inside or outside. You can definitely see where Antoni Gaudi’s style was implemented. If anyone ever gets a chance to see La Sagrada Familia, it is a site you will never forget! Much appreciation to @deluxestogie & @oldfellainspain for the tips and suggestions!

 

[deluxestogie]

In the early 1980s, when I visited Barcelona with my wife, 9 year old step-daughter and 4 year old son, we could see the tall spires of La Sagrada Familia from near the waterfront. "Must be close!" We started walking toward it. After a mile and a half of city streets and intersections and heavy traffic, with me carrying my son for the last half of it, we finally reached it. The spires were practically the only part of it that had been constructed at that point. But worth the visit.

Bob

 

[FrostD]

Day 40 from seed:

While I was in Spain my lady was very nice and transplanted each plant into solo cups. She poked holes into the bottom of each to allow water to be wicked up into each cup from the trays they are in. She also made sure to label each variety. I think she’s a keeper!

We only had 1x Wisconsin 901 casualty due to the cell that it was in got too dried out. No worries though. The rest seem to be thriving! Need to rotate the plants around and do some haircut trimming as leaves are getting BIG! This years weather has been odd and I’m thinking I am 1-2 weeks too early this year still from seed. I may also dial the light intensity back a touch to try to slow down some growth.

Note for next year: Planted seeds this year on Feb 13th, 2024. Need to consider pushing this to the 3rd or 4th week of February. As night temps currently drop too low to even consider bringing them outside or transplanting them into final homes.

Plant counts:
Adonis-6
Bahia-6
Comstock Spanish-6
Little Cuba-6
Little Dutch-6
Wisconsin 901-5

Also have various veggies started on the right side under the grow light & flowers started in the Aerogarden.

 

[deluxestogie]

Perfect timing:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/25/travel/sagrada-familia-barcelona-completion-scli-intl