Haroon's grow log 2026

[The Haroo ln]

So it's almost that time of year again here in the UK. Right now it's winter. This year i was planning to grow some kind of burley tobacco for cigars, but my mother wants the majority of the garden space for her fruit and veggies this year. Plus all my piloto cubano that i grew last year molded after a noobie mistake. I have therefore decided to grow only piloto this year. Planning for about 10-15 plants only compared to last years 60ish plants. Most of these will be grown in pots. I will start the germination around the end of february/beginning of march.

 

[cigarillofingers]

Wishing you some improved luck over last year! It's time to dust off the seedling heat mats and clean out the pots, plants are coming!

 

[The Haroo ln]

Looking for some guidance on planting in pots. Is it better to have narrow, tall pots or shallow wider ones? As always feedback is appreciated greatly

 

[wruk53]

Looking for some guidance on planting in pots. Is it better to have narrow, tall pots or shallow wider ones? As always feedback is appreciated greatly

Use pots that are at least as wide as they are tall, and you'll have less blow-overs. The ones I use are 10 inches tall and 10 inches wide. Also choose short or medium size varieties for the best results.

 

[The Haroo ln]

Thanking you

 

[cigarillofingers]

Looking for some guidance on planting in pots. Is it better to have narrow, tall pots or shallow wider ones? As always feedback is appreciated greatly

I've had decent results with the cheap plastic black pots they sell in b&q. They stack together when not in use and you can have a range of sizes. 30cm diameter ones gave me 4-5ft plants which were pretty decent. I tend to make up a potting mix with compost, coir and horticultural grit for drainage.
With it being B&Q you can get creative with the self serve check outs as well, every little helps

 

[Old Gasman]

Looking for some guidance on planting in pots. Is it better to have narrow, tall pots or shallow wider ones? As always feedback is appreciated greatly

I found that if you visit your DIY store you can pick up black builders buckets reasonably cheaply. Drill some drainage holes in the bottom and you're good to go. The handles makes them easy to reposition as well.

 

[The Haroo ln]

Cheers guys, will probs take a trip to b&q then

 

[The Haroo ln]

Changed up once again. Will now be growing habano 2000 as i grew this 2 years ago as my first grow and kinda messed up, so keen to try that again. Still have piloto on the agenda as well as Connecticut broadleaf. The reason for the CB is that it has a shorter growing season than the rest of the cigar varieties so hoping to be able to grow it twice this season if i get the timing right. This would be great considering i'm very limited to a small number of plants this season. Plus i've heard a lot of cigar manufacturers use CB for wrapper/binder but haven't heard of anyone using it in filler so really keen to try this.

 

[The Haroo ln]

So here we are, ramadhan is over and today marks my 3rd consecutive grow. Ive started, Connecticut broadleaf, habano 2000 and piloto cubano. My grow will again be for cigars only.

I used levingtons seed starter mix to start my little babies today. This year im very limited for space so only looking at 10-15 plants. 15 being the higher end. Majority of my plants will be in pots bar 4 which will be grounded in the small garden bed i have.

I have tried to schedule everything so that once my plants are transplanted outside i will germinate another batch of CB. Due to its faster growing time i should be able to get twice as much of it. Once the 'nursery' period is over and its ready to transplant, the 1st crop should be ready for harvest.... or so im hoping.

 

[Tutu]

Nice selection of varieties to grow. Seeds collected from what you grew last year? Or using the original ones?

 

[The Haroo ln]

CB and habano 2000 are original seeds and piloto is from what i grew last year

 

[The Haroo ln]

1 week from sowing and the piloto has really started to come out. I might have overdone it with putting the seeds in but i have plenty to spare. The CB and H2000 seem to be a little slower but they are definitely sprouting. I think i will give them 1-2 more weeks before i put them into larger 4inch pots.

2 rows on left or CB, 1 after that arw H2000 and then 2 are piloto. Ignore the 2 empty columns on the right i filled them with seed starting mix and didnt use them - i had a momentary lapse of concentration haha.

 

[The Haroo ln]

2 week since sowing. Separated the better ones into 4 inch pots. At the very back are the rest of the germinations, the 8 pots in the middle are CB, the 4 in bottom left are h2000 and the 4 in the bottom right are piloto.

 

[The Haroo ln]

3 weeks in and all is looking well. The CB seems to be abit slower, but is still looking good.