Pasi's Grow Log 2026

[Pasiasiainen]

Thanks for the links and help Stonecarver. I’m placing my bets on calcium or iron deficiency. Last season I had (probably) absorption issues with my plants and epsom salt spraying fixed that. I tried to prevent same situation this season by tossing some epsom salt to soil when transplanting. Could be that I did not put enough of it. I sprayed the plants with epsom yesterday, so I’ll wait couple of days now and see how this goes. I don’t want to start adding more fertilizers yet.

 

[StoneCarver]

In human digestion, calcium and iron compete for absorption; usually the calcium wins out and then the person's hemoglobin gets low.
Idk if the same is true for plants and soil chemistry in regards to competition for absorption. that's why this can be a tricky one to solve.
Throwing some rusty nails on to your soil probably won't help. I'm pretty sure something more sophisticated will be needed. /s

 

[deluxestogie]

The soil pH significantly influences the absorption of most essential nutrients by tobacco roots.

"Tobacco is able to adequately absorb required nutrients from the soil if the soil acidity has a pH in the range of 5.8 to 6.2 (max 6.5). Outside that range, the tobacco will show signs of various nutrient deficiencies even if they are present in adequate concentrations."

Bob

 

[Pasiasiainen]

if the soil acidity has a pH in the range of 5.8 to 6.2 (max 6.5)

Oh, this I did not know. I have not measured soil pH from my plot, but this time I know it fairly well, as all of the soil in this raised bed is store bought. It should be 6.4, and now that I added some ash, that means It is even higher….

 

[StoneCarver]

If the ashes weren't soaked and rinsed in water, then yes it could raise soil pH. Soaking ashes in water is an old time way of making lye. yes, the rinse water can dissolve your skin; so be careful. Soaking and rinsing ashes can remove the chemical components that contributes to high pH. I think they are hydroxyl groups, not that its important to remember.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

@StoneCarver I just sprinkled the ash and mixed it with surface soil. So not much I can do about it anymore…‍

Well, one-sixth of the problem got ‘solved’ when a pine cone hit one of my six Samsuns right on the growth tip and broke it off. I can’t believe my luck.

 

[Alpine]

Ah… the perils of growing under Pine trees…

pier

 

[StoneCarver]

I just sprinkled the ash and mixed it with surface soil. So not much I can do about it anymore…‍

Its possible you can find a way to lower the pH of your soil. Acids and bases react with each other. I doubt its as simple as watering your plants with diluted vinegar but maybe something like that? I think sulfur amendments of some kind is what is usually used to lower soil pH. Actually now that I remember, I use some stuff like that for lowering soil pH for my blueberries. I buy it from a bigbox hardware store. Something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Espoma-Soil-Acidifier-Organic-Ph-Balancer/5013199909

Of course, it would be a good idea to go ahead and measure your soil pH to get an idea of what's going on before doing anything else to the soil.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

Of course, it would be a good idea to go ahead and measure your soil pH to get an idea of what's going on before doing anything else to the soil.

Yeah, this would probably be the way to go. I just checked whether similar acidifier products are available here in Finland. They are available online, but they seem to be more of a specialty product here, as soil in Finland is typically acidic.

My plants already look a bit better, so I’ll patiently wait a couple more days. Anyway, my next stop is the hardware store to get a pH meter. Gadgets? Yes please.

Then, if the pH is too high, I was wondering if a very light citric acid solution could be a quick remedy, followed by a longer-lasting effect from this fertilizer that is easily available here: “Biolan Conifer and Rhododendron Fertilizer is specially formulated for rhododendrons, conifers, blueberries, azaleas, and other plants that prefer acidic soil conditions.”

I have tried to keep Samsun fertilizing to a minimum, so this would just be the planned additional fertilizing.

 

[The Haroo ln]

Its tough to have a quick solution to lowering/raising soil PH. Your best bet might be to add a little ericaceous compost (used for roses and blueberrys etc.)to your normal soil. Thats what i did around 1 week before i transplanted and it worked to bring the PH between 5.5 - 6.0. But be warned, use sparingly and mix well with your normal soil. Using too much will dip the PH way too low as its designed to have a PH of around 4 i believe.

 

[hayfield311]

Its tough to have a quick solution to lowering/raising soil PH. Your best bet might be to add a little ericaceous compost (used for roses and blueberrys etc.)to your normal soil. Thats what i did around 1 week before i transplanted and it worked to bring the PH between 5.5 - 6.0. But be warned, use sparingly and mix well with your normal soil. Using too much will dip the PH way too low as its designed to have a PH of around 4 i believe.

This could work. Its a must for cannabis people who grow indoor.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

pH test done, and the results were as expected. I'd say it's around 6.5.



As a first remedy, I added one dose of Conifer and Rhododendron Fertilizer, as it promises to "lower the acidity of the soil" (which, now that I read it more carefully, is actually stated incorrectly. It should say that it increases acidity. But let's not blame the copywriter — this fertilizer is clearly intended to lower the soil pH).



I'll wait a few days and repeat the pH test. If that doesn't do the trick, I do have a bag of ericaceous compost — or at least something similar (Conifer and Rhododendron soil) — so I'll try adding some of that.

Thanks everyone for your help and guidance!

 

[Wombat_smokes]

By the way, if I remember correctly, pine needles often increase the acidity of soil as they decompose.

Here in Utah, our clay soil is very alkaline and our water is high in carbonates. This creates a system with a high buffering capacity (resist pH changes). My preferred remedy is to add organic matter to dilute the clay. My Frog Eye Orinoco and Shargo are planted where I added chicken manure. These plants are out performing the Yellow Pryor at this time. I'd say your soil is right where it should be.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

pine needles often increase the acidity of soil as they decompose.

I remember reading the same thing about pine needles, and I’m sure that’s true. Finland is full of pines and spruces, and for that reason our soil is naturally quite acidic almost everywhere.

I also have pines and spruces in my yard, so I would assume the soil in my tobacco patch is typically acidic as well. I should actually test the pH elsewhere in the yard too.

I’m so used to seeing reminders here in Finland about adding lime or ash that I guess I did it almost automatically, even though this raised bed for Samsun had store-bought garden soil that didn’t need any additives.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

The soil pH significantly influences the absorption of most essential nutrients by tobacco roots.

"Tobacco is able to adequately absorb required nutrients from the soil if the soil acidity has a pH in the range of 5.8 to 6.2 (max 6.5). Outside that range, the tobacco will show signs of various nutrient deficiencies even if they are present in adequate concentrations."

Bob

It looks like I may need to do something about the soil in my larger tobacco patch as well. The pH seems to be around 7.
The plants there (Dominican Olor and Piloto Cubano) look healthy, but growth has been very slow and only seems to be picking up now. Though I think the slow growth is mainly due to the low temperatures we've had. The weather has been much warmer during the last five days.

 

[StoneCarver]

Its also possible that, given your soil's natural acidity that the soil and wood ashes will soon balance themselves out and all you have to do is be patient.
who knows? But that is an interesting soil test kit. I use pH papers. My soil and water are also naturally acidic. The water from the spring on my property is pH4.5. So I use that same pHUp product that Hayfield indicated above particularly when I water my cactus plants.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

But that is an interesting soil test kit.

It’s pretty handy test. You put 10 ml of soil into a test tube, add a little distilled water and the indicator powder, then shake it for 30 seconds. The result shows up in about 10 seconds.

Neudorff pH Soil Test Set : Amazon.de: Garden

Neudorff pH Soil Test Set : Amazon.de: Garden

www.amazon.de

——-
And yes, patience might solve this… but I’m not very good at patience.

 

[Pasiasiainen]

Introducing ConeShield3000 Pro™. State-of-the-art protection for your tobacco plants against those pesky pine cones.



I never realized the pines in my yard are like B-52 bombers of the tree world until I planted tobacco underneath them this year. The cones are falling more and more frequently, and I've already suffered casualties among my Samsun Maden and Little Dutch plants.

But that should be over now!
---

Other plants are doing mostly fine. Growth has started slowly, and the leaves look reasonably healthy.

It's already been 28 days since transplanting, so we'll see how things develop from here. To my eyes the plants are not as big as they were last year after almost a month in the ground. Corojo 99 in particular is growing veeeery slowly, as they are sitting in over-fertilized soil that most likely still has a pH that's too high.

The good news is that the Samsun Maden seems to have come back to life, with nicely colored leaves after the Epsom treatment and a dose of additional fertilizer.

 

[Anders A]

Introducing ConeShield3000 Pro™. State-of-the-art protection for your tobacco plants against those pesky pine cones.

View attachment 59923 View attachment 59924

I never realized the pines in my yard are like B-52 bombers of the tree world until I planted tobacco underneath them this year. The cones are falling more and more frequently, and I've already suffered casualties among my Samsun Maden and Little Dutch plants.

But that should be over now!
---

Other plants are doing mostly fine. Growth has started slowly, and the leaves look reasonably healthy.

It's already been 28 days since transplanting, so we'll see how things develop from here. To my eyes the plants are not as big as they were last year after almost a month in the ground. Corojo 99 in particular is growing veeeery slowly, as they are sitting in over-fertilized soil that most likely still has a pH that's too high.

The good news is that the Samsun Maden seems to have come back to life, with nicely colored leaves after the Epsom treatment and a dose of additional fertilizer.

View attachment 59925

Looks very good I think

 

[Pasiasiainen]

Looks very good I think

Thanks. Way better than my plants last year, I have to admit! Some extra growth wouldn't hurt, but I'll try to be patient...