Squeezyjohn's 2013 UK Grow Blog

[Knucklehead]

Sounds like a good plan. The only thing I can think to caution you on is to make sure the bedding straw, which you are using to cut down on weeds, doesn't contain horse manure, as quite a bit of seed can pass through an animal. In a compost pile, the seed are generally sterilised by the pile going in and out of a heat cycle. If there is manure in the straw, any seed in the manure will probably still be viable.

 

[johnlee1933]

Sounds like a good plan. The only thing I can think to caution you on is to make sure the bedding straw, which you are using to cut down on weeds, doesn't contain horse manure, as quite a bit of seed can pass through an animal. In a compost pile, the seed are generally sterilised by the pile going in and out of a heat cycle. If there is manure in the straw, any seed in the manure will probably still be viable.

PAY ATTENTION​ Squeezy, This man knows his shit ! LOL

 

[Knucklehead]

PAY ATTENTION​ Squeezy, This man knows his shit ! LOL

LOL You old curmudgeon, you.

 

[squeezyjohn]

Sounds like a good plan. The only thing I can think to caution you on is to make sure the bedding straw, which you are using to cut down on weeds, doesn't contain horse manure, as quite a bit of seed can pass through an animal. In a compost pile, the seed are generally sterilised by the pile going in and out of a heat cycle. If there is manure in the straw, any seed in the manure will probably still be viable.

OK - and I'll also watch out for any horse eggs too. I don't want to end up with a mini-stampede all over my tender young plants!

 

[Knucklehead]

Horse eggs. LOL. Just to make sure, I wasn't pulling your leg.

 

[squeezyjohn]

No Knucks - I know it was serious advice - and thank you for it. I wouldn't let any muck on my plant patch that wasn't well rotted down beforehand - both to kill off the seeds and to stop it burning the plants or roots.

 

[squeezyjohn]

4 days ago I started to germinate some N.Rustica seeds. I used the same method of layering mature plant compost lower down with a seed compost on top - but this time it was is root-trainer cells rather than cardboard tubes.

I just got back from a weekend working away - and they are all up and running! I remember how they developed much quicker than the N.Tabacum I planted last year which is why I have left a gap before germinating these.

What's really gratifying is that the N.Rustica seeds were saved from a very big-leaf specimen I grew last year. I've never saved tobacco seeds before and I'm really glad it worked.

Onwards and upwards!

 

[squeezyjohn]

The weather here has been cloudy without a day of sun for at least 2 weeks now!

And today I have started to get nervous about the amount of mould growing on the surface of the compost my seedlings are growing in. I needed to treat it - but the plants are so small that I am worried that the normal solutions to this problem (Hydrogen peroxide or vinegar) could damage them.

But I found lots of talk on the internet that regular ground cinnamon has anti-fungal properties and if sprinkled on the surface will eliminate mould and even massively reduce the chances of damping off! I'm not so sure I'm at the stage where I believe that - but I have plenty of cinnamon and it's worth a try ... it even works as a spicy air-freshener in the room I've got them growing!

Has anyone else heard of this, or indeed tried it?

 

[Markw]

Ha Squeezy I have all my onion seeds and parsnips in bogrools and they started to show mold. i just used a anti fungus spray that stopped it. i have had no problem with mold on the tobacco yet, but using a spice sounds interesting.

 

[squeezyjohn]

Which brand, Mark? If this hippy-cinnamon thing doesn't work out I'll probably feel safer using something proven to work!

Of course the best solution to stop mould growing is direct sunlight! Unfortunately they don't sell that at B&Q

 

[Markw]

You can use any fungus clear brand if it gets rid of mildew it seams to stop the mold. I would try it on a few first just to be on the safe side.Yes this weather is bad still got snow on the ground and it is going to be cold for the next week or so .
I am off to pick up some more well rotted cow po for the plot.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

There might be something to that cinnamon thing. I use cinnamon oil in my cinnamon/apple chew that I make. Cinnamon oil kills S. Mutans, the primary bacteria in your mouth that causes tooth decay... and it tastes good too. Not saying your plants have bad teeth....

In the past, I've used 3% hydrogen peroxide and its eliminated all mold. I believe there was a thread on here about a year ago on this very topic.

 

[johnlee1933]

Yes this weather is bad still got snow on the ground and it is going to be cold for the next week or so .
I am off to pick up some more well rotted cow po for the plot.

Still got the stuff on the ground here too but now you can see the ground. Supposed to get a bit more tomight but nothing serious. Hang in the chaps it's got to get better (it says here.) LOL

 

[leverhead]

regular ground cinnamon has anti-fungal properties

I don't know about using for mold, but I can say ants won't cross it.

 

[Chicken]

NICE SHEEP.... hows thier manure for a fertilizer,?

if your weather is so bad and you cant get acess to proper sunlight,

have you considered growing them under a grow bulb, a C.F.L. ??? until they get to a height, your happy with,

and in that video, was that guy trying to hit you? he was driving on the wrong side of the road,!!!!!!!![lol]

 

[squeezyjohn]

Hi Chicken - that field behind the house is mad - the guys keep sheep, horses, chickens and geese all in the same field!

I think sheep manure is considered pretty poor compared to horse and cow - but in Yorkshire the old guys do go round the fields collecting it in a bucket for their rhubarb! One advantage it does have is that it's pretty self contained.

I use horse and cow manure on my plot - and wood ash - and a liquid fertilizer I make from fermenting stinging nettles and comfrey in a dustbin full of rainwater. The plants don't go hungry and I don't spend a lot of money on it!

As for lights - it's just not the way I do things - I try to do things as off-grid as I can! I don't think the lack of sunlight will be a problem to the seedlings at this stage - there's plenty of dispersed sunlight from the clouds and it has to get brighter at some point!

 

[leverhead]

there's plenty of dispersed sunlight from the clouds and it has to get brighter at some point!

You're an optimist! A realist wouldn't go that far.

 

[squeezyjohn]

Seriously ... this is a very long winter we're having this time ... exactly a year ago I took the family to the beach - swam in the sea, ate ice-cream and got sunburnt. This weekend I had to dig my car out of the snow and I've been chopping firewood like nobody's business.

That is the best example of quite how unpredictable our climate is here!

 

[Chicken]

i feel your pain.... it got into the 80's here today

 

[squeezyjohn]

Ha!

I don't think the cinnamon is going to be strong enough for this job! Woke up this morning to find this growing right out of the side of one of my cardboard tubes!



That's right folks ... a couple of mushrooms. At least I'm creating the ideal growing conditions for something!