Tobaccofieldsforever 2022 Grow Log

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I'm just growing YTB for seed this year. Very popular strain and I sell a lot of it and keep selling out, Golden Burley and Harrow Velvet are my personal favorites for burley. Good consistant producers in my climate and both age pretty quickly and are smokable in 3 months.

When I grow just for myself I top the plants. Obviously, I don't top seed plants. I'll prime them up to about 2/3 if I want the tobacco and leave the rest for the plant to use for food. The top leaves do tend to have more flavor and nicotine than lower leaves but I never keep them seperate. They all go into the storage bin together. I air cure everything and let it age naturally. I like to keep it as stupid simple as possible. And I have a pretty unsophisticated pallet so I am easy to please. And I am very happy with what I get. What I don't keep for myself all gets tilled back in for compost. Some of you guys would probably cry if you saw how much tobacco falls to the tiller every October.

I have a question about miracle gro all purpose and figured I’d ask you since you have been using it for a long time now. Up until recently I thought the NPK of MG all purpose was universal until I read the faded numbers on my old container I’ve had for years in the barn. Mine is 15 30 15. It is admittedly old product and I plan on buying some new stuff soon but I thought all purpose was 24 8 16? I know what I have is now sold as bloom booster (the container says all purpose plant food so maybe they sell two different kinds of all purpose or back in the day that was the NPK?). Anyway, it is not a big deal as high P fertilizer can be good for rooting and early stage plant growth just curious as to why mine is different than everybody else’s haha!!

 

[deluxestogie]

"All Purpose" is not a specific product, but rather a collection of more than a dozen different Scotts-Miracle-Gro offerings. Even their own website goes to some effort to hide the fertilizer analysis of their various "All Purpose" fertilizer. Specifically, "All Purpose" from Miracle-Gro is:

• 24-8-16
• 12-4-8
• 10-10-10

...but that ignores their "All Purpose" products which fail to list the fertilizer analysis at all.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Epilog:
Now that I've pored over 18 pages of Miracle-Gro web pages, every other advertisement presently appearing on my web browser is for a Scotts or Miracle-Gro product. That's an example of In-Your-Facial Recognition.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Epilog:
Now that I've pored over 18 pages of Miracle-Gro web pages, every other advertisement presently appearing on my web browser is for a Scotts or Miracle-Gro product. That's an example of In-Your-Facial Recognition.

Bob

Ha, well thank you for doing the research. I looked a little bit myself but all the advertisements and listings I found claimed “all purpose water soluble miracle gro” to be 24 8 16. I know they have tomato food and bloom booster etc, none of which I consider all purpose. I guess the moral of the story is to read the box…thanks again!!

 

[skychaser]

I use the 24/8/16. They also make an all organic version of it if you want to pay 50% more. They make a lot of different formulas. I buy mine on line. It's usually much cheaper than what is in stores. I switch to the Blossom Booster in mid summer for the flowers I grow in pots and the peppers I grow in my greenhouse.

I use 16/16/16/7 dry fertilizer out in the field. It was $9.95 for 50 lbs ten years ago. Two years ago it was up to $18.95. Last year it was $24.95. This year its up to $29.95. The BX Pro Mix potting soil I use is up over 40% from a year ago. There were waiting lists for both last year. Glad I stocked up on both last summer for this season.

I have never raised my prices for seed since I started doing this in 2011. But I will have raise them for next year. I can't keep eating the cost increases any longer. Same with shipping. But I am holding fast for 2022. And I am still selling tomato plants this year for $1 each and tomatoes for $1 per pound this summer mostly because I have so many loyal returning customers every year. And because it really pisses off the people on craigslist who want $3-4 for plants and $3 per pound for vine ripened tomatoes. They hate me. lol

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I use the 24/8/16. They also make an all organic version of it if you want to pay 50% more. They make a lot of different formulas. I buy mine on line. It's usually much cheaper than what is in stores. I switch to the Blossom Booster in mid summer for the flowers I grow in pots and the peppers I grow in my greenhouse.

I use 16/16/16/7 dry fertilizer out in the field. It was $9.95 for 50 lbs ten years ago. Two years ago it was up to $18.95. Last year it was $24.95. This year its up to $29.95. The BX Pro Mix potting soil I use is up over 40% from a year ago. There were waiting lists for both last year. Glad I stocked up on both last summer for this season.

I have never raised my prices for seed since I started doing this in 2011. But I will have raise them for next year. I can't keep eating the cost increases any longer. Same with shipping. But I am holding fast for 2022. And I am still selling tomato plants this year for $1 each and tomatoes for $1 per pound this summer mostly because I have so many loyal returning customers every year. And because it really pisses off the people on craigslist who want $3-4 for plants and $3 per pound for vine ripened tomatoes. They hate me. lol

Haha. Well I certainly don’t blame you for raising your prices and I doubt anybody else would either. Your tobacco seed quantity per package alone is worth the increase in price. I bought some all purpose 24-8-16 today. I just thought it was very strange that the all purpose I have on hand is 15 30 15 (it is not bloom booster). They must have switched their formula at some point. That is ok, I read that higher phosphate levels are good for early stage plant rooting. Thanks for the reply and the seed this season!

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I flipped my plants around in an attempt to level out their lean. They are doing much better than before:

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Today I noticed most of my plants seem to be growing what look to be suckers!? I first noticed it on the yellow twist bud seedlings because it almost looked like there was another small plant growing underneath it. As I looked close I noticed most of my seedlings are growing leaves at points where the large leaves meet the stem. Is this normal?!

Above: yellow twist bud
Below: harrow velvet

 

[deluxestogie]

They are suckers. Pinch them off.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

They are suckers. Pinch them off.

Bob

But why so soon? Is it normal for seedlings to sucker like that??

 

[deluxestogie]

I find early suckering to be somewhat common on some varieties of seedlings during some years. I just pinch them off as soon as I see them, and never give it another thought. [Tobacco's top priority is to make babies—to form seed. My top priority is to maximize leaf size from a single stalk.] Out in the ground, sucker formation is variable as to variety and timing, but nearly always present after you top the plant. Solution: just snap them off as soon as they are large enough to safely grab with your fingertips, without injuring the leaf above which they sprout.

Bob

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

I find early suckering to be somewhat common on some varieties of seedlings during some years. I just pinch them off as soon as I see them, and never give it another thought. [Tobacco's top priority is to make babies—to form seed. My top priority is to maximize leaf size from a single stalk.] Out in the ground, sucker formation is variable as to variety and timing, but nearly always present after you top the plant. Solution: just snap them off as soon as they are large enough to safely grab with your fingertips, without injuring the leaf above which they sprout.

Bob

Ok, thank you. Yes, I am well versed with suckering once tobacco has had some time in the field but I guess I never really noticed it too much on small seedlings. Well thank you, I was worried I was doing something wrong and they were going to bud early or turn into unholy mutants!

 

[skychaser]

It's way to early to be worrying about suckers. Stop staring at them so much.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

It's way to early to be worrying about suckers. Stop staring at them so much.

Haha, I can’t help it. It’s strange how delicate they are in the beginning and then I can barely kill them at the end of the season when I am trying to clear them out of the garden after harvest. The roots persist and continually throw up shoots! I agree with you on the sucker thing and yet they are here!! On that note, I found an excellent way to remove them!! (For those that have any early and care to remove them that is).
This cuticle tool (can be purchased anywhere nail clippers are purchased) makes quick work of them and doesn’t disturb the fragile seedling at all!!

 

[Knucklehead]

Haha, I can’t help it. It’s strange how delicate they are in the beginning and then I can barely kill them at the end of the season when I am trying to clear them out of the garden after harvest. The roots persist and continually throw up shoots! I agree with you on the sucker thing and yet they are here!! On that note, I found an excellent way to remove them!! (For those that have any early and care to remove them that is).View attachment 41405
This cuticle tool (can be purchased anywhere nail clippers are purchased) makes quick work of them and doesn’t disturb the fragile seedling at all!!

Could that tool also be used to dribble 2-3 seeds to a cell? My method of broadcasting seed all over the tray can get a little tedious at thinning time.

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

Could that tool also be used to dribble 2-3 seeds to a cell? My method of broadcasting seed all over the tray can get a little tedious at thinning time.

It sure could! I was using a small spoon and gently nudging some over the edge while moving the spoon around but I will have to try that. I always have a cuticle tool, cuticle scissors, toothpicks and tweezers in my “tobacco germination/seedling kit” ha!

 

[deluxestogie]

Could that tool also be used to dribble 2-3 seeds to a cell?

Just fold a 3" long piece of paper, sprinkle a few seeds at one end of the fold, then gently tap it to cause the seeds to line up down the crease, and march single-file toward the other end. It's free.

Bob

 

[skychaser]

I use a plastic straw cut at a 45 degree angle on one end. I use it to scoop up a few seeds and then gently tap off 2-3 in each hole. I cut a piece of cardboard to lay over the tray to rest my hand on and move it along as I go keeping the rows I haven't seeded yet covered. That keeps me from forgeting where I left off and seeds from hopping off into adjoining rows. For thinning I use a small pair of surgical scissors.

 

[Oldfella]

Could that tool also be used to dribble 2-3 seeds to a cell? My method of broadcasting seed all over the tray can get a little tedious at thinning time.

Check out how I do it. There's a how to in my grow blog.
Oldfella

 

[Tobaccofieldsforever]

These yellow twist bud plants are looking nice. They took a long time to germinate and kind of lingered for awhile as small little seedlings but they have now come from behind and shown impressive growth and nice deep dark green foliage.