@NewTobaccoGrower 2024 Grow Log: Florida

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 37:
Still going great, some of the leaves are getting enormous. Began the hardening process by putting them outdoors in the sun for 2 hours. They seem to have taken it great. Tomorrow will go 3 hours.
I have noticed that NONE of the plants appear to have any stems whatsoever yet, it's almost as if all the leaves are growing out of the same node or very proximal nodes, at about flat ground level. Most other photos of plants at this stage already show stems of several inches in height. Maybe it's because I raised them mostly under bluish light (closer to 6000+ color temp?), before I got the Vipar lights? Don't know, maybe it's normal and they'll develop fine.
The plants transplanted into the Solo cups seem to be significantly larger than those left behind in the hex pots. Don't know if that's because the Solo cups are larger, or if the plants are doing better under the new Vipar lights than under the generic white-bluish light LED bulb. Maybe both. The cartons in front are West Indian Gherkin and kale seedlings.


Day 4 of 4th batch:

I had expected the Punche or Mountain tobacco to win the race to first germination, but was very surprised.
Limonka Rustica was first by far, closely followed by Connecticut Shade, and Burley 64, which I way overseeded. Guess I will have to start culling soon.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 42:

Plants are now much larger. Too many to handle, have given 3 away already, didn't expect all of them to survive.


Will start transplanting them into large containers starting tomorrow, and others into the ground next week.
Am trying the "Farmer Leon" water wicking method-- got 5-gallon buckets from a restaurant and filled the bottoms with either upside down soda cans, plastic water bottles, or a gallon plastic milk jug. Hole in the top and bottom of the cans/bottles/jugs, and one hole about halfway between these, in the buckets. Then filled the containers with soil mix, plus fertilizer, lime, and Epson salts. Also inserted a PVC pipe to water/feed the plants from below. Also using a regular 5-gallon planter with no wicking system or pipe. Will see which method does best.



Still worried about one thing: the plants still exhibit no stalks/stems to speak of. Still look like the leaves are coming out of the same location at ground level. Remarkable that they all look like this-- all species and varieties. Will see how they develop over the rest of their lives. If it's my fault, it's likely due to too-blue light in their infancy, or some fungal/etc infection that I didn't notice. Or maybe this is normal and their stalks will shoot up over the next several weeks.





Day 9 for the new batch of tobacco, 15 out of 18 varieties/species have germinated. The no-shows are Short Stalk Black Mammoth, Silk Leaf, and Connecticut Broad Leaf.

 

[wruk53]

Still worried about one thing: the plants still exhibit no stalks/stems to speak of. Still look like the leaves are coming out of the same location at ground level

Don't worry about that one bit, mine look like that every time. They will take off a few weeks after being transplanted into a sunny spot. They look great.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 44:

Transplanted the first group into wicking containers and regular planters (Va Brightleaf, Yellow Orinoco, Rustica & Yellow Twist Bud):


Also experimenting with making a Rustica into a semi-house plant-- most of the day outside, inside in the evenings:

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 45:

Planted one Yellow Orinoco and one Va Bright Leaf in the ground. Hopefully the central Florida bugs and beasties will leave them alone, at least for a while.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 52:

Plants progressing well, some showing the beginnings of stalks.




This Yellow Orinoco which I'll be planting into the ground seems to be developing twin stalks or a double stalk. Anyone seen this before?

 

[deluxestogie]

twin stalks or a double stalk. Anyone seen this before?

Two possibilities:

• There are two seedlings, side by side. Remove the weakest one.
• It's a sucker that needs to be removed from the main stalk.

Either situation may result in runted leaves, if not remedied.

Bob

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Guys, upon careful inspection of the plant, I'm confused now-- it's as if both "stalks" emerged from the base of the plant at the same time, like a V... neither seems to be "growing out of" the other one, and the leaves coming out of both of them are the same size. It's like it split into two stalks from the beginning. And it's definitely not two different seedlings. It's like one of those freak snakes with two heads. I'm hesitant to rip one of them off, in case it's the original plant, not the sucker. I do have a few other Yellow Orinocos growing so it's not a big loss if it turns into a runted plant, and now I'm super curious about this. Maybe I'll plant it and let it grow further until it becomes more obvious which one is the "evil twin"? Or is there another way to tell for sure?

 

[furryfreek]

This usually happens when the primary bud gets damaged, though I've had it occur spontaneously once, where a plant put out a weird conjoined twin leaf. Personally, I'd remove one of the branches; else you've either got twice as many leaves to prime (but the same yield over-all) or a plant that's awkward to stalk cure.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

A small word of advice to Florida growers: I would advise AGAINST cultivating the Yellow Twist Bud variety in Florida, especially not planting them in the ground.

Here is what started out as my healthiest YTB exemplar, after just ONE day in the Florida sun, and in mild early April, no less:



As you can see, what were the healthiest leaves are now singed, shriveled, dead. I would be surprised if it survived the next couple of weeks. My other YTB's which I planted in the wicking pots, I'm having to move into the shade, or they IMMEDIATELY 'deflate' like popped balloons or shrinking violets. Not at all hardy for Florida, but I'm sure it will do great back in West Virginia, where even the sunniest spots are still mild.

On the other hand, my Virginia Bright Leafs seem to thrive in it, as do my Yellow Orinoco's:

 

[MadFarmer]

The damage on your YTB looks like transplant shock to me. I usually see it in the first 7-10 days.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

The damage on your YTB looks like transplant shock to me. I usually see it in the first 7-10 days.

I hope you are right! The only thing that makes me wonder is that the leaves that have burned away are the same ones that were severely "deflated", same as the ones in the pots, which I brought into the shade... after which they re-inflated back to normal.

 

[deluxestogie]

Clipping the bottom leaves prior to transplant dramatically reduces their demand for water from the shocked root system. Bottom leaves, though they may look lovely in a young plant, usually end up as the "fliers and trash" leaf at the bottom of a mature plant.

Bob

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 61:

Plants progressing well. Va Bright Leaf have very established stalks, Yellow Orinoco shorter stalks. None of the Yellow Twist Bud have any stalks yet-- perhaps they are slow developers?

Virginia Bright Leaf:



Yellow Twist Bud:



Yellow Orinoco:



Rustica:




A minor concern: does anyone know what causes these small light-green dots? Have noticed them on a couple of leaves on Va Bright Leaf and Rustica which I planted in the ground outside.



Thanks.

 

[Knucklehead]

Day 61:

Plants progressing well. Va Bright Leaf have very established stalks, Yellow Orinoco shorter stalks. None of the Yellow Twist Bud have any stalks yet-- perhaps they are slow developers?

Virginia Bright Leaf:

View attachment 50517View attachment 50518View attachment 50519

Yellow Twist Bud:

View attachment 50520

Yellow Orinoco:

View attachment 50523View attachment 50524

Rustica:

View attachment 50525


A minor concern: does anyone know what causes these small light-green dots? Have noticed them on a couple of leaves on Va Bright Leaf and Rustica which I planted in the ground outside.

View attachment 50526

Thanks.

Possibly weather fleck.

Physiological and Environmental Problems | Burley Tobacco Extension

burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu

Or water droplet lensing when water droplets magnify the sun's rays. Can happen after a shower or watering during mid day.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Day 28 of the newest batch:

This batch of 18 varieties and species has differentiated itself into several obvious developmental groups.

Group 6: R.I.P., the ones that didn't make it at all: Connecticut Broad Leaf and Silk Leaf failed to germinate at all, I finally stopped spritzing the pods and tossed them.

Group 5: One that likely will not survive is the Virginia 116. It is still tiny, developed only one true leaf, and has turned almost completely white, likely falling victim to root rot or damping off.

Group 4: Still tiny, still in their tiny 1 1/2" cardboard pods, and still have barely or not at all shown any root growth through the cardboard: Va 12, Short Stalk Black Mammoth, Little Yellow, and One Sucker. I haven't yet given up hope on these, but I would say they are not doing well.

Va 12 and Short Stalk Black Mammoth:


Group 3: The ones in-between, developmentally: Broadleaf Orinoco, Shirey, and Burley 64.

Group 2: Varieties doing very well:
Havana 608, La Palma, Golden Burley and Corojo 99:



Group 1: Varieties/species that are doing outstanding, with the Rusticas not surprisingly all doing well, but very surprisingly to me the Connecticut Shade doing best of all. Will start to outdoor-harden these tomorrow:
Connecticut Shade, Limonka Rustica, Punche and Mountain: (I'm beginning to wonder if "Punche" and "Mountain" are the same variety. Will see when I can compare the flowers.)

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

Possibly weather fleck.

Physiological and Environmental Problems | Burley Tobacco Extension

burleytobaccoextension.ca.uky.edu

Or water droplet lensing when water droplets magnify the sun's rays. Can happen after a shower or watering during mid day.

Thanks! I'm going to guess lensing, as the dots have already started fading and blending in with the rest of the green.

 

[NewTobaccoGrower]

We're about to get hit here in central Florida with high winds, heavy rains, and possible tornadoes. One of my plants has already fallen over, but I was able to right it. Have built makeshift barriers around the plants with pavers and bags of garden soil etc. Am about to learn a lesson in how hardy these plants are.

On another note, it appears that the Connecticut Shade has already developed a sucker, even in its infancy. I assume I should remove it immediately?

 

[FrostD]

We're about to get hit here in central Florida with high winds, heavy rains, and possible tornadoes. One of my plants has already fallen over, but I was able to right it. Have built makeshift barriers around the plants with pavers and bags of garden soil etc. Am about to learn a lesson in how hardy these plants are.

On another note, it appears that the Connecticut Shade has already developed a sucker, even in its infancy. I assume I should remove it immediately?

View attachment 50580

When I grew Connecticut Shade last year, it was one of my top producers overall! Personally, I’d remove the sucker. I wouldn’t want energy from the plant to focus any efforts on a sucker leaf in which the plant is that small.

 

[PressuredLeaf]

A small word of advice to Florida growers: I would advise AGAINST cultivating the Yellow Twist Bud variety in Florida, especially not planting them in the ground.

Here is what started out as my healthiest YTB exemplar, after just ONE day in the Florida sun, and in mild early April, no less:

View attachment 50451

As you can see, what were the healthiest leaves are now singed, shriveled, dead. I would be surprised if it survived the next couple of weeks. My other YTB's which I planted in the wicking pots, I'm having to move into the shade, or they IMMEDIATELY 'deflate' like popped balloons or shrinking violets. Not at all hardy for Florida, but I'm sure it will do great back in West Virginia, where even the sunniest spots are still mild.

On the other hand, my Virginia Bright Leafs seem to thrive in it, as do my Yellow Orinoco's:
View attachment 50452

I’ve grown YTB in arizona during summer in full sun. It did great, even on the days above 115 as long as it had water. Sometimes the little plants will look a little bit sad after transplanting, but tobacco is one of the toughest plants I’ve ever grown.

YTB 2022