Pine Morton’s First Grow - 2025

[Pine Morton]

I started about two weeks ago. After a scare with the mail, I finally got my seeds on 4/16. Put them in a tray right away:



I’m growing two different cultivars: Virginia Gold and Kentucky 5, a burley. I used what I had on hand… an old seed tray and some miracle grow potting mix that I strained through a colander.

A few days later I got myself a cheap 2 ft. grow light from Walmart. And a few days after that I got a cheap seedling heat mat as well. I also picked up an actual seed starter mix, and filled up two trays for the rest of my seeds.


(Before I got my heat mat I tried using a basic heating pad)

Within a few days I started to see the first signs of germination, and in less than a week I had my first bit of green.



By the end of that same week, I had my first thinning.

Before thinning (I’d already thinned two cells before remembering to take a picture):



After thinning:



I used my seed starter mix to fill in the rest of the cells on the tray to save some of what I thinned.

Fast forward to today, and the seedlings are doing well I think. The burley seems to be growing much faster than the virginia.

I believe my light was baking the two middle rows however, so I lifted it up a couple of inches. The horizontal middle rows are much smaller, and it looks like a couple of them might not make it. Rearranging the seedlings during the thinning might have contributed to that in a few cases.


(The top three rows are Virginia gold, the bottom three are KY5)

I have not thinned my overflow trays… I’ll likely only have enough space in the yard for 3 - 4, maybe 5 plants, so now I’m thinking I started too many.


(Virginia Gold extras)



(KY5 extras)

Hopefully I can keep this thread updated regularly, so I won’t have to make such long posts. I’m thinking soon I’ll either do another thinning or possibly move some sprouts into their own solo cups. Hard to believe it’s only been two weeks since I started. Wish me luck.


(My half-baked set up. Taken this morning.)

 

[deluxestogie]

Nice work. The greatest value of a grow log is for the grower himself, as a historical document.

The two most common mistakes of new growers are:

1. over-watering
2. mixing up the varieties due to lack of labeling of the cells or rows of cells

You might want to put some labels on them.

Bob

 

[GreenDragon]

Looking good! A few suggestions: I would go ahead and thin now to 1 plant per cell as they all seem to be doing well. Move a few of your strongest thinning to solo cups as back-ups / extras. Start watering from the bottom going forward. If you are in Georgia I would go ahead and relocate outside to a location that gets a few hours of morning sun and gradually increase as they get larger. Never too early to start hardening off.

 

[Pine Morton]

The two most common mistakes of new growers are:

1. over-watering
2. mixing up the varieties due to lack of labeling of the cells or rows of cells

Start watering from the bottom going forward.

So far I’ve been both watering from the bottom and spraying the top.

Every couple of days I’d check to see how much water is in the bottom tray, and if it was dry I’d add about a half-inch of water.

Been spraying the tops in the morning and in the evening. Sometimes I’d skip a spray if it seemed like it was getting too soggy.

Should I be watering from the bottom exclusively now? Do y’all think the spraying is too much at this point?

I’ll check back in with an update once I’m able to do another round of thinning.

 

[GreenDragon]

Should I be watering from the bottom exclusively now? Do y’all think the spraying is too much at this point?

Yes, you want to train the roots to grow down. Also it will reduce the chance of Damping Off disease.

 

[Knucklehead]

Soil compaction from top watering can also cause spiral root.

 

[Pine Morton]

Been a few days now. Had to make a run to the store to get more seed starter and a new tray.

Thinned down to one plant per cell… or rather, transplanted the strongest sprouts into a new tray entirely. Looks wet because I plopped the entire old cell into the new one. (Except for a couple that I did spray just because they were transplanted without any medium around the root.) Otherwise I’m now watering exclusively from the bottom.



I didn’t have any popsicle sticks to label each individual cell, but made some little flags to clearly label which side contained which variety.

I debated whether or not to use this tray, or go straight to solo cups to have extra depth. Went with the tray because I could keep more spouts that way. It really hurts to cull so many seedlings. I’ll be hanging on to my overflow trays, just to see how they turn out.

My cat decided to be a menace the other night and pulled the bottom left sprout out of its cell. Broke off a majority of its root… I stuck it back in and it doesn’t seem to be dead yet, but I was very distraught. The door now stays closed 24/7.

 

[Pine Morton]

Noticed a couple oddities…

The plugs that I transferred into their new trays are still very wet. I thought that by now the moisture would have diffused, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. The surface of the fresh seedling mix is still powder dry… I think the wetness damaged this leaf where it was touching the mix.



It is the same growing medium in the original tray as this new tray. Jiffy brand seed starting mix.

I’ve also noticed some of the leaves looking a bit yellow. Should I try fertilizing? Epsom salt? Or is this damping off? Any advice?

 

[The Haroo ln]

I wouldn't fertilize with anything yet. Not until they're a couple of inches big

 

[Pine Morton]

I wouldn't fertilize with anything yet. Not until they're a couple of inches big

Ok, I appreciate the advice. For now I’ll focus on getting the moisture levels under control.

 

[The Haroo ln]

Just make sure your temps are between 20-30 ish degrees Celsius and humidity is around 60%-80%

 

[The Haroo ln]

Oh and make sure your soil is consistently moist and not too dry or waterlogged

 

[Pine Morton]

Been trying to correct my overwatering, haven’t watered since last Wednesday. The growing medium is still very damp though, and I think I do have some damping off:


(Virginia Gold with thinning stem?)

On the bright side, some of the leaves that were yellowing seem to be doing better:


(Last Wednesday, 5/7)


(Same plant yesterday, 5/12)

Overall the KY5 is doing much better than the Virginia Gold. I’m still crossing my fingers that they’ll recover from being so wet for so long…


(Top three rows are KY5, bottom three rows are Virginia Gold)

 

[Knucklehead]

Been trying to correct my overwatering, haven’t watered since last Wednesday. The growing medium is still very damp though, and I think I do have some damping off:

View attachment 55732
(Virginia Gold with thinning stem?)

On the bright side, some of the leaves that were yellowing seem to be doing better:

View attachment 55733
(Last Wednesday, 5/7)

View attachment 55734
(Same plant yesterday, 5/12)

Overall the KY5 is doing much better than the Virginia Gold. I’m still crossing my fingers that they’ll recover from being so wet for so long…

View attachment 55735
(Top three rows are KY5, bottom three rows are Virginia Gold)

A fan blowing across them will cause them to strengthen the stem to resist those forces.

 

[Pine Morton]

A fan blowing across them will cause them to strengthen the stem to resist those forces.

I’ll set up a small fan! Should have one around here somewhere…

 

[Pine Morton]

I’m still crossing my fingers that they’ll recover from being so wet for so long…

Looks like they’re recovering to me!


(KY5)


(Virginia Gold)

They’re growing so fast… pictures taken today on 5/14.

It’s been a full week since they were watered last, and the growing medium is just now reaching good moisture levels it seems.

I haven’t been able to get them outside to harden up as much as I’d like due to my work schedule. I’ve got family saying I’m overthinking things, and that I could probably go ahead and put them outside indefinitely. Not going to take any chances though.

Pretty soon I guess I’ll have to trim the leaves!

 

[Knucklehead]

Nice seedlings.

 

[Pine Morton]

My plants are growing like crazy now. Finally gave them their first trim. I’m thinking I should have done this sooner, but this has been a very busy week.

Before trimming:


After trimming:


Hoping I didn’t trim too much. This picture really shows the difference between the KY5 (left side) and the Virginia Gold (right side).

Many of the Virginia Gold plants are flopped over onto their sides. I’m wondering if I should address this issue now or wait until they’re repotted. I was thinking I could just bury them upright when I do.


(My biggest KY5)


(My biggest Virginia Gold)

Any use for these clippings?



Could they be cured decently or are they better off as compost?

 

[deluxestogie]

repotted. I was thinking I could just bury them upright when I do.

When you transplant them, do so with the root system pointing directly down. Crooked stalks will straighten themselves in sunlight.

Any use for these clippings?

Trash.

Bob

 

[Pine Morton]

Finally went to “up-pot” my plants this past Sunday. I selected three of the best plants from each variety. I wonder if I should have done this sooner, they seem to have been fairly root bound in their cells:





The ones that didn’t make the cut are still in their cells. I’ve been keeping them outside full-time, and a few of them are now actually looking better than the ones I repotted. Or at least the stems are getting taller.



I’ve decided not to plant directly into the ground, so I’m wondering if I should just go ahead and re-pot again to their final containers. Hoping to keep at least five or six plants in total. It really hurts to have to choose which ones to keep, I wish I could grow them all. I’ve already given away two of them.

It’s been about 9 weeks since I started the seeds. Based on the reading I’ve done, they should be ready, but the burley especially is still quite short.