On Monday (4 days ago) the Xanthi Yaka 18a looked like mere babies. Today, the larger ones were shading their smaller siblings. Out came the scissors.
Bob
Bob
Deluxestogie Grow Log 2023
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
RoperLegacyWoods
Well-Known Member
May I ask the dimensions in your bags sir?
Today, I sewed the 3 bud bags that I will need for 2022. They are cut from Agribon AG-15, and the stitched-in tags are cut from a used, Tyvek mailing envelope—written with a Sharpie marker on both surfaces. Two straight lines of stitching (or one, with a turned corner) for each bag. [Finely honed sartorial skills.] In the time it would take me to drive to a big box store, and squander my wealth on a package of "paint strainer bags", I could cut and label and sew a couple of dozen of these. I've been slowly using the same roll of Agribon for the last 5 or 6 or 7 years, and there is still plenty remaining.
Bob
Once sewn, the bags are roughly 30 inches tall and 24 inches wide, for full-size plants. For most Orientals, the bags are about 24" x 15". The Tyvek name tag is sewn into the seam, and marked with a Sharpie on both sides. When I first place and tie a bag onto a plant (preferably after bud-head stalk lengthening), it always seems laughably large. By the time I'm cutting the matured pod heads, most of the bags are stretched nearly to their bursting point.
Bob
Bob
RoperLegacyWoods
Well-Known Member
Thank you sir. I apologize for asking, I noticed it in a key forum thread later on…
As the forum content continues to accumulate, the process of finding what you are looking for becomes more of a challenge. Sometimes, I've struggled to locate information that I myself had posted in the past.
Bob
Tofta 5 weeks after starting germination:
Bob
Bob
Walmart is so nice. Sometimes, when one of their gig drivers delivers a small bag of stuff to my front porch, they provide, free of charge, a portrait.
Bob
Bob
The tall plants are tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. The rest are tobacco plants. I'm staring at the weather forecast, feeling temptation.
Bob
Bob
RoperLegacyWoods
Well-Known Member
Clipping is just to keep plants from shading each other right? Or are there other benefits/reasons to do it?
Bob
Clipping minimizes shading, strengthens roots, and increases nicotine production in the baby seedlings.
Bob
EDIT: One additional benefit of clipping is that it reduces the evaporation and transpiration stress on the plant at the time of transplant, shortening transplant shock. My tobacco, from the time of germination until transplant, is exposed to about ½ day of direct sunlight daily. So for transplanting, I take them directly from my enclosed back porch to the field.
Bob
EDIT: One additional benefit of clipping is that it reduces the evaporation and transpiration stress on the plant at the time of transplant, shortening transplant shock. My tobacco, from the time of germination until transplant, is exposed to about ½ day of direct sunlight daily. So for transplanting, I take them directly from my enclosed back porch to the field.
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RoperLegacyWoods
Well-Known Member
Is it possible to use a heating pad instead of a seedling mat? If so, what, (if any) differences are there?Using a 5 gallon bucket, I mixed a new batch of my usual seedling mix:
- 2/3 Miracle Gro Sphagnum Peat Moss
- 1/6 Miracle Gro Perlite
- 1/6 Vermiculite
I filled my 8 germination cups, as well as a single 3" pot insert. The jars and their lids will be labeled, one by one, as each has a varietal seed sprinkled into it—which I will do the first week of March. The 3" pot is resting inside a 4" plastic lid from a large canister of peanuts.
It has been over 3 weeks since I began a germination test of the Tofta seed I received. During that time, only a single seed out of 6 has germinated. I've placed the received bag of seed into the freezer now, with the hope of stimulating better germination in a germination cup.
But, just one germinated Tofta seed. This tiny seedling is likely the only Tofta plant currently growing in the Western Hemisphere. So I used scissors to cut out a square surrounding that seedling from the germination filter paper. Although sometimes a germinated seed will have intertwined itself into the paper fiber, this little seedling just fell out onto the counter. I licked the tip of my little finger, and transferred the seedling into a divot in the pre-moistened mix in the pot. There, I misted the adjacent seedling mix, to help settle the seedling into place.
The filter paper with the germination test was again moistened, and returned to its bag, to see if further patience will produce more germination.
I saved a cute little dome that came from a package of mini-pie crusts. It neatly snaps into place in the rim of the 3" pot, to help minimize evaporation.
The 3" pot, resting in its plastic lid "coaster" was placed beside a window in my warm study, so I won't have to run a seedling heat mat just for that.
Bob
What is the benefit of using a heating mat vs. not?
skychaser
Well-Known Member
Nope. No proof of that anywhere I have ever seen. It's a myth perpetuated in this forum. I will happily change my view if someone can show me a study that shows its true. But we have been here before and no one could show me anything substantial. Maybe Anders little double blind experiment will finally prove me wrong. We'll see. I actually hope it does. I will eat my hat and never say a word about it again.
Clipping does increase stem strength. Lots of studies that show that is true. But it is really only beneficial when using planting machines. I clipped plants one year and saw 0 benefit to me for the time spent doing it. I have grown 10's of thousands of tobacco plants. This year I will be doing around 4000. All will be hand planted.
RoperLegacyWoods
Well-Known Member
Why the glyphosate sir?
Some weeds give up after you till the soil. I have specific weeds (e.g. Glechoma hederacea) that simply proliferate when chopped to pieces. The glyphosate dramatically reduces my weeding labor. Ten years ago, I weeded everything by hand weekly. I'm too old and rickety to do that now.
Bob
Bob
I clip for the increase in stem strength. If I grew a ton of seedlings it would become too much hassle and I would stick to a fan for strenghening stems and roots. (I currently don't have a fan and don't want to buy one just for seedlings) For roots, I allow the soil to dry between waterings, which in my opinion, forces the roots to go deeper and wider in search of moisture. I also move the seedlings outside for a few hours as often as possible, weather permitting, in the hopes that wind will force the plants to both strengthen lateral roots and strengthen stalks in response to being blown around. This is not based on any study but what I feel like how the plant may respond to natural forces. It is purely my opinion and I admit to being wrong quite often, but it seems to make sense and works for me. As far as clipping and roots, I have no idea. I've seen no study aside from here on the forum and just stated that I clip in hopes that it strengthens the stalk and didn't mention roots in my grow blog because I simply don't know. For me, the stalk is reason enough for the 48 seedlings that I grew. I don't know about myths but I can be superstitious and try to face all fears but three. I'm deathly afraid of haints, voodoo, and crazy chicks. I'm not facing those fears, I'm screaming out of there like my hair was on fire.
skychaser
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. The biggest reason people kill seedlings is over watering. You have been doing this long enough I'm sure you have seen a cell or two that didn't drain properly for some reason. And seen for yourself what those roots and plants look like. Roots barely half way down the cell, brown root tips from drowning, and a runty little plant on top. I think many people go way overboard on misting them too. I start with well soaked potting mix. sprinkle the seed on top and mist them in a little. Then I only do it once more about 3 days later. Once those first sprouts appear I want those roots headed down. I water from the bottom up from then on and only when the top soil starts looking dry. Too much misting keeps the top of the cell wet while the bottom dries out and the roots want to stay on top.
If you have a lot of wind where you live then wanting those stalks a little tougher than average makes a lot of sense. Those plants look pretty tiny out there when they first hit the field with all that empty space between them. Big winds can really shake them around. And clipping 48 plants doesn't take all day. Bad weather is my biggest enemy those first couple weeks. For me it's thunderstorm down bursts washing them out. Fortunately tobaccos are pretty tough and my casualties are usually under 1%. And for some reason birds like to yank them out that first week too. If I find them soon enough I just stick them back in and they nearly always do fine.
I find the occasional scrawny plant in flats now and then who has been overpowered by his neighbor. Clipping some leaves might have given it a better chance. But I have to wonder why that plant didn't have the vigor to keep up with the others in the first place. I grow so many I don't have time to worry much about those and just cull them out at planting time. There is a big difference between growing 10 or 1000 plants in how much you care about just a few getting to the field. Plus my main goal is seed production so I only want the strongest most vigorous plants to pass on their genes.
I bought three propagation heat mats from greenhousemegastore.com. One for a single 1020 tray and two double mats that each span two 1020 trays. I've owned them 10 years but only used them five seasons. I run them 24/7 for two months each season. They are built for the water spills and high humidity periods. I can't speak to the longevity of a heat pad (like for a sore back?) that runs 24/7 for months at a time. I would certainly worry about the electrocution risk if wet or fire possibility due to overheating from overuse. They are not built for it.
I went to the website of the propagation mat manufacturer (several years ago) and I think I found the details in FAQ section. If memory serves they state 10-20F increase over ambient temps. So if the ambient temp is 50F, the heat mat raises temp to 60-70F. No thermostat control and not necessary. Plug and play. Here's the mats I bought and I also purchase 1020 trays and cell inserts there. Good prices.
SUNPAD® LITE Seedling Propagation Mat
Start your seedlings with this nifty heated mat that is sized ideally for seed flats. This will cause faster germination, higher success rates, and faster growth for quicker transplanting. Helpful tips on watering, lighting, and transplanting are printed right on the mat so you will never lose...
www.greenhousemegastore.com
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This statement is actually in the product description in the link.
Is it the crows? I visited my mom when she lived in Seattle several years ago, and you guys have wonderfully large crows out there. She would feed them on her porch and they would do some wacky stuff.
