Grundle's 2012 Grow Log

[BarG]

It was realy hard to tell the depth by looking at the pics. They probably have a fighting chance to break into surface soil when they get bigger being covered the way it is it will soften up some to allow the root to penetrate. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[workhorse_01]

After i disc up my space i use a middle buster to lay off my rows ,i add fertilizer to the rut i just made. then i run my plows down the middles and build the bed where i put the fertilizer. This makes a nice soft deep bed, and puts the fertilizer under the crop and grows strong deep roots. I've learned that tobacco does'nt like it's roots to hit bottom or hard ground underneath.

 

[Grundle]

I love how attentive the people on this site are. BarG and workhorse, thanks for the tips and the insights into what I am doing. Next year I am really interested in trying what you suggested workhorse.

BarG that info about hitting bottom is a good tidbit. I am curious to see if my first layer of newspaper will stop the roots from going deeper. I hope it degrades quickly enough for it not to be a problem, but we'll see.

We have been hitting 100 degree temperatures consecutively for 3 or 4 days now, with no end in sight. I am happy to say that the plants are dealing with it very well. I think if I had transplanted them a week later they would have all died from the heat. I am watering in the morning and the evening and this seems to be the perfect schedule.

I have been showing a few friends my patch and I am always amused at their responses. Most of the get a confused look and sort of scratch their heads. Generally they ask me if it is legal, or say they didn't even know tobacco would grow out my way. Cracks me up every time.

 

[Chicken]

i agree with you,

that newspaper, may be preventing the roots from going down any further,

perhaps after wetting it, you should have made many chops with the machete, to give the roots a place to run to,

how much soil,, is between the newspaper, and the bottom of the plant,????

if the roots cant go down, then your doing'' container'' growing on a large scale,

 

[workhorse_01]

I agree with chicken. Tobacco seems to stunt if the roots hit hard ground, but the only way to find out wether it will work is to try. Who knows next year we might all be trying the newspaper route if it works .

 

[Grundle]

i agree with you,

that newspaper, may be preventing the roots from going down any further,

perhaps after wetting it, you should have made many chops with the machete, to give the roots a place to run to,

how much soil,, is between the newspaper, and the bottom of the plant,????

if the roots cant go down, then your doing'' container'' growing on a large scale,

Well...that was sort of the point. The newspaper is initially there to keep weeds from growing up from underneath. Some people use cardboard, but I wanted a quicker breakdown. I think all told I got maybe 12" deep. I am going to slice through the middle (no plants in the middle) tonight and see whats going on down there

Now that I think of it, I think I'll take a long pole and push it down to perforate that newspaper layer. That way I don't have to dig, and it gives the roots a place to go. Anyone got a better idea?

 

[LeftyRighty]

My suggestion --- if the plants still are not doing well.....
Dig them out, keeping as much soil as posible around them.
Re-dug the same spot, to 8-in or a foot below the papers, into the original soil., and mix the soil and your toppings together.
Re-plant the start back into the re-dug spot.

No-till gardening sucks. Usually the original soil is too compacted, from long term settlement, that new plants can't get exstablished, and roots have difficulty extending into the soil.

I did a no till a couple years ago. Covered an area with black plastic in the fall (to kill grass/weeds), then planted in the spring. Poor growth. I should have dug it in the spring.

 

[Chicken]

Well...that was sort of the point. The newspaper is initially there to keep weeds from growing up from underneath. Some people use cardboard, but I wanted a quicker breakdown. I think all told I got maybe 12" deep. I am going to slice through the middle (no plants in the middle) tonight and see whats going on down there

Now that I think of it, I think I'll take a long pole and push it down to perforate that newspaper layer. That way I don't have to dig, and it gives the roots a place to go. Anyone got a better idea?

that may help....

and i wouldnt worry too much about destroying the roots,

ive moved my survey stakes around, the base of certain plants,,,to replace them in the direction the plant was starting to lean,,,and have had no dire effects from destroying a root network,

 

[Grundle]

In the spirit of experimentation I decided to take one of my smaller plants and try some things out. Last night I perforated the newspaper layer with a rod, and then I followed that up by adding a Nitrogen base liquid fertilizer. I will be watching it over the next week or so to see if there is a marked difference in it's growth compared to the other plants.

 

[Grundle]

Here is the weekend update for my plants. I am beginning to think this year is a total wash. I found one of my best burley's uprooted again this morning. It was pulled all the way out by the roots. I took a good look at the roots and was surprised to see they haven't grown much from when I planted it. That really bothers me. The plants are still growing, but not as fast as I think they should. I am not sure what 3 weeks in the ground should look like, but I was thinking it should be more than a few inches...

All of the BBSM seeds I planted are dead. I just can't get them past the two leaf stage. I don't think the pure peat mixture I used wicks the water up very well, so they just died when I took the top off. Next weekend I am going to buy a grow light, and try a different approach. Rest assured I am not going to quit trying until I figure this out. Now for some pictures.



Full shot of the planting bed. I can see some growth. It is obvious which plants have been in shade and which ones have been under the full sun.



This plant seems to grow the beset. It also gets the most shade.



This is one that was uprooted last week...seems to be making a comeback.



I added Nitrogen and perforated the Newspaper layer on this one. We'll see what happens.



Two of my burleys.



This one was uprooted last night. I am still pretty pissed about it. It was doing quite well. I am sure it will live, but it will lose it's best leaves.

 

[Chicken]

next year i'd suggest starting them a lot earlier,

they may do very well...but i would assume they were started late,???

your in kansas,, im in florida, big difference,

but i start mine super early,[ early as possible].

...my grow is allsmost ready for cropping,, your's is very young,....you will have sucess, but next year,, learn FROM THIS YEAR,,,

and things will be better,

my first year was a 100%failure,,,and i learned from my mistakes,

good luck little plants,,, SENDING SOME MO-JO YOUR WAY,

 

[Grundle]

Hey guys I am a little late on my weekly update. It has been a busy week, but I have finally settled back into my normal routine.

On Friday I took the MCAT, the entrance exam for Medical School. It was pretty brutal, but I studied for a year so I think I was ready. I'll let you all know. Afterwards I needed to do something to take my mind off the pent up stress, so I decided to go on a little shopping spree.

I went to the local nursery and stocked up on some goodies. I got a new growing situation which consists of a grow light with adjustable height and a seedbed with an attachable dome to keep in the moisture. I also bought some smaller peat pots and a new growing mixture where I sowed around 20 more seeds. I won't get anything out of these latest seeds, but I need to prove to myself that I can get from seed to transplant without killing everything off.

I also bought a soak hose for my plants outside and have been letting it irrigate the plants in the late afternoon. I have noticed a difference in the growth...with the heat I was probably under-watering the plants.

I don't have them now, but I will post some pictures later today.

 

[Chicken]

crossing my fingers for your exam

 

[workhorse_01]

When i took the 7 1/2 hour contractors exam my old boss asked afterwards what was my gut feeling ? I said i thout i passed when my results came in I missed 6 out of 1657 and drank 5 beers on the way back to the hotel ! I still dont know how i found it, but i went to sleep and didnt wake up till check out time .

 

[johnlee1933]

When i took the 7 1/2 hour contractors exam my old boss asked afterwards what was my gut feeling ? I said i thout i passed when my results came in I missed 6 out of 1657 and drank 5 beers on the way back to the hotel ! I still dont know how i found it, but i went to sleep and didnt wake up till check out time .

At least you didn't steal a bus for the trip.

John

 

[Grundle]

When i took the 7 1/2 hour contractors exam my old boss asked afterwards what was my gut feeling ? I said i thout i passed when my results came in I missed 6 out of 1657 and drank 5 beers on the way back to the hotel ! I still dont know how i found it, but i went to sleep and didnt wake up till check out time .

Dang that is a long test! Mine was only 5 hours, so I got off easy I still have my post-test cigar waiting to be smoked. It was 104 that day so, I decided to wait until it got cooler. Now it's cooler and I been doing other stuff.

If I only missed 6 I think I would be doing backflips. I took it last year just to see how it was and I got destroyed. After studying so long and so hard, I don't really feel like I did well at all...but I do know I did way better than last time. So whatever that means, I guess it is good

 

[workhorse_01]

They wouldnt have stopped me anyway haha

At least you didn't steal a bus for the trip.

John

 

[Grundle]

Took me a little while, but here is another pic update.



The plants are finally gaining momentum. Several of them have had setbacks from being uprooted, but surprisingly they have been very resilient. Once I got the drip hose I noticed a definite improvement. I was underwatering.



My Biggest plant. Connecticut Broadleaf.




This is the biggest Burley. I expect it to really take off in the next few days.



This is my new grow setup. I am so happy with this. I am kicking myself now for having tried it the other way. It only took 3 days for my first seeds to germinate this time around.



This is the seed bed. See if you can find the newly sprouted seeds

 

[BarG]

Grundle, Sometimes a shortcut aint realy a shortcut if you want to get where your going.

That was interesting to watch though and it reminds me of one of the pdf's on fertilizers and potash or phosphates, I can't remember wich. I think an R. J. Reynolds field where it looked like they had a layer of metal shaped like a vally flashing piled with grow medium for the plants. You could tell from the end view. It was showing the difference in growth rates and levels of fertilizer.

 

[indianjoe]

Grundle,
the plants look a little yellow in the pic. You got any fertilizer on them? Glad to hear that they are recovering.