RednekF350 2024 Grow Blog

[Rednekf350]

My wife and I had a rough late 2023 and so far, 2024 isn't going much better for us. I have an older sister with dementia and my wife and I are her only immediate family. We started caring for her in late September 2023 and she is now in nursing care but has still not adjusted well.

Our time for ourselves was limited and my so-so 2023 harvest is still hanging in the garage. I was able to get some Kelly Burley going in late March this year and the picture below is from tonight. Great germination but slow growth. The seeds were laid on Miracle Gro Seed Starter Mix.

I really want to dabble with some grow lights because the sunny window sill just isn't cutting it but I am more interested in finding a decent potting soil when I start transferring to cells this year. Since I started growing, I have used Miracle Grow potting soil, and although it worked, it just looks like too much junk in it. I swear that ground up pallets is the number 1 ingredient.

Any recommendations on potting soils would be greatly appreciated.

It's good to be back!

 

[johnny108]

Black gold potting soil always worked great for me for other plants- tomatoes included.
It needs loosening up with orchid bark and perlite, though.
Have you thought of using a soilless mix?

 

[WillQuantrill]

After reading much on this forum I settled on a mix that's 1/3 portions of Perlite, Vermiculite and Peat Moss. @wruk53 talks extensively about his special mix and it works! If you dont feel like making your own... I use this which is pretty close. Seed Starter Natural Potting Soil Mix for Germination and Growth (Made in USA) (4 Dry Quarts) https://a.co/d/irDIH0z

 

[billy]

soil i like to use anything peat and perlite based then add some real compost to it. cause its good at making sure a wide array of nutrients arent zero.

lights you could buy a pack of cheap Led shop lights from amazon. if your gonna use a light say the next 10 years its worth the extra cost of a proper light for power bill efficiency. like a 100 watt grow light in the ~70 dollar range over 3 1020 trays, boxed in with either white or shiny walls works very well, nothing will get leggy at all.

 

[Rednekf350]

I ended up trying a little Black Gold potting soil in a few of my transplant cells that my wife later told me was in my sister's shed for about 5 years, and Vigoro potting mix in most of the cells. So far, the Black Gold is showing better results. Ironically, my Miracle-Grow Seed Starter Mix trays containing all of my now overcrowded backups, look healthier than anything else. I think next year I will put the seed starter mix in the transplant cells

I have had these outside almost every day for two weeks, but our weather temps have been cooler for a lot of that time with a few 80 degree days here and there. It was only 45 degrees last night. Hoping for them to start kicking soon. I plan on putting them in the ground in two more weeks.

Pics attached.

 

[Rednekf350]

Just 10 days since the pics above were taken. The Black Gold potting mix continues to win the race in the transplant cells. Vigoro is apparently worthless and my backup seedlings in Miracle Gro seed starter mix look the healthiest of all.
I will start planting next week. I think I am going to rescue as many of the seedlings as possible since most of the Vigoro cells are looking pretty sad.

 

[johnny108]

Just 10 days since the pics above were taken. The Black Gold potting mix continues to win the race in the transplant cells. Vigoro is apparently worthless and my backup seedlings in Miracle Gro seed starter mix look the healthiest of all.
I will start planting next week. I think I am going to rescue as many of the seedlings as possible since most of the Vigoro cells are looking pretty sad.

I sold Black Gold at a hydroponic/organic shop I worked in for a year. We tested it against every brand we could find- it was always the best. Just needs perlite to loosen it up for container plants.

 

[Rednekf350]

Got my planting started around June 1 as planned and things are going pretty well. We did get a few ass-kicking thunderstorms with heavy rain pass through on Sunday night that beat the plants down pretty good. The photo was taken Monday night after I did some restorative work consisting of cultivating, standing plants up and a little side dressing with Osmocote. Picture is from after I fixed them up Monday night. Tonight, they are looking better with all of the leaves having turned themselves right side up.

I have another 15 or so plants placed around the property as landscaping and my seedling trays are looking like a cabbage patch. I just don't have the heart to dump them. We're supposed to get whacked good again tonight so I am hoping for a miss.

 

[Rednekf350]

Things are looking pretty good in my tobacco-only garden but nothing beat the growth I am seeing when I snuck a few plants into my wife's patio flower gardens. I had just taken out a few old rose bushes about 6 weeks ago and I put in three Kelley Burley plants. I added 10-10-10 to the dirt before I planted and then side dressed with Osmocote two weeks ago. One plant is going to break 6 feet any day and is flowering and the others are kicking ass too. I always let a few go to flower but in my tobacco garden, I usually snip them when they start to form.
Bottoms are just starting to yellow.

Made a batch of chew tonight with cooked-down apple juice, molasses and Buffalo Trace with some 2021 TN-86 Burley!

 

[Old Gasman]

That's a good looking plant and very nice garden you have there.

 

[Rednekf350]

Having some fun by letting these patio-grown Kelley Burleys do whatever they want. The one on the right just reached 8 feet 2 inches today and it's starting to flower.
I'll be priming my all tobacco garden in another week or so. I don't want to jinx myself but this has been a nearly pest-free season. Just a couple chews hear and there and no aphids.
You can see a glimspe of my all tobacco garden in the far right. Everything there is doing well but 4'-5' tall. Sunlight is somewhat limited back there.

 

[Rednekf350]

No special fertilizer tricks, no smoke and no mirrors! This one hit 11 feet in height this week.
I also just got a mild influx of hornworms. Just pulled three green monsters off of the patio plants.

The regular tobacco garden is still looking good, except for the fact that my sister in law didn’t water any of our gardens at all over the last week while we were on vacation. Things look a little bleak but I know they will bounce back. I got a sprinkler running now. The regular tobacco garden is ready for priming.

 

[deluxestogie]

Is that monster plant a Kelly Burley?

Bob

EDIT: Were these subjected to ambient lights at night?

 

[Rednekf350]

Is that monster plant a Kelly Burley?

Bob

EDIT: Were these subjected to ambient lights at night?

Bob,
All of my plants this year are Kelley Burley from a single seed purchase from the Tobacco Guy on Etsy.
I used no grow lights to propagate the seed which I started in March next to a window sill on the south side of the house. I moved the outside as soon as it was safe to do so. Our last frost date is May 15 here in the NJ Pine Barrens but I put most of my plants in the ground after that.
There is no ambient or outdoor lighting that hits these plants.
I am really puzzled at what could cause this to happen. The soil that they are in supported rose bushes for the last 15 or 20 years but the roses were getting sickly and wife wanted to get rid of them. I don’t remember ever fertilizing the roses other than my wife spraying them with Miracle Gro. So I dug three roses out and put in three Kelley Burley and this is what I got. I prepped with 10-10-10 and hit them only once with 14-14-14 Osmocote.
None of my other tobacco plants have ever gone past 5 or 6 feet which seems normal to me in my limited experience.
Scott

 

[deluxestogie]

Truly impressive for Kelly Burley. I grew it for a number of years, and typically got plants that were head height.

I've had Piloto Cubano and Colombian Garcia get up into the clouds like your Kelly Burley, and I blamed it on ambient lights from neighbors. (Longer day period, together with temps that are warmer than average have been documented to produce taller burley with a much higher leaf count.) But I'm really just guessing with my own plants. I suspect that persistent overcast skies may also lead to taller plants.

Bob

 

[WillQuantrill]

No special fertilizer tricks, no smoke and no mirrors! This one hit 11 feet in height this week.
I also just got a mild influx of hornworms. Just pulled three green monsters off of the patio plants.

The regular tobacco garden is still looking good, except for the fact that my sister in law didn’t water any of our gardens at all over the last week while we were on vacation. Things look a little bleak but I know they will bounce back. I got a sprinkler running now. The regular tobacco garden is ready for priming. View attachment 52978

I thought my local "Gutter Burley" was prehistoric in size but those are truly impressive!

 

[slouch]

No special fertilizer tricks, no smoke and no mirrors! This one hit 11 feet in height this week.
I also just got a mild influx of hornworms. Just pulled three green monsters off of the patio plants.

The regular tobacco garden is still looking good, except for the fact that my sister in law didn’t water any of our gardens at all over the last week while we were on vacation. Things look a little bleak but I know they will bounce back. I got a sprinkler running now. The regular tobacco garden is ready for priming. View attachment 52978

Absolute unit

 

[Old Gasman]

Fantastic plants, truly Jurassic.

 

[Rednekf350]

Started priming my Kelly Burley last night. I only took 2 leaves off one of my mutant plants as most of the leaves were still a hearty dark green. In my regular tobacco garden, the leaves were getting very pale and some were curing on their own along the edges. I lightly rinsed all of the picked leaves and ran a S-bend piece of wire through each stem and hung them in my garage along the bottom of my ceiling joists.

I'll prime some more in a week or so and maybe by them the mutants will be yellowing.

 

[Rednekf350]

Been ridiculously busy the last two weeks
I’m gradually filling up the ceiling joists with more Kelly Burley. This was hung on 9-16-24. I lightly fan sprayed the dirt off before hanging them.
My September 5 batch looks great and smells even better!