Robncars Beginners Lessons.

[Robncars]

First I want to give a shout out to @ChinaVoodoo, @deluxestogie, (I'm leaving room because I know there is more but I forget names-and how to spell them.)
Without these guys I would not have such beautiful plants.

I wanted a short concise post on what I have learned on my first grow for don'ts mainly. With a few do this insteads thrown in. And some info on whats this that other new growers may profit from.
This grow is in a very dry area (15 in average yearly moisture) Short growing season 90-100 days with no frost tops.
I'm going to edit the post until I have what I want. It will take awhile i think.....

 

[Robncars]

Seeds/seedlings.
Things I found out on my first grow 2020.
1. A 1/2 oz. of seeds is a quarter million seeds!
2. I started with 200 seedlings and my mistakes cost me over 100. Out of 175 only 56 remain alive and only 50 are expected to make it to harvest but we will see.
3. Do not use urea based fertilizer for seedlings. I lost about 70 but was able to save over 100 here. After transplants are established you can use urea. I continued to use the urea free orchid fertilizer until I ran out.

 

[Robncars]

-. When transplanting outside take care to watch for sun damage and cover them if needed. I lost the other 45 here. I started saving gallon milk jugs for next season. Im planning to cut the bottom off and cover the transplanted seedlings with them.
-. Haircuts will save you a lot of grow time. I wasn't as diligent as I should have been. I think many plants would have been ready to bloom now (August 1st-ish-) if i had trimmed them better/more before transplanting.
-. Keep notes. Im terrible at notes so I have to remember EVERYTHING. Its tough. I decided not to let any of this years crop go to seed because I don't want a packet of seeds lying around named;
Mystery Burley? -Maybe-......
-. When transplanting straight rows will make watering the little seedlings easier. My rows were -lets say scattered- and the hose had to hit every plant it could reach. It was aggravating to say the least. This seems like common sense but I didn't realize how much it would make a difference.

This variety had a tendency to sucker all summer. It did sucker more/faster after topping. But I walked my plants everyday.

 

[Robncars]

My plants were very slow to start. I dont think I had very good soil. I thought I did.
After 3 weeks of slow growing i started an aggressive fertilizer regimen.
@Oldfella gave me some grief over the tire planters I used (mostly them being bug homes -which can be true.) But they worked pretty good. I will say if you try it be absolutely sure the tires are full of dirt. Some of mine got less than they should have and those i had more issues with slugs/bugs and with leaf damage than the full up ones. Tobacco does not like to touch ANYTHING I would go so far as to say it despises touching anything.
I was feeding the weekly dose of 1tbsp to 1 gal water every day. I was still using urea free orchid fertilizer. (After the fiasco starting my plants I wasnt taking any chances) And 1 tbsp per gal of water of epsom salt 1 time a week. That helped alot. Most started to bud around 8-6-20.

 

[deluxestogie]

I don't know about this summer's weather in North Dakota, but here in southwest Virginia, this summer was horrid for growing tobacco.

Bob

 

[Robncars]

I don't know about this summer's weather in North Dakota, but here in southwest Virginia, this summer was horrid for growing tobacco.

Bob

Above average temps and average moisture for July and well below average for August. ( Average for me is drought for most states so....) I gave my plants a cup or 2 (approximately) of water+ fertilizer every morning.

 

[Robncars]

I had to go searching I lost where I put it. Lmao.
I had frost at 26⁰F on Sept 8th, 2020. Even for me that was early.

 

[Robncars]

Here it looks like everyone should have had haircuts by now.


This we decided was crickets. And after treating for crickets( and more) they did get better.



This is old leaf damage. Notice the whitish edge.


This was wind/ obstacle damage. Tobacco plants despise touching anything. Even each other


These show malnutrition due to compacted soil/abnormal root development. These were stunted badly and had thick leathery leaves

Here are the roots


And these are typical roots these grew wide and tall.