wazzappennings 1st year glow log

[wazzappenning]

i figured rather than starting more threads, i may as well combine everything here.

here's links to my questions/problems so far, along with all the good advice that came with it.

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?705-not-sure-what-to-do-next&p=5555#post5555

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?730-when-to-take-off-the-lid&p=5853#post5853

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?948-need-to-get-things-moving

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?935-my-soil-test-results

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?1040-water-how-often

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?1056-HAIL-aargh

now on with the grow...

 

[wazzappenning]

cluster suck??
since my hail damage, most of my plants have bounced back and are doing very well. a few however look wrong. too much going on at the growth tip, and kind of laying flat rather than growing upwards like the others.

couple of questions here. if i find 2 leaves (equal size) that seem to be connected together at the stem where it meets the stalk, do i have a sucker? im going to guess it is. its hard to tell with the hail damage if there was a stem at all in some places.

next, should all my sand lugs be large leafs? ie: if i find any small leaf near the ground then it must be a sucker that had a stem below it at some point?

is it better to go with the original growth tip, then with a sucker (that has larger/better leaves)?

this plant might have 2 suckers. one side is hard to make out, but for the other side, the 2 leaves my fingers are on seem connected at the stalk.

 

[Chicken]

yep, thats a sucker,

clip the top most leaf, usually the smaller of the 2

 

[wazzappenning]

thanks, but i see 2 equal size leaves with a sprout in the middle(which i pulled) are you saying to leave part of the new growth tip intact? trying to get a single leaf out of the deal?

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Nope, find the stem where it attaches to the stalk just above the main leaf and rip it cleanly off. Tobacco should have 1 stalk, with leaves growing directly off it. Anything else must die!

 

[wazzappenning]

ok thanks. i guess i misread chickens comment. yeah like i said it was hard to see what was going on because of the hail damage. some of those suckers are growing above where the original leaf and stem got ripped clean off.

i took one off another plant and am trying to clone it. should this work or might it be better to put it right in dirt. i learned for a tree (root) sucker, you pile dirt around it for a few weeks and trick it into growing roots. i believe the little guy in the second pic that the stick closest to the flag is pointing to is just that.

i had noticed my virginia had 2 stalks coming out of the ground sandwiched together. when i pulled it i dug a little and found a small rootball attached to it. i think when i planted it a little deep to keep the stalks from flopping in the wind, i must have buried a sucker.

by the way the plant at the flag is the same one as the third pic showing the hail damage. id say they bounced back nicely.

 

[wazzappenning]

got more suckers out. maybe those plants will take off now. id like to clone them though, especially the viginia ones. so is the best way to get them to grow roots like the pic above, or just plant them? someone here had said he was planting them to see if they develop into plants, but i cant remember who/where. anyone???

 

[wazzappenning]

where do i go from here?

i have read numerous posts about kilns, curing chambers etc. however, im not too sure of the order they should be used (if at all). lakota said somewhere that he air cures his baccy (not sure how that works either). all i know so far is priming gives a milder baccy, stalk gives stronger. so i know you have to hang it, but when?

because i planted almost a month late, my big leaf is showing buds at 3 ft tall. i want to bag 1 so i can get seed, but i also hear of topping plants. does leaving it flower/ go to seed yield less/lower quality? im so confused.

here's where we stand at the moment.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

it takes about 2 months to get to the bud, that's still a very immature head. size of plant seems about normal actually. at 2 months 3 feet isnt bad, because it'll start adding about half an inch to an inch a day at this point. in 1 week that flower head will have stretched out and started to open some, 2 weeks will have a bunch of flowers. all during that time you will be adding height to the plant and inches to the leaves. i have some pictures 2 weeks apart that show the plants gaining 2-3 feet in that time. If you look at my grow log check post 21 and 42. i have pictures 2 weeks apart. in that time the plants measured to the top of the bloom went from 3' to 6' and the topped plants go to 5'. literally 2 weeks for that much change.

your grow was brought back from the brink, props to you man glad you didnt do anything drastic earlier and just rode it out. watch for that area you are growing in to become in impenetrable jungle in the next few weeks! great job!

if you posted the varieties you are growing i am not seeing them, what alls in that grow?

 

[SmokesAhoy]

actually on looking again i might be a week-2 off on those estimates. in either case, it starts moving fast

 

[wazzappenning]

thank you for some of the info i need. i hate asking all these questions but if i dont ill be racing to catch up after the fact again.

i never did post the varieties. lakota was nice enough to send me gold seal burley, virginia, Basra (turkish) and these huge leaf burleys. http://www.seedgnome.com/hutose.html

they arent kidding huge leaf. you tell me im going to end up with a jungle, but i already barely make it between my viginia and one of those huge leaf. i think some of my leaves are already as large as the one hes holding, and i realize i need more room for these guys next year.

do i need to bag one now? if so im guessing nylon stoking is good?

i think mine may have moved along as fast as yours(posts 21,42), but then again i think weve been getting ideal weather. for the past few weeks/month, most days have been carbon copies of each other. sun all day, followed by cloudy late afternoons then evening/overnight rain.

i was going to post this pic that is 7 days earlier than the one above, but i didnt think it was impressive enough

 

[SmokesAhoy]

big leaves indeed! holy moly, now that is hybrid vigor i bet.

nah dont bag yet, wait for the flower to start pushing some petals, it lets the crows foot grow some more so you dont need to adjust the bag so much if you are putting it on closer to the spot it will stay on.

oh and for bags i would not use stockings, the picture in my blog of a bag is a 5 gallon bag and it is getting tight in there.

you can buy them in any paint section of any store that sells paint and they are very cheap and insanely strong and durable.

 

[SmokeStack]

i hate asking all these questions but if i dont ill be racing to catch up after the fact

Don't worry about asking questions. I could not have done it this year without asking a million questions on this forum. Besides, it is likely that someone else may have the same question. The thing I like about FTT forum is that it is serves as a source of information and this information is brought to the forum from people like ourselves asking questions. As we become more experienced, we can do our part be assisting other new growers with their questions.

By the way, your plants look very nice. It goes to show that tobacco can be grown successfully in the northern climates. Good luck with your crop!

 

[wazzappenning]

well my northern climate might not be bad. it doesnt get as warm as further south, and the sun is probably not as strong, but there are more sunlight hours. when my brother was here one june he couldn't believe it was still light out at 10:30. at summer solstice, longest day of the year, we get 17 hours of daylight.

from wiki...Edmonton receives 2,299 hours of sunshine per year and is one of Canada's sunniest cities

 

[Lakota]

They are looking good Wazz, next year it will be 100 plants. My first year it was 30, year 2 was 80, year 3 was 150 and this year was 300. Who says tobacco isn't addictive? Russ

 

[wazzappenning]

thanks lakota. how do they compare to yours? unfortunately that far end of the garden has never done well with anything so those plants are stunted. i thought amending it with nitrogen would do the trick, but ill have to go with my other guess as to why. the neighbor has a tree right on the other side of the fence. i have a feeling its roots are leaching that half of the garden of nutrients/moisture.

heres a pic of the huge leaf. canadian bills are the same size as american.(plus i get to show off our new polymer bank notes)

 

[Jack in NB]

Wazz -

You must be pleased!

After a rocky start, they look very presentable.

Some comments re bagging:
Seed production takes a lot of plant energy, that is diverted from making leaf.

Since one seed pod will produce hundreds of seeds, you only need a few. When I bag, I cut back to one stem of flowers with a half dozen flowers on it. Usually the topmost group, to give me lots of stem to tie the "condom" on. Even with that approach, I usually go back in after a couple of weeks and thin out the flowers again because the bag starts to get bulgy - they multiply like rabbits!

I make my bags from old bed sheets now (used to use J-cloth, but old sheets are cheaper!), cut about 10 by 16 folded to 10 by 8, and taped on top and side with the red vapor barrier sealing tape.

Good luck!

Jack

 

[deluxestogie]

Nice looking leaf. I cut my bag material (Agribon-AG15) to make a 36" high x 24" wide finished bag. After stitching, etc, it ends up a bit smaller than that. But some of my bud heads are severely cramped in a bag that size.

Bob

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Yeah when I first put my 5gal bag on I had to fold up my excess before tying off with twine. I adjusted it every couple days to make more room for them to grow into it and now there is no more excess and it is filled nearly to capacity. Make those bags big!

 

[Lakota]

Wazz I have about 4000 leaves hung in the shed. I have sold my place and have to be moved by Sept 21, not sure if I have enough drying time. I will be moving to Northern Manitoba. Quite a drive with a bunch of yellow leaves. Plants did well this year, only watered once. Russ