Wruk53 2023 grow log

[wruk53]

I started 72 cells of tobacco seeds this morning for a spring crop, 36 cells of One Sucker and 36 cells of Thompson. These are both new to me. The One Sucker is a dark variety, the Thompson is a Maryland type. I hope to be able to plant them out by mid-February. I'll probably start some seeds in July for a fall crop, maybe a burley and some Shirazi. TBA.

 

[wruk53]

I have sprouts in about half of the cells. It took a few days longer this time because of cooler temps in the house. We had several cold days in a row, two mornings of frost.

Looks like my papayas are done for. That's okay though, the fruit has hundreds of holes from fruit flies. I wouldn't have eaten them anyway.

Those are robins in the fuzzy pic of the birdbath. You don't often see them this far south unless it really gets cold.

 

[wruk53]

I have sprouts in all 72 cells. 36 One Sucker and 36 Thompson. I'll thin them down to a few per cell soon.

I started Ainaro seeds in 10 small pots this morning. All my cabinet space is taken up, so I'll try to germinate these outside. I put 4 seeds in each pot so I can get an idea of the germ rate. This is going to be kind of an experimental grow for me. I'm going to try growing these directly in the ground instead of containers. I'll have to think about it though, they might get destroyed by my pups. So, it's subject to change.

 

[Alpine]

Interesting experiment with the Ainaro, please keep us posted!

pier

 

[wruk53]

Most of my One Sucker and Thompson seedlings are growing rapidly. I'll give them a haircut soon.

So far, I've spotted 4 Ainaro sprouts. No picture of that.

I wheel barrowed in several loads of dirt to level and raise the height of my plot. I'll probably have a nice sunburn on my neck tonight, today has been clear and warm, temps in the low 80's. Last fall that area almost flooded a few times.

 

[wruk53]

Over the past several days, I've filled my containers with mulch. This morning, I put my weed barrier in place and spaced out the containers at 20 inch spacing. I'll wet the mulch down every day for the next few weeks so the wood chips will absorb as much moisture as possible, then plant my seedlings. That's the plan for right now anyway. It'll depend on the 2-week forecast at that time.

I gave my seedlings a haircut this morning.

BTW, we've been having near record heat for this time of year. It was damn hot setting that up this morning. I drank about a half-gallon of water in just a few hours.

I have Ainaro sprouts in 8 of 10 containers, no pics yet.

 

[wruk53]

Ainaro seedlings in the small pots. I sowed a total of forty seeds and have 23 seedlings, so that's a little better than 50% germination rate. I have no doubt that it would have been even higher if I had been able to use my cabinet and grow lights. Anyway, it's plenty good enough for me.

My One Sucker and Thompson seedlings have exploded in growth. I will probably transplant them tomorrow. It's been less than a month since sowing. Don't know why they were so much faster this time. I used the same seedling mix and methods as usual.

 

[wruk53]

I transplanted my seedlings this morning. All but a few of the cells were fully rooted, but I expect all of them to make it.

Every so often, my pups have been knocking a few containers over, so I've taken to spraying them with the water hose when they get anywhere near the containers. Hopefully they will grow out of that type of behavior soon.

Last evening, I was sitting outside just after dark, and the mosquitos were eating me alive. Normally, they are bad up until December, then absent for the next few months. We had a very wet rainy season this year and there are a few swampy areas nearby that are still holding water.

 

[Knucklehead]

One of yours looks like one of mine. She's a 2 yr. old hellion. Don't step on the guard dogs.

 

[wruk53]

That's a pretty dog. Do you happen to know her pedigree? Just curious, it might give me a clue as to the parentage of mine. One of my cousins rescued the mother of my pups, she had been dumped off in the country and was already pregnant. I'm pretty sure they have some Jack Russel Terrier in them. At least the mother looks like one. These will be good dogs for a hot weather climate because their ears stay lifted up. Dogs that have floppy ears that lay flat against their heads will have ear problems all their life down here. They have very sleek fur that hardly sheds at all.

 

[Knucklehead]

That's a pretty dog. Do you happen to know her pedigree? Just curious, it might give me a clue as to the parentage of mine. One of my cousins rescued the mother of my pups, she had been dumped off in the country and was already pregnant. I'm pretty sure they have some Jack Russel Terrier in them. At least the mother looks like one. These will be good dogs for a hot weather climate because their ears stay lifted up. Dogs that have floppy ears that lay flat against their heads will have ear problems all their life down here. They have very sleek fur that hardly sheds at all.

She's a short haired Chihuahua. Her ears stand up also but she's shy about cameras. She knows. She looks at me like "aw come on, man". She's ~6 lbs. I also have a long haired male that's 17 yrs. old and also ~6 lbs. If their weight matched their attitudes the state animal control dept. would have to put them down. Little tasmanian devils.

 

[wruk53]

Mine are about 15 pounds at about 5 months old, so probably not a lot of chihuahua in them. They shouldn't get much larger than they are now.

 

[Knucklehead]

She weighed 1.5 lbs. when we got her. Smallest dog I have ever seen in my whole life.

Edit: she's two months old in the photo.

 

[wruk53]

My Ainaro seedlings are growing rapidly, might be able to plant them out in about two weeks. The final germination rate on these was a little over 75%. I toyed with the Idea of planting some of the Ainaro seedlings in the ground, but I've decided to go with my tried-and-true container method.

It's been almost 2 weeks since I transplanted my One Sucker and Thompson seedlings, they are doing well. I gave them a spraying this morning with Spinosad and BT, just as a preventative measure.

The 10 day forecast calls for temps in the mid 80's to low 90's, so we should be well past any danger of freezing weather by the end of the month.

 

[deluxestogie]

Since I find the process of spraying rather tedious, I usually wait for the first sign of a hornworm egg, prior to starting my weekly spraying with BT. What my lazy approach fails to catch is some early bud worms, which leave permanent divots in the smallest, growing leaves.

Bob

 

[wruk53]

Ainaro at 24 days from germination. The largest leaves are 3 and 1/2 inches long. If this is any indication of how large the mature leaves might be, they could end up being huge. I'll probably plant these out in a week or so. The pots are 2X2X2 inches. I really wish I could plant these in the ground instead of containers, but it would be too much work and too expensive to amend the soil and build raised beds. We are expected to be very close to record breaking heat for this time of year for the next several days. I'm 69 years old and I just can't do that sort of labor anymore in the kind of heat we are having.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of your upcoming grows. Later.

Frank

 

[wruk53]

I transplanted my Ainaro seedlings this afternoon. It's only been 5 weeks from sowing, but the pots were fully rooted.

My guard dog supervised me throughout the operation to ensure it was done properly and that no shortcuts were taken. Her demeanor seemed to indicate that I did okay, but that there was room for improvement.

 

[Anders A]

Lucky for you the dog approves of all your work

 

[MadFarmer]

Who manufactures the grow bags you use? I tried out a random brand last year and it did not go well.

 

[wruk53]

Who manufactures the grow bags you use? I tried out a random brand last year and it did not go well.

The first ones I bought from Walmart; the brand name is "Growneer". When I went back to order more, they are no longer listed on their website. I've reused these about 4 times now and they are holding up well. They are made of the same type of material as weed barrier except it is much thicker. You have to be careful with a weed eater, it will damage the fabric.

https://www.hydroponic-gardens.com/shop/pots-containers/12-pack-3-gallon-plant-grow-bags/. These look like they would be about the same though. A little more expensive than what I paid for mine.