BarG 2014

[BarG]

I just started my seedlings yesterday, 21 varietys so far.

Cigar:
Bezuki
Pa Red
Fl. Sumatra
Dixie shade
Dom Olor
Machu Picchu
Vuelta Abajo
Katsuyama [A test for the one plant survivor I bagged for last years grow out]
Havana 142
Jalapa
Glessnor

cig:
Virginia bright
Southern beauty
Maryland 609
Yellow twist bud
N 126
N 38
Ky 10
Ky 908
Tn 90
Tn 86

I Have a plot in full sun 26'x18' with a full shade cover under cunstruction. Enough for about 72 plants that will be covered with double layer of agribon 15 on top and both ends and 1 1/2 sides. The north side will stop about 3 1/2' - 4' from ground.

So far the Bezuki, Some Fl. sumatra and Dixie shade are the varietys going there.

I have another plot going to hold about another 150-160 plants.

I am not sure if any of my other cigar varietys would do well in the shade.

 

[deluxestogie]

Nice list. The Machu Picchu and Vuelta Abajo are both Havana varieties, and would probably do well in shade. For darker, heavier wrappers, growing in full sun will do better. My Machu Picchu and Vuelta Abajo were "cloud-grown" in 2013, and produced fairly large leaves of moderate thickness. The top leaf of both produced some wonderful, dark maduro.

Bob

 

[BarG]

It looks like You'll be kept busy with your grow this Year Bob, judging from your grow list. A lot of my cigar varietys are seeds I got from you last year but were planted to late due to work. They were to spindly when transplanted and did not fair well.
My grow last year could have been better I think due to using nothing but the horse manure. The leaves didn't get as big as they should have. All the plants were healthy but I think they had some deficiency in the soil. That is one of the reasons I am retrying several varietys going back to the black kow and lime .I'll add some Machu piccu and Vuelta Abajo to the shade grow as well as full sun.

 

[Knucklehead]

That's a good looking list BarG. I'm interested to see how you like the TN90 compared to the TN86. Watching the side by side grow will be interesting. One of those will be on my permanent list for my personal cigarette grow along with a milder burley like Harrow Velvet. Your input will be appreciated at the end of the season. Save me some Machu Picchu seed. They're on my wish list. Are you not growing any Orientals this year? Best of luck with your season.

 

[BarG]

I still have about 30 lbs. of bursa and ottoman plus a couple lbs of samsun. The turkish ismir I got from WLT goes a long way. The last 6 on the list are all burleys I was to grow out for JBD last year, Not sure if he still needs the seeds or not. But I want to try some burleys anyway. I' ll figure out what may need to be bagged later. Looking forward to growing the Bezuki, My shade area will be 8' tall at the sides and 9' in the middle. Have you done any research on Bezuki plant size?

 

[Knucklehead]

I still have about 30 lbs. of bursa and ottoman plus a couple lbs of samsun. The turkish ismir I got from WLT goes a long way. The last 6 on the list are all burleys I was to grow out for JBD last year, Not sure if he still needs the seeds or not. But I want to try some burleys anyway. I' ll figure out what may need to be bagged later. Looking forward to growing the Bezuki, My shade area will be 8' tall at the sides and 9' in the middle. Have you done any research on Bezuki plant size?

Just a little bit on the history: http://www.smokeshopmag.com/1098/region.htm

 

[BarG]

Thats a nice article on bezuki. Do you know if this is the TBN, VBN, or NO variety?

 

[Knucklehead]

Nope. (couldn't say NO it might confuse you LOL) I ordered the seed from this German seed site: http://translate.google.com/transla...=UTF-8&u=http://www.tabakanbau.de/de/shop.php

I'll send them an email and see if they know.

EDIT: I just sent the email. Will update when I hear back from them.

 

[BarG]

http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/606-Indonesian-Tobacco-a-discussion

THis thread by Deluxestogie explains alot but still not sure what to expect about the plants. We shall soon see though. I will be growing some florida sumatra next to it also and may put a few bezukis in full sun.

 

[chillardbee]

Just stopping by to wish you a good grow for 2014 BarG. If your going to be bagging any seed by request, I sure wouldn't mind trading for some southern beauty and virginia bright next year.

 

[indianjoe]

Sounds like a good list, good luck.

 

[BarG]

I'm sure some seed swapping can be arranged Chillardbee, and thanks indianjoe. Yall have a great grow this year.

 

[BarG]

Each year I try to do something to cut down on labor. This year I started my seeds by variety in about an inch of sifted miracle grow potting soil with a little vermiculite rubbed out real fine and mixed in to short cups.[easy access for removing starts] As soon as seeds start to swell and split open I put into cells instead of waiting and having to separate roots or thin the cells. My biggest problem is having to sift the soil to get the right grow medium for good wicking action. I also add some vermiculite,more peat moss ground and sifted and perlite after sifting for the trays. Using the sifted soil in starting cups made it a cinch to spot emerging seedlings. I got 142 cells done in about 30 minutes yesterday with very few cells with more than 1 seedling. Hopefully today will show the last few varietys germinating. Most started at 3-5 days. Everything is in the greenhouse now.

 

[Knucklehead]

I went to Miracle Gro Seed Starting Mix this year instead of the potting soil. It is really very fine stuff. This year I have roots growing out the bottom of the 1020 insert cells already after 3 weeks. Last year in the potting soil I had very few coming out the bottom even after 6-8 weeks. There will occasionally be a clump or a stick that needs pulling out, but not very often. It seems already sifted. It has a little bit of perlite in it.

 

[BarG]

Its a 90 mile round trip to look for that type here.

 

[Nikfits]

Each year I try to do something to cut down on labor. This year I started my seeds by variety in about an inch of sifted miracle grow potting soil with a little vermiculite rubbed out real fine and mixed in to short cups.[easy access for removing starts] As soon as seeds start to swell and split open I put into cells instead of waiting and having to separate roots or thin the cells. My biggest problem is having to sift the soil to get the right grow medium for good wicking action. I also add some vermiculite,more peat moss ground and sifted and perlite after sifting for the trays. Using the sifted soil in starting cups made it a cinch to spot emerging seedlings. I got 142 cells done in about 30 minutes yesterday with very few cells with more than 1 seedling. Hopefully today will show the last few varietys germinating. Most started at 3-5 days. Everything is in the greenhouse now.

I wish I would have done it that way. Next year I will be starting the same way you did. But with the Miracle Grow (worked great). Just think of Chia Pets, the Gopher game style (popping up everywhere, lol). I did get some experience out of it. I can see how it will be much easier starting them the way you did.

I went to Miracle Gro Seed Starting Mix this year instead of the potting soil. It is really very fine stuff. This year I have roots growing out the bottom of the 1020 insert cells already after 3 weeks. Last year in the potting soil I had very few coming out the bottom even after 6-8 weeks. There will occasionally be a clump or a stick that needs pulling out, but not very often. It seems already sifted. It has a little bit of perlite in it.

I have the same thing going on with the Miracle Grow soil. Roots coming through the bottom on a number of them (I think that's when I had the thought: two to a cell, instead of three). I have the Burpee coconut stuff too (mainly on the top). In places where I put too much of the coconut stuff, the growth rate was a bit slower. I think the roots weren't pulling anything out of it. But once they hit the Miracle Grow (took some out and replaced it with MG) they started doing better. When I had the algae build up I was thinking maybe some more of the coconut stuff (wasn't a good idea being too far into the roots).

Good luck on your Grow BarG. And have lots of fun doing so.

Gary

 

[BarG]

Thanks Nik, I spent a lot of time last year waiting to long and untangling roots. Transplanting as soon as germination begins saves me time and hassle. The grow medium soaks up all the way to the top of the cells with a 1/4" water in bottom of tray.
My shade structure is coming along. I can add another 8-12 plants with some double staggered rows. I need to refresh on amount of space for that type of layout. Plus I think some of my shade varietys can be a bit closer than 2'.

 

[Nikfits]

Thanks Nik, I spent a lot of time last year waiting to long and untangling roots. Transplanting as soon as germination begins saves me time and hassle. The grow medium soaks up all the way to the top of the cells with a 1/4" water in bottom of tray.
My shade structure is coming along. I can add another 8-12 plants with some double staggered rows. I need to refresh on amount of space for that type of layout. Plus I think some of my shade varietys can be a bit closer than 2'.

That's been me lately. Alot of time basically transplanting. I've got most of them down to 1 and 2 per cell now. And planting seed for vegetables and herbs. My cigar varieties I've got at 20" and 24" with the exception of one of them at 18". The front and back yard here is gonna go from boring to a flood of colors too. My wife grabbed a bunch of seed packets for flowers. Kinda funny, she grabbed ones that grow 8" up to 3 foot. Hmmm, maybe I can throw a few tobacco plants behind them?

 

[BarG]

I'm not hurting for space, just time incase I get preoccupied.
I actually found I like moving after they are sprouted and showing a couple of leaves. Seriously man! All the sprouts are perfect now and sooner. to long the roots will inter-twine. I tried to disperse seeds to keep apart.

 

[BarG]

I am hoping the shade cloth will keep the hornworms off my wrapper varietys this year.

Bezuki
Vuelta Abajo
Florida Sumatra
Dixie Shade
Machu Picchu

I figure on at least 72 plants to fit in this area. I plan on growing a few each variety in full sun to compare. I'll be pushing it to get 225 plants in my 2 spots being prepared. I spread powdered lime this year and ashs from several oak trees I recently cleared and burned. 1 more tilling and will be ready to plant when plants are big enough. I am holding off covering the shade structure till a day or 2 before setting out.