Hi there. This is my first time growing tobacco. I live in a very hot , low humidity area of BC. Got sick of shelling out money for tobacco that keeps raising in price every year. I didn't know too much about growing tobacco when I ordered the seeds and still don't. Glad a friend sent me this site. I think I started the tobacco a little late in the season but it still has 3 months that it can grow.
First time grow
- Thread starter Cib
- Start date
- Status
Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. Be sure to read the New Growers' FAQ, and scan through the topics in our Index of Key Forum Threads. Both are linked in the menu bar.
What varieties are you growing?
Bob
What varieties are you growing?
Bob
Hey Bob. I'm not sure exactly. I ordered the seeds from a Canadian site called Elaine's garden. The ones I ordered were called Canadian virgina. Under the description there was no specific name. So some type of Virginia tobacco. I didn't know for cigarettes, which I smoke, you'd want a blend and only ordered one type.
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
Hi and welcome. You've come to the right place to learn. First year is a learning year then next year you can grow more in planting beds. Plants look fine and you should be able to grow them to harvest.
I still might put these plants in a raised bed. I have a very large raised bed I built. But last year I put it in a bad spot with low light. Thinking about moving it as it has nothing growing in it. Anyways the tobacco is in fair sized pots but I don't think it's their final home and will need to be transplanted into larger pots or a bed. I just transplanted them a week and a half ago, so they have room to grow for awhile before needing a transplant to something bigger.
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
Yeah. Had a heatwave. The weather was 45-48c or 112-118F. The tobacco actually did really good. I was watering it more than usual then and they seemed to love it. Now that the temp has cooled off a bit 32-36c for the next two weeks. Still hot just not 48c hot. Now that its not so crazy hot I'm not watering them nearly as much. These two pictures are 8 days apart. Hopefully they keep growing like this! I live in a partial desert and some plants do really well in the heat.
Attachments
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
Yep that heat is pushing them to grow fast. Mine are pushing a bit. Cooler here and the cool, dry nights with strong breezes make mine short and stiff. Looking forward to seeing a growth spurt soon, now the warm weather us here. Edamame growing weather. About a week difference in the pictures. 
Attachments
For your Canadian Virginia, you might want to read on sun-curing the leaf. Canadian cigarettes are more likely to be straight Virginia, rather than blended (with burley, Oriental, etc.), which is more common in American and European-style cigarettes.
Bob
Bob
Yeah thanks, I'll read into it. I live in a very hot dry semi desert area of BC. Might be a good place to try a sun cure. I've been looking over the sites on various topics. Lots of info I should have read before starting honestly. I just kind of got the seeds and winged it.
Question when should I pull off suckers ? Some of the bigger plants are getting them. Though they are still very very small. I ripped a couple off the big plant in the square white pot. The other plants that have them are very very small. Too small to rip off yet they are just starting to form.
Here are some pictures from today. I spaced out the pots more to give them more room. Also how often should I be watering? I think I was over watering. Haven't gave then any water in 2 days and the soil is still lightly damp. A couple were dry so I gave them a light dose.
Attachments
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
On watering frequency.
.. water when they need it. Different soil types, sun exposure, temperatures, and stage of plants etc. will determine frequency. The stage of growth they just came out.of was a stage they dont want much water so as to drive the growth of new roots down and out. As they come into a rapid growth phase water thoroughly and make sure that you have fertilizer dialed in so that you wont slow their rapid growth and limit your production. Easier to grow and maintain in a bed but you're doing fine in a pot.
When they dry out, water thoroughly so the root ball is thoroughly wet. If you can get most of your varieties on the same watering frequency it would help. Avoid saucers except maybe during the hottest time of year when leaves are transpiring the most water. Make sure you feed heavily at this point. Get your growth. I also agree you were over watering them a slight bit but you kept it between the ditches. Looking good.
.. water when they need it. Different soil types, sun exposure, temperatures, and stage of plants etc. will determine frequency. The stage of growth they just came out.of was a stage they dont want much water so as to drive the growth of new roots down and out. As they come into a rapid growth phase water thoroughly and make sure that you have fertilizer dialed in so that you wont slow their rapid growth and limit your production. Easier to grow and maintain in a bed but you're doing fine in a pot.
When they dry out, water thoroughly so the root ball is thoroughly wet. If you can get most of your varieties on the same watering frequency it would help. Avoid saucers except maybe during the hottest time of year when leaves are transpiring the most water. Make sure you feed heavily at this point. Get your growth. I also agree you were over watering them a slight bit but you kept it between the ditches. Looking good.
i pull suckers off when they are big enough that you can break them off at stem below the leaf. cause if you try removing them when tiny and you just pull off the tips of the sucker leafs, cause you cant grab any lower, it probably will just keep growing the same
I usually remove suckers whenever they are large enough to snap off without injuring the adjacent leaf. Small suckers are a haven for aphids, increasing later in the season. Larger suckers will reduce the quality and size of your primary leaf.
As for watering, if I see drooping in the late afternoon, but it recovers and looks wonderful again by morning, I don't water that day. But that is for plants in the ground. Since any of my scant, potted tobacco is in a pot with excellent drainage (lots of holes in the bottom), I tend to be more liberal with watering. In general, the most common mistake made by new tobacco growers is overwatering.
Bob
As for watering, if I see drooping in the late afternoon, but it recovers and looks wonderful again by morning, I don't water that day. But that is for plants in the ground. Since any of my scant, potted tobacco is in a pot with excellent drainage (lots of holes in the bottom), I tend to be more liberal with watering. In general, the most common mistake made by new tobacco growers is overwatering.
Bob
Cray Squirrel
Squirreled a lot!!
Plus 1 on that. Only if I've had a small plant that lost the growing tip meristem early from insects or environmental conditions and has multiple suckers do I try to remove smaller suckers to regrow the apical meristem more quickly to dominance. Ie. On some cubans I'm growing they started trying to flower 3 weeks after I set them out. I removed the flowers deeper down on plant and when suckers started growing pinched out the lower, tiny ones to allow the new top one to grow normally. They seem fine now, no continuing signs of flowering.
Yeah I may have been over watering. I was watering frequently with a small amount of watering. I'm now just watering when the soil is dry and giving it a more thorough watering every 2-3 days. I'm giving them fertilizer once a week now too
Attachments
Glad I'm growing tobacco this year. Taxes on tobacco just went up. 2 cents per cigarette. And 20 cents per gram for loose tobacco. Loose tobacco which i smoke took a huge hit. 40 cents per gram to 61 cents tax per gram. 50 grams of tobacco used to cost 40 dollars. Now its 61 dollars. Highway robbery. It was 25 dollars for 50 grams a few years ago. Ugh. 61 dollars. I can't afford it. I'm really fed up. My tobacco costs 200 dollars a month. Now it's 300.
- Status