Florida Dave’s 2024 spring grow log

[Florida Dave]

A month later, the three little Dutch were the first to develop flower heads with the Corojo starting about a week later. The little Dutch are short: maybe 2’ tall. The Corojo 3-1/2’ tall. Maybe they haven’t grown much due to the cooler spring weather? I’m not sure. I may go ahead and start the second round with just little Dutch and Corojo. The Crillo from last season has spent 8 weeks in the kiln at 125 degrees and an average of 81% humidity. That will get sorted and stacked for drying and bagging this weekend too.

 

[deluxestogie]

Maybe they haven’t grown much due to the cooler spring weather?

You may want to look at their hours exposed to the artificial light as seedlings. If it was greater than the photoperiod outside at the time of transplant, that may have triggered early blossoming.

Bob

 

[Florida Dave]

It’s been a busy month - where does time go? I have primed a few bottom leaves of the Corojo. The ones closest to the southern fence are all pretty puny. I have had 1 blow completely over in a storm and although I staked it back up it doesn’t look like it is going to survive. I have a second set of starts seeded, sprouted, and thinned to 2 or 3 per tray cell. These will go into the ground for a second planting. That tray is strictly on the back lanai where it gets fresh air and indirect sunlight most of the day with a few hours in the afternoon of direct. The second round is evenly split between Corojo and Little Dutch.

 

[Florida Dave]

Here is the majority of my spring harvest. It consists of Corojo, a small amount of little Dutch, and the stuff on the right is Florida Sumatra. I think the timing of my start and the dry weather affected the yield the most. I need to reform my planting bed and tap off my sprinklers for some irrigation to carry through when it’s not raining. I have the next round growing nicely on the back porch and may try to sneak in some seeds given to me by a guy at work. His uncle sent them to him from Puerto Rico where he grows it.

 

[Florida Dave]

My garden area is getting an upgrade for the summer planting. These are 12’ x 2’ x 12” high. I worked around the last two Florida Sumatra plants. There are two sprinkler heads that are going to provide irrigation to all three beds to keep things well watered when Mother Nature dries things out a bit around here.

 

[Florida Dave]

I don’t think I want the hear the term “dirt cheap” anymore. At least not at the garden center. lol

 

[Florida Dave]

6 Corojo and 6 Little Dutch in the new raised beds today. The spares will go into large pots on the smoking patio. The third raised bed will get some Puerto Rico tobacco plants in another few weeks.

 

[wruk53]

Where did you buy the raised bed planters? I've been thinking about trying those.

 

[Florida Dave]

Where did you buy the raised bed planters? I've been thinking about trying those.

Amazon. These are 2’x 12’ x 1’ high. I was going to use pressure treated lumber but these turned out less expensive. They have a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

 

[Florida Dave]

Here are the Puerto Rican seeds I started around June 13 - I will separate them this weekend. I had in my head that these may be too late but going back over my 2023 log the seeds I started about the same time yielded the most leaf. The plants I put in the raised beds on the 10th are struggling a little compared to the spares I put in large pots on the patio. The biggest difference is the raised beds get more morning sun and for a longer period of time while the pots are on the west side and get less direct sunlight and more shade from the house and fence. I will add some comparison pictures tomorrow.

 

[Florida Dave]

Please ignore the weeds - I need to get a new string head for the trimmer. The small pot is about 12” across and tall and the big ones about 15” across and tall. These are all the same age and the ones on the sunny side are looking stronger today.

 

[Florida Dave]

The east side of the house has Little Dutch starting to take off while the Corojo 99 is lagging behind. The plants in pots on the west side are all doing much better. It’s a little shadier on the west side and it has been in the mid to upper 90’s the past few weeks. I am going to put some small shades up to give them a little relief from the sun. I rigged some pvc irrigation that I am going to change up for normal drip emitters I can adjust to better control the water.

 

[Florida Dave]

Today was a BT day thanks to the return of apparently newly hatched hornworms. I sprayed both the western potted plants and eastern planted raised beds where the Little Dutch seems to be entering the rapid growth period and the Corojo which appear to be a little healthier looking under the Agri bon tent. But then, maybe that is just my wishful thinking? I haven't put the Puerto Rican in the ground yet, but have relocated the largest to an empty pot on the western patio. I am also putting real drip irrigation in to better control the amount of water provided, and found the extra 1/4" hose I have had in the shed for the past 5 years greatly benefitted from a few seconds in hot water before pushing on the emitter barbs. The spring grow hanging in the shed is brown and crispy. I may just leave it in there until I am ready to add some more.

 

[Florida Dave]

I got the drip irrigation fully in and adjusted. I also transplanted the Puerto Rican starts - 6 in the raised bed and 7 spares in half gallon pots. The Little Dutch has taken off compared to the Corojo - albeit not uniformly. The Corojo looks better since getting a little shade. Maybe the direct Florida sun was a little too much for them? I am keeping more notes on the performance of each variety, recording milestone dates.

 

[Florida Dave]

The plant on the right is Little Dutch the one on the left is Corojo 99. The 6” pots on the wall are my spare Puerto Rican. These have all been on the patio on the west side of the house with plenty of sunlight but little direct due to the 6’ fence 12’ from the house.

 

[Florida Dave]

These plants are on the east side of the house and get more direct sun since the fence is 24’ from the house. The Little Dutch are doing well and the Corojo 99 much better under the Agribon shade. The Puerto Rican had shade since it was put in the ground. One died this week - one of the 7 spares will take its place this weekend. The other 6 spares may replace the Little Dutch if they mature quickly enough. (Fingers crossed)

 

[Florida Dave]

No picture because it’s raining, but the first Little Dutch is starting to bud. The next 7-10 days we have a high chance of rain which means I will be plucking the hornworms after work, probably in the rain- spraying BT is kind of pointless with the frequency of rain.

At least I am getting good use of the new rain gauge!

 

[Florida Dave]

5 out of 6 Little Dutch are topped and trying to mature. Hopefully Helene won’t wreak too much havoc. One of the potted Corojo 99 plants on the patio leaned over so I went ahead and added a stake and tie.

 

[johnny108]

Be careful with the stake- high winds will whip the leaves around, often impaling them on the stake, damaging your potential wrapper leaf.

 

[Anders A]

I agreed with @johnny108 , be careful with that stuff. My experience is that flower sticks, plant supports etc. that stand near plants destroy the plants and leaves as soon as there is a little wind. Therefore, I avoid anything that can touch the leaves.