new grower 2021: @billy

[billy]

hi im new to the forum and growing tobacco, i am a fairly avid gardener though and have nice setup for starting plants so im mainly asking for input about after the plants are grown, so i went under this category, unless im missing something else feel free to tell me.

so for the whole plan im gonna grow a 32 x 42ft plot with Connecticut broadleaf, havana, and corojo. mostly unbroken lawn/ topsoil a bit low in sand and organic matter so plan to add an inch of sand and inch of 50/50 leaf/ mushroom compost and till it with tractor and form hilled rows and add a bit of general fertilizer.

after its ready im gonna wall off a 12x16ft in the corner upstairs in my garage with plastic sheeting to make a room for curing. so two walls will be the standard walls and each have a window. i bought a humidity regulator so i can set when a humidifier kicks on and off. and ill have fans for circulation. usually about 80f up there. ill hang either primed leaf or whole stalks depending on how it grows and weather.

growing several years worth the first year then one years worth each year after so at anytime ill have a bunch aging and stored away. making cigars and smokeless with it.

when i hang plants/leafs in the room im assuming the windows need to be open for new air exhange but the more the windows are open it might be hard for the humidifier to keep up. what humidity should i try and hold during curing. and what about after theyre cured can they be in a closed room at that point so i can keep humidity well regulated. also is nearly 200 plants worth of leaves enough that i can pile ferment, is it enough to genreate any heat that way.

thanks for any advice

 

[Yultanman]

You dont need air exchange except to control humidity. You do need air movement to prevent mold
Aim 90-95% during yellowing and 65% during aging(fermenting)

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. I turned this thread into a grow blog. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

You will not be able to pile-cure effectively. You'll need to build a kiln for fermentation.

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

Depending on where you live in the US you may be able to kiln in your attic in the summer, several of us do.

 

[billy]

i found a refrigerator thats not used for anything. i could put a small fan and heat bulb in it. any idea how many watts it would take to hold a standard size refrigerator the right temp, as mentioned its around 80f ambient where it will be since it will be upstairs in the humid room im making. and since its a blog now ill update with photos as i go.

 

[Oldfella]

i found a refrigerator thats not used for anything. i could put a small fan and heat bulb in it. any idea how many watts it would take to hold a standard size refrigerator the right temp, as mentioned its around 80f ambient where it will be since it will be upstairs in the humid room im making. and since its a blog now ill update with photos as i go.

The answer to your question about bulb size depends on how well your kiln, aka, fridge is sealed. I used an old fridge for 2-3 seasons, worked great on 100w bulb until the insulation started to fail and on my last cure I had to use a heat lamp. If you have the time I’d say build a good one. Plenty of information about how to right here.
Cheers Oldfella

 

[billy]

Heres what i got going so far.


Left tray is mohawk rustica tobacco apart from the icebergs in front. Started the seeds as a germination test but figured id keep em and put em in the greenhouse or something instead of wasting them. Smaller ones are late germinators that i plucked and replanted. Started them in a tray with a dome and heat mat set to 77f and it seems every one germinated. Ill use them as a nicotine booster for smokeless.

Heres a view of my seed starting setup overall. I got a 2x2 framed setup with diamond mylar for even light spread. Lighting is a mars hydro 1000 on the right half (150 watt led). Dimmer switch is very top right of image. Theres also 4 60mm pc fans hidden behind the crossbar, they blow down so theres not stale air around the leaves. A thin board with mylar glued to it sits on the front as a door so its mylar enclosed like a grow tent. And yes i covered a bright south window with mylar instead of letting sun come in because when im starting seeds in domes at a set temperature the sun makes the temps go crazy

My main tobacco crop will be started in 30 days based on how fast these ones grew. Unless rustica pops up faster than the types i listed before let me know

 

[Yultanman]

Looking good
Dont forget air exchange as well as air movement. Maybe your tent is not that sealed but still best practice to suck air out/draw fresh air in.

 

[billy]

The answer to your question about bulb size depends on how well your kiln, aka, fridge is sealed. I used an old fridge for 2-3 seasons, worked great on 100w bulb until the insulation started to fail and on my last cure I had to use a heat lamp. If you have the time I’d say build a good one. Plenty of information about how to right here.
Cheers Oldfella

what do you mean by insulation failed. how does the insulation built into the fridge fail, did it melt or something

 

[Yultanman]

what do you mean by insulation failed. how does the insulation built into the fridge fail, did it melt or something

I think he means the seal around the door. Often old fridges this seal can wear out allowing cold (or heat in your case) to escape

 

[Oldfella]

what do you mean by insulation failed. how does the insulation built into the fridge fail, did it melt or something

Sorry I should have been watching what I was saying.
Yes it was the door seal. But the inside lining was a plastic material and I think that where I cut holes the expansion and contraction made the sealing leak. I'm not sure as I've not had good look. I was filling the crock pot with 4ltrs of water twice a day and the floor was a swimming pool. If you go with an old fridge and it starts to leak, find the cause and fix it.
Me, lazy and didn't New one will work.
Oldfella

 

[billy]

Blog update: Downsizing my plot due to no place having anything besides mushroom compost. place that was supposed to have leaf compost didnt and im uncertain about mushroom salt content. downsizing to 38x20 feet (11 rows of 8, 2.5' plant spacing 3.5' row spacing) plot so i can use my home made compost for decent portion of it.
did jar soil test and got about 25% sand 55% silt 20% clay.
added 4 tons of sand roughly 1 1/3 inches based on math but 4 tons is what we could haul so 4 tons it is. spread the sand out
spread 40 pounds alfalfa pellets
currently spreading 1 wheelbarrow of home made compost in a line over where each 20' row will be. when that is low last few rows ill use mushroom compost probably will water it first to try and leech salt out prior to spreading. so ill have a side by side comparison of sorts
a family member does work with water testing so to test ph ill just prepare them a sample with distilled water and let them test it. then ill 50/50 dolomite, calcitic lime to 6 if were acidic
rototilling in 2 days.
starting seeds early may, planting out early june.
for fertilizer im just gonna give a small boost with 34-0-0 nitrogen and sulfate of potash. trying to avoid chorine urea and whatnot. should be farily fertile as is anyway some pumpkins grew there nicely last year in the part thats already tilled and i added organics. and my garden budget is already cutting into other budgets and im stubborn so no real soil test for me.

 

[billy]

i lied... i did a soil test from state university



looking pretty good for unbroken lawn. this were samples from 2-8 inches down pre-till so sand, compost, alfalfa and the lawns grass wasnt mixed in yet. slow release of organics should maintain it and breakdown as the crop is feeding. and im assuming based on what ive researched the ph will go down on its own from warmer weather, the grass and stuff i mixed in and the nitrogen fertilizer. so ill just add nitrogen and plant and i think were good.

 

[billy]

Cold weather update for rusticas. I have 9 in outside bed and 12 in greenhouse. Was 25 the night before last and just before i filled all the jugs in photos with hot water, outside bed i covered with a frost blanket then black plastic and rocks around the edge, greenhouse just frost blanket over the plants and jugs. They all survived completely fine that night.

Then last night was supposed to get 30 but got mid 20s again. Jugs were left there not reheated and i only frost blanketed the outdoor bed. Outdoor plants only got damaged where it was touching the blanket. Greenhouse have discoloration all over the big leaves but growth points are fine. Cold weather greens in greenhouse are very happy like nothing happened



So what do i do with the greenhouse plants, just nothing and let new leaves come? The outdoor bed is mulched with sand incase your wondering why it looks like im growing in sand, the garden is low in sand but i got sand after planting them so i just mulched till i can mix it in later. And i found it odd outdoor with frost blanket worked better than in greenhouse uncovered. But its my first year with a greenhouse, maybe outdoor plants were just tougher naturally.

 

[deluxestogie]

If the apical meristem (growth tip) of each stalk is intact, all the plants will easily recover. The damaged leaves will end up as bottom leaf trash anyway.

Bob

 

[billy]

Update: starting setup is filled up nicely

Pic 1. Is everything i got started, tomatoes peppers tobacco ect. dome has ground vining plants at 85f like watermelons canteloupe ect.
Pic 2. is my main crop of tobaccos, 21 6 packs. 24 havana, 24 corojo, 40 rusticas, 16 conecticut broadleaf, and a few extra of each.
Pic 3. Peppers tomatoes cellery
Pic 4. Is one of each 3 tobaccum types i started earlier so i can test clipping, how big they can get in the cells, planting out weather, basically practice so i dont mess up the main crop.
Pic 5. A lovely 7 pot douglah. Think its rated #3 hottest pepper on earth. Its nearly 4 months old and its only about 6 inches tall but very wide and bushy since i topped it and removed original leaves once it grew branches.

Soil for everything is about 50% promix mycorrhizae, 40% homemade compost 1/4" screened, 10% perlite to make up for compost diluting the perlite,
Lights, 2 mars hydro lights adjusted to about 200 watts total on a 2x6 foot space
I fertilize with age old grow 12-6-6 which is organic based liquid. Most things get half strength about 2 times a week. Things with big pots full strength once week

Getting summer weather in a week so i can start adjusting things to outside and clearing out my starting area

 

[billy]

Tobacco is all planted

So heres my plot with 11 hilled rows. 2 rows CT broadleaf, 3 rows havana, 3 rows corojo, 3 rows rustica. Rustica at 18" others about 2' 4". Should be close to 100 plants. put up 40 feet of 50% shade cloth on the one open side where annoying constant wind comes from. I have 3.3 pounds of 34-0-0 AN gonna use 1/3 in 2 week intervals before whenever rain is forcasted. Put 3 pounds urea about 3 weeks ago before tilling and making rows. Considering everything i thinks its close to proper nitrogen amount.

For now its 80 and dry everyday so i carry watering cans over every 2 days. In a few days theres a coldfront with low of 43, before they were planted they sat outside all day and night and exposed to low 50s fine so they should manage 40s. Fence is mainly so my dog dont step on them and dig in the rows.

 

[deluxestogie]

0 and 0 seem a tad on the low side for phosphorus and potassium.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

0 and 0 seem a tad on the low side for phosphorus and potassium.

Bob

Those elements came out as above optimum on his soil test.

 

[billy]

About 2 week update. Main plot has grown enough you can actually see them now in the full pic. Finally got enough rain to properly wet the ground and it going back to being 80 everyday so they should grow fast. Also pic of my outdoor and greenhouse rusticas that been toughing it out through all kinds of temps. Pulled flowers off about 1-2 weeks ago. Also is diatomaceous earth and or neem oil safe to use on my little plants, a few are getting chewed up.