Snuffmeister 2nd Year glow blog - UK

[SnuffmeisterUK]

I'm back, didn't think I would get to grow tobacco this year.

1. I moved into a new home last month so has been chaotic, (first home I've owned so goodbye corrupt, greedy landlords).

2. I wasn't sure how well growing tobacco would 'go down' with my new neighbours in the communal garden but they are all friendly and curious about my tobacco growing!

Off to a very bad start. Sowed some Havana 142 seeds on 23/04 (already late) and no germination as of yesterday so I panic started a new batch. As long as I can get a couple plants going this year I'll be happy.

Weather has been awful in the UK until this weekend, spring/summer is finally here.

@deluxestogie, @Old Gasman and many others I've missed having to ask you endless tobacco growing questions, despite my late start I'm confident this year thanks to how much awesome knowledge yall all gave me last year.

Pic of my current failure.

 

[Old Gasman]

Welcome back and congrats on your new home I hope you and your tobacco will be happy there.

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

thanks @Old Gasman = also this morning saw some germination from my Havana 142!

The seeds must have sensed my post here and sprouted overnight to prove me wrong

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

Well, a disastrous second year for me so far. Slug carnage, a late start and bad UK weather

 

[Old Gasman]

Oh dear, did you sprinkle slug pellets on the pots? And if not ------. You're right about the weather though, it's been dire. Dont give up on your plants yet though, theres still time.

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

@Old Gasman last year I had virtually no slug damage or at all i had a patio and raised beds though so there wasn't much in the way of slugs it seemed, where I live now Is an actual garden full of life... I feel foolish! It's been much wetter this year which can't help.

I have wrapped my pots in copper tape in the hope it works, there are so many slugs around I easily found one to (gently) experiment with, he avoided the tape at every turn when I put it in his path. I don't want to kill/posion them as they like us didn't ask to be put on this earth.

Hoping to get some salvagable leaf at least.

 

[Alpine]

If you don’t want to kill slugs or nails, there are several less drastic options: copper wire (as you mentioned above), surrounding pots with a circle of common salt or ashes from the fireplace, beer can traps (yes, slugs like beer just as much as we do…), chickens and turkeys do eat slugs, but all these are far less manageable than, say, metaldehyde or iron phosphate.

pier

 

[Old Gasman]

Commendable sentiments but be of no doubt, if the Slugs got the upper hand they would think twice before they sprinkled pellets on you!

 

[cavedane]

View: https://youtu.be/3muFJtSqyjs?si=j2k2enOitjtqvIoo
............. Look at you tube lot of ideas An old power transformer from a 12 w cristmas light

 

[deluxestogie]

All muscle cells are powered by the propagation of electrical impulses along their surfaces. We humans have insulated them fairly well. For slugs and snails, their propulsion muscles are simply covered in electrolyte-bearing mucous—not a great insulator. So there is really no need to shock them with externally supplied electricity (as in the video), but to simply force them to glide over a conductive metal, like copper, to reach your plants. That causes them to short-circuit their own muscles, and avoid the conductive surface.

Deluxestogie Grow Log 2023

For the second season in a row, my hornworms have missed their 20 June arrival date. And still no Japanese Beetles. Bob

fairtradetobacco.com

Bob

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

After a bad start finally some life...

 

[johnny108]

White size container are you using?
What kind of soil/mix?

 

[Old Gasman]

Oh they're fine looking plants, nothing wrong with them.

 

[deluxestogie]

After a bad start finally some life...

I find something magical about that photo. Just a tiny corner of a yard telling a story of relaxation, natural beauty, a child swinging. The simple furniture is also comfy, with a stepladder as a side-table, and the hammock tied to the trees. And it could be just about anywhere in the temperate world. The tobacco looks nice.

Bob

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

@deluxestogie sadly it is a shared garden so I'm not rewarded TOTAL solitude, our neighbours are lovely though, couple of older folks seem suspicious about my plants.. they smoke cigarettes though so can't really complain! How do you think these fellas are looking? I've just topped a couple havana 142s but in order to produce neighbour pleasing-pink plants I'm not topping them all this year

@johnny108 I'm using 25 litre pots and generic miracle gro soil and concentrated tomato feed.

One interesting mistake I made last year was washing the leaves before curing.. in hindsight I think I lost a fair bit of nicotine doing so.

 

[deluxestogie]

Unless one is frozen within a glacier, there is no total solitude.

How do you think these fellas are looking?

Excellent.

Bob

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

@deluxestogie I put in my calendar 'harvest start' for two weeks today, 2 weeks after topping.. I suspect some lower leaves will be ready by then, I'm still not great at deciding when to start snappin'

 

[deluxestogie]

Ripe-O-Meter: mature vs ripe

Immature Nicotiana tabacum leaf tends to be uniformly green, thin and flat. As it matures, the color slowly becomes mottled, and the very tip of the leaf begins to show a bit of yellow. Progressing from "mature" to ripe, the yellowing spreads, mottling increases, and the leaf texture becomes...

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

Crop update! Resisting temptation to harvest green, I love the snap of the lower leaves but I'm determined to let these yellow and develop more nicotine, I Topped 2 weeks ago, am I right nicotine peaks around a month after topping? Some of the leaves are getting more rugged looking, but don't look ready to me.

 

[johnny108]

Last year, i topped, and then harvested at 2 weeks. It worked.
This year I’m doing 3 weeks, and the same strain is noticeably stronger.
I’ve read on the forum somewhere that nicotine tops out at 5 weeks.
But commercial literature has different times for different types of tobacco. 3 weeks for Maryland, and 3+ weeks for dark air cured.
I’d go for a month, if i could, but I’ve got space constraints to deal with.