Finally some progress!

Discussions on growing and cultivating tobacco.
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KurtHuhn
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Finally some progress!

Post by KurtHuhn »

My tobacco plants are finally taking off. There was some rough going for a while there while I waited for them to get big enough to transplant, and then the incident with the miracle grow....

But they're mostly doing well now. The Virginias are growing so fast I swear you can watch them get bigger. The Samsun is slower going, but making steady progress. Unfortunately, the Mopa Maya didn't make it all. I think I'm going to try another planting, just to see what happens. There might not be enough time to get a full harvest - but you never know.
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hazmat
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Post by hazmat »

Exactly how does one have an "incident" that involves Miracle Grow? This could be interesting....
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KurtHuhn
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Post by KurtHuhn »

I found out that a strong mix of Miracle Grow should not be sprayed onto the little seedlings like you do when you water them. It does something to them that makes them go very, very pale green and they stop growing completely. It took about a month for them to get back to growing. For a week or so I thought they were completely done, but I nursed them back to health.
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hazmat
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Post by hazmat »

That's strange...I've never seen anything like that happen, but most of the plants I have are well past the seedling stage when I start giving them Miracle Grow. That's good to know, though, as I plan on putting in a bit of 'baccy next year.
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Smitty
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Post by Smitty »

I used Miracle Grow myself. I never sprayed it onto the plants leaves. I always poured it around the base of the plants and let it absorb into the soil.
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

It's not hard to burn upstarts with too much fertilizer, especially with foliar feeding. Even on bigger healthier plants, after fertilizing, I watch the leaf ends for fertilizer burn over the next couple days. If I do notice the foliage drying and curling at the tips, I immediately flush the pot to remove excess salts. On the other hand, Miracle Grow has brought new green life to some stunted baccy plants. What ever happened to Miracle Grow for tomato plants? Didn't they used to have that? I couldn't find it recently. I believe tomato specific fertilizer will have better N,P,K ratios for tobacco.
pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

Yeah, I've been using "Miracle-Gro for Tomatoes" about once a week on mine with good results.

Image

I started using it last year when we were having these huge, gullywasher rains almost every single day through the summer months.

Whatever nutrients there were in the soil were getting leached out by the rain, and I had to add a lot of extra to keep my tobacco even halfway green.

I think there's a balancing act there, in that you need a certain ratio of nutrients to water.

Too much water and not enough nutrients, and your plants wind up real pale or yellow. Too much nutrients and not enough water, and your plants can burn up.

Something like that, anyway.
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KurtHuhn
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Post by KurtHuhn »

Ooooh. Excellent! I can use that on both the 'maters AND the 'baccy!

I wonder what the difference is to regular Miracle Grow.
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

Regular Miracle Grow All-Purpose has Nitrogen, Phospate, Potash ratio of:

24-8-16

Miracle Grow Tomato (same nightshade family as tobacco) has a N,P,K ratio of:

18-18-21

I guess nightshades like more Phosphate. I've read that baccy likes wood ash, which is a good source of potassium and some other trace goodies. I distribute my Mesquite barbeque ashes in the garden occasionally.
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

I was just thinking... Phosphate (P), if I remember correctly, is mostly used by the plant during the flowering to vegetable stages of life, whereas Nitrogen (N) is used most during the growing leafy vegetative stages. Since we use tobacco for the leaf and want to discourage flowering, maybe tomato fertilizer, which seeks to maximize the post-flower vegetable, isn't the best fertilizer to use? Any green thumb opinions on this?
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Post by Anvil »

I was told that the Phosphorus was responsible for root growth. That was for my lawn though. I'm not sure about vegetables or tobacco.
The opinions expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of the management or of the little green men who have been following me all day.
pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

Just found this nifty PDF file online.
Supplementary fertilization using standard commercial fertilizers is the routine practice on conventionally managed farms. Nitrogen is managed carefully to avoid excessive growth and accumulation of nitrogen compounds in the leaves. Phosphate also is managed carefully, as excessive amounts in the leaves alter burning characteristics of the leaf. High potash levels, on the other hand, are desirable. Adequate soil potash is also important in suppressing angular leaf spot (P. angulata) and bacterial leaf spot (P. tabaci). Chlorine-based fertilizers, however, such as potassium chloride, cannot be used, as they too reduce burning quality of the tobacco. Supplementary fertilization commonly includes a source of magnesium. Inadequate levels of soil magnesium encourage incidence of a nutritional disorder called “sand drown.” About 24–35 lbs/acre of soluble magnesium is considered adequate for most fields. Either dolomitic lime or sulfate of potashmagnesia is commonly used to supply magnesium in both conventional and organic cropping systems.

Soil pH should be maintained in the slightly acidic range (5.5–6.5) with an available calcium level five times that of magnesium.(6) At higher pH levels, the incidence of black root rot increases. Manures have historically been used in tobacco production, with rates of supplementary fertilizers reduced accordingly. Dark tobacco, especially, responds well to fertilization by manures, though it is advisable that they be applied and incorporated the previous fall. Application of animal manures to flue-cured and other lighter tobaccos is much more risky. Dr. W.D. Smith of North Carolina State Cooperative Extension has advised that manures be used on corn and other crops in rotation, to minimize any possible side effects on the tobacco crop.(7) ATTRA provides additional guidelines for manure use in Manures for Organic Crop Production.
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

Nice article, RP!!! Thanks. I don't know how many times I scoured the internet, but never found that one.

So, it does sound like the tomato-gro is the better alternative to straight miracle-gro... and I'll keep dumping my wood ashes.
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