Hi guys,
I know there have been a few people on BOTL that have attempted and grown tobacco. This year, I decided to join the fun.
So far, I have germinated 3 strains into seedlings, which have been transplanted and grown a bit since. Since I do not have a backyard to work with in our condo, I am using 5 gallon buckets. Given the space limitations, I am looking at 6 plants, total. Here is the breakdown:
- 3 Havana 263 plants
- 2 Connecticut Broadleaf plants
- 1 Wisconsin Seedleaf plant
Germination happened in about 48 h in my Styrofoam green house. All it consisted of was a 60W incandescent bulb that is controlled by a thermostat. Once the temp dropped bellow a certain set-point, the lamp turned on, provided heat and light, and ultimately increased the temperature in the chamber, switching itself off. I was able to maintain approximately 80F in the chamber, which did the trick for fast germination. I intend on using a modified version of this rig for the fermentation processing after color curing (more on that later).
Outdoors, the sprouts seem to be doing well in the 5 gallon buckets. Of course, I will update as things progress.
Happy smokes, and maybe to some Northbrook Puros one of these days
2013_08_04 Update:
It has been a month of growth since the sprouts appeared, as seen in the pictures above. The plants seem pretty happy in the 5-gallon buckets. All I have been doing is fertilizing with a nitrogen-rich mixture every week or so, with plenty of watering. The Connecticut Broadleaf plants have began to flower (will keep some for seeds), with some of the leaves being a good 2 feet across.
Some "20-day after sprouts" photos:
"31-day after sprouts":
2013_08_27 Update:
Almost another month has passed, and I have already started collecting different primings. The plants are huge, and I am letting a few flower to keep the seeds (as mentioned above). These guys need water, a lot of water. Basically, I have been adding about 1 gallon of water per plant per day.
Some of the older primings (to the left in the pictures) have already begun to brown. The color curing seems to be working well in my "gringo barn," and I am hoping to start fermenting some of the early primings soon.
When picking the leaves, they snap off of the main stalk with the gusto of celery breaking. I will be honest, nothing about the smell is reminiscent of tobacco as we are used to as consumers. Of course, that is where fermentation should do its magic and chemistry.
I know there have been a few people on BOTL that have attempted and grown tobacco. This year, I decided to join the fun.
So far, I have germinated 3 strains into seedlings, which have been transplanted and grown a bit since. Since I do not have a backyard to work with in our condo, I am using 5 gallon buckets. Given the space limitations, I am looking at 6 plants, total. Here is the breakdown:
- 3 Havana 263 plants
- 2 Connecticut Broadleaf plants
- 1 Wisconsin Seedleaf plant
Germination happened in about 48 h in my Styrofoam green house. All it consisted of was a 60W incandescent bulb that is controlled by a thermostat. Once the temp dropped bellow a certain set-point, the lamp turned on, provided heat and light, and ultimately increased the temperature in the chamber, switching itself off. I was able to maintain approximately 80F in the chamber, which did the trick for fast germination. I intend on using a modified version of this rig for the fermentation processing after color curing (more on that later).
Outdoors, the sprouts seem to be doing well in the 5 gallon buckets. Of course, I will update as things progress.
Happy smokes, and maybe to some Northbrook Puros one of these days
2013_08_04 Update:
It has been a month of growth since the sprouts appeared, as seen in the pictures above. The plants seem pretty happy in the 5-gallon buckets. All I have been doing is fertilizing with a nitrogen-rich mixture every week or so, with plenty of watering. The Connecticut Broadleaf plants have began to flower (will keep some for seeds), with some of the leaves being a good 2 feet across.
Some "20-day after sprouts" photos:
"31-day after sprouts":
2013_08_27 Update:
Almost another month has passed, and I have already started collecting different primings. The plants are huge, and I am letting a few flower to keep the seeds (as mentioned above). These guys need water, a lot of water. Basically, I have been adding about 1 gallon of water per plant per day.
Some of the older primings (to the left in the pictures) have already begun to brown. The color curing seems to be working well in my "gringo barn," and I am hoping to start fermenting some of the early primings soon.
When picking the leaves, they snap off of the main stalk with the gusto of celery breaking. I will be honest, nothing about the smell is reminiscent of tobacco as we are used to as consumers. Of course, that is where fermentation should do its magic and chemistry.
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