Bag #1 - Connecticut Shade
Bag #2 - Connecticut Broadleaf
Bag #3 - Goose Creek Red
Bag #4 - Small Stalk Black Mammoth
The first thing you want to do is pick up something like [URL="http://www.farm-home.com/mn/v10_catalog.mvc?FRGL07+selectldr+LGS+002120+JDISTRIB1373-8083~~~~~~~"this][/URL].
They sell them at Walmart or I'm sure they have them at Lowe's or Home Depot. I got mine for around 6 or 7 dollars. Follow the instructions on that thing to expand the peat pellets and then you're ready to plant your seeds. I usually just stick my finger in the bag and press the seeds so a few of them stick to my finger tip. You don't want to get too many in each pellet or you'll end up just wasting them because most of them will germinate. 3 or 4 seeds per pellet should be more than enough.
Once you sprinkle 3 or 4 seeds on top of the pellets you're basically done with them for now. Just cover them up and wait for them to start germinating.
You must make sure NOT to cover the seeds with soil because they use light, not water to germinate. I also recommend filling the whole in the top of the pellets by just scraping some of the soil into them once they are nice and expanded before you sprinkle the seeds on top. This will make it a little easier to reduce the plots to 1 plant per in a couple weeks.
The best thing you can do for you plants now is to go to Walmart or similar and pick up a small plant light. My boss and I raced our plants last year. He grew his with no additional light than what came in the window and I grew mine with a light. HUGE improvement in my plants over his. He is a believer now.
I also use Miracle Grow plant starter in my water when I water the plants. I've noticed great improvement using it as well.
Once you've reduced to 1 plant per pellet and they start to look strong, you can remove the lid to the planter and let them harden up a little. I keep the light on them 24/7 still. Once you think they are ready to go outside you can move them into some larger pots. If you plan on putting them in the ground I'd let them get a little bigger in the tray before putting them out. I usually move mine into some 8" pots for a few weeks outside so they are easy to move out of the rains we get here. Once they start to get root bound in the 8" pots I move them into 16" pots or the ground.
Tips:
Lots of light/sunshine.
Lots of water/fertilizer. I mean a lot of water. They love to drink.
Use a plant light or two while they are maturing in the tray. It makes a world of difference.
Did I say lots of watering?
Make sure your pots or ground bet has adequate drainage. Letting them stand in water will destroy them in short order.
You may want to keep them in the shade during the hottest part of the day, especially the Small Stalk. It has a much darker leaf and is more dramatically affected by the heat/sun. I had problems with the leaves getting burned last year on the really hot days. The others were ok, but they'd get a little wilty on the really hot days. Proper watering also helps prevent this.
These things have enormous root systems so they need large planters to do well. If you plant them in the ground leave about 16-18 inches between plants so they have room to grow.
You also have the option of what you want to do when they flower. You can top the plants by breaking or cutting the buds off and this will allow them to continue growing up. It will also cause the plant to double on top. It will now try to make two flower heads. Every time you break one off it will effectively double the flowers produced next. This will force more nutrients into the leaves for them to be better looking or better for cigars. Once you're ready you can let them flower. Once the seed pods form and dry out you can collect them for next year.
You'll need to watch out for hornworms too. These little pieces of Satan will eat up your plants over night. You tomato growers will know what I'm talking about. Funny thing about <span class="highlight">tobacco</span> is that it is a member of the nightshade family just like tomatoes. So I'd keep the <span class="highlight">tobacco</span> away from your tomatoes because they will share parasites...like hornworms. You can tell that you'll be having them because the moths that leave them there will poo on your plants. That is the first sign of an infestation. The little barbs are soft and you can simply pick the worms off with your hands. They get huge and eat a lot if you let them so get them while they are young. They come out at night and chill at the bases of the leaves usually during the day so you can look for them there when you see your plants have been eaten up.
If you want to make cigars or attempt it...I'd consult the internet for tips and techniques. It is pretty tough so you have to be committed to it.
I guess that's all I've got right now. I'll add anything I can think of and if you have any questions post them up and I'll do my best to answer them.
Bag #2 - Connecticut Broadleaf
Bag #3 - Goose Creek Red
Bag #4 - Small Stalk Black Mammoth
The first thing you want to do is pick up something like [URL="http://www.farm-home.com/mn/v10_catalog.mvc?FRGL07+selectldr+LGS+002120+JDISTRIB1373-8083~~~~~~~"this][/URL].
They sell them at Walmart or I'm sure they have them at Lowe's or Home Depot. I got mine for around 6 or 7 dollars. Follow the instructions on that thing to expand the peat pellets and then you're ready to plant your seeds. I usually just stick my finger in the bag and press the seeds so a few of them stick to my finger tip. You don't want to get too many in each pellet or you'll end up just wasting them because most of them will germinate. 3 or 4 seeds per pellet should be more than enough.
Once you sprinkle 3 or 4 seeds on top of the pellets you're basically done with them for now. Just cover them up and wait for them to start germinating.
You must make sure NOT to cover the seeds with soil because they use light, not water to germinate. I also recommend filling the whole in the top of the pellets by just scraping some of the soil into them once they are nice and expanded before you sprinkle the seeds on top. This will make it a little easier to reduce the plots to 1 plant per in a couple weeks.
The best thing you can do for you plants now is to go to Walmart or similar and pick up a small plant light. My boss and I raced our plants last year. He grew his with no additional light than what came in the window and I grew mine with a light. HUGE improvement in my plants over his. He is a believer now.
I also use Miracle Grow plant starter in my water when I water the plants. I've noticed great improvement using it as well.
Once you've reduced to 1 plant per pellet and they start to look strong, you can remove the lid to the planter and let them harden up a little. I keep the light on them 24/7 still. Once you think they are ready to go outside you can move them into some larger pots. If you plan on putting them in the ground I'd let them get a little bigger in the tray before putting them out. I usually move mine into some 8" pots for a few weeks outside so they are easy to move out of the rains we get here. Once they start to get root bound in the 8" pots I move them into 16" pots or the ground.
Tips:
Lots of light/sunshine.
Lots of water/fertilizer. I mean a lot of water. They love to drink.
Use a plant light or two while they are maturing in the tray. It makes a world of difference.
Did I say lots of watering?
Make sure your pots or ground bet has adequate drainage. Letting them stand in water will destroy them in short order.
You may want to keep them in the shade during the hottest part of the day, especially the Small Stalk. It has a much darker leaf and is more dramatically affected by the heat/sun. I had problems with the leaves getting burned last year on the really hot days. The others were ok, but they'd get a little wilty on the really hot days. Proper watering also helps prevent this.
These things have enormous root systems so they need large planters to do well. If you plant them in the ground leave about 16-18 inches between plants so they have room to grow.
You also have the option of what you want to do when they flower. You can top the plants by breaking or cutting the buds off and this will allow them to continue growing up. It will also cause the plant to double on top. It will now try to make two flower heads. Every time you break one off it will effectively double the flowers produced next. This will force more nutrients into the leaves for them to be better looking or better for cigars. Once you're ready you can let them flower. Once the seed pods form and dry out you can collect them for next year.
You'll need to watch out for hornworms too. These little pieces of Satan will eat up your plants over night. You tomato growers will know what I'm talking about. Funny thing about <span class="highlight">tobacco</span> is that it is a member of the nightshade family just like tomatoes. So I'd keep the <span class="highlight">tobacco</span> away from your tomatoes because they will share parasites...like hornworms. You can tell that you'll be having them because the moths that leave them there will poo on your plants. That is the first sign of an infestation. The little barbs are soft and you can simply pick the worms off with your hands. They get huge and eat a lot if you let them so get them while they are young. They come out at night and chill at the bases of the leaves usually during the day so you can look for them there when you see your plants have been eaten up.
If you want to make cigars or attempt it...I'd consult the internet for tips and techniques. It is pretty tough so you have to be committed to it.
I guess that's all I've got right now. I'll add anything I can think of and if you have any questions post them up and I'll do my best to answer them.
