Thanks for the info Garry. What do I need to keep an eye out for? What can I Google? Would you take a chance and grow these tobacco plants in with the peppers and tomatoes? Would you think they would do better outside?
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They will definitely do better outside.
The only concern I have, is where did the plants you have now start their life? If they started from seed on your property, they should be completely disease free, and you could put them anywhere. If started elsewhere, though the risk is small, they might carry a tobacco disease, so exercise caution in placement. Tobacco wants full sun, and the warmer overnight temps will help. But if you are experiencing similar conditions to here, that shouldn’t be a worry. First risk of frost is the other concern, they will flower as day length shortens, and want frost free till early - mid September, at which point the plants can be cut and hung to cure. Your greenhouse is probably the best place to achieve that, as they need a good humidity and temps to yellow rapidly. All that info should be available in a Google search.
For outside growing, I would supplement with a balanced fertilizer, as the plants are vigorous growers, and will respond well to additional nitrogen and phosphorous.
Similarly, I would also exercise caution with potatoes and tomatoes up on your land, bring in only certified potato seed, and start your own tomatoes etc from seed, garden centers are a major vector for blight, and it would be a real shame to bring something in to your completely disease free corner of heaven.
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They were start at a friends house near me. He started them from seed. We are between mid 40-50’s for overnight lows. My potatoes are from a nearby greenhouse that sells seed potatoes. The tomatoes are from someone I know at the farmer’s market. They start them from seed.
Back to the tobacco. They need nitrogen, can I put chicken manure on the ground surface around the plants?
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Sounds like you are in good shape regarding risks of bringing in disease or pests. I’m real cautious about that, as my land is completely disease free, blight free and potato bug free, I don’t want to mess that up, so all those veggies are on a closed loop. It’s actually a lot of fun and quite rewarding selecting and saving seed, and raising bedding plants.
Chicken manure should be a great fertilizer, but keep in mind that organic fertilizers release slow, as they first have to break down, and convert to mineral salts before a plant can take them up.
Your reports of over night temps are a little concerning, sounds like lake superior tends to cool your climate down.
Maybe split your collection, plant half outside, leave the rest in the greenhouse to compare?
Regarding potato seed, I always look for the government certified disease free tag.
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Another thing about tobacco, over years if you select and grow from your own seed, you will begin to breed a strain best suited to your climate conditions. Over 17 years I’ve developed a strain that flowers at least a week earlier than standard commercial seed.
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Sorry about the cow. We have done that with horses. But as I recall we never had any bones to deal with. Only a few teeth.
I rebuilt a piston pump today. Its a duro 255. I’m trying to shave my energy budget to get the house back into a solar profile again. So why a piston pump? For shallow wells it will produce 5gpm on 320 watt Hr of power versus over a kW for a jet pump. Also its start up wattage is about5-600 watts versus 2000 for the jet. It takes some maintenance but a $20 kit should keep it good for several more years. Its from the early 1960’s so you know they last. It was clogged with rust flakes and the rubber valves were glued shut with dried rust. An hour of cleaning some new parts and she’s good to go.
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Hey, Nice pump. I built a DC bike generator a while back, and this summer I hooked it straight to an old DC 24v pump to move some water up my hill to irrigate my new garden. I do about 17 minutes of pedaling at 75-80 watts to move what I figure is about 30 gallons of water up about 60 feet of elevation. I know I am losing quite a bit of power to make electricity - so hooking something like this directly to the pedals would be sort of fun. I am mostly doing it for the motivation to ride the exercise bike, so efficiency doesnt really matter. Are these pumps still available, and would they work at lower speed/power?
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you can usually find them used. New they are crazy expensive these days. Unlike a jet pump you lose no efficiency at low speed the piston just moves slower. I have thought it would be fun and easy to hook one to a bicycle…
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I think hooking it up to the bicycle might be the only really fun part. Lol
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Here’s one of the projects done since Argos. Chicken coop has roll out nests, auto waterier, gravity feeder, rear clean out door. Made it on 3x6 pressure treated so it can be moved.
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Great ideas Al!
Now if you can come up with something for us northerners.
By the time winter is over, the frozen chicken poop piles are almost 3’ tall
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Bill, just put a snowmobile up front and some skiis under it , Blam ah, you got the northern model.
Out west we would put snowboards under it. We have deep power snow. We can’t have that much frozen poop in one place, spread that fertilizer around
Bob
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Nice coop Al, how many chickens are you planning on keeping in it.
Bob
I always wonder what the hen thinks?
I know I just laid an egg, where did it go?
Very nice build
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Probably good I didn’t want to sit here till it hatched anyway.
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Nitrogen fixation cover crop…
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Nice AL. I made some boxes kinda like that in our chicken house. Laying boxes that protrude outside so you cn work them without going in. But the cost of feed is such that it’s hardly worth growing chhickens around here. There are always culls in the broiler and laying houses available for free. But we are wanting to do the Black Soldier Fly project. Do you kow if they are native to your area?
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Don’t know, never heard of them. When the chickens get full grown we free range them, keeps bugs controlled, and cuts feed bill.
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Nice coop al i see you build many projects with precision.If it cost near the same as buying at store, or more, one can grow there food and at leaste you know the quallity of food is consistant better with free roam feeding, and not stacked coops of chickens forse feed garbage.
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