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Tobacco is an easy plant to grow and is grown is virtually every state. If you follow a few simple instructions, you will have success even if you are not an avid gardener. You can grow them
indoors year 'round in a 5 gallon nursery pot, or outdoors in late spring through early fall like any normal garden plant.
Unlike many seeds, tobacco NEEDS sunlight to germinate, that's one of the many advantages of using the CigPlants growing system, because it's ready to go. You want to avoid concentrated
direct sunlight until your seedlings become established, but plenty of indirect light is needed initially for starting a healthy plant.
To get started, place your CigPlant Super-Plug (with the seed hole facing up) on a saucer or dish containing about ½ inch of water. The plug will drink in the water and expand to several
times its' original size in an hour or so. From this point on, you must not let your CigPlant dry out, but do not let it float around in too much water for days on end or you could develop a condition called
"damping off" that could kill your young seedling. To further stabilize your CigPlant, especially if using the mini-greenhouse, place about 1 cup of potting soil around and up to (but not over) the top of the plug.
This will also allow your CigPlant to grow larger before the need for transplanting.
Humidity is important to germination and can easily be accomplished by placing a 2 inch square piece of damp newspaper (single layer) on top of your seed plug(s) (be sure to check it once or
twice every day and remove the paper once germination starts). Cover your CigPlant with a glass or jar to create a simple greenhouse. For an even better greenhouse, use a 2 liter plastic soda bottle with a 3 inch
wide by 4 to 5 inch high door cut into the side about an inch up from the bottom. Simply make 3 cuts, 2 on each side and one on the bottom. This will create a self-closing "flap" door that you can open whenever you
need to.
Click Here for Detailed Instructions on Building Your Own Mini Greenhouse.
Place your CigPlant in a warm, well lit area, but away from hot, direct sunlight. Check at least once daily to
make sure your CigPlant is moist, without being flooded. Normal germination takes place in 7 to 28 days, depending on temperature that should be above 60 degrees at night.
When your CigPlant sprouts, your mini-greenhouse will provide a perfect growing environment until it is ready
for transplanting. Remember, tobacco seeds are VERY tiny, a dozen or so could fit on the head of a pin. This
means that your CigPlant sprout will also be very tiny so try not to disturb your young plant any more than
necessary. After developing its second set of leaves, you can begin feeding by adding a small amount of water
soluble, balanced fertilizer (such as Miracle Grow) to the water mixed at about 25% of recommended strength as per instructions on the fertilizer label.
After your CigPlant has grown 6 to 8 inches (4 to 8 weeks), or when roots are showing through the Super-Plug
walls, it's time to transplant. Planting instructions are similar for both indoor and outdoor growing. Deciding on
whether or not to plant outdoors is based on what time of year plants grow outdoors in your area and how much
frost-free growing season you have available. It normally takes 65 to 80 days with a minimum temperature of
50 degrees to produce a quality plant once transplanted, so if the first frost is in October for your area and you
are ready to transplant in September, you probably would be better off growing your CigPlant indoors and starting some new ones in mid-winter for planting out next spring (after all danger of frost is past).
Indoors:
Transplant your CigPlant to a 5 gallon container that allows for bottom drainage into some sort of tray or dish
to keep water off your floor. Place a piece of screen in the bottom of your container and fill to within 2 inches of the top with a mixture of potting soil and compost and moisten the mix for 1 to 3 hours.
Indoors & Outdoors:
If you have made the mini-greenhouse from the 2 liter bottle, remove it by using scissors to cut around the
base (save the top for later use).
Gently remove the CigPlant and plant the entire CigPlant and rooted plug to a depth of about ½ inch below the
top of the plug, but not too deep. Press the soil in and around the root-ball firmly and water to remove any remaining air pockets.
Place your mini-greenhouse top back over your CigPlant (if it still fits) and remove the bottle cap to allow for
airflow. If the container must be placed in a location that receives direct sunlight, place a brown or white paper
"lunch bag" over the mini-greenhouse to provide a little shade while your CigPlant adapts to its' new environment.
Condition your CigPlant to the air by removing the mini-greenhouse for 30 minute intervals for a few days,
then increase to 60 minutes for a few more days and remove the dome when your CigPlant becomes too large to fit comfortably inside.
Water deeply every other day until established and growing, then 1 to 2 times per week thereafter with
fertilizer mixed in at ½ strength to the water once weekly. Make sure your soil has the ability to drain and not
stay soggy for more than a few hours or you could get a condition called "root rot" and kill your plant. You want your soil (indoors or out) to stay evenly moist, but not continually wet.
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