Where did I go wrong with the poppies?

Hi,

First time growing poppies...

I want to ask a question of you folks who have grown poppies before. I purchased some persian white seeds and planted them in early April (in NE Tennessee). My soil isn't the best (but it isn't the worst either) and I did put some fertilizer on 'em a couple of times. They are now flowering with pretty white flowers.

Here's the problem: the tallest of them are about 6-8 inches tall. The pods are the size of my little fingernail! Argh! They might have gotten too much water (I can't control the rain) or maybe not enough sun (I didn't choose the best spot I think, it gets sun but not all day). Anyone have any thoughts as to why they grew so small? I want to try again, but do a better job next time.

With these small pods: they still ought to contain opium. What do you think would be the best way to use these? Should I still ought to lance them or might I be better off trying to smoke the whole pod?

Thanks for any advice.

Lisa

make tea from them

try scattering seed on open raked soil in winter - self seed ones form last year seem to come up quicker & get bigger often - hard to say what other probs it could be - maybe dig some organic matter 2 the ground first also?

not sure why that happened but i would lance them and then make a tea out of the pods because not all of the opium comes out of the pods. then make the tea and drink it before you smoke your opium.

Hi there!
Well, there are two possible reasons that i know of that could have caused your poppies to be small. (a) papaver somniferum does come in a mimiature variaty. All kinds of opium poppy are widely available over here (UK) and the packets are clearly labled so you know exactly what you are getting. (b)maybe your poppies are overcrowded. They need to be plucked out so there's a space of around 6inches between each one. A little more or less either way isn't a problem, but when theres 10 per sq inch you're obviously gonna get probs!
I hope I was of some help.