I'm thinking about growing some tobbacco. Any tips?

[MBTcustom]

I know this is a whole forum of do-it-yourselfers, so I figure this is oddly, one of the best places to ask this question.
I found out recently, that tobbacco is indigenous to Arkansas, and also that it is perfectly legal to grow it for personal use. There are a few places I found on-line where I can buy the seeds, or even the potted starter plants.
If anybody here has ever grown tobbacco, I would love to know the particulars of what soil/sunlight/fertilizer/etc would be involved. I am thinking about growing it to roll cigars out of. Any tips?

[Jim]

I Googled 'growing tobacco' and got over five million responses.

[mpbarry1]

We had that discussion a year ago. I found it pretty interesting.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=111744&highlight=chewing+tobacco

[GRUMPA]

When we lived in Phoenix we grew some of the White Burley (sp) without an issue. We even cut them down to the ground and got a second crop to come up. We did learn that there are alot and I mean alot of varieties of tobacco plants. Your going to find that growing them really isn't that difficult to do.

Here's are issue when we did it. We hung them upside down from the patio to cure them. You know how when you see tobacco leaves on TV or anywhere else that they're brown, well ours were still green, don't know if it was the variety of the plant itself but when it was dried to the point of it being usable we ran it through our pasts maker to cut it in very thin strips to mimic what a person would find in the market. That part was easy, but when we tried to use it we might as well as dried up some grass clippings and smoked that. The results after growing was something that I'll never forget as a big failure.

After our failure and getting the net hooked up to the house we poured into the research dept. and found out growing the plant is the easiest part, it's the curing of the leaves themselves that gives you the desired results that can make or break the quality of the smoke, well that and the quality of the soil.

[Blacksmith]

What little I know about growing it comes from living in some areas where it is grown.

It is grown in southern Maryland where they cut the stalk and hang the whole plants in barns to cure. It is called air cured and the barns have every other siding board on hinges and by opening and closing the boards the farmer controlls the cure.

It is grown in North Carolina where they start picking the leaves from the botton of the plant and as the leaves mature they pick them on up. This prompted a Maryland girl to comment on how spindly the tobacco looked in NC. The leaves are then bound together and hung on wooden sticks and hung in a barn that is covered in tarpaper which has an oilburner in the middle and they heat the barn to dry the leaves, this is flue cured. If one of those sticks with almost dry leaves falls on the oil burner the firemen get there in time to wet the foundation and go home smelling fo tobacco smoke (ask me how I know).

My parents told me farmers grew special tobacco for the outer wrappers of cigars in Connecticut under cheese cloth to protect it from blemishes. I believe it was also air cured but I think they hinged their boards at the top.

They also grow it in south east Pennsylvania, the Amish/Mennonite community, but I don't know how they cure it.

[oldred]

When we lived in Phoenix .

Wow, trying to cure Tobacco in Arizona, sounds like an exercise in futility! Tobacco requires a humid environment to cure properly.

[GRUMPA]

Yeah we found out through trial and error (mostly error) in order for us to do it somewhat OK we would need something like an airtight container.

[MBTcustom]

Well, I live in a swamp. We are thick in mosquitoes and foliage. Judging by the massive amounts of undergrowth, I suspect that the soil is very rich here. It is painfully humid here in the summer, highs get up to 105 degrees. I dont know but this seems like ideal conditions considering that tobacco grows so well in South America. I'm just not a gardener yet, and I have no clue how to cure this stuff. I see lots of expensive, greenhouse/barn/drying shed ideas out there, but in the summer here, humid heat will not be a problem. I'm wandering if I can do this on a budget and get some good cigars out of the deal. Still just thinking about it.

[duke76]

I grew some last year after about reading about it on this forum and I dont even smoke or chew, It might be to late this year to grow some it would be for sure around here anyway, I think I started growing mine in March and planted it last year outside about mothers day, I bought some seed from ebay that had instructions on how to dry, and cure it, I never did that but I still have it hanging in the barn, it is all brown and dry, maybe I will make a bug spray out of it not sure, i might have some seeds if you need some, Todd

[41 mag fan]

:kidding: If all else fails...grow marijuana!!!

[TCLouis]

Started Plants (slips) should be going in the ground soon here in middle TN.

Starting with seeds tis late will lower yield, but then ya ain't raising it for money.

Swamp land is not always very fertile and too much water seems to be as bad or more than too little.

Find some experts to get the right ones for your final use.

[MBTcustom]

Find some experts to get the right ones for your final use.
You mean to find the plants that will grow in this climate? If you are referring to the species that will work for making cigars, I figured that I would go with a Havana tobacco. It seems that it is able to be used for both filler and wrapper and I don't have enough land to grow two species without cross-pollination so I need a multipurpose leaf. I think I will need some raised flower beds to control the water so the little angels don't drown. That's looking like a lot of work, so it may not happen this year with the business getting started and all.
I was under the impression that tobacco was a year long weed/plant that you could get several crops out of. Not so?

[just.don]

not so

[bearcove]

"I'm thinking about growing some tobbacco. Any tips?"

Grow some tomatoes or whatever vegies you eat and but a decent cigar with the money you save.

[TCLouis]

Cross pollination is of no concern.

That will only affect the plants grown from your seeds and may not be a big concern at that.

Cigars . . .

CIGARS ! ! !

That is expert tobacco knowledge country.

[waksupi]

I did have cross pollenized last year, and did get some kind of weird looking cross breed. Still tobacco, though!

[Longwood]

The kids around here talk a lot about the "Gorilla Grape" strain.:kidding:

[94Doug]

Back in the 70's it was fairly common here in Central WI to grow an acre or two as a "cash crop" I always found that interesting.

Doug

[Oreo]

Cigars are definitely phd territory. I dont doubt your ability to grow, cure, and wrap your tobacco into smokes but be prepared to buy some good cigars if yours don't smoke so well. Even if you do a great job with all aspects it may produce a cigar that is not to your pallet.

Cigars are made by blending many types of tobacco. Its way more involved then binary filler / wrapper combo. More like choosing which types of grapes you want to grow and how to blend them into a good wine. People make careers out of being good at this stuff. I would say, find a cigar you like and then see if you can figure out what types of tobacco are in it. Grow those.

[MBTcustom]

First of all, I aint picky.
Second, I have a bad habit of getting scarry close to profesional results when I set my hat to do something.
Third, I thought the curing process was much more important to developing taste than the actual plant species. I was thinking that you get diferent flavors based on whether it is grow in or out of direct sunlight, how it is cured etc. I guess it all plays together.
fourth, like everything else I do, I got started because I couldn't afford to buy what I wanted. Cigars are too damned expensive to smoke. The ones I like are soft and palatable, strong, large ring gauge cigars. The stinkin things are selling for ten dollars a piece! At that rate, I cant afford to buy them at all.
I have found that there are no mysteries in life, and anything made by man has a simple process at its root, followed by common sense once you understand the process. The main thing about this tobacco that is killing me is the patience involved.
I think that I'm probably getting started too late this year. I may get the seeds together and start growing them next year, but I can still bust up the soil and get ready for it.

[Houndog]

We grew Burley Tobacco ( the mildest and highest priced variety) for many years. The trouble you will have with that variety in a swampy enviroment is too much water and you get root rot! As far as growing the stuff, it's EASY! ( Yea right!!!) You start your seeds in a bed under Cheesecloth, transplant the plants into rows in a field when they are approximately 6 inches high, ( Keeping it weeded and the soil well tilled IS A MUST!) , keep it sprayed for bugs, top it when it blooms (flowers) , sucker it when small shoots start growing where the leaves attach to the stalk, cut it when the leaves turning a golden yellow and hang it in a barn upside down to dry. If it gets wet while it's in the drying stage it turns black and the quality goes in the tank. Growing it is the easy part, now processing it is something else alltogether! You can't just roll it up and smoke it! Doing so WILL make you high and sicker than a Dog! (Been there, done that, and it ain't fun!) You must wash it in something like Burbon to remove the majority of the Tar as well as flavor the Tobacco. It's then redried and ready for use. The commercial processers use everything from Whiskey to Chocolate to flavor their Tobacco, Glycerine to keep it from drying out too quickly and even use brown paper like grocery bags used to be made of to keep it burning in a cigar or Cigarette!

My advice is to buy those $10 cigars and enjoy! You'll save money in the long run! If you still want to try it, Clay's Kentucky 31 and Clays Kentucky 16 are the seed varities we used to grow.

GOOD LUCK!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

First of all, I aint picky.
Second, I have a bad habit of getting scarry close to profesional results when I set my hat to do something.
Third, I thought the curing process was much more important to developing taste than the actual plant species. I was thinking that you get diferent flavors based on whether it is grow in or out of direct sunlight, how it is cured etc. I guess it all plays together.
fourth, like everything else I do, I got started because I couldn't afford to buy what I wanted. Cigars are too damned expensive to smoke. The ones I like are soft and palatable, strong, large ring gauge cigars. The stinkin things are selling for ten dollars a piece! At that rate, I cant afford to buy them at all.
I have found that there are no mysteries in life, and anything made by man has a simple process at its root, followed by common sense once you understand the process. The main thing about this tobacco that is killing me is the patience involved.
I think that I'm probably getting started too late this year. I may get the seeds together and start growing them next year, but I can still bust up the soil and get ready for it.
Tim, I'm not much for tobacco, but what you state above is why I started brewing my own beer and making my own wine.


that is killing me is the patience involved. That is sooooo true with aging "top shelf" beers and wines. one of my favorites is Barley Wine, typically it's undrinkable for the first year. The first one I brewed was no exception. At about year three, I won an award with it. Now it's about 5 years old, and is starting to fade, I think I have 7 or 8 bottles left, I better get to drinking it ;)
http://www.jackofallbrews.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=649


Second, I have a bad habit of getting scarry close to profesional results when I set my hat to do something. I don't doubt that for a minute !
Jon

[x101airborne]

I didnt know about washing the leaves in burbon or something. I can attest to the "high" of raw tobacco. My grandad grew some and taught me to make "twist". A kind of chew with molasses and red pepper. I was chewing Levi Garrett at the time and took a big ole bite of that twist. In about 10 minutes, I was stumbling like I drank a fifth of tequila. In 15, I was worshiping a fence post. A piece about the size of a thumbnail lasted me all day.

[MBTcustom]

Y'all are going to talk me into this yet!

[WILCO]

We had that discussion a year ago. I found it pretty interesting.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=111744&highlight=chewing+tobacco

Yep! I remembered it as soon as I saw this thread title. 8-)

[The10mmKid]

These folks have a lot of info you desire.

http://www.thetobaccoseed.com/index.html

This site sells a 'blended' seed pack.

http://www.seedman.com/Tobacco.htm

I have been thinking of growing cigarette tobaccos, machine roll my own filterless and inhale like a cigar. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

'da Kid

[Finster101]

We grew Burley Tobacco ( the mildest and highest priced variety) for many years. The trouble you will have with that variety in a swampy enviroment is too much water and you get root rot! As far as growing the stuff, it's EASY! ( Yea right!!!) You start your seeds in a bed under Cheesecloth, transplant the plants into rows in a field when they are approximately 6 inches high, ( Keeping it weeded and the soil well tilled IS A MUST!) , keep it sprayed for bugs, top it when it blooms (flowers) , sucker it when small shoots start growing where the leaves attach to the stalk, cut it when the leaves turning a golden yellow and hang it in a barn upside down to dry. If it gets wet while it's in the drying stage it turns black and the quality goes in the tank. Growing it is the easy part, now processing it is something else alltogether! You can't just roll it up and smoke it! Doing so WILL make you high and sicker than a Dog! (Been there, done that, and it ain't fun!) You must wash it in something like Burbon to remove the majority of the Tar as well as flavor the Tobacco. It's then redried and ready for use. The commercial processers use everything from Whiskey to Chocolate to flavor their Tobacco, Glycerine to keep it from drying out too quickly and even use brown paper like grocery bags used to be made of to keep it burning in a cigar or Cigarette!

My advice is to buy those $10 cigars and enjoy! You'll save money in the long run! If you still want to try it, Clay's Kentucky 31 and Clays Kentucky 16 are the seed varities we used to grow.

GOOD LUCK!



Yep. Growing up in Kentucky I have topped it, suckered it, cut it and hung it. It is hot, sticky work. Toabacco worms burn like hell when you are stung. You might have guessed by now I want no part of it anymore. Buy your cigars. You will enjoy them much more.

James

[Blacksmith]

More than you wanted to know about growing and curing tobacco.

Tobacco: Electronic Edition. c. 1915.
Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corp. Crop Book Dept.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/tobacco/tobacco.html#p30

A Sketch of the Tobacco Interests In North Carolina
Being an Account of the Culture, Handling and Manufacture of the Staple; Together with Some Information Respecting the Principal Farmers, Manufacturing Establishments and Warehouses; with Statistics Exhibiting the Growth of Tobacco in the Western Counties, and Also in the Other Tobacco Producing Regions of the State, as Shown By Comparison of the Crop of 1880 with Those of Preceding Years:
Electronic Edition. Cameron, J. D. (John Donald), 1820-1897
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/cameron/cameron.html

Useful Information Concerning Yellow Tobacco, and Other Crops,
as Told by Fifty of the Most Successful Farmers of Granville County, N. C.:
Electronic Edition. Hunter, J. B., Capt. 1880.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/hunter/hunter.html

More documents to search.
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/


Some places to buy Tobacco leaves to try your hand at making cigars.

http://www.cvtobacco.com/press/shop/RYO/MidnightSpecial_.htm

http://www.otoaocigars.com/main.htm

How to roll your own.

http://www.coffinails.com/cigars.html

[Boz330]

Yep. Growing up in Kentucky I have topped it, suckered it, cut it and hung it. It is hot, sticky work. Toabacco worms burn like hell when you are stung. You might have guessed by now I want no part of it anymore. Buy your cigars. You will enjoy them much more.

James

I worked in it for 3 years when I had an allotment. The 4th year I developed an allergy to it. Six of the most miserable days of my life. Even if you don't develop an allergy you can get nicotine poisoning when it is hot out and the tobacco is wet. Been 30 years since I've worked it and I'm with James. Good luck.

Bob

[just.don]

you'll have to bust up the soil again next year.
tobacco likes loose dirt, full sun, not too much water (blue mold).
go ahead and get your seeds.
figure out where to plant it and clear that if you must.
do some research for ph balance and attend to that this summer/fall.
start seedlings in a gassed bed when appropriate for your climate (research)
plant when about big enough to pull from bed (4-6").
plant about 2' apart in rows about 32-36" apart.
when it gets about chest high top it and spray for suckers.
spray all summer long for tobacco worms.
depending on type, harvest and cure as prescribed.
hope this earns me a cigar.

[frankenfab]

"I have a bad habit of getting scarry close to profesional results when I set my hat to do something."

That is because you are obviously smart, and scrounge for as much knowledge on a subject as possible from everywhere and anwhere you can get it!:idea:

I have always liked the saying, "I'm not a professional, I am an expert.":mrgreen:

Good luck, I know you are thinking of growing tobacco because you are curious and interested, not because you are trying to save money or anything.

[MBTcustom]

Good luck, I know you are thinking of growing tobacco because you are curious and interested, not because you are trying to save money or anything.
Naw, I saw "Gone With The Wind" where the dad was rolling his cigars and it kind of stuck with me. Kind of like watching "Quigly Down Under" and deciding that you just have to shoot a bucket 800 yards away like he did.

[WILCO]

Naw, I saw "Gone With The Wind" where the dad was rolling his cigars and it kind of stuck with me. Kind of like watching "Quigly Down Under" and deciding that you just have to shoot a bucket 800 yards away like he did.

Here's a pretty good cigar rolling video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43CGdp_RL4

[beagle]

Go for it. It's easy as raising tomatoes. I hit a neighboring famer for about 25 plants a couple of years ago and ended up with 23 living plants. At the end of the growing season, I cut them off and hung them in my barn for several months and the air cured them. The first damp spell when they were in "case", I stripped the leaves and placed them in 5 gallon buckets and have been aging it. Now I need to stem it and find a formula to process it into pipe tobacco.

Pretty late to start this year with seeds but next year, plant seeds in a hot bed and transplant like tomatoes. A little Miracle Grow puts it in high gear.

Here in KY, ours is air cured on the stalk. In NC, they pick the leaves (prime) when yellow and ripe and flue cure under oil heat (use to be with a slab fired heat source).

Kinda interesting to mess with.

One of these guys will send you some seeds this fall I expect and you can get started./beagle

[just.don]

After reading your post about the bow you made, I find myself thinking you very well may be willing to invest the time in research and in the field to do it.
My experience with tobacco was in my youth, working in ours and other peoples allotment.
I am a smoker, and will not grow it unless forced to by SHTF.
Good luck and please keep us posted on this.

[Dean D.]

My 2011 crop in the back of my lil Mazda pickup truck:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j36/condercliffjumper/Misc/Garden/10-21-11003A.jpg

I'm about 60 miles south of the Canadian border in WA state, dont let them tell ya you can't grow tobacco in your area. If you can grow tomato's you can grow tobacco!

I also highly recommend Jsizemore's link, I am a member there and have learned a lot from their site.

Good luck on your endevor!

[375RUGER]

I always had best results, the largest plants, growing it on the north side of the house under an extended eve, raised bed. Got plants 8' tall. Never did get any that big in full sun. This was in northeast OK.
I do know that you can change certain aspects of the leaf by shading with different size of screen to only let so much light in.
I always started the plants in a cut off plastic barrel with plexiglas over the top for a greenhouse. Then carefully seperated them when time to plant. They start good in cups too.

I sure would like to get some good seed. Since I've been in NM, the seed I've been getting has either not germinated or just died when the plants were about 1". I know it's not just me, cause my uncle in OK- same thing happend to him with the same batch of seed.

I didn't grow it to use, just to piss off liberals who think Americans shouldn't be free to make their own choices. So I don't have any tips for curing, now, but my next batch will be to cure and roll.
I don't think it's rocket science, I bet a lot of old timers use to grow and roll their own and some probably still do.
I wonder if the Foxfire series of books has any info on this. I'll check.

[9.3X62AL]

:kidding: If all else fails...grow marijuana!!!

LOL! DEA doesn't stand for "Drunk Every Afternoon", ya know? Just another in a long series of moonbat ideas that emanate from the People's Republic of California--Prop 215.

Marijuana culture and processing is at least as complex as that of tobacco, and the plants themselves do weird things as they mature. During my career, I assisted in at least 500 drug lab sites and a similar number of MJ grow sites.......the ONLY places I EVER found booby traps was on MJ grow sites, and we found a bunch of them. The biggest problems an MJ farmer faces involve crop retention--deer love the stuff, and other doper low-lives are more than happy to steal your plants and kill you in the process of taking it.

[Longwood]

LOL! DEA doesn't stand for "Drunk Every Afternoon", ya know? Just another in a long series of moonbat ideas that emanate from the People's Republic of California--Prop 215.

Marijuana culture and processing is at least as complex as that of tobacco, and the plants themselves do weird things as they mature. During my career, I assisted in at least 500 drug lab sites and a similar number of MJ grow sites.......the ONLY places I EVER found booby traps was on MJ grow sites, and we found a bunch of them. The biggest problems an MJ farmer faces involve crop retention--deer love the stuff, and other doper low-lives are more than happy to steal your plants and kill you in the process of taking it.

I would a thousand times over rather associate with pot smokers than people that do "Legal" Pharmaceuticals or drink "Legal" alcohol.
I only know of one thing bad about pot.
Getting busted.

[9.3X62AL]

The stuff is illegal. Get over it.

[Mooseman]

Not everywhere its not...

[waksupi]

Tell the Fed's that, as they are confiscating your property. They took a couple ranches in this state because the people were growing.
Now, about that tobacco....

[Longwood]

Tell the Fed's that, as they are confiscating your property. They took a couple ranches in this state because the people were growing.
Now, about that tobacco....

Ahhh yes,,,, The "Feds",,,, the ignorant ones I mentioned,,,, they are slowly dying off and the educated people are replacing them.[smilie=w:
Things are definitely changing for the better.
Hopefully someday,, people won't have to smoke it.

It is a lot less harmful than what this guy smoked, but never the less,,,,

[Just Duke]

I know this is a whole forum of do-it-yourselfers, so I figure this is oddly, one of the best places to ask this question.
I found out recently, that tobbacco is indigenous to Arkansas, and also that it is perfectly legal to grow it for personal use. There are a few places I found on-line where I can buy the seeds, or even the potted starter plants.
If anybody here has ever grown tobbacco, I would love to know the particulars of what soil/sunlight/fertilizer/etc would be involved. I am thinking about growing it to roll cigars out of. Any tips?

Good talking to you today Malcom. :drinks:

[just.don]

An apology is in order..or at least an explanation.
I gave you the instructions for raising vast quantities of tobacco.
Acres and acres. Tens of acres! An entire summers worth of work, (for several families helping each other) from can see to can't see, and a good portion of the fall. We raised three types in that portion of Tn. Burley, One Sucker, and Dark Fired. Two curing methods, two are hung and allowed to dry/age/cure, the other was treated to several days of very thick smoke from smoldering oak fires made from slabs and tons of sawdust. (Still love that smell and the memories it brings) Then weeks of sitting in a stripping shed from well before you can see to well after you can't pulling all those leaves off of all those stalks. Wrapping them into tight little bundles and packing/stacking into the "pallets". My first several annual 30 leaves while in the Navy were taken so I could be home during cutting season so I could hire out. Made a lot of pocket change during those months.
Fell in love With NC because they seemed to know that packing the loose leaves into bags and selling it that way made for a lot less work. I understand priming and the why of it, but liked cutting them down, putting them on a pole to hang it the barn. Seemed to put a very sharp line on field work and indoor work.

When I saw the pic of a seasons harvest in the bed of a pickup it occurred to me, your not gonna be trying to make a living off it.

If you grow tomatoes so you can have a decent BLT in the summer, several stalks of a few varieties of tobacco should not be a problem

Please ignore my ill thought out post, with the exception of the admonition to do your research!

Again, please keep us posted, and good luck

Thanks

[nelsonted1]

When I first moved to KY I repo'ed homes in Eastern KY. All through mid to late summer I'd see cops dangling from a cable under a helicopter with his arms around a bundle of pot plants. They'd land the load inside a natl guard facility then burn it when the stash got big enough. I asked several times if they burnt it with a tire or do they set the pot on fire like dried grass (while the guys tending the fire take the filter out of their masks and stand in the smoke).

[nelsonted1]

Tobacco has to be planted in warm soil. My uncle in Wisc said you pulled you pants down and sat in freshly tilled soil. If you were uncomfortable don't plant tobacco.

[9.3X62AL]

Most of my agency's seized MJ got burned in foundries, often the day of seizure or the next day. It literally evaporates instantly once into the melt. No odor, very little ash.