# Growing Tobacco At Home



## bobkemp (Oct 19, 2009)

Hi --

I started this thread to help people grow their own tobacco at home and stop paying the outrageous taxes that make it so expensive. 

I was posting on the older thread called "anyone grow tobacco" or something like that, but it looks like it pretty much petered out.

I will start with a very quick overview and go into more details later. Please ask me as many questions as you like and I'll try to answer them. I'll be watching this thread daily and now that my harvest is in and dried, I'm fairly free to respond.

Tobacco is an annual crop that is generally field grown. The seeds are started indoors 6-7 weeks before the last average frost date in most parts of the US, much like tomatoes, and transplants are planted in the field usually 2 feet apart in the row, with rows 3 feet apart. You can grow tobacco successfully in a suburban setting in 4-5 gallon pots.

There are many strains or varieties of tobacco which are grown for specific uses. Some are used in cigarettes, others as cigar or pipe tobacco. There are chew, dip, snus, snuff and specialty tobaccos you can grow.

The plants range from 6 - 8 feet tall and you can expect to harvest 16-18 mature, 2-3 foot long leaves from each plant. A good estimate for the final dry weight is 3 oz per plant. To put this in perspective, a pound of tobacco usually yields about 2-1/2 cartons of cigs. Roughly 6 oz of tobacco per carton. The cost of growing and preparing tobacco for use generally totals about $3 a lbs not including capital costs. This makes the price of a carton of cigarettes at over $50 look even more ridiculous! That's an increase from $3 a lbs to $125 a lbs at commercial prices including the punishment taxes!

Tobacco is harvested either by cutting and hanging the whole stalk or by what is called "priming", pulling the bottom-most leaves as they start to yellow. After the leaves are hung, they change from green to yellow/brown in a process called "color-curing". After this, they are generally dried in hotter, less humid conditions until they are completely dried and are ready for storing and aging/curing.

Curing the dried tobacco can be as easy as boxing it up and waiting about a year, or as complex as building an insulated kiln which is temp/humidity controlled and takes about a month to "ferment" the tobacco until it is smooth to smoke.

Tobacco does not go stale or bad with age. It improves. The reason that commercial cigs go "stale" is because of the additives they put in them which are organic oils and those will become rancid over time.

Processing tobacco depends on the use required. You can shred it finely for cigs. More roughly for cigars. Very rough cut for chew. You can grind it for dip/snuff/snus. You can flavor it with honey or other sweet stuff, or with whiskey, cherry or almost flavor you like!

That's a basic overview of tobacco plant culture and processing. The next thing I'll try to write about is germinating/starting the seeds indoors. Tobacco seeds are very tiny. 1/10th of a gram is about 1000 seeds. Starting the seeds isn't hard, but some care must be taken to protect the tiny plants.

I hope this is valuable for everyone here interested in growing their own tobacco at home.

Thanks!

Bob Kemp
[email protected]


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## KushMaster23 (Oct 26, 2009)

about to order some Marlboro- Red seeds!




only kidding...

but this is very interesting, How does pure tobacco taste? Do you add additives to it like the cigarette companies to give it that 'genuine' taste?


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## doowmd (Oct 26, 2009)

where do u order ur plants from? no mention of that. i was under the impression that it wasnt legal to "grow ur own" tobacco!?! am i wrong about that? i heard all of it was kept up w/ so the govt could get their share (taxes), so strictly farmers were allowed to raise it. guess i heard wrong bout that. i'll have to do a bit more research on it. i've also been told that the reason farmers have to order already started plants is so they can't start makin their own seed. sounds familiar. anyway, that might be bs too. who knows.....


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## Babs34 (Oct 26, 2009)

bobkemp said:


> Hi --
> 
> I started this thread to help people grow their own tobacco at home and stop paying the outrageous taxes that make it so expensive.
> 
> ...


*--posting only to officially subscribe__but damn, I'm trying to quit.*
*I can't stay up to read, but I swear I've told many that since prices have gone up, many will start growing tobacco in their own living rooms.*
*LOL, they'll try to make that illegal too.*


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## KushMaster23 (Oct 27, 2009)

doowmd said:


> where do u order ur plants from? no mention of that. i was under the impression that it wasnt legal to "grow ur own" tobacco!?! am i wrong about that? i heard all of it was kept up w/ so the govt could get their share (taxes), so strictly farmers were allowed to raise it. guess i heard wrong bout that. i'll have to do a bit more research on it. i've also been told that the reason farmers have to order already started plants is so they can't start makin their own seed. sounds familiar. anyway, that might be bs too. who knows.....


this forum is about what again? Lol i never thought "legality" would stop people from exercising there rights to grow and smoke whatever they please. 

Power to the individual! 
Am i right or what?

but stay on topic please teach us about the cultivation of tobacco =]


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## bobkemp (Oct 27, 2009)

Hi --

I will try to answer all your questions.

"where do u order ur plants from? no mention of that. i was under the impression that it wasnt legal to "grow ur own" tobacco!?!"

Tobacco is fairly easily started from seed indoors 6-7 weeks before your last average frost date, just like tomatoes. The transplants are set out after possibility of frost has passed. Most large-scale tobacco farmers purchase their transplants rather than maintain the equipment and greenhouses needed to start them from seed before planting. If you want seed, I sell it, just e-mail me for a catalog.

As I've said before, it is legal to grow your own tobacco at home for your own consumption in all 50 American states and most foriegn countries.

"How does pure tobacco taste? Do you add additives to it like the cigarette companies to give it that 'genuine' taste?"

Pure tobacco tastes great! I am currently smoking a single variety, Silk Leaf. It is best described as a Virginia-type cigarette tobacco with mild flavor and slightly stronger nicotine content than the modern varieties. It does not have a strong "tobacco" taste.

Modern cigarettes are typically made from a Virginia-type and a Burley tobacco, burley adds more "tobacco" taste and strength to the smoke. Some blends add some Turkish tobacco to them.

To tell you how pure tobacco compares with commercial brands, I will tell you this - Sometimes I trade one of my homegrown cigs with a friend's Marlboro that I used to smoke. My first puff almost makes me choke! There are so many additives in there that I've started calling them "candy cigarettes". It's a mixture of licorice, coco and other oils, sweet syrups and other additives so strong that the cig companies do not care what the quality of the tobacco they use is any more, the flavor of the tobacco is hidden by the adulterants!

IF YOU WANT, you can buy spray-on additives online from many sources that will make as crappy a cig as RJR or Philip Morris makes out of your fine quality homegrown. But I guarantee that after smoking only one pack of well-aged homegrown, you will never do commercial cigs again!

I will talk about curing later, but despite the mystification attributed to it by many folks, it isn't that hard. What I'm smoking now has simply dried for a month and aged for 3 months in the open air and it has lost all the grassy, harsh taste of just-dried tobacco already. In 6 months, it will be better, assuming I grew enough to last that long (grin).

Bob
[email protected]


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## Brevity, The Soul Of Wit! (Oct 27, 2009)

When I was twelve I planned on doing this. Growing some dank ass Tobacky ( I was gonna invent my own awesome strain) then buy cigarette tubes and a cigarette rolling machine, collect cigarette packs and then sell them. Make thousands. Then I realized I would have to wait a year AFTER I was done growing it and then it would likely STILL not be the same cause of all the additives. THE FUCKING TOBACCO COMPANYS WIN A-FUCKIN-GAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## bobkemp (Oct 27, 2009)

Brevity said:


> Then I realized I would have to wait a year AFTER I was done growing it and then it would likely STILL not be the same cause of all the additives.


Hi -

I hate to keep repeating myself, but you don't have to wait a year for good tobacco smoke, mine is great now without further processing after 3 months of aging.

And if you put the additives in it (which as I said already you can buy online), then you don't even have to wait that long since you can't taste the tobacco under the weight of the taste of the additives anyhow.

Commercial cigarettes are made from tobacco dried in the field immediately. It typically takes less than 6 weeks from harvesting green until it's dried, usually 4 weeks.

You can even sell your homegrown tobacco, but then you will have to comply with state laws on taxation and licensing.

Bob Kemp
[email protected]


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## Brevity, The Soul Of Wit! (Oct 28, 2009)

Ummm, sure man. Fuck state federal or any other taxes. But theres no way that I see possible that homegrown shit will be even close to the same as brandname cigarette tobacco.


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## anonbrowser (Nov 2, 2009)

Brevity said:


> Ummm, sure man. Fuck state federal or any other taxes. But theres no way that I see possible that homegrown shit will be even close to the same as brandname cigarette tobacco.


you mean like us cannabis vs amsterdam herb? OK...well tobacco isn't hard to grow, cure, or process and it's legal. Why not take the dive and try it...if that's your thing of course...


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## doitinthewoods (Nov 2, 2009)

ha, lucky for me, we grow a lot of tobacco in my area.


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## GreenSurfer (Nov 15, 2009)

Natural American Spirit is a premium brand which offers 100% additive-free or certified organic tobacco. It is just the paper, filter, and all natural tobacco...25% more tobacco too.

Also, the British brand Dunhill is 100% additive free.

I haven't smoked one of those additive-loaded pieces of crap since. You'll spend an extra .50-.75 cents per pack, but it is well worth it.



KushMaster23 said:


> about to order some Marlboro- Red seeds!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## GreenSurfer (Nov 15, 2009)

I forgot...try their roll-you-own pouches if you like unfiltered sticks. I mix their US Grown & Perique blends for a custom, all-natural smoke.



GreenSurfer said:


> Natural American Spirit is a premium brand which offers 100% additive-free or certified organic tobacco. It is just the paper, filter, and all natural tobacco...25% more tobacco too.
> 
> Also, the British brand Dunhill is 100% additive free.
> 
> I haven't smoked one of those additive-loaded pieces of crap since. You'll spend an extra .50-.75 cents per pack, but it is well worth it.


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## southern homegrower (Nov 15, 2009)

how many hrs. of sun light do they need


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## LordBrian (Nov 15, 2009)

subscribed, I would love to know how to grow tobacco


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## ReAVeR (Nov 15, 2009)

Put down the cancer sticks and lift the bong


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## Jiggyfly (Nov 15, 2009)

subscribbed and super stoked to grow my own smokes.... this sh!t is so expensive HAHA... not that I care really... but are you sure its legal to grow your own... ive always thought that it was illegal sice the government taxes them and stuff... I dunno, but like someone said before... no one on here should care about the legality issue lmao... im just curious LOL... and comeone post a link or something as proof???


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## Brevity, The Soul Of Wit! (Nov 15, 2009)

anonbrowser said:


> you mean like us cannabis vs amsterdam herb? OK...well tobacco isn't hard to grow, cure, or process and it's legal. Why not take the dive and try it...if that's your thing of course...


U.S. weed is better than Amsterdam weed.


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## erkelsgoo420 (Nov 15, 2009)

That's like saying an organic bud grown with love will never compare to commercial weed. Way off. I think everyone should try their own tobacco just once. 90% of u will likely never go back to philip morris


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## Jiggyfly (Nov 15, 2009)

can someone who has actually successfully grown/harvested/cured their own tobacco please post a guide for the rest of us lmao


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## om3gawave (Nov 16, 2009)

I was under the impression that tobacco plants required a ton of humidity to grow?

Thats all I got.


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## Brevity, The Soul Of Wit! (Nov 16, 2009)

*Growing Tobacco An Age Old Tradition*








Growing Tobacco is a centuries old activity

.







Tobacco was named after the tobacco tube, which was the tube used by Caribbean natives to smoke the crushed leaves of the plant. This custom was one of the discoveries made by Christopher Columbus during his historic voyage of 1492. 

Tobacco, once one of the most popular of all herbs, has had some bad press during the last decades. And for a good reason, misused it smells horrible, and is associated with more diseases than you can imagine. The use the Indians had for it is perhaps a sign of the overindulgence of our society. Like Coca we miss the social structures for a in society embedded non invasive use.
*Tobacco is a Nightshade Family Member*

Today most tobacco is grown commercially, yet the tobacco plant can be grown privately both for personal use and for use as an ornamental plant. Although most commercial tobacco is grown in warm climates, flower and fruit gardening guides home gardeners from cooler areas can also successfully grow the plant.







Tobacco is a member of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family that also includes tomatoes, peppers, and tomatoes. Growing it is very similar to growing tomatoes. One of the smallest plantseeds
, an ounce of tobacco seed is probably a lifetime supply for most flower and fruit gardening guides home gardeners, containing up to 300,000 individual seeds. In fact, one teaspoon of tobacco seed is enough to grow six acres of tobacco.
*The Tricky Part is to start the Seed Correctly*

 

Probably the most complex part of growing tobacco is starting the seed properly. Because tobacco seed is so small, it needs to be started indoors. Tobacco seed has three requirements for germination: light, moisture, and a temperature of at least 65F. 
*Use Compost rather than Regular potting Soil*

It is important to use seed compost rather than regular potting mix to start tobacco seed. Because the seed needs light to germinate, it is placed on top of the compost. Tobacco plants feed heavily on nitrogen and potash but sprouting seeds don't need the nutrients and scorch when placed on nutrient rich potting soil. Seed composts are low in nutrients. 
*Growing and tending the tobacco Seedlings * 
Four to six weeks before the last frost, place seeds on top of moist, but well-drained seed compost. An easy way to spread the seed evenly is to mix it with two parts of sand to one part of seeds. Although seeds need to be kept moist, to prevent washing them into the soil, either use a misting bottle or keep the compost moist with a wick system. To keep seeds from scorching in bright sunlight, filter your seed container by covering it with a sheet of light paper. 
When seedlings reach six to eight inches, transplant them to your garden when all danger of frost is past. The tobacco plant needs full sun to grow broad leaves. Plants grown in partial shade will produce slender leaves. Garden transplants should be spaced about two feet apart in rows that are three feet apart. Keep transplants from drying out by transplanting either on a cloudy day or in the evening. Tobacco transplants should be watered thoroughly after planting and daily until the plant is well established. 
*Harvest your Tobacco*

When growing tobacco for harvesting, remove both flowers and suckers from your plants to enable the plant to devote its energy to growing large leaves. Your tobacco will be ready to harvest and cure about 90 days after germination.



Kewl


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## bobkemp (Nov 16, 2009)

Hi --

For some reason, I didn't get e-mail notifying me of the replies here until this last one today.

I've been really busy shipping out seeds and pounds of "decorative" tobacco for "novelty use only". I'll see if I can answer some questions now.

Thanks for posting "Growing Tobacco An Age Old Tradition". I would modify their methods a little re: starting the seeds. Use presterilized, Canadian peat-based unfertilized potting soil to start the seeds and screen it with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. 65F is too cold, make it 72-80F. Water them from the bottom and mist them daily. Didn't I post how to start seeds here before?

Re: water and humidity - When the transplants are first set out, they need to be kept moist. Once the roots develop, they need a lot less water. Here in Texas, I didn't irrigate in July and August at all and only lost 5 of 250 plants (and those because of too much water earlier in the season, I think). They do not require humid air. Tobacco is grown in some of the most arid regions of the world.

Re: hours of light -- Tobacco is a field crop. They want as much light as possible every day. I wouldn't try to grow tobacco unless I could give them at least 8-10 hours of full light a day.

I'll review my posts here and try to add another section soon since I forget where I left off. 

If anyone has other questions, let me know.

Bob
[email protected]


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## bobkemp (Nov 16, 2009)

Hi --

 I read all the posts here and I really have been neglecting this thread. Great responses and questions from y'all, though!

I will talk about how to start the seeds for a bit. None of this is set in concrete, but this method works for me. If I forgot anything major or minor, let me know. 

Tobacco seeds are very tiny. Actually smaller than a mustard seed. As such, they need a little tender loving care to start. Typically, the seed is started 5-6 weeks before your last average frost and grown to transplanting size much like tomatoes. I use 72-cell plug trays to start my seeds but many people use 6 inch pots and separate the transplants when they are larger. If the trays have been used before, I dip them in a 5% chlorox solution and let them dry. 

I use a sterilized, commercial peat-based potting mix without fertilizer additives to start my seeds. I screen the mix through a 1/4 inch hardware cloth to make sure it's very light. Then, bottom water the tray to moisten it. You will not be watering these seedlings from the top. I fold a white piece of paper in half an put a quantity of seed at one end and tap it until as close to one seed falls in each cell on top of the media as possible. Do not cover them with potting mix. Don't worry about putting 2-3 seeds in there as you can either tease them out of the cell plug later with a toothpick and replant (handling only by the leaf) or simply clip off extras with a pair of scissors. 

Cover with a clear plastic sheet and either put somewhere where the temperature stays a steady 72-78F or put a heating pad under them on low. Do not put them in the sun as they will cook. After they germinate in 7-10 days (I use a magnifying glass to see them), remove the plastic. 

You will want to put them in about 75% shade (or 25% light) for 12-15 hours a day. You will then mist the seeds twice a day or more. Keep them very moist and humid. If your air is very dry, you may want to put them in a tent with ventilation to maintain humidity levels. This is when using a sterilized commercial potting mix and clean trays pays off as in this humidity and temp, molds and algaes will want to form. If you see a white fuzzy mold, allow them to dry out on top until it dies. If you fertilize them after they reach dime size leaves, only use 1/5th strength Miracle Grow or equivalent generic type at most. Remember, you are watering and fertilizing them from the bottom (float on water until it soaks up) 

As the seedlings get bigger, give them a little more light until you have reached about 50-75% full light and the leaves are about the size of a quarter. Then you transplant to 4" pots or cellpacks and move them gradually into full light. Around this time you can start giving them 1/2 strength fertilizer as needed. 

That's about all I'm up to typing today! Ask me any questions and I'll try to answer them. 

Bob Kemp
[email protected]


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## Punk (Nov 16, 2009)

om3gawave said:


> I was under the impression that tobacco plants required a ton of humidity to grow?
> 
> Thats all I got.


 
I think you're right, because the part of the country they grow it in is a humid place, kentucky, tenn, west virginia. 

I know that you pretty much have to grow it outdoors because they get so big.


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## bobkemp (Nov 16, 2009)

Punk said:


> I think you're right, because the part of the country they grow it in is a humid place, kentucky, tenn, west virginia.
> 
> I know that you pretty much have to grow it outdoors because they get so big.


Hi --

I have friends who grow tobacco in the Nevada and Arizona deserts. I have several friends who grow tobacco in California where it's so dry they are screaming for rain. I grow tobacco in N. Texas which isn't known for being humid.

Tobacco is grown in Turkey, all over the Mid East and it adapts well to dry conditions.

Tobacco does not need high humidity to grow well. In fact, it's really drought tolerant once the roots have established. We had no rain here in July and August and I didn't irrigate once and only lost 5 plants out of 250 I put out.

Bob


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## GreenSurfer (Nov 16, 2009)

GlaxoSmithKline Signs $540 Million Deal for Nicotine Vaccine 

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/erica-westly/science-inc/glaxosmithkline-pays-540-million-nicotine-vaccine?partner=rss


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## lemonjellow (Nov 16, 2009)

how about cloning , can tobacco plants be cloned and or grown by means of hydropnics??


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## bobkemp (Nov 17, 2009)

lemonjellow said:


> how about cloning , can tobacco plants be cloned and or grown by means of hydropnics??


Hi, 

Sure, you can start tobacco tip cuttings from the top or suckers (branches) and you can grow it indoors. But when you consider that a 7 foot tall plant that takes up 6 sq. ft. of floor space only yields about 3 oz. of dried product, and add up the cost of running full sun quality lights for 5 months, you quickly realize that the cost-benefit ratio just doesn't add up.

Tobacco is a field crop. You can grow enough tobacco in a 30x30 foot garden for 1 pack of cigs a day for a year.

Forget growing tobacco indoors unless you just like the looks of a plant or two, then grow it in a sunny window and be prepared to put acephate (Orthene) systemic insecticide on it regular to control aphids and spider mites.

Bob


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## HIGHFLY (Nov 18, 2009)

Ay mon great post looking for a tobbaco foreva anyway im starting mine from seeds and these seeds are itsy bitsy ,so theyve sprouted very small i can only grow outdoors and to tell you the truth i dont know what to do next with them


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## bobkemp (Nov 18, 2009)

HIGHFLY said:


> Ay mon great post looking for a tobbaco foreva anyway im starting mine from seeds and these seeds are itsy bitsy ,so theyve sprouted very small i can only grow outdoors and to tell you the truth i dont know what to do next with them


Hi --

I don't know where you are located, but in most parts of the US it's way too early to plant tobacco. You need to plant the seeds 5-6 weeks before your last average frost. Trying to hold over plants in pots too small inside to plant out in Spring now may result in them bolting to flower too soon or being stunted or both.

Bob


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## bobkemp (Nov 20, 2009)

Hi --

I thought I'd talk a little about how to grow the tobacco outside in a field now. I've already talked about starting the seeds indoors 6-7 weeks before your first average frost, but what do you need to do in the field to prepare to plant and what about during the growing season?

Picking the field - Tobacco requires full sunlight all day. The location of the field should give the maximum of direct sunlight without shade possible. At the very least, you must have 8 hours of full sunlight. Try to make sure the field isn't on a hillside with an extreme slope unless you are able to control flooding and runoff erosion. Make sure the field isn't in a place where flooding occurs and water is likely to stand. If so, you may need to consider using raised beds. Tobacco does not like to have its feet in standing water.

The first thing to be aware of is that the soil should be well-worked. If it is a new field, then a deep plowing is usually required. This should be done NOW NOW NOW! (early Fall) If you do not have access to a tractor and a plow and are growing a small crop of 150 plants or less, then you can use a heavy garden fork. Go down the row and put the fork as deep in the ground as you can, lever up the soil and turn it over and continue until it is done. After that, till the top 8 inches or so to prepare to put the transplants out in the spring.

Next, it makes good sense to amend the soil almost anywhere you are located with a good composted manure. If you can, get a soil test at your local ag extension and follow their directions for adding nutrients and adjusting the ph. Ideal ph for tobacco is about 6.8, just slightly acidic. If the ph is too low, you can add lime. If it is too high, you can add pelleted sulphur. These amendments are available at a reasonable price at a feed store.

Tobacco does not like highly fertile soil. In fact, the best tobacco quality comes from sandy soils poor in nutrients. You add what the plant needs, just enough for it and no more. Unlike tomatoes which are heavy feeders, tobacco should be fed just enough to grow the leaves you want then starved for nutrients so that it does not store up a lot of nitrogen compounds in the leaves and stems. In this manner, you make it easier to color cure after harvest (I will write a section on curing after harvest later).

Hardening the transplants - About a week before you put them in the field, place them outside during nice weather starting at a couple of hours of light a day and ending up with them in full sunlight. Beware of freezes. Beware of high winds. Beware of the pots completely drying out.

The average tobacco plant is set out 2 feet apart in the row with 3 feet between rows. Some dwarf varieties, such as rustica, can be placed much closer. Some huge varieties should be spaced even further apart. And this is a guidline, if your soil is particularly fertile, you can place them a little closer but remember that the plants each need good light and an 8 foot tall plant will cast quit a shadow! You also will need room to work between the rows! I've had people who used close row spacings complain they can't get into the jungle!

I typically put out the transplants and put about 1/2 cup of Miracle Grow (or other full-nutrient liquid fertilizer equivalent) on each plant. In the hole, before I plant them, I put 1 tsp of epsom salts and a handful of compost and mix it up. Be SURE to plant the transplants deep! You can remove the bottom 2 leaves or so if you like. If the transplant is 6 inches tall, plant at least half of the stem under the ground! Tobacco will root from the stem like tomatoes, and this will give it a much bigger root system faster. It will also reduce the problem of plants falling over in the field later.

One week later, I side dress the plants with a dry fertilizer. The type you will need will depend a lot on your soil test, but if you didn't get one your local feed store will advise you on what is best. Half of the nitrogen should be in a slow release form. You can take a hoe and make a 3-4 inch deep trench about 6 inches from the plants along the row on each side and spread the fertilizer according to the lbs per sq. ft. needed then cover it up.

Watering -- The new transplants will not have an established root system to support the full sunlight. Expect them to wilt during the heat of the day but don't panic! They will usually rehydrate overnight as long as you supply some water to the roots. Water in the morning and never during the full light of the day no matter how wilted they look. Overwatering is a bad idea because the plant roots may be drowned. Light watering, but often, is a bad idea because that will only encourage the roots at the top to grow and we want them to reach 10-12 deep as they reach down for the water. 

Allow the top 3-4 inches of soil to be fairly dried out, then soak them down. After watering, test the soil with your finger or dig some out with a shovel 6-8 inches deep to check the moisture content deeper in the ground. If it is dry down there, water some more. This should mean you are only required to water the plants every few days at most if you don't get rain during the establishment of the deeper roots. Later in the season, deep roots will allow the plants to be more drought resistant and perhaps irrigation will be unnecessary.

About 6 weeks after you plant them out, side dress again with the same fertilizer. That's all the fertilizer you will need for the year.

Ok, that's a pretty good description of how to get the field ready, to plant and how to get them started. 

Next I will talk about harvesting methods. Let me know if you have any questions.

Bob Kemp
[email protected]


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## timmythetooth (Nov 20, 2009)

Great thread! just some questions - how well does it grow with vegetables and cannabis? i have a medium sized vegetable/cannabis garden and some tobacco would be a nice addition.

Also Im in canada - will the season be too short? I do some indoor gardening so would it be beneficial to start the seedlings in February to plant May after our frost?

thanks for all the info!


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## bobkemp (Nov 20, 2009)

timmythetooth said:


> Great thread! just some questions - how well does it grow with vegetables and cannabis? i have a medium sized vegetable/cannabis garden and some tobacco would be a nice addition.
> 
> Also Im in canada - will the season be too short? I do some indoor gardening so would it be beneficial to start the seedlings in February to plant May after our frost?
> 
> thanks for all the info!


Hi -

As a rule of thumb, we start tobacco 5-6 weeks before our last average freeze. You will want to use a 5-1/2 month total time to harvest from planting the seed as an average. There are early varieties that will take as little as 4 months total which I expect to have for sale soon. The wild tobacco called Rustica has a much shorter harvest time, but they are 2-1/2 to 3 foot tall plants and have up to 5 times the nicotine as standard cigarette tobbaco (such as Virginia flue-cured, SilLeaf, or burley).

Regarding how well tobacco plays with the other garden veggies, tobacco is in the nightshade family and as such, it "benefits" from the same pests as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and potatoes. It is a good idea to plant tobacco on the other side of the garden.

I will talk more about pests later, but in general the three you have to be concerned with are aphids, the tobacco or tomato hornworm and/or potato beetles.

Bob


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## bobkemp (Dec 4, 2009)

Hi -- 

This is going to be a quick one. Harvesting tobacco isn't rocket science. There are basically two methods -- whole stalk harvesting and priming.

Whole stalk harvesting is typically done 3-4 weeks after a percentage of the plants in the field have broken buds. Almost all varieties of tobacco are harvested in this manner because it is the least labor intensive.

Whole stalk harvesting is just that - the whole plant is cut at the base of the stem. Then, it is either staked out upside down in the field in bunches on a sharpened stick to keep the leaves off the ground, or staked on a wagon specially made to haul the crop to the drying barn. To stake tobacco, the main stem is split near the base of the plant.

Priming is the harvest method which picks individual leaves off the plants as they yellow from the bottom-most leaves upwards to the top. This is the most labor-intensive method of harvesting tobacco and is generally used for high quality cigar tobacco for blending. Home growers of tobacco will frequently use this method as it makes it easier to color cure and they don't typically have quantities large enough that the labor expense is too excessive.

Priming, in commercial farming, is generally done one-third to one-fifth of the plant at a time. The bottom third, middle third and top third (for example) of the plant are picked in separate harvests. The leaves are picked by snapping them off at the base in a quick, downward motion although for some varieties of tobacco a special hatchet is traditionally used. They are then brought to the barn and tied or hung to begin the drying process. 

A typical tobacco plant has roughly 18 usable leaves that are spread among 5 primings. From bottom to top, these primings are referred to as Volado, Seco, Viso, Ligero and Corona. These defined areas of the plant have special significance to cigar makers as they are stronger or weaker in flavor and are used to blend the cigar filler, binder and used as wrappers.

That's the basics of harvesting tobacco and I hope that helps you all.

As usual, should you find anything I need to add, alter or remove in this, please comment and I'll react appropriately!

Bob


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## doowmd (Dec 21, 2009)

hello again everyone! just thot i'd tune back in again and tell everyone sorry bout that first post i put on here. kinda come off sounding fucking nstupid by saying 'isn't illegal to grow tobacco at home,,,,yadda yada yadda.' lmao @ myself.
ok long story short, i live in ky, had been misinformed by some local farmers on the subject, was stoned when i came on here and discovered the thread and replied sounding like.... well like a douche i guess. lol i've cut many a row of tobacco in my life and have seen it grow since i was young. maybe i should've replied w/ a story or to from that instead of asking about the legality of procuring seeds!!!!lol i mean idkwtf i was thinking really! and, yes, i do realize how oxymoronal (is that a word? lol) it is of me to question wether its legal or not to 'grow ur own' tobacco, all the while i'm on a 'grow ur own' site lol. i just hope i dont see a quote from this dumb shit end up in someones sig! (hope i didnt just jinx myself)anyway, thats all for now. peace and smoke everyone!
btw one cool tidbit from back in my 'backer cuttin days is this: i've seen tobacco plants standig WELL over 8 ft, w/ a broadleaf on some over 24 inches across and 3 ft. long! i've seen a guy fall out of the third tier of a barn all the way to the packed dirt below! pretty funny shit (since he wasn't hurt of course) but u kinda had to be there! i've fell off the second tier,onto a wagon so it didn't hurt to bad!


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## bobkemp (Dec 22, 2009)

doowmd said:


> i've seen tobacco plants standig WELL over 8 ft, w/ a broadleaf on some over 24 inches across and 3 ft. long!


Hi -

I have seeds for a burley that yields 27 leaves and goes over 10 feet tall. 3-1/2 foot long leaves. Needless to say, you have to space them out a lot wider than the average tobacco plant.

BTW, it's about 6-7 weeks now before you need to plant your tobacco seeds indoors, so get your seeds soon!

Bob


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## haha555 (Jan 2, 2010)

here my plants


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## haha555 (Jan 2, 2010)

this or old pic ill go get more later


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## bobkemp (Jan 2, 2010)

Hi --

What cute lil babies! We plant our tobacco in mid-February and we're just getting ramped up to order the tomato and pepper seeds. We're planting 4000 of those and about 2000 tobacco plants this year.

Bob


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## haha555 (Jan 4, 2010)

bobkemp said:


> Hi --
> 
> What cute lil babies! We plant our tobacco in mid-February and we're just getting ramped up to order the tomato and pepper seeds. We're planting 4000 of those and about 2000 tobacco plants this year.
> 
> Bob


a man thx for your kind words and i love growing all kinds of vegs i have papiya, cucumber,tomato,eegplant,patato, it kind of samll but im low on money so i try to get by me and my girl friend are trying to get jobs so we can start a big garden but thx for the post good luck on your garden and send some pics


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## ThinkingGreen (Jan 4, 2010)

This question is for growing them indoors. Could I grow one to say, a foot or two, then harvest it? How long would I have the wait for the leaves to be "Smoke-able?"
I understand the drying and curing process. But I mean from seed to harvest. What's the shortest time?


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## bobkemp (Jan 4, 2010)

ThinkingGreen said:


> This question is for growing them indoors. Could I grow one to say, a foot or two, then harvest it? How long would I have the wait for the leaves to be "Smoke-able?"
> I understand the drying and curing process. But I mean from seed to harvest. What's the shortest time?


Hi --

Tobacco leaves mature over time and the small plants have little or none of the alkaloids or nicotine in the leaves that appear later in the maturity of the plants.

Until the plants mature, the leaves are thin and burn really fast. In fact, the bottom several leaves, called "dirt leaves" or "lugs" are generally tossed. Even plants that bolt to flower early don't get leaves that are useful. 

Plan on growing tobacco outdoors in full sun with a life cycle around 5 to 5-1/2 months. 

haha555 - we sell garden transplants, so most of those will be sold at market to gerdeners.

Bob


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## True Stoner (Jan 4, 2010)

Just quit smoking tobacco and u dont have to worry about high prices. I havent had a smoke in 7 years and smoked for 10 years. I just smoke an oz a week of pot now!!


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## bobkemp (Jan 4, 2010)

True Stoner said:


> Just quit smoking tobacco and u dont have to worry about high prices. I havent had a smoke in 7 years and smoked for 10 years. I just smoke an oz a week of pot now!!


Hi --

True Stoner, it's never too late to start smoking tobacco again. You know you like it. You know you want it. G'wan, start smoking tobacco again, you won't be sorry!

Bob


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## haha555 (Jan 4, 2010)

bobkemp said:


> Hi --
> 
> True Stoner, it's never too late to start smoking tobacco again. You know you like it. You know you want it. G'wan, start smoking tobacco again, you won't be sorry!
> 
> Bob


lol thats funny well if you know any one in the big island who does garden shops or hydro shops let me know cuz i need a job bad its funny i have app all over this place i have 6 yaer of botany/ag and no garden shops,etc will take me WHYYYYYYYY any ways keep token


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## bobkemp (Jan 18, 2010)

Hi -- 

It's nearly time to plant for much of the lower US so I thought this might be timely information. If you don't know where to get 1/6th ounce of tobacco seed, send me a private message and I will give you sources.

I just talked to someone in Kentucky who used to use this method for making seedlings and I thought I'd pass it on. I'm going to try this method this year. In Kentucky, they plant the beds around the first of March. I'm planning on planting mine around the same time here in N. Central Texas. We rarely have really bad freezes after March 1. I'm hoping that this will give me transplants ready to plant out in the field by mid to late April. 

Preparing the bed -- The bed will be 100 x 9 feet = 900 square feet. This will be enough to plant an acre, will initially yield about 7000 transplants but more will come up later and can be used. I would use the highest ground you have to locate the beds on since cold air accumulates in low areas. 

Till the bed at least 5 inches deep. The old way of killing the grass seed is to use methyl bromide gas, but this is likely banned now. An even older way is to pile brush up on the bed and burn it. This provides ash fertilizer for the seedlings but will also make the bed more alkaline which is good if you have acid soils, not so good if you have alkaline soils like we have here in N. Central Texas. My plan is to till the bed early and wait for a killing freeze. Then till again, wait for another freeze and till again. 

Wet the bed with light sprinkling. You don't want the water to run off and you also don't want to compact the soil too much. It should just be moist. 

Sowing the seed -- Mix 1/6th ounce tobacco seed with 50 lbs of 4-16-4 fertilizer. We have high phosphate soils here so I'm going to try to use about half the middle number, or 4-8-4. WARNING - DO NOTH USE HIGH NITROGEN FERTILIZER, IT WILL BURN THE SEEDLINGS. Use fertilizer that is a powder form, not granulated. Do this in 2 batches, half the seed with 25 lbs of fertilizer. Working from the sides of the bed, spread 1/2 the fertilizer/seed mixture (25 lbs of fertilizer and 1/12th ounce of seed) across the whole bed. Then repeat with the other half. Do this on a day when it isn't windy. 

An alternate way of sowing the seed is to mix half of it with about 1 gallon of water and put it into a hand pump sprayer. Shaking the sprayer often, spray down the bed. Then repeat for the other half. I'm not too sure if you shouldn't also put liquid fertilizer into the sprayer at the same time at about the same strength. 

I've been told to "walk the bed down" after this to press the seed into the soil. Basically, this means what it sounds like - you start at one end and step on the ground, move over a step and do it again. I'm not sure if this is needed if you spray the seed on with water. 

Next, scatter 1 - 2 inches of straw on top of the bed. This straw should be weed seed free. A potential way to sterilize the straw is by steaming. The purpose of the straw is to hold moisture and protect the seedlings from the pressure of the cover cloth (next step). If you are going to put bottles around to hold up the cloth, do this before you spread the straw. 

Now you spread a cloth that "breathes" over the whole bed and stake it down around the edges. The "stakes" can be 9 gauge heavy wire. This will protect the seedlings from light freezes and still allow rain water to go through rather than accumulating in heavy pockets that will crush the seedlings. I'm going to use bed sheets and snip holes in it every foot or so. 

When the seedlings get 1-2 inches tall you can remove the cloth to the side of the bed and stake it down. Keep the cloth handy in case another freeze comes along. At this point you should thin the seedlings so that they are a minimum distance of 1 inch apart. This can be done by suspending a board across the bed and walking across it.

Removing the transplants -- The transplants (3-4 inches tall) are teased from the soil and should come out bare root. They can be stacked in a box and separated by moist paper for transport. 

As the remaining smaller transplants come to size, you can continue pulling them out and planting fields. The initial yield should be enough for 1 acre, but if you have a high germination rate, there is enough seed there to plant even more when more of them get to size. 

Bob 
[email protected]


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## That 5hit (Mar 26, 2010)

​





























http://www.electricfreeze.com/art/tobacco/harvest.htm


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## bobkemp (Mar 26, 2010)

Hi -

Really nice looking crop! What variety(s) are they? 

Bob


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## ch33ch (May 7, 2010)

last year i grew some type named havana and a number, and 2 types of rustica. plain ol' rustica and midewevan sacred. i grew the havana indoors, and the leaves didnt get bigger than my hand. i moved one outdoors and they got huge. i was going to bring it in for the winter, and i should have. i just crumbled up that tobacco and sprinkled it on top of my pots and outside. i didnt like it by itself, it was like smoking tree leaves. the rustica i have never grown outside to see how big they get. i had 2 of each type of rustica growing indoors. the soil stayed infested with gnats/fruitflies and i really just used them to make seed. to get big leaves you are supposed to cut off the buds when you see them so the leaves get bigger, and more of them. i think my rusticas figured they made enough babies so they dried up around winter, even though they were indoors. my last remaining big tobacco lived through the winter indoors. i moved it out early this year so it can grow big, but i need to put it in the ground. dont think its doing much in a pot. no drainage. it was so tall i had been holding it up with copper wire in my window, because it was too topheavy. i will go plant it in the ground tomorrow. i accidentally broke it once because i would put things like hard drive platters around it and let it grow through them. or it fell or something. they can take some damage though. i tried to splint it but eventually i just folded it around treating it like its a vine. it now has 3 main growing tips. the original, one at the break/fold of the main stem, and a new shoot almost a foot high coming from the base. i don't know how to properly cure them, and i really am tired of using tobacco, but i am going to grow this one, hoping it will finally make seeds. i sprinkled my harvested rustica seeds in strategic places in the woods, and sprinkled a whole pod in my garden but those will die if they sprout because of the sun. i had also had some japanese hops but they must carry spider mites in the seeds(maybe?) because i had an infestation in the only plant i got to live indoors. so it died because i took off all the leaves. i want more of those. that plant was mutated. normal leaves like pot but mutant leaves being all.. mutant. that was my first experience with spider mites. they didnt bother my tobacco. the rustica i tried to grow outdoors got spots on the leaves and eventually died. should have put it in the ground anyway. its probably too late for me to start any. maybe not but i just hope they grow in the woods because i bought wild tobacco so i could get wild tobacco. i liked to cut off the buds, dry them and smoke them with my buds. but i would smoke the remnants of the seed pods with tobacco after i got all the seeds out. i would chew on the rustica leaves too. didnt grow them in the sun so they werent strong enough to poison me lol. i dont know how to properly cure tobacco, it never smelled like i thought tobacco would smell. i had havana 601 and 508, gave my grampa 508 seeds. his smelled like tobacco should smell. but the growing season wasnt long enough. never got huge like my one plant. only my rustica ever made seeds for me. thats why i put the leftover 601 outdoors. it should grow big and make me seeds once i put it in the ground because its probably suffering from too much water deep down. but since i dont know how to properly cure tobacco, and it smelled like nothing when dried, and wasnt tasty, i just crumbled it up and let it go back into the earth. it wasnt strong enough to use as a pesticide dust. but i can tell you how to start the seeds. not how to dry/cure just how to start them. indoors. on top of the dirt, mist or water from bottom. they are fragile. i lost most of my seeds to a contaminated jiffy planter. wilt. damping off. whatever you want to call it. so i replanted in some potting soil and threw the jiffy crap out, hoping the sun and time would sterilize it. 
and this time around i labeled my pots. havana, n.rustica, midewivan sacred. 
*Seedman.com*

Thousands of Exotic and Unusual Plant Seeds from around the World in retail packets for the home gardener, all items listed in stock and satisfaction *...
u can get you some nice poppies there too lol. they have a low morphine variety, maybe a nice one for your hookah if you look hard enough. 
*


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## ntorres041788 (Mar 16, 2011)

We read it in the news headlines every day, and deep down we know it to be true.

There is simply no escaping the fact that the production of tobacco products like cigarettes
, cigars or rolling tobacco is not done in a way that will ensure the end product is not 
harmful for the consumer.

In fact, the only REAL way to ensure you know exactly how the tobacco you are smoking is 
produced is to grow and harvest it yourself.
Home gardeners can easily grow tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) from seed for landscaping or tobacco consumption.
Smokers grow their own tobacco for many reasons: to save money on cigarettes, for the 
enjoyment of gardening, and to provide themselves additive-free, chemical-free tobacco 
that is generally healthier to smoke than store-bought types.
Even many green-thumbed non-smokers grow tobacco as a bedding or border plant because of 
its strong pest-resisting properties. Growing tobacco from seed is about as easy as growing 
most other garden vegetables and flowers.
The best thing to do is to get a guide like i got to harvest good tobacco..
Get Tobacco Guide


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## gobears4eva (Mar 16, 2011)

thanks im ight look into growing tobacco


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