Growing your own

[Kayak_Rat]

I know this might come to be a huge redneck joke, but i was reading in my latest edition of "The Backwoodsman" about how to grow your own tobacco. The article was very interesting and thought provoking. I was wondering if anyone had tried to grow their own tobacco. It is no too hard to grow, the harvesting and curing is what seems to set blends/flavors/etc. apart. The author had been growing his own tobacco for pipe and cigarette for quite a while. Any thoughts/opinions are very welcome. If you are interested I will try to find the article on the web.

Had to put him on here cause I am sure there will be some reefer jokes.

[hollywood]

not enough coffee in me this morning to come up with a really great Mary joke. I would hope that pipe tobacco is a whole hell of a lot easier to grow than that other stuff!! Don't think I would go to all the trouble of acloset greenhouse for a couple tobacco plants either!?! Not that I would have any first hand experience with that other stuff; I've just heard about it from friends!

[canadasmokes]

Iv thought about doing this too, but after thinking about all the effort in a closet set-up why not go the extra mile and grow the other leaf.

We had a member last year that was growing his own cigar tobacco, but I can't remember who it was. I think he may be one of the MIAs from the board, since I never saw an update past the initial thread. And, I'm also thinking that the thread was arund about the time we had the big server crash, and thus may now be lost from search results. Maybe someone with a better memory than I can chime in. I do seem to rmember the guy growing it was in the east coast area.

As far as growing tobacco in US, heck, it's grown all over the mid west and alantic coast. So, there must be some climate or soil conditions that impact the ability to grow GOOD cigar tobaccos in much of the US. Only place that seems to have mastered it is a small valley area in Connecticut that is able to grow much desired wrapper tobacco.

In any event, good luck if you try for either/both cigar and pipe tobacco. And, keep us updated on the progress and results if you go for it!!

[NCatron]

Originally Posted by SvilleKid

We had a member last year that was growing his own cigar tobacco, but I can't remember who it was. I think he may be one of the MIAs from the board

That would be Psygardelic. He was a bit of a horticulturist. But yeah, he's totally MIA, and one of the ones I really miss. (I actually wanted to try following his steps on growing cigar tobacco.)

Originally Posted by NCatron

That would be Psygardelic. He was a bit of a horticulturist. But yeah, he's totally MIA, and one of the ones I really miss. (I actually wanted to try following his steps on growing cigar tobacco.)

Thanks. Now that I see it, I remember. Amazing how that works!!

Still listed as a member, but has been better than 5 months since he's been on CS. Several missing gorillas have shown up in last couple of weeks. Maybe we will see him again. Had a lot ot offer in his posts. Sorry for the woolgathering threadjack!

[Desert Rat]

Heres a humorous article from one successful fella:
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar...322,40,00.html

Good luck, and let us know hwow it turns out!

Oh if i had land, and not this second floor apartment, the things i could and would do. Hop and grape vines, corn and tobacco stalks, and myriad of vegetables and herbs..

[stogie_kanobie_one]

Yeah Zack, that would be a darn interesting thing to try. If you find the article please do post a link. I could totally see you trying this...

[fitzsmoke]

Just Google it...there are a number of sites that discuss the subject. I ordered some seeds one time. Couldn't even get one plant. They need direct sunlight on the seed (about the size of a poppy seed) to germinate. The squirrels and birds eat the seeds so good luck!
The real work starts in processing. Good smoking tobacco is far removed from what comes from the ground.

[Gumpmyster]

I read that same article in Backwoodsmen myself. It is a very good read. Not to mention the flower that tobaccy produces on some of them are very pretty.

[TU09]

I'm getting a bit curious now. Being from central VA, I have seen my share of tobacco fields but never really thought about it being possible to grow the stuff for personal use. I also have 40 acres of the old family farm and my mother has another 25 acre plot that was used as a farm just a few years ago. Maybe it's time for a little experimenting, I'm sure the local extension agents would be helpful and there's always Virginia Tech with a huge ag department not to mention a lot of old tobacco farmers that would probably find it interesting. I'm thinking with a little research this might actually be a doable project for next summer!

This is starting to look more like a cliff than a slope....

[sspolv]

To be truthful, this looks insanely interesting. If I had land, I'd be all over this like it was a ham sandwich (or a free Siglo II). I'm in the middle of farm country, but have at most a half acre. Maybe I can swing something though...

[sspolv]

Update: After talking it over with one of my friends, we've decided to make growing some pipe/cigar tobacco a summer project. Whether it gets off the ground, I'm not sure, but I'm gonna sure as heck try.

P.S. Sorry for the double post, but I can't find the edit button.

[wrinklenuts]

I grow it for fun in my garden almost every year. I didn't plant any this year though. It's a really pretty plant. I think I have around 8 varieties of seeds right now. I got them from the USDA. I think I'll have to grow some next year. I live in Kansas and the plants do very well here. They like plenty of sun and alot of water. Growing the plants is the easiest part. Curing and aging the tobacco is a whole other story. I have yet to find any good easy methods of small scale curing and aging for the home gardener. I have tried my own Burley Tobacco when I grew it in college. I rolled some up with Zig-Zags and smoked some out of a Coke can too. Let me just say that it was some harsh stuff. I hung it upside down until Christmas after harvest in the fall. I won't be doing that again.