Author Topic: Tobacco (Read 2779 times)

keith44 · « **on:** August 31, 2012, 10:55:35 AM »

Watching what is going on with the high fuel costs, the rising cost of food, and the ever increasing regulations through taxation and mandates has me thinking about every thing I buy. I chew twist tobacco, it seems less processed than other types, but that may just be wishful thinking. I have looked into growing tobacco for personal use, and in my area it is legal. Sales are the only restriction placed on growers.

So what type would be grown for chewing?? We used to raise Burley and Dark to sell, but I never gave any thought to what was used in the finished product. I intend to grow a few plants of an heirloom variety, so I can save seeds for future use.

Any suggestions? or thoughts?

Ranger99 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 31, 2012, 01:40:35 PM »

i tried to grow some several years ago, but
i never could get a plant to live to over
6- 8 " . i know my grandparents used to
grow a small patch for home use and trading
material during the depression, and it wasn't
that far away - maybe 200 miles. my mom
told me she remembered it was about 5-6
feet tall and having to hoe around it when
she was a kid. i thing maybe the secret is
the seed type or quality you get and the
climate somewhat too. the last few years
here i haven't been able to make my squash
produce. i get good looking plants and big
blossoms, but the fruits never make. i truly
believe it's the ge seeds we get now, because
years ago i was able to make good squash.

i never tried to grow any more tobacco, but i
know it can be done around here, so someday
i'll try again with some hopefully good seed.

you might want to try one of those seed-swap
deals where you send someone seeds and
they send you some. more likely, you'll get
some good quality heirloom seed.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #2 on:** August 31, 2012, 01:42:00 PM »

also try "heirloom seeds" on the 'puter search

Ranger99 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 31, 2012, 01:44:28 PM »

and i would imagine any can be chewed,
i believe it would depend on the cure
as to what the final product was suited for

good luck

keith44 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2012, 02:26:25 PM »

Thanks, Ranger99 for your thoughts. I have been experimenting with heirloom seeds for two years now. Seed saving and intentionally selecting what I save seed from is a new activity this year. I have been getting heirloom and open pollinated seed varieties from Victory Seed, they have tobacco seeds packaged for small plot use. So far everything I've tried I have been happy with. The drought this year really set back veggie production, but I am already planning for next year, and putting out the fall garden

JonnyReb · « **Reply #5 on:** August 31, 2012, 03:40:38 PM »

I did this a few years ago, bought virginia gold and burley seeds cheap off ebay and started them indoors under lights in feb. Transplanted 72 of them to a new garden and babied the crap out of them till august. They were 7ft or so tall when I began selectively began picking leaves and I picked until october. Easily enough for all my smoking for a year or 3 but pay close attention to curing your tobacco, I lost lots to mildew and shoulda fire cured it instead of hanging. Also, the gold and burley were so light and smooth that i'd suggest also growing a turkish or stronger blend to enhance taste. Yes you can save yourself 3grand a year growing your own but believe me, you'll earn every leaf. A lot more than I thought goes into every puff. J

keith44 · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2012, 03:55:45 PM »

LOL, yup. Not the easy way to get tobacco that's for sure. We used to hang in August or September, and strip in late November, and early December. Very little was lost to mold and mildew. I remember weed control was critical, and suckering was a chore.

blind ear · « **Reply #7 on:** August 31, 2012, 05:42:02 PM »

My dad told me many years ago that his older brother grew his own chew back before the depression. That was in Mississippi so it is bound to be doable up in tobacco country where you live. Good luck, ear

keith44 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 31, 2012, 07:14:52 PM »

I've been researching this project further and here is where I am with planning and selection.

As of now I think an air cured multi-purpose dark tobacco seems to be what I want.
Here's one (the first I found) [size=78%]http://www.victoryseeds.com/nicotiana_one-sucker.html[/size]
'One Sucker' tobacco is an all-purpose, dark, air-cured tobacco that was used for snuff, chewing, cigarettes and cigar blending.[/size][/font][/color]
[/size]The exact history of 'One Sucker' tobacco is elusive. We do know that it predates 1900. It is believed to be synonomous with a very old variety called 'Tounge' or 'Ox-Tongue' mentioned in very old literature.

One sucker produces fewer suckers (flowering stalks) which is a desireable trait for tobacco leaf growers. Its leaves are very long, narrow, and have a prominent midrib.[/font][/color]

keith44 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 31, 2012, 07:21:53 PM »

The curing process seems to be determined both by use, and type of tobacco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curing_of_tobacco

Sun curing seems like a no no, and I am not fond of heavily smoke cured tobacco (has a hot taste and dries out the mouth too much) so smoke cure is also out. That leaves flue and air. Air curing is what is most familiar to me, so that is what I will try first.

Anyone else gonna try this next year? or Has anyone else already been down this path?

JonnyReb · « **Reply #10 on:** September 01, 2012, 04:31:12 AM »

Your choice of leaf seems well thought out bud, I look forward to hearing how your crop turns out. I'll mention that curing tobacco for smoke was done easiest in small quantities in a ziploc on my dashboard. The heat and varying humidity cured it quick and left it smokeable. Best part of growing baccy is it was the beginning of my gardening adventure. The tobacco plot now holds sweetcorn, tomatoes, catnip(left over from the baccy as a bee attractant) beans, cukes, gourds, pumpkins and in the fall/winter will grow lettuces, broccoli, cauliflour etc. Best place to shoot a fat doe around now. Also the garden inspired other self sufficient undertakings, I added honeybees and chickens last year. All started with tobacco, but I can honestly say that the grocery stores closed up tomorrow, next month or next year i'd be extremely bored with my meals perhaps, but I'd be eating and enjoying my evening smoke too, so long as I could fight off the folks in the neighborhood down the road from taking it. J

keith44 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 01, 2012, 07:04:53 AM »

bees and chickens, and maybe goats and pigs (two or three each) are on the list too.

Chickens will be in about two years, next years big project is puttin in an orchard of mixed fruits and nuts. Also slowly working on an old pond getting it back to where it'll hold water. Neighbor says it ain't held water in 40 years. I took that as a challenge.

JonnyReb · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2012, 08:28:34 AM »

Thats cool keith, I tried to dam my creek but more work is needed to acheive the depth I want. That is a FUN project. My "creek" is really just an underground spring that runs yearround. The waters so cold that I want to try rainbow trout even though their not native to the area. I figured maybe a solar air bubbler might help. If not, bluegills and a few catfish. I like your idea of goats too, I can just see my ole lady making goat cheese... Riiight.. Well, the milk could be used and if times were tough goats taste pretty good i've heard. We are lucky here to have old fig, mulberry and plum trees as well as pecan and walnut trees left from the 30-50's when the builder of our home planted them. Sad thing is I have let vast quantities of these go to waste in the past but am really paying attention now to what a treasure i've got if utilized. Sorry to get so far off your original topic, but it all seems to go hand in hand,. J

keith44 · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2012, 08:48:34 AM »

I have come to expect thread drift.

JonnyReb · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2012, 11:56:03 AM »

On account of your thread, I went out to the shed and pulled a hanging leaf. This stuffs been hangin a year now. Shredded it and smoked it from a corncob pipe. Its gotten stronger over the year, taste so so but WOW what a wallop. After 2 puffs the nicotine rush hit and I stopped at that. Thats another thing, you never know exactly how strong your plants will be, you may have to mix tobaccos to get the "right" blend. J

keith44 · « **Reply #15 on:** September 01, 2012, 01:00:55 PM »

now that's the kind of knowledge I need, that the internet tends to overlook

hillbill · « **Reply #16 on:** September 01, 2012, 01:20:25 PM »

Quote from: JonnyReb on September 01, 2012, 11:56:03 AM

On account of your thread, I went out to the shed and pulled a hanging leaf. This stuffs been hangin a year now. Shredded it and smoked it from a corncob pipe. Its gotten stronger over the year, taste so so but WOW what a wallop. After 2 puffs the nicotine rush hit and I stopped at that. Thats another thing, you never know exactly how strong your plants will be, you may have to mix tobaccos to get the "right" blend. J
[/quot

that "wallop" yu speak of may be what got out forefathers addicted to it?

keith44 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 01, 2012, 02:09:17 PM »

here's an informative link:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/aa260

and an excerpt

AgingAll commercial tobacco is aged for a year or more before it is used. Unaged tobacco is harsh and does not have good flavor. For the home gardener, aging will probably be as difficult curing or even more difficult.Aging may require as long as five-to-six years and does not occur unless temperature and moisture conditions are favorable. If the tobacco is too dry, there is no aging. If the tobacco is too moist, the leaves will decay. Unfortunately the proper temperature and moisture content vary widely.The home producer would need the knowledge and skill to properly age the tobacco or be willing to experiment with the tobacco. The same would be true for adding flavoring agents during or after aging and before the tobacco is used.[/font][/color]

vacek · « **Reply #18 on:** September 02, 2012, 11:46:45 AM »

I don't use tobsacco but have started buying up some and hoarding it (vacumn sealed) as a future barter item; along with the papers. Anyway in the last year or so there was a nice article in the Backwoodsman magazine on curing and twisting chewing tobacco.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 02, 2012, 01:48:52 PM »

in his last post, was j reb still talkin
about tobacco?

reliquary · « **Reply #20 on:** September 02, 2012, 02:40:07 PM »

There was a discussion I started in the Gardening and Home Winemaking forum, a while back, which might be worth reviewing. I got my seed from New Hope Seeds (www.newhopeseed.com) and their wesite offers a good list of articles on growing, curing, etc. I have 'Little Yellow' (dark, air-cured, multi-use) and 'Catterton' (flue-cured, pipe/cigar) seeds in my Doomsday Box.

I grew one plant this year just for grins and am curing the leaves now, in a storage shed that has roof ventilation as well as screen windows, for...well...ventilation. So far, so good.

I plan to make a trip to Barksdale AFB later on, to make some bulk purchases of tobacco for vacuum storage, "just in case". Luckily, I kicked the habit years ago, but if things get bad, what the heck?

kynardsj · « **Reply #21 on:** September 02, 2012, 02:46:59 PM »

My wife and I both smoke. I recently bought a cigarette making machine, ( Top O Matic )a bag of tobacco and a box of the filtered tubes. The tobacco and the tubes will make a carton of smokes. Total price for all was a little over $50.00. Once we get over the initial cost of the machine, the cost of tobacco and tubes will come out to making a pack of smokes for about $1.00.

reliquary · « **Reply #22 on:** September 02, 2012, 03:10:19 PM »

One of the local smoke shops...may have been at Wal-Mart?...had bulk tobacco in a cylindrical container about the size of an oatmeal box, for about $35-$40. I have no idea how many smokes that it would make, but I plan to get at least one of those and vacuum-seal the contents into small bags...it has a pretty decent shelf-life, IIRC.
Anyone know how well the smokelsss stuff stores? Any of the stuff should barter well. IMO.

charles p · « **Reply #23 on:** September 03, 2012, 03:53:04 PM »

If you were in Eastern NC now, you could pick up tobacco leaves along the roadside that fall off trailers between the fields and barns. Commercial tobacco products are blended, so try several types and blend them together for flavor and mildness. Go easy on nitrogen fertilizers. A 3-9-9 ratio is a common tobacco fertilizer. Disease and insects attack tobacco plants. Do not plant behind tomatoes in your garden as they share many problems.

sidewinder319 · « **Reply #24 on:** September 03, 2012, 04:32:27 PM »

Tomatoes, Potatos, Egg Plants and Tobacco all belong to the Night Shade Family of plants.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #25 on:** September 03, 2012, 05:43:19 PM »

thanks for the tomato hint.
i've never heard that.

maybe why i never had any luck.

keith44 · « **Reply #26 on:** September 03, 2012, 07:26:23 PM »

anything in the nightshade family, not just tomatoes

Potatoes, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, and cayenne peppers are classified as nightshade foods.
[/size]
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=62

They all share the same susceptibilities and feed on similar nutrients. Two or three year rotation is recommended

blind ear · « **Reply #27 on:** September 07, 2012, 06:34:16 PM »

Native American tobacco: real rough it sounds ear
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotiana_rustica

charles p · « **Reply #28 on:** September 08, 2012, 01:03:03 PM »

The same hornworm that eats your tomato plants will eat tobacco. Also eats dill.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 08, 2012, 01:39:26 PM »

is that the same at cutworms on
the 'maters?