Harvesting tobacco is carried out any time from 70 to 130 days after transplanting in the ground. Usually, the flowers are totally removed in advance of harvest to stop the seeds falling and sticking to the leaves.
You can either cut down the entire plant at one time and hang upside down.
Typically, for the home grower, is to remove tobacco leaves at regular intervals (c weekly) from the bottom up as the lower leaves start to change to a paler color.
After the harvest and before drying the leaves, you need to employ one of four methods to cure your tobacco, depending on what type it is and how you intend to use it.
With so many varieties to choose from, it can be confusing which seeds to buy.
There are so many to choose from here, each with its’ own particular characteristic, smell, taste, ancestry etc.
And what tobacco seed does one use to make a good cigarette? That all depends on the type of cigarette you like to smoke! There’s no correct answer to the question.
Neither do we have recipes for the major cigarette brands, as these are closely guarded commercial secrets.
What would happen to the taste of a Turkish tobacco plant, which was grown in say Texas or England? Would it taste like the ones grown in Turkey? What if one cured and dried the leaves differently to the sun cured method, most commonly used for this type of tobacco?
What if one air-cured a flue-cured tobacco variety, like Virginian Gold, would that not affect its smell or flavor also?
In truth, the seed variety, the place grown, how well grown, how cured and dried, all affect the taste of the final smoke.
Blending together two or more types of tobacco leaf can also have a profound affect on the smell and taste of the tobacco.
Virtually all commercial tobacco sold in stores, comprises of a mix of different types blended together (in secret proportions), some alleging as many as over 20 types and over 3 years old. But it’s all old wives tales, aka BS.
In short and if you’re new to growing tobacco, you best grow one or more of these; Virginian Gold, Burley and Oriental.
Virtually all cigarette and pipe tobacco comprises of these three basic varieties with Burley being the most used.
Once your plants leaves are 6 inches in size, they are ready to be planted outside.
Plant outside only after all danger of frost has past. Care should be taken not to disturb the roots. Feed should only be given to established and rapidly growing plants after they have been replanted.Here is a collection of articles on how to grow tobacco; from germinating tobacco seeds, planting, harvesting, curing and seed storage.
Ideally, space the tobacco plants about 2 ft. apart in rows 3 ft. apart. Transplant outside in the evening or when it is cloudy and overcast to avoid the youngsters from drying out. Water plants thoroughly after transplanting and water daily until plants become established. Like tomato plants, the branches (suckers, offshoots), should be removed to focus the plants energy on the large leaves.
Tobacco plants generally require full to partial sun to grow properly. Tobacco is ready to be harvest after 60-90 days after planting.
These old-fashioned types of tobacco, commonly referred to as Heirloom, have been around for many decades and carry with them some interesting names we know little about. Heirloom types are the main varieties found on this site. They are pure in a sense that their genetic characteristics have not been modified over time through cross pollination with other types. As a true breed, if you were to grow one hundred plants, there would be little difference between one and another. Also, were you to collect the seeds from one of these and grew them the following year, you’d get very similar results.
By contrast, there are also a mind boggling number of hybrids, which often have coded names. These are varieties which have been produced by cross breeding one type of tobacco with another to produce a new variety. It’s what modern day tobacco farmers grow. Hybrids pertain to contain the most favorable characteristics of tobacco, whilst keeping out unwanted features.
If you were to grow one hundred hybrid tobacco plants, there would, as with Heirlooms, be little difference between one and another. However, were you to collect the seeds from one of these and grew them the following year, there would be little similarity between them. The seeds will produce plants resembling one or the other parent or both, but there will be considerable variations between them.
So with heirloom seeds, you buy these once and can grow them forever after. Hybrids are grown once, and each year you need to buy fresh seeds to avoid them turning back into their more primitive state.
There are benefits and drawbacks associated with each type.
In the end it boils down to personal taste and ones’ point of view.
You’ll find many heirloom varieties on this site, and more hybrids on our parent site The Tobacco Seed Company.
All of our seeds are purchased on a regular basis from reputable suppliers to ensure their quality and viability. They have germination rates of between 85-95% and can keep for many years.
If stored correctly, these tiny things can remain viable for up to 5 years or more. You can expect to loose 10% per year, so that after 5 years, you can still expect around 50% of them to grow. Providing of course they are stored properly.
If seeds like warm, light and moist conditions to germinate, it won’t surprise you to hear they like the opposite for storage?
Keep them in a cold, dark and dry place and they’ll last for many seasons. Seeds should not be kept in a freezer but a refrigerator instead, where the temperature is about 3 degrees.
You can keep those extra seeds we sent you for the following year by following these rules.
Each tobacco variety has its own unique characteristics, flavor and taste.
Blending different types of tobacco together can improve taste considerably.
Mixing tobacco together to form a blend is common practice among smokers. There are a number of different reasons for this, but for our purposes, it is a matter of taste. Mixing two types in different proportions can produce maybe six different flavors, but when mixed with a third variety, the permutations are endless.
Some smokers prefer to mix their home grown tobacco with the tobacco they buy in stores. This is okay too, especially if you’re fussy about the taste your after and can’t draw yourself away from your commercial brand.It’s about personal preference and a bit of trial and error.
Put simply, after tobacco is harvested, it is cured and dried, then aged to improve its flavor. There are four common methods of curing, and the method used depends on the type of tobacco and its intended use.
Air-cured tobacco is sheltered from wind and sun in a well-ventilated chamber, where it air-dries for six to eight weeks. Air-cured tobacco is low in sugar, which gives the tobacco smoke a light, sweet flavor, and high in nicotine. Cigar tobacco and burley tobaccos are air cured.
In fire curing, smoke from a low-burning fire on the barn floor permeates the leaves. This gives the leaves a distinctive smokey aroma and flavor. Fire curing takes three to ten weeks and produces a tobacco low in sugar and high in nicotine. Pipe tobacco often fire cured.
Flue-cured tobacco is kept in an enclosed heated area, but it is not directly exposed to smoke. This method produces cigarette tobacco that is high in sugar and has medium to high levels of nicotine. It is the fastest method of curing, requiring about a week. Virginia tobacco that has been flue cured is also called bright tobacco, because flue curing turns its leaves gold, orange, or yellow.
Sun-cured tobacco dries uncovered in the sun. This method is used in Turkey, Greece and other Mediterranean countries to produce oriental tobacco. Sun-cured tobacco is low in sugar and nicotine and is used in cigarettes.
Once the tobacco is cured, workers tie it into small bundles of about 20 leaves, called hands, or use a machine to make large blocks, called bales. The hands or bales are carefully aged to improve flavor and reduce bitterness.
Depending on your circumstances you may wish to try your tobacco sooner rather than later, but there’s still one more thing you need to do to really enjoy your produce, blend tobacco.
If you followed our advice and have grown more than one and ideally two different varieties, through blending you will be able to play around with these and produce an amazing array of flavors, one of which will no doubt come close to what tastes you’re after.
Place commercial seedling compost into a tray and soak with water, allowing the excess water to drain off. Sprinkle the tobacco seeds onto the surface of the damp soil. Do not cover the seeds with compost, as they need light for germination. Tobacco seeds are very tiny, so be careful to spread the seeds as evenly as possible. Keep the soil damp at all times, being careful not to wash the seeds around too much when watering. Use a water mist sprayer.
Start the seeds 4-6 weeks before the last frost, making sure they are kept warm during this period and not allowed to dry out. A typical propagator is ideal. At a temperature of 75-80 degrees, seeds typically take a matter of days to germinate; though at this stage they are still rather small. At lower temperatures, the germination simply takes a few days longer.
Typically, seeds take a few days to germinate but 7-14 days before anything is visible. At this size they are extremely small, resembling water-cress. Continue to grow them this way until they are large enough to handle.
Plantlets are ready to be transplanted into bigger pots, when the leaves are about 1cm in length.
