Tobacco Growing

[Bobby Bass]

Time for an update. Plants on deck are doing well and the middle one we have started to call Audrey after the Little Shop of Horrors. This one has really taken off... Some leaves are now over 21 inches long!

[Bobby Bass]

Tobacco plants have had a good July growing a couple of feet and are now flowering! Should not be to much longer before the harvesting can start.

[Bobby Bass]

July 30th update.

A picture of a full bloom tobacco flower. When the flower dies off the tobacco is considered mature and will be ready for leaf picking. Here you can see the plants that are now about 4.5 feet tall and have about 20-22 big leafs each. Only one plant has flowers as I will be saving seeds from that plant for next year. The other plants had there flowers nipped off before they could bloom. In a few weeks I will be plucking leaves and beginning the drying process.

[DDSBYDAY]

  Did you nip the flowers off?  If so, does it help the rest of the plant grow faster without the flowers?

[Bobby Bass]

  Did you nip the flowers off?  If so, does it help the rest of the plant grow faster without the flowers?

Yes, I only need one plant with flowers which will turn into seed pods. I will use those seeds for next years plants. Once the plants flower the leafs are pretty much done growing. I have stopped watering them now and should start to see the leafs change color and dry out to the point where I will pick them for the next step.

[Bobby Bass]

I have stopped watering the tobacco plants so they are only getting rainfall now. As you can see the bottom leaves are starting to change from the dark green to a pale yellow when they get to a tan I will pluck the leaves and start the drying process. The leaves will start at the bottom and change color as they go up the stem, so there is a time frame between the first harvested leaves and the last ones.

[Bobby Bass]

Tobacco update: I have started to pluck lower leaves from the plants that are starting to die off. I would prefer to leave the leaf on the plants as long as I can so they can start the drying process on the plant but with all of this rain the plants just keep on thriving. As you can see in the picture there are several leafs in various stages of drying. I have found the best place of my several options has been inside the greenhouse where it is warm and much dryer then hanging leaf out in the shed or under the roof of the boat house. Some leaf that I have may have some mold that is from the leaf laying down on the soil and not getting picked soon enough it will be discarded. Yet  other leaf is drying to a light tan color and almost feels like real thin leather, The experiment continues!

[DDSBYDAY]

  Looking good.  Next year what month do you think you will start your seeds?  I think I could grow some on my deck next summer in  planters.  There is plenty of sunlight.

[Bobby Bass]

  Looking good.  Next year what month do you think you will start your seeds?  I think I could grow some on my deck next summer in  planters.  There is plenty of sunlight.

Think I will be starting seed a tad later this next season, 1st of March but will be starting a lot more seed so I can get plants to stick in the garden.

[Bobby Bass]

Middle of September and I have decided to harvest all the leaf off two of my three plants. The leaf is 16-24 inches long and here you can see I have them ready to hang. The more I read about this hobby the more I see there are many ways to harvest and cure. I have found out for me the best way is to hang individual leaf so I am now wrapping a rubber band around the base of the leaf and then put a bent paper clip through the rubber band. This lets me hang each leaf so it does not touch another leaf. I am hanging the leaf inside my greenhouse where I can control the heat and air movement. Also before I hang the leaf I take a paint brush and clean the leaf of dirt and any bugs as the leaf is very tacky.






Here is a picture of some dry leaf and I am curing this by putting the dry leaf in a large shoe box and keeping it high on a shelf in the greenhouse. This allows the leaf to cure with the warmer air. I will let the leaf stay out in the greenhouse for the rest of fall and check on it turning it a couple of times a week. I am hoping this will cure the tobacco and we will see how it ages.



This pictures shows you how big the root ball for one of these tobacco plants can get. The last plant still has flowers on it and I am letting that one continue to grow because I am looking to harvest seed from the plant. This is a learning process and next year there will be some changes made. For one I think I could have gone ahead and started harvesting leaf in mid July and started the drying process that much sooner. This tobacco is a wrapper leaf for cigars and I have rolled a few cigarettes from it and it is surprisingly mild. I will hold on to this and maybe order some filler leaf online this winter and see about rolling a few cigars. If I do I will share it with you.


  1347

[Bobby Bass]

Update- Leaf continues to dry out in the greenhouse



Harvest time for seeds, the flower top has dried out so the pods are ready to be gathered.



Here are about thirty some pods that I will break open and dump into a shifter





Here is a couple of thousands seeds from those few pods, each plants has well over a hundred pods so once you grow a plant you will never have to worry about getting any seeds.



After the leaf dry's in the greenhouse I am putting them into a shoe box and storing it in my den on a shelf close to the ceiling, warmest part of the room and now the long process of keeping the leaf warm and dry and letting it cure, the stuff in there already is getting an aroma to it. May be awhile before this is updated again but I hope I helped anyone who wants to dry and grow their own. I am of course looking at making cigars if you were just doing this for cigarettes I would think you could go ahead and shred the leaves after they have dried and cured for awhile and go ahead and roll.. Bobby

[DDSBYDAY]

  Any estimate of pounds/ plant?  I am curious what the yield in wt. would be.  Shredded tobacco sells for around 22.00-23.00$/lb at the local smoke shop.

[Bobby Bass]

Pounds? per plant.. With out having weighed the dry leaf I would think you would be doing very good if you can get a pound per plant. A typical plant with have 18-22 leaves with some of them as long as 24 inches. Like anything the more you would grow is where you would start making a price break. A few plants might give you a couple of pounds but then you figure in planters and dirt and it is more of a hobby thing. Now if you were to plant say 25 plants in a garden, well then you would see some positive cash flow. Keep in mind that you can't sell or barter it and can only grow it for personal use. Now that I know that I can grow it I am going to ramp it up next season and see if I can get some poundage    Growing for cigars is much more time consuming then growing leaf for cigarettes or pipe tobacco. Looking for better quality leaf for wrappers and binders where if you are going to grow for cigs, torn leafs are just going to be shredded anyway. Hope you give it a try DDS would like to see how your plants do with a better growing season then me up here in the cold tundra!

[DDSBYDAY]

  How are those leaves coming.  I would think at some point they would need to be in a humidor of some sort.  I don't know if the tobacco only dries out too much once it is shredded or cut.  Perhaps keeping it in leaf form helps it from becoming too dry and crumbly.

[Bobby Bass]

Well here is the November update, I started rolling some of my own cigars and it does take some practice. I bought some leaf from my local shop and made myself a two cigar mold after seeing how much they want for them online. Here is a picture of two cigars with just their binder no final wrapper.



I tried a couple using the wrapper I grew this summer but it is harsh and no where close to aged enough to be used. The three plants that I grew produced about ten ounces of leaf after drying. I have the leaf in a big zip lock bag and am controlling the temperature and humidity trying to promote a good controlled cure, maybe late next summer it might be ready to play a little with. The ideal is 70/70 temp/humidity, I am close.



I did get a nice color to my leaf. This is wrapper and I will be able to hold on to this and keep aging it for years. I am on the fence so to speak as to growing more next summer, There are about 6 different kind of leaf I want to try and I have learned a ton this year and should have a better year growing if I do. Just a lot of time involved doing this. Of course the easy way would be just growing leaf for cigarettes but I am taking the hard route and trying to do cigars.

DDS if you want to  try and grow some Mammoth wrapper I have seed I can send you..

[Bobby Bass]

Forgot all about this thread here, here is the latest update for this season of tobacco growing...

Some what late in my tobacco update but things have been kind of out of whack around here. Here are a couple of pictures for you as you can see we have tobacco in the ground, four different types, six of each. Also here is a picture of the Gutter Garden which is five gallon pails with net cups in the bottom sitting on top of a rain gutter which is connected to a rain barrel and the level of water is regulated with a float. The back row is tobacco and the front row is vegetables. I am seeing how this kind of gardening compares with normal gardening. The big advantage of the gutter is I don't have to water and weeding is not needed. Harvest time should be early August for the tobacco but I will update again before then..





And yes the Maple trees are dropping seed everywhere!

[Bobby Bass]

What a difference a month makes!











Tobacco planted in the ground is growing fine and all four varieties are starting to look different then each other.











This picture shows the same tobacco plants growing in the rain gutter system, the plants are about twice as high and are already starting to grow flower buds.








The third picture is of three Connecticut broadleaf plants that are used for making wrappers. I am growing them in the constant shade behind the greenhouse in a gutter planter setup. Growing them in the shade is suppose to produce a finer smoother leaf that is used for the wrapper. These leaves are very smooth compared to the plants that are being grown in full sun. The hope was to start harvesting in early August but I think it will be more like the end of august. I have 55 plants growing this season in four locations so I am going to have a lot of leaf to dry and cure. Of course I have learned a lot so now I have some experience in doing this.

[Bobby Bass]

END OF JULY here and it is time to start thinking about harvesting the leaf. Several plants have flower tops on them and I have bagged one of each variety to prevent the flowers from being cross pollinated. This will give me all the seed I will ever need as each plant will give up thousands of seeds from the flower pods. The rest of the plants will have their flowers nipped off so they can't go to seed and we want the plants to send their energy to the leaf. The tobacco that I have grown in the garden is short and stocky and very full of nice size leaf. My shade plants are beyond what I was hoping for. Here is a picture of one of my granddaughters kneeling in the plants in the ground to show how big and wide they are.








This next picture shows how tall the plants have grown in the water gutter system, the Dominican plant is well over 7 feet tall.











I think I will start to harvest leaf here in a couple of weeks and hope this hot spell stays around, It will help the leaf to grow some more and will speed the drying time when I do harvest. Kind of walking a fine line of letting leaf grow in the heat or harvest and use the heat for drying. For those of you still following along it is a long process and a interesting hobby that really does become a year long and years long process.

[Bobby Bass]

August 9th and it is time to start the leaf harvest. The Burley leaf is starting to take on a yellow tinge and since I have so much leaf to harvest this year I am going to start with the Burley. The Burley is used in making cigarette tobacco and it is much easier to dry and cure then the leaf I have grown for making cigars. Since this leaf is going to be shredded we are not worried about any holes or tears in the leaf. Since I have 7 plants at home here I am going to start harvesting and get a jump on the drying season. I should be able to get from 15 to 20 leafs per plant. Here is a picture of some of the big leaf from one plant that is over 26 inches long.








With all the different leaf (four kinds ) and different dates I will be drying I had to come up with a system. I am using colored rubber bands to tell me what kind of leaf I am drying and then I add a colored paper clip that I hang the plant on to tell me what date. Not so important on the Burley and Virginia tobacco that is used for making cigarettes but it will make a difference when I hang the Cigar leaf. Before the leaf can be hung to dry I take a 3" brush and brush off dirt and any bugs that are on the underside of the leaf, the leaf does get very tacky and traps small bugs which of course we don't want to smoke.








The last picture shows how we hang the tobacco to dry. This year I hung a section of kennel panel in the roof of my wood shop. I can then hang the leaf one at a time from the paper clips. I find this gives me the best drying as the leaves do not touch each other and with the doors open on the shop it as acts as a wind tunnel giving me plenty of air movement yet keeping the leaf out of the rain and direct sunshine. Not like the big boys do it in their big drying barns but works for me on my small scale.











Now I just need to harvest and dry my leaf, I am going to have somewhere around a thousands leafs and I have no idea what that will translate into as pounds. Will let you see what it looks like in a future update!

[Bobby Bass]

Well the last of my leaf has been harvested and is now hanging in either the wood shop or the greenhouse. I have 600 hundred leaf as the three other guys who are growing some of my plants have all decided that they want to continue the process and harvest and dry their own plants. I might have gotten three other guys to take up tobacco growing as a hobby. I keep learning and experimenting with the tobacco and I have changed up a few things having learn from drying tobacco last season. This year I have 400 leaf hanging in the shop ceiling with about 250 of them being big leaf and hung one at a time. Another 150 leaf are being hung from racks that are resting on top of the tresses. These are smaller leaf that will be used in cigs or as filler leaf in cigars. Here is a picture of what leaf looks like in various stages of color curing.



Another 200 leaf are being hung in the greenhouse this is the large shade Connecticut that is used for a wrapper shown here.



Here is the cigar leaf being hung in the green house.


The leaf drying in the wood shop is all natural, just the breeze coming thru the doors to air dry the leaf, this should take anywhere from 4 to as long as 8 weeks to finish. The stem of the leaf needs to be completely dry before the leaf can be stored to age. The greenhouse leaf is being dried a little differently as I can control the heat in the green house and also the humidity. I am also using a blower to circulate the heated air to speed in the drying time and will in a few weeks add heat to speed the aging of the cigar tobacco. This is something new I am trying as I want to be able to use this leaf in the next year rolling some cigars and I will have enough leaf that I can keep aging the leaf in storage. Don't see much more in updates for awhile as this is all about controlled drying now.

[glenn57]

man that looks like a lotta cigar smoke!!!!!! thanks for sharing bobby!!!!!! might need to keep an eye on that direction, maybe, just maybe that cigar smoke will eventually give up the location to this infamous lakeiwannabethere!!!!!!

[Bobby Bass]

man that looks like a lotta cigar smoke!!!!!! thanks for sharing bobby!!!!!! might need to keep an eye on that direction, maybe, just maybe that cigar smoke will eventually give up the location to this infamous lakeiwannabethere!!!!!!

If you get your hands on one of them government maps you should be able to find it, I think it is area 52 or 53 

[glenn57]

 

[Bobby Bass]

September 6th


Early September update. Tobacco is well on its way color curing both in the greenhouse and in the wood shop. Here is a picture of the leaf in the shop that has been hanging now for 2-4 weeks depending on when it was harvested.





A surprise of sorts is that the small leaf that was left on the plants in the ground have with all of this late summer heat and rain continued to grow and are reaching harvesting size themselves. I will let them grow a few more weeks and harvest them. I did harvest my small mammoth leaf late last season so I should be able to cure these last bonus leafs.






As the drying continues I will start to condense the leaf in the greenhouse so I can add some more leaf to dry in there. I am going to just let the leaf in the shop hang for now but as it gets colder I will no longer be leaving the doors open. The leaf in the shop is pretty much all Burley and Virginia tobacco for making cigarettes and it dries quicker and does not need to go through the aging process that the cigar leaf in the greenhouse is getting. ( Higher humidity and heat ) The bagged flower tops are starting to die off and I should be harvesting seed pods here in another month or so. If I decide to grow again next season I will have all the seed I need.





Thousands of seeds in them brown pods!

[glenn57]

you should think about getting into the cannabis market next year........rumor has it it grows good in the lakeiwannabethere area!!!!!!!!

[Bobby Bass]

you should think about getting into the cannabis market next year........rumor has it it grows good in the lakeiwannabethere area!!!!!!!!

  Geeze you keep making pot growing references in my tobacco thread. Pot growing should be a thread all by itself, I am sure it will be done in MN by Union growers 

[Lee Borgersen]

you should think about getting into the cannabis market next year........rumor has it it grows good in the lakeiwannabethere area!!!!!!!!

  Geeze you keep making pot growing references in my tobacco thread. Pot growing should be a thread all by itself, I am sure it will be done in MN by Union growers 

Shameith on to you Glennski! Once again thou hath offendith one of thine MNO brothers. I recommend that thou shalt not offend thy neighbor but, instead walk along the path of riotousness.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[glenn57]

you should think about getting into the cannabis market next year........rumor has it it grows good in the lakeiwannabethere area!!!!!!!!

  Geeze you keep making pot growing references in my tobacco thread. Pot growing should be a thread all by itself, I am sure it will be done in MN by Union growers 

actually they are. the UFCW!!!!!!!!!!

[Lee Borgersen]

actually they are. the UFCW!!!!!!!!!!
[/quote] 

FYI  ......
United Food and Commercial Workers.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry.

 

  ....Bobby

Now let's get back to Tobacco Growing

[Bobby Bass]

For educational purposes only I have a short list of words that have never been included in any of my leaf growing posts.  well maybe green was used.
Ace
Acapulco Gold
Acapulco Red
Afgani Indica
African
African Black
African Bush
African Woodbine
Airplane
Angola
Ashes
Assassin of Youth
Astro Turf
Atcrapshi
Aunt Mary
Baby
Baby Bhang
Babysitter
Bad Seed
Bale
Bamba
Bambalachacha
Bammy
Bar
Bash
Belyando Spruce
Bhang
Binky
Black
Black Bart
Black Ganga
Black Gold
Black Gungi
Black Gunion
Blanket
Blaze
Block
Blond
Blonde
Blowing Smoke
Blue de Hue
Blue Sage
Blue Sky
Blunt
Bo
Bobo
Bo Bo Bush
Bohd
Bomber
Boo
Boo Boo Bama
Boom
Bowl
Broccoli
Brown
Bubble Gum
Budda
Buds
Bullyon
Burnie
Bush
Butter
Butter Flower
C.S.
Cam Trip
Cambodian Red/Cam Red
Can
Canadian Black
Canamo
Canappa
Cancelled Stick
Cannabis
Cannabis Tea
Carmabis
Catnip
Cavite All Star
Cest
Charas
Charge
Cheeba
Cheeo
Chemo
Chicago Black
Chicago Green
Chira
Chocolate Thai
Christmas Bud
Christmas Tree
Chronic
Chunky
Churus
Citrol
Climb
Cochornis
Colas
Coli
Coliflor Tostao
Colorado Cocktail
Columbia
Columbia Red
Columbian
Colombo
Columbus Black
Cosa
Crazy Weed
Cripple
Crying Weed
Cryppie
Cryptonie
Culican
Dagga
Dajja
Dank
Dawamesk
Dew
Diablito (Spanish)
Diambista
Dimba
Ding
Dinkie Dow
Dipped Joints
Dirt Grass
Dirties
Dirty Joints
Ditch
Ditch Weed
Djamba
Do A Joint
Domestic
Don Jem
Don Juan
Dona Juana (Spanish)
Dona Juanita (Spanish)
Donk
Doob
Doobee
Doobie
Dope
Dope Smoke
Doradilla
Draf
Draf Weed
Drag Weed
Dro
Dry High
Dube
Dubie
Duby
Durong
Duros (Spanish)
Dust
Earth
El Gallo ("Rooster")
Elephant
Endo
Esra
Fallbrook Redhair
Fatty
Feeling
Fine Stuff
Finger
Finger Lid
Fir
Firewood
Flower
Flower Tops
Fraho/Frajo
Freefo
Fu
Fuma D'Angola (Portugese)
Gage/Gauge
Ganga
Gangster
Ganja
Garbage
Gash
Gasper
Gasper Stick
Gates
Gauge Butt
Geek
Geek-Joints
Get a Gage Up
Get High
Get the Wind

Ghana
Giggle Smoke
Giggle Weed
Gimmie
Go Loco
Goblet of Jam
Gold
Gold Star
Golden
Golden Leaf
GOM (Good Old Marijuana)
Gong
Gonj
Good Butt
Good Giggles
Good Stuff
Goody-Goody
Goof Butt
Gorge
Grass
Grass Brownies
Grasshopper
Grata
Greek
Green
Green Buds
Green Goddess
Greens
Greeter
Gremmies
Greta
Griefo
Griefs
Grifa (Spanish)
Griff
Griffa
Griffo
Grogged
Gunga
Gungeon
Gungun
Gunja
Gunjah
Gyve
Haircut
Hanhich
Happy Cigarette
Happy Stick
Harsh
Has
Hash
Hawaiian
Hawaiian Black
Hawaiian Homegrown Hay
Hay
Hay Butt
Haze
Headies
Hemp
Herb
Herb and Al
Herba
Hit
Hit the Hay
Hocus
Homegrown
Honey blunts
Hooch
Hooter
Hot Stick
Hydro
Hydrogrows
Illies
Illing
Illy
Indian Boy
Indian Hay
Indian Hemp
Indica
Indo
Indonesian Bud
Instaga
Instagu
IZM
J
Jamaican Gold
Jamaican Red Hair
Jay
Jay Smoke
Jane
Jim Jones
Jive
Jive Stick
Johnson Grass
Joint
Jolly Green
Jonjem
Joy Smoke
Joy Stick
Ju-Ju
Juan Valdez (Spanish)
Juanita (Spanish)
Juice Joint
Juja
Ju-Ju
Jumbos
Kabak
Kaff
Kalakit
Kali
Kansas Grass
Kate Bush
Kawaii Electric
Kaya
KB
Kee
Kentucky Blue
Key
KGB
Khayf
Ki
Kick Stick
Kief
Kif
Kiff
Killer
Killer Green Bud
Killer Weed
Kilter
Kind
Kind Bud
King Bud
Kona Gold
Krippy
Kryptonite
Ktutchu String
Kumba
L.G. (Lime Green)
L.L.
Lace
Lakbay Diva
Laughing Grass
Laughing Weed
Leaf
Leak
Leno (Spanish)
Lid
Liesca
Light Green
Lime Green
Light Stuff
Lima
Liprimo
Little Smoke
Llesca
Loaf
Lobo
Loco (Spanish)
Loco Weed (Spanish)
Locoweed
Log
Loose Shank
Love Boat
Love Leaf
Love Weed
Lovelies
Lubage
M
M.J.
M.O.
M.U.
Macaroni
Machinery
Macon
Maconha
Mafu (Spanish)
Maggie
Magic Dragon
Magic Smoke
Manhattan Silver
Mari
Mari Jane
Marimba (Spanish)
Mary
Mary & Johnny
Mary Ann
Mary Jane
Mary Jonas
Mary Warner
Mary Weaver
Mary Worner
Matchbox
Maui Wauie
Maui Wowie
Meg
Megg
Meggie
Messorole
Mexican Brown
Mexican Green
Mexican Locoweed
Mexican Red
Mez
Mezz
Mighty Mezz
Mo
Moahsky
Mocoha
Modams
Mohasky
Mohasty
Monte
Mooca/Moocah
Moocha
Mooster
Moota/Mutah
Mooters
Mootie
Mootos
Mor A Grifa
Mota
Mother
Moving the Lawn
Mow the Grass
Mu
Muggie
Muggle
Muggles
Muta
Mutah
Mutha
Nail
Nigra
Northern Lights
Number
Oboy
O.J.
Oit
P-dogs
P.R.
Pack
Pack A Bowl
Pack Of Rocks
Pakaloco
Pakalolo
Pakistani Black
Panama Cut
Panama Gold
Panama Red
Panatella
Paper blunts
Parsley
Pasto (Spanish)
Pat
Philly Blunts
Pin
Pine
Pocket Rocket
Pod
Poke
Pot
Potlikker
Potten Bush
Prescription
Pretendica
Pretendo
Puff
Queen Ann's Lace
Ragweed
Railroad Weed
Rainy Day Woman
Rangood
Rasta
Rasta Weed
Red Bud
Red Cross
Red Dirt
Reef
Reefer
Righteous Bush
Rip
Roacha
Rockets
Root
Rope
Rose Marie
Rough Stuff
Rubia
Rugs
Salad
Salt And Pepper
Sandwich Bag
Santa Maria
Santa Marta
Sasfras
Schwagg
Scissors
Scrub
Seeds
Sen
Sess
Sezz
Shake
Shrimp
Siddi
Sinse
Sinsemilia
Skunk
Skunkweed
Smoke
Smoke A Bowl
Smoke Canada
Snop
Spliff
Spliffy
Splim
Square Mackerel
Stack
Stems
Stick
Sticky Icky
Stinkweed
Stoney Weed
Straw
Stuff
Sugar Weed
Super Grass
Super Pot
Swag
Sweet Lucy
T
Taima
Takkouri
Tea
Tex Mex
Texas Pot
Texas Tea
Thai Stick
Thirteen
Thumb
Tin
Toke
Torch
Trauma
Tray
Trees
Triple A
Trupence Bag
Tustin
Twenty Six Red
Twist
Twistum
Unotque
Viper Weed
Wake and Bake
Wacky Tobaccky
Wake and Bake
Weed
Weed Tea
Whack
Whackatabacky
Whackyweed
Wheat
White Russian
White-Haired Lady
Woo Blunts
Wooz
Yeh
Yellow Submarine
Yen Pop
Yerba (Spanish)
Yerhia
Yesca
Yesco
Ying
Zambi
Zig Zag Man
Zol
420