Print

[psykinetic]

Good evening STS family. My little garden is doing quite well dispite realy gray chilly days in Boston. So Ive begun planning my next set of seeds for my incubator Im thinking of giving some wild tobacco a shot. I would love any first hand info on diferent varieties. I have just begun research and I realy like to hear from fellow Poison Path Gardeners as well as the usual technical writing thats out there. Im a smoker(unfortunately) but im idealy looking for a ritual sacred tobacco to be used on special nights,not an everyday smoke. Something strong with history. Any and all info is greatly appreciated and will help me in making my decision.
Thanks again growers
Light and love to all on the Path of Eve

[elstongunn39]

are you looking at nicotania rustica? it seems to be the strongest species...
I'm very curious about this. i quit smoking and I'm curious about tobacco's possible sacred or spiritual use.. a trip report on some of your harvested uncured tobacco would be greatly appreciated.

[EIRN]

Here's some info on tobacco.

http://sharetheseeds.me/forum/index.php?topic=1427.0

N. rustica is a very strong tobacco...maybe is not a good idea smoke it.

[Sunshine]

Tobacco isn't too hard of a plant to grow. I grew some havanna tobacco last year. They ended up getting around 5 feet tall.

-I started by surface sowing in small starter peat pots.

-After around a month they had a couple good sets of leafs on them I started thinning the weaker ones.

-After the strongest one was around a few inches tall and had some good sized leafs on it I transplanted it to my outdoor garden.

-At that point I just watered every few days and gave them hydrolyzed fish fertilizer every once in a while.

Notes-
I had a horrible aphid infestation towards the end of the season so keep an eye out and have remedies ready.
Starting tobacco is similar to starting poppies.
Drying is easy. Curing is a b****.
Leafs will be too thick to use as cigar wraps unless the plants are kept under a shade cloth.

[elstongunn39]

yeah n rustica is strong.  i think it's used for entheogenic purposes by south american shamans    it's not a regular, roll a  couple cigs type tobacco. but it might be what you're looking for if you're not trying to smoke a lot, but you want an entheogenic experience

[intotheimpossible]

yea I think its fairly easy to grow just takes awhile for my seedlings to get big enough to transplant. The only thing I really want to learn is how to properly sure the tobacco

[nobody]

Like with most things smokable, growing is easy, harvest and curing is not. I will try to give a brief explanation on the process.

Most commercial operations buy their plants at approx 2 inches tall from a local supply source. If starting from seed it should be started inside by October - November.
After the ground thaws and there is no danger of frost (March - April) the plants are sown in rows with approx 36 inches between plants. These will grow until late August - late September (depending on how far north the crop is), during this growth cycle they will be topped between 2 and 4 times. Topping is cutting off the flower so no energy is used to produce seed, this makes larger better tasting leafs.
Harvest time comes when the leaf mass turns from green to a even yellow color, looks like the plant is starting to die. Then the plants are cut approx 3 inches above the ground and staked. Staking is where three to five cut plants are place on a stick by puncturing the stalk approx 3 inches above where it was cut. The staked plants are left in the field for approx 14 days (so long as there is not much rain) before collection and hanging. When collected the staked plants should be hung in a tobacco barn (barn with 2 inch gaps between the outer boards), they should be hung so the stake is horizontal and the plants hang vertical.
The plants then hang until January or February or until the moisture content in the stalk is at about 10%. Now comes time for stripping the leaves and separation. They are normally separated into 3 types of quality, trash; b grade and a grade. This is easy, bottom leaves are trash, middle leaves are b grade and the upper pristine leaves are a grade. The three separate grades are then bundled and taken to a tobacco market where cigarette and cigar companies bid / buy on the bulk harvest. They then take the harvest and further cure the tobacco for 3 to 5 years in wooden barrels. The last curing process and time will vary depending on the use, cigar or cigarette and the companies recipe.

This entire process is for temperate (American) climates, it is a entirely different process in the tropics as there is no cold weather.

Hope this helps a bit,
nobody

6 Likes New Wisdom, Sunshine, Greentoe, intotheimpossible, fairdinkumseeds and 1 more people like this.

[psykinetic]

Thanks so much everyone who contributed! So much good info. Ill be sure to keep a growlog when i get started(probaby within 2 weeks). Im going to give rustica and a milder variety a shot. Again i want it more for a symbolic "the ritual has begun"  kinda thing, more of an incense than a full on smoke.  The curing and drying sound like a very interesting process and if my plants are successful ill also fill everyone in on my attempts at that.
Thanks again STS family
Light and Love to all on the Path if Eve

1 Like New Wisdom likes this.

[AcaciaAve]

Just transplanted probably around 100 Nicotiana Alata and N. Rustica seedlings into a mix of an organic potting mix, perlite, glacial rock dust, kelp meal.

1. Set bottom layer of soil
2. Scooped in 1:1 Glacial Rock Dust and Tidal Kelp Meal
3. Mixed in some perlite.
4. Added more potting mix
5. On some i set the seedlings in then mixed in and covered the soil layer with organic washed dairy manure as a peat moss/mulch sub.
With others, everything was set up and mixed in and then the seedling transplanted.
6. Day 2; seems to be doing fine with growth already. Some are in greenhouse, some are in shady locations.(By the forest,Not the hood  )

2 Likes New Wisdom and Sunshine like this.

[Carnival]

Quick, slightly OT note about tobacco: when your harvesting it (or really doing any hands-on work with it) remember to wear impermeable gloves, or wash your hands with soap immediately afterwards. Nicotine can be absorbed transdermally and if you're not careful, you can make yourself really sick.

I grew up in a state that still grows a lot of tobacco (guess which one), and I've heard about this from a number of people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Tobacco_Sickness

2 Likes New Wisdom and happyconcacti like this.

[happyconcacti]

Curing Tobacco Resources

(N. rustica) Specific Information:
http://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/va/1/guidetogrowingmapachotobacco.html

Backwoods Approach: I have no idea how legitimate this is but his personality shines through in a quirky way:
http://theoldfirm.hubpages.com/hub/Tobacco-Growing-and-Curing-at-Home

Production Approach with Pictures:
http://www.victoryseeds.com/tobacco/backer_cultivation.html

Multiple Explanations with Some Science:
http://www.leafonly.com/tobacco_leaf_harvesting_curing_and_fermenting.php

Serious Blog About the Whole Process:
http://boltonsmokersclub.wordpress.com/growing-curing-flavouring-and-finishing-tobacco-for-cigarettes/


And here's a Movie about it too:

3 Likes Carnival, intotheimpossible and AcaciaAve like this.

[happyconcacti]

If anyone wants to get serious about tobacco growing, you should check out this forum. They have a pretty intense distribution, growing, and seed collection program:
http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3139-2014-Grow-out-Needs-for-Cigar-Varieties-from-Nicotiana-Project


And they have a pretty funny thread on growing N. rustica:
http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3962-The-Increased-Interest-in-Rusticas

3 Likes New Wisdom, intotheimpossible and AcaciaAve like this.

[intotheimpossible]

ok I have my first 2 harvested leaves from one of my tobacco this year and it gets to this point where it is starting to turn from yellow to this weird spotted stuff. I figured this thread was good to see if there are any opinions if thats a mold or something or im doing it right.