A question for those who grow or have tried to grow their own tobacco.

[El Presidente]

A question for those who grow or have tried to grow their own tobacco. 

A member sent me a link to the book below and it crossed my mind  that we may be able to do a small scale member project  "from seed to cigar". 

One thread, same seeds/supplier, start date : prizes for best looking plant and then we may go the next track of picking, drying, curing all the way to cigar? or not 

How hard would this be to do?

[Auspaul]

Hard in Australia would be in more trouble than Flash Gordon

[kalibratecuba]

I would love to grow some Cuban seed. It would be interesting to see how the plants would fair in different parts. There would be a lot to learn to get it to finished product.

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[fitzy]

I have a friend that grows and cures tobacco every year for pipe smoking. I'll ask him to chime in if possible. 

[Fuzz]

Get a hydroponics grow tent, HID lamp (high pressure sodium or metal hydride), good quality soil (not compost soil for pot plants as it is too acidic), and a fan to supply fresh air.

[El Presidente]

10 minutes ago, Auspaul said:

Hard in Australia would be in more trouble than Flash Gordon

.....luckily we are in Switzerland  

[El Presidente]

Just now, Fuzz said:

Get a hydroponics grow tent, HID lamp (high pressure sodium or metal hydride), good quality soil (not compost soil for pot plants as it is too acidic), and a fan to supply fresh air.

...you seem to know a lot about this ......a lot 

[Fuzz]

7 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

...you seem to know a lot about this ......a lot 

Who? Me? Nooooo, I wouldn't know anything about growing plants.

[fitzy]

ha ha someone's been growing the good stuff down under. 

[Luca]

I'm keen. I will make a foil enclosure (like my foil hat) for the plant so the Govt wont find out.

Surely if we are allowed to have Hemp expos here...a little tobacco plant wouldn't hurt....?

@Fuzz where can we get good soil?

[El Presidente]

Just now, Luca said:

 

Surely if we are allowed to have Hemp expos here...a little tobacco plant wouldn't hurt....?

I am not taking any risks. 

I plan to grow it at kens. 

[Luca]

5 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

I am not taking any risks. 

I plan to grow it at kens. 

Wait...he hasn't got some already...?

[El Presidente]

Just now, Luca said:

Wait...he hasn't got some already...?

How could they tell. 

I could grow it in the living room and you still wouldn't see it. 

 

[Kitchen]

I'm under the impression for tobacco to ferment properly, you need intense pressure and some heat.  On a commercial scale, the pressure comes from the 2000+ lb. piles they stack the tobacco in, which also insulates the interior and keeps the heat from fermentation from escaping.  (They also need to rearrange the piles 6 or 7 times to make sure all of the tobacco is evenly fermented.) 

I imagine this would be hard to replicate on a small level. 

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, JoeKitchen said:

I'm under the impression for tobacco to ferment properly, you need intense pressure and some heat.  On a commercial scale, the pressure comes from the 2000+ lb. piles they stack the tobacco in, which also insulates the interior and keeps the heat from fermentation from escaping.  (They also need to rearrange the piles 6 or 7 times to make sure all of the tobacco is evenly fermented.) 

I imagine this would be hard to replicate on a small level. 

That is what I am trying to understand from people who do it now or have done so in the past.  I have no idea how they do it. 

[Corylax18]

Calling @mwaller!! 

I know there are some members here experimenting with growing and rolling their own Tobacco. I haven't dabbled myself, but from what I know the trouble is truly in the fermentation process. If you have something of a Green Thumb you can grow it, but growing enough to provide the organic mass needed to start and then feed/maintain the natural fermentation process is very difficult. There are ways to "fake" this process somewhat, but in either case there is an art to it that is hard to learn. 

[Fuzz]

You can simulate the fermentation conditions in a sealed plastic tub. Line the tub with foil, place the leaves inside, wet some paper towels to add moisture, weigh the pile down a bit, drill a whole in the lid and place a bulb with a reflector inside to provide heat.

[NSXCIGAR]

I'm assuming the intended result from the book is not recommended for cigars. Growing one's own cigar tobacco would be an unmitigated disaster. Even if grown successfully it would taste like garbage if grown anywhere outside of the seven or eight modern growing regions. 

Hydroponic growing is also effectively out of the question. Assuming you had an indoor facility large enough the type of soil is extremely important so you'd need that. Also the high and low temp variations would be nearly impossible to regulate effectively. That's one of the keys to Cuba--it gets colder there at night than all the other premier growing regions (and less hot). You'd have to alternate between high 80s and high 60s and who knows how much humidity affects the plant. Then you'd need the cheesecloth for the shade-grown. It would be a nightmare and very expensive. 

Cigarette or pipe tobacco is probably feasible as flavor isn't as critical for cigarettes and pipe tobacco seems to be grown all over the place.

[El Presidente]

19 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

You can simulate the fermentation conditions in a sealed plastic tub. Line the tub with foil, place the leaves inside, wet some paper towels to add moisture, weigh the pile down a bit, drill a whole in the lid and place a bulb with a reflector inside to provide heat.

"Breaking Bad"  Fuzz style......

[Luca]

Is this a tobacco plant by the way? Found it today.

[99call]

4 hours ago, El Presidente said:

I am not taking any risks. 

I plan to grow it at kens. 

Ha never mind horticulture conundrums! firstly you have to get Kens plantation

 

[earthson]

Oh, I'm down. Historically, my region is known for growing chewing tobacco that has to be fire cured, but I just heard about a Kentucky Broadleaf being grown and used. I am intrigued.

I have experimented with growing the related (though very different) Nicotiana rustica. It is a demanding plant, but very rewarding when you get the leaves to cure.

[Kitchen]

9 hours ago, Fuzz said:

You can simulate the fermentation conditions in a sealed plastic tub. Line the tub with foil, place the leaves inside, wet some paper towels to add moisture, weigh the pile down a bit, drill a whole in the lid and place a bulb with a reflector inside to provide heat.

This would take away oxygen from the process.  I would guess this would create more of a Saint James Parish Perique style, which is not necessarily bad. 

[MooseAMuffin]

I would definitely like to give this a try!

1 hour ago, earthson said:

Oh, I'm down. Historically, my region is known for growing chewing tobacco that has to be fire cured, but I just heard about a Kentucky Broadleaf being grown and used. I am intrigued.

I have experimented with growing the related (though very different) Nicotiana rustica. It is a demanding plant, but very rewarding when you get the leaves to cure.

Speaking of Kentucky Fire Cured tobacco, I do like Drew Estates KFC. Great smokey flavor!

[Hookmaker]

Growing Tabaccum nicotiana is easy, I both have a good Victorian greenhouse to nurse it and a good garden where it will certainly grow. BUT as I live in Scandinavia those will be some mighty mild cigars, since the nicotine content is proportional to the amount of sun and heat the plant is exposed to. People have grown tobacco here before, but disappointment is big. I’d say it’s like dreaming of a jaguar but in trying to copy build one yourself you end up with a soap box car that needs a push