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Raising your own tobacco.

MrMaduro said:
Looking good Greg!

During your fermentation process were you able to smell the leaves releasing their amonia? If you smelled the odor of amonia, and it smells sweet now. I would say it's probably safe to smoke.

Roll one up and smoke it. Let us know how she smokes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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What I did was put the damp tobacco in a tupperware months ago, sealed it, and put it on top of my hot water heater that's in a closet. I actually sat it on top of the hot pipe on top of the water heater to keep it warm, hopefully to start the fermentation process. I can recall after a couple of weeks pulling it out and whew! Really strong ammonia! I took the tobacco and flipped it over, then returned it back again for another couple few weeks and then repeated the process over and over. I've been doing this for several months now, and it got to where the top side of the tobacco would be crispy dry and smelling really sweet, then when flipped over the bottom would be quite damp and smelling full of ammonia. I'm thinking it's probably ready to smoke as the ammonia smell is all but gone now, so I'll probably attempt rolling a stogie sometime this week, maybe this weekend. I'll be putting the rest in a cedar box and in one of my wineadors to rest/age. Can't wait to try my first homegrown cigar!! :D
 
What would be the most northern latitude that growing your own tobacco would be viable? I wouldn't mind giving this a try, but I'm afraid that Winnipeg isn't tropical enough :p
 
Wow Greg!!! That is truely beautiful, I want one!!! I'd say that a little aging will make a world of difference. Do you know which types of tobacco were in that one?





Shamrocker said:
What would be the most northern latitude that growing your own tobacco would be viable? I wouldn't mind giving this a try, but I'm afraid that Winnipeg isn't tropical enough :p
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I've got some varieties that will grow as far north as Wisconsin, If you started your plants in pots in side about 12-16 weeks before the last frost then transplant outside, it might work for you. Also you can harvest the leaves any time after the plants bloom. They'll be bigger if you can let them grow, but you don't have to. If you leave them in large pots you could bring them back in doors right before the first frost in the fall. If it frosts on them they will burn and turn black, and become unuseable.
 
Looking good guys. Mine are starting to grow quite fast now. I will put them outside in a few weeks and see how it goes.
 
Where did you guys get ahold of your seeds? I kinda interested in trying this. :) I am in Michigan though so I might need that Wisconsin type.
 
Well, my plants sprouted and look miserable! :D Anyways, I put 50 plants in the ground this past weekend and checked today...I could see eleven still standing. But, that's okay as I've got about thirty back-up plants. :) They're all the Havana seed, Connecticut Broadleaf, and Connecticut Shade.

How's yours coming? What about last year's crop? Have you got any fermenting?
 
Thanks for the progress report, Greg. I have close to 1200 pounds from last year hanging in the barn. So I didn't raise any this year. I'm going to try fermenting another batch soon, now that the weather is warmer. I just reciently started back to work. I'm working nights, 12 hr. shifts with 4hours road time. That's the reason I haven't been around as much lately.

I'd go ahead and plant the rest of your plants. Then water them regularly, using a miracle grow mixture every 2-3 days for a week or two.
 
I'll have to take pictures of mine tonight. I didn't have a place prepped for these yet, so I just put 12 of my hardiest plants in big containers.

I will tell you that these things grow like crazy. It's cool to see just how much the stem of the plant thickens and the leaves expand. I'll be putting these 12 in the ground this weekend.
 
Right now I have 20 or so plants ready to put in the ground. I just tilled the ground yesterday and should be planting them in the next day or so. I have some mountain tobacco out on my front porch and it's growing like a damn weed!
 
I had finally got mine sprouted in the starter trays and they progressed a bit. I then started setting them in the sun to speed things up. One afternoon they stayed out too long and got really dry.

They haven't come back well since. Kind of a sickly green color. I can't seem to get them to grow. I'll try some miracle grow mixed in the water to see if that helps. They're definitely too little to plant outside yet.

My son (19 mo) also did some damage to a few of the starter tray cells by reaching up and digging in the dirt. That took out a few plants.

I'm guessing it's probably too late to start over. What do you think? Should I try again with a new tray? I have plenty of seeds left.

Bill
 
Here are a few pictures of mine. I moved these to some planters, while I'm getting the soil ready on the east side of our house. They'll hopefully be transplanted this weekend.

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Pittsey said:
My plants failed :(

Im going to try again in an aerogarden haha
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Pittsey,
These little plants are extremely fragile when they're young,(until they reach 6-8 inches). That's why around here they're raised in greenhouses, in water beds on float trays. until they're 8-10 inches, then they mow the tops off back to 6 inches (this makes the plants stronger and tougher for transplanting with a mechanical transplanter) , then allowed to grow to 8-10 inches they're ready to plant then.

Do you still have any seeds? Let me know if you need more!
 
bfreebern said:
Here are a few pictures of mine. I moved these to some planters, while I'm getting the soil ready on the east side of our house. They'll hopefully be transplanted this weekend.

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Looking fantastic B! I'd say you're going to be rollin' some stogies next year! I put out 50 plants and got the bright idea to transfer some...let's say organic fertilizer...from the adjoining fields at my house where farmers recently "dumped" it out. To say the least, this was some powerful sh%*! :laugh: Completely burned up every single plant. :( I even had 30 back-up plants and put the freakin' sh%* on those as well. Goners. Lesson learned! I've just did an emergency planting, just spread seeds in the rows. If they come up and grow, fine. They're weeds anyways so should grow dagnabbit. But if not, there's always next year.
 
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