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My little summer project

ashauler

ashauler

None for me, thanks.
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
316
Location
Wichita, KS
So, I'm one of the read more post less crowd, but a few of you know me from other places.
Here's what I've been up to this summer.......started with this in June:


Had this about mid-summer:


And just completed these over the weekend:


I know others here have done this as well, so I'm not breaking any new ground. Just thought I'd share my adventure will you all. This was a "test" crop of only 12 plants that yielded a total of 115 processable leaves. I totally killed my last priming by not controlling the horn-worms worth a crap......but I'll take my revenge on the bastards next year and should increase my per plant yield significantly. I'll also have the entire garden planted. :D

I have quite a bit more tobacco to process, either into cigars or pipe tobacco depending on the condition of the leaf. It's been one hell of an interesting journey and I've learned quite a bit about how this wonderful leaf makes it's way from seed to plant to harvested leaves. There are a few more photo's in my gallery, with more to come. I have been trying to document all the phases of the project as it moved along.

I plan on sparking one of the cigars over the holiday weekend and can't wait. I have virtually no experience rolling, so this was an adventure in itself....they may not even draw. I"ve tried some of the various tobaccos, prepared in a couple of different ways, in my corn-cob pipes.......and it ain't too darn bad. Next year I have plans for some burleys and orientals along with the cigar leaf. I know a heck of a lot more now than I did in March, including how to prep the soil, so next years crop should far surpass this one.

I hope you enjoy the pics and I wish you all a happy and safe Holiday season.
 
That looks like quite a successful adventure. :thumbs: I do alot of gardening, but have never grown tobacco. Let us know how the cigars smoke.

Cant' wait to see how it works for you next year.
 
Very nice! Some beautiful plants you had there! I've still got some tobacco in a tupperware container from my first crop a couple years ago that I need to roll and try out. Look forward to hearing how yours smoke!
 
Nicely done. I have some questions:

1. How did you control the horn worms? Seven dust?

2. How did you cure the tobacco, once you picked it?

I still have some flowers with seeds, left over from a couple years ago, when I grew about 8 plants. Thinking of doing this again next summer.
 
I'm immensely jealous. When I finally have some land worthy I'm for SURE going to try!!!
Chris
 
One little trick you can use to help you roll the cigars is using a newspaper. You put your filler in it and start rolling it. Add more tobacco...roll it up one again. Rinse and repeat till you are happy with the amount of tobacco. Then place a binder wrapper in the paper you just used or use a new one. Add your filler roll to the binder wrapper. Roll up the newspaper to desired tightness. Now you can do this with the final wrapper. Maybe not the best explanation but I've seen it done and it works great with practice. You can always do this with the filler tobacco till you are confident to progress of rolling the actual cigar.

Nice looking leaves there. :thumbs:
 
Mr Peat said:
One little trick you can use to help you roll the cigars is using a newspaper. You put your filler in it and start rolling it. Add more tobacco...roll it up one again. Rinse and repeat till you are happy with the amount of tobacco. Then place a binder wrapper in the paper you just used or use a new one. Add your filler roll to the binder wrapper. Roll up the newspaper to desired tightness. Now you can do this with the final wrapper. Maybe not the best explanation but I've seen it done and it works great with practice. You can always do this with the filler tobacco till you are confident to progress of rolling the actual cigar.

Nice looking leaves there. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Just like using a dollar bill, huh? :whistling:

I'm researching this for next spring/summer, but I'm concerned about the length of the growing season up here. Sometimes it's all I can do to take care of the tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, etc. when those early frosts come.

I'll be looking at using the tobacco for pipe smoking, so I'm not concerned about rolling.
 
LilBastage said:
Mr Peat said:
One little trick you can use to help you roll the cigars is using a newspaper. You put your filler in it and start rolling it. Add more tobacco...roll it up one again. Rinse and repeat till you are happy with the amount of tobacco. Then place a binder wrapper in the paper you just used or use a new one. Add your filler roll to the binder wrapper. Roll up the newspaper to desired tightness. Now you can do this with the final wrapper. Maybe not the best explanation but I've seen it done and it works great with practice. You can always do this with the filler tobacco till you are confident to progress of rolling the actual cigar.

Nice looking leaves there. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Just like using a dollar bill, huh? :whistling:

I'm researching this for next spring/summer, but I'm concerned about the length of the growing season up here. Sometimes it's all I can do to take care of the tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, etc. when those early frosts come.

I'll be looking at using the tobacco for pipe smoking, so I'm not concerned about rolling.
Click to expand...

If you did it in a diagonal roll sure. Yes, you can really roll a cigar by using a newspaper. Just ask Smokyballs for confirmation as he saw it too. :D
 
Thanks for all the comments guys, I appreciate it. I enjoyed the heck out of this experience, and have already procured most of the seeds I'll need for next year. Looks like I'll be going from 12 plants......to around 200. :thumbs:


bfreebern said:
Nicely done. I have some questions:

1. How did you control the horn worms? Seven dust?

2. How did you cure the tobacco, once you picked it?

I still have some flowers with seeds, left over from a couple years ago, when I grew about 8 plants. Thinking of doing this again next summer.
Click to expand...

I did use sevin a couple of times. I also used insecticidal soap, and some home-made nicotine dust. They were somewhat effective, but reapplication was required too frequently for my growing situation. I have since discovered an insecticide that I believe to be safe for use.....that's the way I'll go next season.

I tried the air cure method first. Major failure....way too frickin' hot and the humidity was way too low. Ended up with a crapload of crispy green leaves. I tried to sweat them brown, with some measure of success, but ended up tossing it on the compost pile or making insecticide from it .

Next thing I tried was the pile curing method. Yep, simple as it sounds, just pile the leaves from a single variety and priming into a big pile, alternating the stem and leaf ends. I covered them in a sheet and left them on my porch swing for protection from direct sun and rain. Worked to perfection. Below is a photo of one of the piles, it's a crappy photo, but you can kinda see the yellowing starting. Below that is a bunch of Florida Sumatra that I pile cured and then hung to dry crispy.


 
Nicely done! I failed miserably a couple years ago getting my seedlings going. I still have some seeds left so maybe I'll try again this next spring.
 
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