tc7man
New Member
With all of the panic about the new Fedral tax, and increased State taxes on cigars and cigarettes, a lot of people are experimenting with growing and making their own. I have been making my own cigarettes for several years using the finest rolling tobacco available. Much better than commercial made, with no added chemicals. I also purchased some raw dried cigar tobaccco grown in PA by the Amish. It is used in domestic cigars and I have been practicing rolling my own cigars. It is not too difficult and I think with more practice I will be able to produce something acceptable. I have 2 cigar molds to use which helps a lot.
Curing the tobacco is a big obstacle for home growers. The big guns ferment it in large piles where it heats up naturally, but the little guy does not have sufficient quantities of tobacco to do it that way. You must then build a curing chamber where you can heat your tobacco to 115 to 130 deg. F. for a couple of weeks. You also need to keep it humidified to 70% during the process. This process drives off the ammonia and other volatile chemicals which make dry green tobacco taste like grass clippings.
I ordered seeds online from a couple of sources and planted them indoors in late February. I sowed several varieties, including types of cigarette tobaccos (virginia and turkish) and several varieties of cigar tobacco for filler, binder, and wrapper. Tobacco seeds are fine as dust and must be spread on the surface of the potting soil, kept covered, and only watered from below to avoid distubance. This is the most difficult stage of tobacco growing and I lost some plants due to too much sun exposure too quickly. Once the plants are an inch or two tall they can be transplanted into 6-packs for further growing until they reach a size (4-6") where it is safe to put them out into the garden. This is after all danger of spring frost is over. At this stage, tobacco is as easy to grow as tomatoes or petunias, to which it is related.
I have a Masters degree in Horticulture which helps me in my gardening and there are several online forums and websites on growing and curing your own tobacco. Yes, it is still legal to grow it for your own consumption in the U.S. with a very generous maximum quota which most people would never exceed anyway.
Here are some recent photos that we took of my little operation in the mountains of Arizona at 5500 feet above sea level.
Future Cigars March 2007
Main Crop
Mid August, some of the plants beginning to flower. Lower leaves are ready for priming (picking).
Main Crop
Plants are getting buds and are around 5 feet tall.
Hydroponic crop #1
I grew tomatoes hydroponically last year and it worked out well.
Tobacco seems to love it too!
Hydroponic Crop #2
The plants in the foreground have already been harvested completely.
They are growing back from the stumps for a bonus crop.
Cigarette Tobacco
Some Virginia Gold leaves picked today--some are 18 inches long. They turn the gold color when mature and ready to pick.
Foam container that has rods in the top to hang bundles of tobacco from. It contains an electric heater with a water heater thermostat and a humidifier with adjustable humidity level. Note vent hole in top. There is also one at the bottom to let air in. It will probably hold 5 to 10 pounds of dried tobacco. It runs for two weeks at 115 degrees and 70% humidity. Sure goes through a lot of water!
Over a gallon a day.
Homerolled Cigar-Pennsylvania Puro-2006 crop.
Not the prettiest but that will come with practice.
I smoked this one fresh to check if it had enough curing to get the nasties out.
It wasn't bad! Hmmmm-wonder what six months or a year in the humidor would do to it?
I just finished priming the lowest 2-3 leaves from each plant. They are hanging from the rafters of the garage threaded on a string to dry. There are several pounds drying so far.
Next installment will show more hanging, drying, curing and rolling. My objective is to keep experimenting until I come up with a good smokeable cigar. The cigarette tobacco smokes good already and is very tasty. For me it is just a hobby to keep my growing skills up and learn about tobacco and cigars. Maybe it will save money someday. :laugh: May share with friends if they meet my standards.
Curing the tobacco is a big obstacle for home growers. The big guns ferment it in large piles where it heats up naturally, but the little guy does not have sufficient quantities of tobacco to do it that way. You must then build a curing chamber where you can heat your tobacco to 115 to 130 deg. F. for a couple of weeks. You also need to keep it humidified to 70% during the process. This process drives off the ammonia and other volatile chemicals which make dry green tobacco taste like grass clippings.
I ordered seeds online from a couple of sources and planted them indoors in late February. I sowed several varieties, including types of cigarette tobaccos (virginia and turkish) and several varieties of cigar tobacco for filler, binder, and wrapper. Tobacco seeds are fine as dust and must be spread on the surface of the potting soil, kept covered, and only watered from below to avoid distubance. This is the most difficult stage of tobacco growing and I lost some plants due to too much sun exposure too quickly. Once the plants are an inch or two tall they can be transplanted into 6-packs for further growing until they reach a size (4-6") where it is safe to put them out into the garden. This is after all danger of spring frost is over. At this stage, tobacco is as easy to grow as tomatoes or petunias, to which it is related.
I have a Masters degree in Horticulture which helps me in my gardening and there are several online forums and websites on growing and curing your own tobacco. Yes, it is still legal to grow it for your own consumption in the U.S. with a very generous maximum quota which most people would never exceed anyway.
Here are some recent photos that we took of my little operation in the mountains of Arizona at 5500 feet above sea level.
Future Cigars March 2007
Main Crop
Mid August, some of the plants beginning to flower. Lower leaves are ready for priming (picking).
Main Crop
Plants are getting buds and are around 5 feet tall.
Hydroponic crop #1
I grew tomatoes hydroponically last year and it worked out well.
Tobacco seems to love it too!
Hydroponic Crop #2
The plants in the foreground have already been harvested completely.
They are growing back from the stumps for a bonus crop.
Cigarette Tobacco
Some Virginia Gold leaves picked today--some are 18 inches long. They turn the gold color when mature and ready to pick.
Foam container that has rods in the top to hang bundles of tobacco from. It contains an electric heater with a water heater thermostat and a humidifier with adjustable humidity level. Note vent hole in top. There is also one at the bottom to let air in. It will probably hold 5 to 10 pounds of dried tobacco. It runs for two weeks at 115 degrees and 70% humidity. Sure goes through a lot of water!
Over a gallon a day.
Homerolled Cigar-Pennsylvania Puro-2006 crop.
Not the prettiest but that will come with practice.
I smoked this one fresh to check if it had enough curing to get the nasties out.
It wasn't bad! Hmmmm-wonder what six months or a year in the humidor would do to it?
I just finished priming the lowest 2-3 leaves from each plant. They are hanging from the rafters of the garage threaded on a string to dry. There are several pounds drying so far.
Next installment will show more hanging, drying, curing and rolling. My objective is to keep experimenting until I come up with a good smokeable cigar. The cigarette tobacco smokes good already and is very tasty. For me it is just a hobby to keep my growing skills up and learn about tobacco and cigars. Maybe it will save money someday. :laugh: May share with friends if they meet my standards.
