Homegrown tobacco

[H. Vachon]

I’ve debated for a while about whether or not I should start a thread for my tobacco growing experiment. I decided it would be fun to share some progress photos as well as a bit of information I’ve picked up in case others are interested. I know other have posted in the past, but I haven’t seen anything like this recently.

Being that Connecticut Broadleaf is arguably my favorite tobacco, I decided it would be a fun place to start. It has a quick life cycle of 45-50 days. That and it’s a shorter variety so I didn’t feel as if I deprived the plants of space as much as I would a 6’ tall plant.

I started out with a pack of 100 seeds from Victory Seed co (No affiliation). The instructions recommended that I spread all 100 seeds in a 4inch pot, but since I only planned to take the two strongest. I spread the seeds over a 6 cell flat.

Once I had my two strongest contenders, I transplanted them into a couple of 6 inch pots. At this point, I hooked up my auto water pump. I used a bit of lemon juice and test strips to drop my pH to around 6 or slightly under. While I don’t know how big of an impact this will have, google knows best… Right?

After about three weeks in the 6 inch pots. The roots had taken up every available inch of soil, so I transplanted them into some 14 inch pots as their final home.

Roughly a week after transplanting, I started giving the plants 4 hour bursts a day of full spectrum light to avoid shock or burning the leaves. At this time, the flower buds are starting to form. I plan to let one plant flower to collect the seeds. The other, I will remove the flower to allow more energy to be put towards leaf formation.

I plan to update the few remaining milestones, as well as the harvesting and curing process as they happen. Hopefully someone enjoys this process as much as I am. I have Havana 236 on deck to serve as filler in the future.

 

[jacot23]

Growing up in a rural area where tobacco was the primary farm crop the idea of this brings back both fond memories and NIGHTMARES! Worst experience was being sick from cutting and spiking too soon after being sprayed for suckers. No telling how many acres I’ve handled from seed to baling.

I do wish you good luck.

I actually might grow some good ole burley myself at some point though to make my own pipe tobacco.

 

[H. Vachon]

Growing up in a rural area where tobacco was the primary farm crop the idea of this brings back both fond memories and NIGHTMARES! Worst experience was being sick from cutting and spiking too soon after being sprayed for suckers. No telling how many acres I’ve handled from seed to baling.

I do wish you good luck.

I actually might grow some good ole burley myself at some point though to make my own pipe tobacco.

That’s awesome! I might have to pick your brain when it comes to harvesting then!

ETA: Luckily only having two plants, I can pinch the suckers by hand haha.

 

[brad]

I’ve debated for a while about whether or not I should start a thread for my tobacco growing experiment. I decided it would be fun to share some progress photos as well as a bit of information I’ve picked up in case others are interested. I know other have posted in the past, but I haven’t seen anything like this recently.

Being that Connecticut Broadleaf is arguably my favorite tobacco, I decided it would be a fun place to start. It has a quick life cycle of 45-50 days. That and it’s a shorter variety so I didn’t feel as if I deprived the plants of space as much as I would a 6’ tall plant.

I started out with a pack of 100 seeds from Victory Seed co (No affiliation). The instructions recommended that I spread all 100 seeds in a 4inch pot, but since I only planned to take the two strongest. I spread the seeds over a 6 cell flat.
View attachment 75072
Once I had my two strongest contenders, I transplanted them into a couple of 6 inch pots. At this point, I hooked up my auto water pump. I used a bit of lemon juice and test strips to drop my pH to around 6 or slightly under. While I don’t know how big of an impact this will have, google knows best… Right?
View attachment 75073
After about three weeks in the 6 inch pots. The roots had taken up every available inch of soil, so I transplanted them into some 14 inch pots as their final home.
View attachment 75074
Roughly a week after transplanting, I started giving the plants 4 hour bursts a day of full spectrum light to avoid shock or burning the leaves. At this time, the flower buds are starting to form. I plan to let one plant flower to collect the seeds. The other, I will remove the flower to allow more energy to be put towards leaf formation.
View attachment 75075
I plan to update the few remaining milestones, as well as the harvesting and curing process as they happen. Hopefully someone enjoys this process as much as I am. I have Havana 236 on deck to serve as filler in the future.

i grew about 20 plants this year, and was pleased at how easy they were to grow. transplanted them outside in full sun, and they really grew well. tobacco cutworms got some of them (they really eat up some leaves) but most came out great. it’s dried and i’m starting to roll some cigars. friends who have tried them say they’re good. well worth the minimal effort, even if just for fun. here’s a pic of my leaves hanging to dry when i harvested them.

 

[smellysell]

Very cool, Hayden!

 

[H. Vachon]

i grew about 20 plants this year, and was pleased at how easy they were to grow. transplanted them outside in full sun, and they really grew well. tobacco cutworms got some of them (they really eat up some leaves) but most came out great. it’s dried and i’m starting to roll some cigars. friends who have tried them say they’re good. well worth the minimal effort, even if just for fun. here’s a pic of my leaves hanging to dry when i harvested them.

Did those end up turning brown while curing? I’ve seen a lot of people wait until they yellow before harvesting. But if those turned out well, I might do one each way to see the difference in end product

 

[jacot23]

That’s awesome! I might have to pick your brain when it comes to harvesting then!

Your problem is going to probably be harvesting and curing the wrong time of year; though I Connecticut Broadleaf is probably different than burley. We usually topped(broke the suckers off) at end of July and cut mid to late August, then hung it upside down in a barn for a couple months.

If we cut and air cure too early(late June, early July) it would be too hot/humid and spoil, too late(late September, into October) it’s too cool and takes forever to cure unless you fire cure it.

I’m no expert for sure and it’s been 30 years…

 

[H. Vachon]

Yeah, I have a feeling this is going to take a hot minute to cure. The tent sits around 68-70 during the winter months. I feel like a small space heater could help, but I don’t know if I could bring myself to run a space heater without monitoring it

 

[PaulTra]

I dig it!

 

[H. Vachon]

So I was doing some thinking about the humidity issues @jacot23 brought up. Today I installed a humidity controller and a humidifier. I also topped the plants yesterday, some of the bottom leaves are just starting to turn yellow at the tips. I decided against harvesting the seeds this time around.

As you can see in the images below, I made a mistake by changing the light too early. The leaves were forming 1-2” apart, once I switched the lights, the stem just took off. I have a feeling I cost myself some yield by doing that, but I’ll know better next time.

 

[cabaiguan juan]

“Tobacco “

 

[Pugman1943]

Great thread. Hoping for positive results.

 

[xyz123]

Yeah, I have a feeling this is going to take a hot minute to cure. The tent sits around 68-70 during the winter months. I feel like a small space heater could help, but I don’t know if I could bring myself to run a space heater without monitoring it

I use one with a thermostat that also can oscillate.. helps knowing it's not just blowing hot air in one place non-stop. Also has a pressure switch on the bottom. If it moves or gets knocked over, it cuts the power. You can also buy WiFi outlets that you can turn it on and off with your phone or schedule on/off times.

It's all on Amazon and relatively inexpensive. I even use an Amazon Basics one in my sunporch.

It's on sale for Cyber Monday right now.. $20.

 

[H. Vachon]

After some additional reading sparked by some advice I received from @donandres1, I decided to harvest yesterday. I have adjusted my humidity to 68%. As suggested by the interwebs, I stacked the leaves 4-5 deep, face to face/back to back to increase airflow. We’ll see what happens in 8-12 weeks. I’ll probably post a few updates throughout the curing process.

 

[CBoukal]

After some additional reading sparked by some advice I received from @donandres1, I decided to harvest yesterday. I have adjusted my humidity to 68%. As suggested by the interwebs, I stacked the leaves 4-5 deep, face to face/back to back to increase airflow. We’ll see what happens in 8-12 weeks. I’ll probably post a few updates throughout the curing process.
View attachment 75747View attachment 75748

Don't forget he said to rotate them!

 

[H. Vachon]

Don't forget he said to rotate them!

My humidifier should go three or so days between refills. I figured when I open up to refill, I’ll move the tobacco around and make sure it has air gaps.

 

[brad]

Did those end up turning brown while curing? I’ve seen a lot of people wait until they yellow before harvesting. But if those turned out well, I might do one each way to see the difference in end product

yes, they turned brown while hangng 6 weeks or so. they just hung in my outdoor shed with a fan moving the air around. no temp or humidity control. seemed to work fine.

 

[H. Vachon]

Upon returning home from a trip out of town, I noticed my humidity was at 50%. I looked inside and my humidifier had malfunctioned. I would guess sometime around Friday morning. Half of the tobacco seems fine, but the rest are in various states. Some are fairly brittle and others still have a bit of pliability. I’ll have to do some research on the pros and cons of rehydrating at this point vs letting the process finish and just toss any crispy leaves at the end.

 

[brad]

bring the humidity back up, sometimes i’ll lay the brittle leaves under one of those clear plastic humidity domes you use for starting seeds with a pan of warm water to the side. usually within 5 or 6 hours they absorb moisture and feel and smell like new.

 

[H. Vachon]

bring the humidity back up, sometimes i’ll lay the brittle leaves under one of those clear plastic humidity domes you use for starting seeds with a pan of warm water to the side. usually within 5 or 6 hours they absorb moisture and feel and smell like new.

Thanks! I will try that this evening!