Home grown tobacco

OldGoat

Has anyone ever tried growing, curing and smoking tobacco? I've just got access to a plot of land for growing and I'm playing with the idea of growing some leaf just to see how it goes. Anyone had any previous experience?

IVRZ

Often thought of it never tried it .......yet. There might b some issues with licencing and taxation. Would like to hear the law on it

IVRZ

ive just ordered a packet of seeds from here, 6 dollars post free, im going to give it a try
http://www.johnnytobaccoseed.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=11&redirected=1&Itemid=11

Found this forum on how to grow it too.....
http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/index.php?sid=76bb69e363f3d172f898756513b037b4

OldGoat

AFAIK if perfectly legal. There was an industry in Meath at the turn of the century.
This is the site I was going to get some cigar specific seeds from.
http://www.tobaccoseed.co.uk/index.html

IVRZ

would it need a greenhouse in Ireland?

OldGoat

Not from what I've read. Undoubtedly you'll produce a finer leaf if you can grow then under glass and with the right humidity but just like tomatoes you can grow them outdoors.

BeerNut

Fantastic idea!

I think you're safe enough legally. That I can see, the relevant provision is 73(1) of the 2005 Finance Act:

"Liability for tobacco products tax arises at the time tobacco products are released for consumption."

I would guess that your home-grown wouldn't count as being "released for consumption", so wouldn't be exciseable. Don't quote me, though.

FarmerGreen

10.1 Home Grown Tobacco

Any person wishing to do so must apply to the local Revenue Office for a licence to grow tobacco. Special instructions will be issued in each case.

From
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/excise/leaflets/pn1877t.html#a10.1

Seeds are readily available on Ebay.

_blank_

OldGoat wrote: »

Not from what I've read. Undoubtedly you'll produce a finer leaf if you can grow then under glass and with the right humidity but just like tomatoes you can grow them outdoors.

Is tobacco and tomato related?

Reminds me of The Simpsons' Tomacco

BeerNut

Des wrote: »

Is tobacco and tomato related?

Yes, they're both nightshades, native to Latin America, as are aubergines, chillis and potatoes.

IVRZ

This thread gets just interestinger and interestinger. Still waiting for my seeds from lthe states, walter raleigh must have been faster than this. So i guess itll be autumn leaves for me. "Dont tell me Wally, you roll them up, light them and stick them in your ear? Dont call us Wally, we'll call you".:D:D:D

timesaremoving

Hi,

Rather then starting a new thread i was wondering does anyone know of anywhere in dublin selling tobacco seeds? would be interested in giving this a go.

Thanks

OldGoat

I've never seen them onsale anywhere over the counter. I think your best bet is online.

IRVZ: Any joy yet? Did you get your delivery?

el_greco

I think you should be better off waiting for the next season... If you plant the seeds now, they will probably take about at least 6-8 weeks until you can plant them outside. So, it will be September and not too long before the first frost gets them... Tobacco plants don't do frost; you have to have the plants outside for the whole summer if you want to get some success.

I tried this year to grow some plants without any joy. The instructions that came with the seeds dont really work in the Irish climate. My plants are still in the greenhouse after 3 months, and still about 3" in height. But I have learnt from my mistake and next year I will do better. My plan for next year is the following:

I tried a variety of seeds and only the Havana sprouted, so I would suggest using this one. I would say, you should plant the seeds around the end of February. You will need to get a mains heated propagator. B&Q are selling these for about €30. The seeds need temperatures of around 25C to sprout, so unless your sitting room is like a sauna, they will take forever to sprout - mine took 6 weeks! Get some seeding compost and make sure you spray it to keep it moist, not shoggy. Adding some ash will be good too. Keep your propagator away from direct sunlight. All going well, 2 weeks later you should have some nice sprouts showing. Move them in a spot with some more light and keep them in the propagator. Make sure you spray some water in it regularly as they are thirsty plants.

When they are ready to be transplanted - maybe around 4-6 weeks from planting, take your best seedlings and move them to a tray. You need a temperature of around 15C for the plants to keep growing healthy. If you have a glasshouse, keep them there, otherwise a south facing windowsill in your house will do fine.

I would suggest you move the plants outside after the last frost date is gone. This should be middle to late May, although this year we got frost in June! If your plants are gone too big for the seed trays and it is still too early to move outside or still too cold, transplant them into pots and keep them in the greenhouse (or windowsill) until its safe to transplant to their final position outside. Tobacco plants dont have a complicated root system and they will have no problem being transplanted several times until they go out. Make sure you water them regularly and add fertiliser - tomato food should do the job.

While the plant grows, you will need to cut the suckers and the top, so it doesnt grow 7 foot high! you want the leaves that are on the plant to grow big and strong, and if your plants grow too tall, you will have smaller leaves.

Now, when it comes to drying, curing etc., you will have to improvise! I haven't really thought of an effective way to create the ideal enviroment needed... Best of luck!

P.S. I have not managed to grow healthy plants myself yet and I am in no way an expert in it! I have followed the online "tutorials" though, to find out that they wont work on our climate! Please feel free to point out anything you feel may not be right!

timesaremoving

Thanks for all the information el_greco, will give it a shot.

Were did you pick up the seeds?

el_greco

I got them from here.
http://www.coffinails.com/

You will be surprised how small each packet is, the seeds are the size of sawdust!

Delancey

Remember that movie ' Sommersby ' with Jodie Foster and Richard Gere ? That showed tobacco seeds and I was amazed how tiny they were.

I'd be fascinated to hear how this experiemnt goes........

OldGoat

Hya El Greco.
When you got your varity pack of seeds did you choose cigar specific tobaccos or did you just make a general selection? Would you happen to know if there is a better 'filler' plant and a seperate better 'Wrapper' plant for cigars?

Nice post by the way. I'll learn by your mistakes when I cultivate my plants. I intend to order seeds for about March next year to give myself a good month or two to get some good seedlings going and hopefully be ready to plant out in May/June.

Are we due another herf yet?

el_greco

Hi OldGoat

The guy on coffinails suggests Havana for filler, with some Connecticut broadleaf added in the mix, and Connecticut Shade for binder and wrapper. I bought a pack of each and I only managed to get the Havana seeds to germinate... I will try all three of them again next year.

Next herf will probably be on the 16th of August (Monday). Havent set the date in stone yet, but it will probably be then. After 3 herfs in July, I needed some time to recover :-)

OldGoat

If I have any more sucsess with the wrapper/binder plants then you did then you are more then welcome to share my crop.
I'll keep you updated.

IVRZ

Hi old goat. Am still waiting for my seeds from the states. :-(
No idea where they've gone. Am in france for the summer and was hoping to plant them here as the temperatures are better. But i suppose its getting a bit late now and ill have to wait till next year to try it. thanks to everyone for all the info, el greco et al
:)

el_greco

OldGoat wrote: »

If I have any more sucsess with the wrapper/binder plants then you did then you are more then welcome to share my crop.
I'll keep you updated.

Have you got some growing OldGoat? My plants ended up in the composter,lol! I took a picture though before throwing them out...

IVRZ wrote: »

Am in france for the summer and was hoping to plant them here as the temperatures are better. But i suppose its getting a bit late now and ill have to wait till next year to try it.

You have the weather on your side, so you should get a much better plant!

sheesh

hi guys
just read this today it mentions in the book 'peig' that they grew tobacco plants on the blasket islands so maybe there is a strain that grows in colder climates. obviously they would have less frost on the blaskets too but still the average temp would not be that high.

Corsendonk

Fascinated by this thread, I think you would want to be growing a decent amount of plants to harvest a decent crop that you can blend. There is a reason why tobacco production is in sunnier areas of the world than Ireland. The glasshouse option might be the best.

OldGoat

For me the intent is just to get enough tobacco to roll one or two cigars, to experience what is involved in the entire process. I have no intention or expectation of having more then one smoke from the plant(s). There is no way that a home grown and clumsily rolled cigar from my plot in Dublin will ever compare to the pleasures of a hand rolled cigar with Cuban or Dominican or Nicaraguan tobacco.
It would be like comparing eating a spit roast suckling pig to a bag of (stale)bacon flavored crisps.

FarmerGreen

If the plants dont turn out well, you can buy cigar leaf online
at about 20 USD/lb

RMD

BeerNut wrote: »

Yes, they're both nightshades, native to Latin America, as are aubergines, chillis and potatoes.

Jaysus, we grow potatoes here perfectly fine.

We could be onto something here lads, with all these huge areas of cheap land and that now, 8.65 a pack....................

I'm gonna be rich.

BeerNut

RMD wrote: »

we grow potatoes here perfectly fine.

There was a wee bit of a climate-compatibility issue back in the 1840s, I believe.

FarmerGreen

I started 3 months late with my seeds.
Nothings going to happen this year, but have a go and learn something.

The Burley leaves are now a foot and a half long.
Even the no hopers I pricked out have stems 3/8-1/2 thick.

I dont think I've ever seen anything grow as quickly from a seed that looks like ground black pepper.

As for getting a smoke from it, thats another thing.

Shameless plug. http://seeds-by-size.net/nicotiana-tabaccum.html

FarmerGreen

Six Burley plants in three growbags. They keep getting bigger.



12 inch ruler for scale.

Dr. Baltar

Hello Everyone,

I recently posted about this on the gardening forum and was asked to come here. It seems there hasn't been a post in this thread in a few months, so I guess I better ask has anyone been successful, what's the tobacco like?
Any tips? Where to buy seeds? How much are they? Is there legal issues assuming the tobacco is for personal use?