grow own tobacco

Hi folks
Hope I’m in the right place for likeminded people I have been growing Tobacco in the UK for some time now and have found it very hard to obtain different smoking Tobacco strains golden Virginia seems to be all you can get here unless you want to pay a mad price for seed or get them from abroad , so I have set about getting a pure seed bank going this has taken a lot of time and effort not to mention cost on my part but I fell it is worth it, I have made many friends and contacts from around the world which has been great fun I now have a website where I sell seed not normally found in the UK which helps cover costs i also from time to time swap seeds to try to increase the seed bank and help other growers obtain seed any questions or comments would be great I will put a link if you would like to have a look many thanks.

 

Hi Bill,

Got my finger hovering over the spam button but will let you continue as we have a few Tobacco growers on here Just take it easy.

 

Give him a chance zigs please..im interested

 

many thanks zigs and thank you joolz68 it was not meant as spam just a way to get out to people that may be interested thanks again.

 

Cool, just keeping an eye out.

Welcome to Gardeners Corner by the way.

 

I cant get your tutorials to work thou im interested in the curing video,when did you take your photos?it was non stop rain here last summer madbill?
I had non stop fights with slugs and caterpillars when i grew burley,virginia & rustica

 

there where some sunny days i think lol perhaps you need a plugin they are youtube vids from a good friend of mine, all the pics are mine not the best but hay,i have never had problems with slugs or snails but i do cover all my planting areas with ground cover cloth, what strains have you grown did you have a good experience growing them?.

 

I did ok for my 1st time i think but the weather wasnt the best! i had a leaf prob with the rustica but the burly hampton & golden virginia grew well,i wasnt sure about curing and now my leaves are in cardboard boxes..ageing?
We have a tabacco thread on here from last yr i will try and find it & link it so you can have a peek,where are you in the uk? your ebay doesnt give a location either

 

Welling in Kent I reckon, according to the domain registration public record. I guess its an oversight that its been omitted from the About us and Contact Us sections of the site, no mention in the forum either.

 

thanks zigs its good to be here, joolz im in kent, curing can seem a bit hard at first but you will get there perhaps try some ornamental strains these sun cure if we get enough sun but you finish them off by air drying in a out house or garage say.

 

I tell you bill it was a pain trying to cure,i tried hanging them in the pot shed with a fan on and on the washing arier on overcast days
I left some in another shed with the door open but they went mouldy
Froogin nightmare bill
So i boxed up what i had left as i had read you can cure them another time so i thought id wait for better weather this yr to re hang them??
I would be interested in which you recommend is the best to grow and cure for the uk climate bill please(smoking tabacco not that is pipe or cigar)

 

Here is a link to a tabacco thread from last yr bill http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/grow-you-own-tobacco.35341/page-8#post-602977

 

its really not that hard once you get the hang of it the trick here is to so early grow them indoors so they get a head start sow enough so you have a lot of spares and get them out as soon as you can after danger of frost has passed this way you will be able to harvest early and let them dry in the sun, if you still have leaf that are dry but green i would just cut my losses as there will be to much chlorophyll in the leaf and not good to smoke.i would be careful of rustica they are very high in nicotine take care,
i would try a bright leaf strain which you have already eg Virginia and any ornamental strain turkish type say bursa or Oriental Samsoun sun/air dry say.

 

If you get chance to take a read of the other thread i linked it has pics and prob some folks you may be familiar with bill
A few of us gave the tabacco growing a good bash at with mixed outcomes,i felt it was hard work when it came to understanding curing,i know smoking isnt good for you but i did want to one day try what i had grown only if i knew it was cured and aged right,my leaves are brown but i didnt/dont feel confident enough to try them im paranoid

 

don't be paranoid leaves are brown that's very good, if there brown your 80% there, even better if they have aged for a long time, dont look to deep into curing at the moment your nearly there, what i would do now if they are dry is put them in a black bag spray some water on them with a mist sprayer not to much close up the bag and give it a day or so check to see if they are moist enough if not spray a little more until the leaves can be opened without cracking like leather,then cut them very fine the finer the better as this allows for more air flow in the cigarette i use a pasta machine on angel hair setting run it though a few times and then allow it to dry until it can be smoked easy peasy.