Grow your own tobacco?

[GWBowman]

I'm not entirely sure if it would grow well where I am. My yard is almost completely in the shade and the soil is pretty rocky. I've thought about getting some old tires and filling them with topsoil but I probably won't get that done this year. Do the seeds keep well?

I've read 2-5 years with a 10% loss per year is stored properly.

[OnePyroTec]

George is correct on seed life.

BTW George, you have enough to cover a huge plot of land.

My Virginia and Perique have sprouted. Looks like at least those two are still very healthy.

[Bruck]

Any recommendations as to where to purchase leaf?

Leafonly and wholeleaftobacco have wide selections and reasonable prices; thetobaccobutcher dot com is an independent grower with great prices but limited selection. But the butcher's selection is probably all you'll need for making a wide range of pipe tobacco.

[OnePyroTec]

Sprouts about a week old. The top left had more than the rest. I just gave it the first of several thinnings. Eventually I will have 1 or 2 healthy plants per cup.

[Bruck]

Nice plantology, Wayne - you'll have to keep us updated photojournalistically I love this DIY subforum - it's inspiring to see all these creative types in action.

[OnePyroTec]

Tobacco is a slow starter when it comes to growing. It takes weeks before they being to really take off in size.

I have thinned the herd in all cups and if I'm lucky the leaves may have almost doubled in size in the last 10 days. (not a lot of growth but as expected) I'll try to get some update pics again this weekend.

[quo155]

Not to run you off to another forum, but...
fairtradetobacco dot com is a grower/roller forum with all the info on the subject you could possibly need, and it's reasonably well organized. I'm occasionally active on that forum, for the cigar rolling discussions.
I looked into this myself and concluded that it just wouldn't be worth it, when you can get high-quality already-processed leaves in the $12-$14/# range.

I second the above mentioned site...for growing tobacco, a great forum for such!

[OnePyroTec]

Update on tobacco plant growth. You can see 14 days later they have not had much action.

[GWBowman]

I followed Wayne's lead with the solo cups. Five of the six tobaccos have sprouted. The Connecticut Shade did nothing and the Burley only has a few sprouts. I avoided the peat pellets, but at some point I thought to look at the bag of seeding mix and found out it is peat. Tonight I put just potting soil in a couple of cups and started more Connecticut Shade and Burley. Tried pics but for some reason me, digital cameras and flash can't get along. If I think of it I'll see what I can do in daylight.

[OnePyroTec]

Did you just sprinkle seed on top of the soil? I used to lightly cover them, until I realized that wasn't a good thing with tobacco seeds. Also, this year I covered the cups with plastic wrap until they sprouted. It kept the soil moist so I didn't have to water again for many days giving the tiny things time to take root.

When you say Burley, is that the Perique that only sprouted a few?