New Tobacco Grower with lots of questions

[DrBob]

1200 plants is only 1/2 acre if you get right down to it. You could end up with 500# of tobacco and that will last a long time,, You only need to cure maybe 50# and the rest can age on its own without any kilning. For a beginner I would suggest you kiln a little at a time and not the whole shebang.
The only time you have too much tobacco is when the barn is on fire

 

[Gibson's Farm]

I agree, about the space for sure. I can fit 1200 plants in 4 rows with 36"x36" spacing in my produce field. Planting and growing will no doubt be the easy part. Curing and Aging will be the hard part. I am going to kiln a little at a time until I figure out the art, then I will turn my silo into a kiln. If my barn is on fire ill buy a lot of beer and call the neighbors for a really satisfying bond fire.

 

[DrBob]

When I first started I cured a lot of my tobacco. Now I just let it hang and age on its own. Curing or ( kilning ) are really just a way of speeding up the ageing process.

 

[Gibson's Farm]

When I first started I cured a lot of my tobacco. Now I just let it hang and age on its own. Curing or ( kilning ) are really just a way of speeding up the ageing process.

In the Marine Corps we had a sayin "keep it simple, Stupid". I have patients so if it is going to be easier to just hang my baccy in the silo to age with no kilning, then that's what I want. The less I mess with it the less chance of me messing it up. I am not a tobacco connoisseur, I just want to produce my own tobacco for cheaper than what I pay for it in the store. If it happens to be better and stronger then that will be just a bonus.