Wild idea in action 2016

[StickyBiz]

Here goes nothin...


"I acquired seven varieties this spring, went whole hog kerbang and sowed them all. I thought my tobacco grow was real short lived when after ten days or so there wasn't a single damn thing showing in the seed flats. But they have plans for me I see now, they are all showing nicely so looks like lots of transplant and grow work looms. Here is what I got: Cuban Criollo 98, Havana 608, Havana z299, Connecticut Broadleaf, Connecticut Shade, Virginia 116 and African Red. The source was Sustainable Seed Co out of Chico, CA.
I really don't know for sure how I got to the point of ordering tobacco seed. I think it started when I was researching curing, my interest being in curing whacky tobacco . After days of reading about curing and thinking and such, hell I was reading about growing tobacco! Now look what happened, a couple three flats of seedlings."

That was my intro post and decided to go ahead with a modest grow journal.

My objective is to see if I can grow and cure a tobacco variety(s) here as a micro agricultural product. It's a research at a personal-use grow level that'll likely go for two-three years. My small farm needs high value products and unprocessed tobacco caught my eye. From what I have gathered it's legit here in Washington as an agriculture product (not taxed) if unprocessed. Contact was made with state authorities to confirm but so far they've not responded beyond having my can of questions booted down the hall to the next cubicle. I can hear them snickering though "some yahoo wants to know if it is legal to grow or sell or buy a tobacco plant in western Washington.."

Honestly, the unprocessed tobacco tax loop-hole is a cow sized hole in the tax fence, you have to understand this state will tax a fart if possible as a sin tax. However, the grow and cure doesn't look easy at all so they have apparent near zero concern.

I picked the varieties to make me a decent cigar someday, make some good shredded ryo/pipe especially for my spliffs and short and long season for local grow information. I am real interested in the cure side and have a good spot to do that.

Seeds sown in mid-April. Used ProMix potting soil, it's a peat based product and it's a first rate product, into seed flats. Packed the mix down, dribble dropped the seed in, and watered in, misted daily. My initial plan was to use heat pads but seeing the super small seed made me worry about over heat and dry-out so I didn't use them. By the end of the first 7 days with no show at all I hit the "gotta do something or it's a bust" anxiety bubble and decided the best bet was to add heat by upping room temps. When that had no apparent affect, I went heat pads on two trays and direct sunlight and higher up in the room for the other 1.5 flats. Finally, the flats showed some green and it's grow on. The next step is to lift out about half of each cell and transplant to another tray, looks like I can double up the trays and then thin down to one per cell over the next week or ten days. I use a butter knife to lift out half the sprouts and it works slick.

I'll do a few photos along the way, but not just yet...don't want to jinx my green thumb cuz that's about all I got going on this first time ever tobacco grow. Hell, these seedlings are the first live tobacco plants I have ever seen outside of pics or you tube.

 

[deluxestogie]

Good luck with your grow. Tobacco growing is an incurable affliction.

Bob

 

[Gavroche]

Oh yes !...

 

[StickyBiz]

Sprout Splitter

 

[Brown Thumb]

Good Luck, Looks Good.
Its a tobacco thing, Most people don't understand.
We Do tho.

 

[StickyBiz]

Thanks! I have been reading up today here in between splitting up the seedling clumps into new cells. Looks like I can split them again in a few days if I needed to. Anyway next task is to prep the grow area as it's got a thick grass cover crop that will start to sod soon if I don't get after it. The plot to work with for this grow is 160' x 60'. I don't think it will all get used. I've decided on 4' between rows and 3' between plants. I am just using a walk behind garden tiller, so after smashing and scraping it all down with a loader bucket tractor will then till up the rows, probably till them once a week until transplant in early June. I think I can count on 500 plants so that will do 10 rows. Likely will roundup once between rows early May and then run the tiller down every week after transplant. Anyway, that's the thinking now. Oh, the plot is full sun sunrise up to about 7pm when a distant tree shadow creeps over until sunset. East-West rows on heavy bottom land soil. Thinking about weed cloth but not sure I want to spend the money or the hassle of installing and then removing. It can be hoed between the plants once a week, should only take 3-4hrs, and it looks like care is going to run about 4-6hrs a week steady labor (not counting daily walk-thru minimal stuff) over the season between hoeing, spraying, feeding, topping and such. If it's more than that I'll probably chop enough out to get to that time frame as that's about all I have for this project labor wise.

 

[Brown Thumb]

500 plants is a full time Job Almost

 

[StickyBiz]

It's definitely a project! If I don't have enough to demand my attention then something else does. I am in one of those interludes of life where I need to keep myself busy. My kids are all on their own, two in the military and the other married in Oklahoma, no grandkids...no wife no girlfriend...and my job is this small farm.

 

[Brown Thumb]

Go For It Then.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

You might consider trying to sell some of your tobacco as potted plants in addition to whole leaf. Can any processed tobacco be imported into WA State? I know pipe tobacco cannot. I would think some Turkish tobacco in pots would sell rather well at a roadside farmer's market.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Here goes nothin...


"I acquired seven varieties this spring, went whole hog kerbang and sowed them all. I thought my tobacco grow was real short lived when after ten days or so there wasn't a single damn thing showing in the seed flats. But they have plans for me I see now, they are all showing nicely so looks like lots of transplant and grow work looms. Here is what I got: Cuban Criollo 98, Havana 608, Havana z299, Connecticut Broadleaf, Connecticut Shade, Virginia 116 and African Red. The source was Sustainable Seed Co out of Chico, CA.
I really don't know for sure how I got to the point of ordering tobacco seed. I think it started when I was researching curing, my interest being in curing whacky tobacco . After days of reading about curing and thinking and such, hell I was reading about growing tobacco! Now look what happened, a couple three flats of seedlings."

That was my intro post and decided to go ahead with a modest grow journal.

My objective is to see if I can grow and cure a tobacco variety(s) here as a micro agricultural product. It's a research at a personal-use grow level that'll likely go for two-three years. My small farm needs high value products and unprocessed tobacco caught my eye. From what I have gathered it's legit here in Washington as an agriculture product (not taxed) if unprocessed. Contact was made with state authorities to confirm but so far they've not responded beyond having my can of questions booted down the hall to the next cubicle. I can hear them snickering though "some yahoo wants to know if it is legal to grow or sell or buy a tobacco plant in western Washington.."

Honestly, the unprocessed tobacco tax loop-hole is a cow sized hole in the tax fence, you have to understand this state will tax a fart if possible as a sin tax. However, the grow and cure doesn't look easy at all so they have apparent near zero concern.

I picked the varieties to make me a decent cigar someday, make some good shredded ryo/pipe especially for my spliffs and short and long season for local grow information. I am real interested in the cure side and have a good spot to do that.

Seeds sown in mid-April. Used ProMix potting soil, it's a peat based product and it's a first rate product, into seed flats. Packed the mix down, dribble dropped the seed in, and watered in, misted daily. My initial plan was to use heat pads but seeing the super small seed made me worry about over heat and dry-out so I didn't use them. By the end of the first 7 days with no show at all I hit the "gotta do something or it's a bust" anxiety bubble and decided the best bet was to add heat by upping room temps. When that had no apparent affect, I went heat pads on two trays and direct sunlight and higher up in the room for the other 1.5 flats. Finally, the flats showed some green and it's grow on. The next step is to lift out about half of each cell and transplant to another tray, looks like I can double up the trays and then thin down to one per cell over the next week or ten days. I use a butter knife to lift out half the sprouts and it works slick.

I'll do a few photos along the way, but not just yet...don't want to jinx my green thumb cuz that's about all I got going on this first time ever tobacco grow. Hell, these seedlings are the first live tobacco plants I have ever seen outside of pics or you tube.

I ordered the Ct Broadleaf from SSC as well last year...I had issues with Ct Shade (died after 3 seed sowing attempts)and B-leaf (only 2 survived of 3 sowings,minimal harvested leaf). I'd like to know what your results this season are growing those. I had the best luck with "Cuban seed" The Criollo 98 and Havana 608 were decent producers. Try Vuelta Abajo and Florida Sumatra , both of those did great for me. I have plenty of seed available from last year if you'd like some .

 

[Chicken]

Sounds like your off to a good start..and as stated..growing ur own crop is addictive..

Me myself I like to create my own potting soil..buying some peat..perlite..potting soil..using mushroom/ cow compost..cow / bat manure...and mixing all that toghter to make the perfect medium..

I do the same thing for stuff in my veggie garden..but for that I incorporate chicken manure in the mix.

 

[StickyBiz]

Out here there aren't many tobacco growers (none that I have spotted) so I think potted plants might sell at a farm stand or on craigslist (which is a popular way out here to sell stuff). On the processed tobacco they have a 95% tax with lower exceptions of $.65 per cigar and $3.02 per 20 cigs. There is pipe tobacco and cigarette tobacco in the tobacco shops so not sure what exception they have. I do know the total state and fed tax on a pack of cigs is $4.03 and $1.05 per cigar. The only realistic way I see to do processed tobacco is in a cigar but there probably is some way to do pipe and cigarette loose tobacco, I just don't see it in the regs. Which is why so long as the state considers "unprocessed" tobacco to not be under the 95% tax is the key to any sales involving a tobacco plant/whole leaf. I think there is a small latent market for whole leaf tobacco, especially for making cigars. We have a culture here of making and buying micro products in beer and spirits so cigars probably would do ok too, either make your own or as a micro label.
On the Connecticut Shade (CS) and Connecticut Broadleaf (CB). I sowed them side by side in one flat 49 cells each. The CS was the weakest germination of all the varieties and the CB was the strongest of all. It is fair to say the CS needs a tighter window of optimum germination conditions compared to the other six varieties. What that optimum window is? I don't know but certainly someone on FTT knows.
I too make my own soil mixes using old cow manure, composts and clay loam soils. However, I prefer getting the big cubes of Pro-Mix high porosity + mycorrhizae or Sunshine 4 high aggregate for starting seeds and early transplanting and upper root zone of container plants. (Hope that got all the comments questions covered.)

 

[StickyBiz]

Preparing the plot, looking west, yonder is tree that puts a little shade on as the sun swoops around after 7pm in the summer. Behind the plot is vineyard. Next is to till the ten rows going east-west.

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

+1 on the ProMix. I've worked in greenhouses for years and always used it. This year, I am running a small market garden operation with tomato plants. The first dozen flats were in ProMix and subsequent ones in Bonnie mix. The ProMix ones are blowing the others out of the water - head and shoulders above. Good luck on your grow. Hint - if you're rolling spliffs, you might investigate wrapper leaf for blunts. I'm not sure if you could sell pre-cut wrappers of a certain size, you know, for any old purpose. Might be worth investigating.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

There is pipe tobacco and cigarette tobacco in the tobacco shops so not sure what exception they have.

Just to clarify.. From what I understand WA State residents cannot buy pipe tobacco via the internet and have it shipped to them. They can buy tobacco in stores but it costs an arm and a leg.

 

[rainmax]

Good luck. Beware of addiction...

 

[StickyBiz]

I wanted 500 starts and am now over 800 so there's a few extra. With more research on plant spacing I won't use the 3', probably some rows at 2' and some at 1.5' with the 4' between rows. These little guys transplant real well so far and I credit the potting soil as a huge help on that. Maybe try and sell some plants in four weeks or so, making up some sets of 6 for that purpose. *Also up graded transplant tool, using a palate knife (Grumbacher 870), as it improves dexterity.

 

[StickyBiz]

... Hint - if you're rolling spliffs, you might investigate wrapper leaf for blunts. I'm not sure if you could sell pre-cut wrappers of a certain size, you know, for any old purpose. Might be worth investigating.

Yes, this was my first interest that made me aware of the whole leaf/grow your own people. I wanted a pre-cut leaf wrapper to make a decent blunt, got weird looks at the tobacco store is all. Then I dropped the idea and didn't really read up on growing until I got into a discussion on curing. Then a little bell went off and I went and read up on tobacco curing...and somehow over a couple pints of beer read up on grow your own and got snagged! The short answer is the pre-cut leaf sell would be subject to state and federal taxes. It isn't clear if it would be at the 95% state tax which would make it undoable. The tobacco shops have these fake flavored wrappers that look like a fruit leather roll and they are ffing disgusting! But I do think people would catch on to buying whole leaf and trimming their own blunt wrappers, especially with some fine cigar wrapper leaf. I haven't been a blunt guy as cheap cigars are gawd awful taste to start with and then can't see messing up a decent cigar to get some whacky baccy in it. I went with a spliff for my afternoon pickup smoke. I use a 78mm, full taste pipe tobacco, JOB papers and a sativa upper strain cut up with scissors.

 

[StickyBiz]

Quick update, thinning down the trays to one per cell, looks like a couple more weeks at least before ready to put out, probable outside date is June 14-July 1. Next year will get an earlier start on the seeds, kind of a squeaker to make it this season but think it's going to be fine.