Hello from Tennessee

[wildcrow]

Hello. I was guided to this forum by recommendation from another forum. I've been smoking a pipe for 12 years and homesteading for two years now. With all the shock in the commercial pipe tobacco world surrounding impending regulation, price increases, and companies leaving the scene, I decided this was the best time to start growing my own. I'm not big on panic and hysteria, but I am big on being ahead of the curve when necessity unfortunately happens. That said, I've ordered TN 90 LC, Virginia 116, KY 17, and Burley 21 to start me off.

I usually smoke VaBurs and VaPerBurs like Old Joe Krantz and Pegasus more than any other tobaccos I have.

Ive tended small veg gardens with some luck, but it was mostly my previous schedule that kept them from glory. I have no idea what else to say. I look forward to learning what your collective wisdom has to teach. Thanks!

 

[Hasse SWE]

Welcome wildcrow, you will find more information than you need her at FTT. I most say that I don't really understand why you have 3 burley variant and one Virginia bright leaf variant.. But I am sure that you will have a nice and interesting growing season. I don't smoke myself but alot of members make their own pipe tobacco so you will find every thing you need to. And you will also find some interesting and helpful answers. Good luck

 

[DistillingJim]

Welcome Wildcrow - I've always liked the idea of homesteading. I think you'll enjoy your newest crop.

 

[Alpine]

Welcome to FTT

pier

 

[deluxestogie]

Amazing! As I am reading this thread on a cloudy Sunday morning, while sitting on my front porch, a wild crow--on cue--swoops across the pasture in front of me, cawing twice.

Okay! Welcome to the forum, wildcrow. Which end of Tennessee are you from? I think you'll find tobacco growing to be relatively straightforward, though sometimes labor intensive. Be sure to read the Growers' FAQ: link at the top of the page. Also, you may want to bookmark the Index of Key Forum Threads: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3868-Key-threads-in-the-FTT-forum

I think it's a relatively safe bet that you'll get some decent pipe tobacco from your first year's grow. [It sometimes takes two or three seasons to get it right for cigar leaf.] Do look into building a tobacco kiln (a weekend project, for about $100 or less), to speed along the aging process. How many plants do you intend to grow this year?

First year growers often find it helpful to read the grow logs (in Grow Blogs) of other members, as the season progresses. Feel free to start your own grow log, and post photos of your progress along the way.

The View Active Topics link (at the top of the page) will give you instant access to all the most recent posts.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

welcome to FTT.

 

[wildcrow]

Thanks for the welcome guys. I chose three Burley varieties to find the one that works best for me. I did get three packs of the Virginia so I could process enough to do reds and brights. I smoke more burley than anything else and want the best tasting crop I can going into next year. Then I'll likely choose two more and begin the process of elimination.

im from Northern Tennessee where Middle meets East. Pleasant Shade. Tobacco Country. Though the farmers here don't fire cure their crop like they do just across the border in Kentucky and west in Clarksville. I've often thought about buying a bale from my neighbors after they color cure and age, but I wanna know how to do it myself.

 

[MarcL]

Welcome to Fair Trade Tobacco.

 

[burge]

Welcome Big Bonner has al kinds of burley Don has some as well. I highly recommend buying leaf as you are experimenting with growing.

 

[DistillingJim]

I've often thought about buying a bale from my neighbors after they color cure and age, but I wanna know how to do it myself.

Might be interesting to get a small amount from them anyway to compare results?

 

[Charly]

Welcome on FTT and good luck with your first crop

 

[wildcrow]

I will have to wait. They sold it all off a few weeks back. I'm sure they've been growing for eons and know how to grow good leaf, but not one of them uses tobacco. It's big tobacco tobacco, so I'm sure I could pay them a higher price for a couple pounds in the meantime.

 

[deluxestogie]

Our guru member, BigBonner, is a commercial grower in NE Kentucky. Although you could probably just drive up there, it's likely no more expensive to have him ship bulk tobacco to you. Send BigBonner a PM to inquire about varieties and pricing. WLT is in Ohio, and shipping is about the same.

The time to buy from your local growers (if they don't hold any of the crop) is going to be early to late fall. Big Tobacco pays in the range of a couple of dollars a pound, so they come out ahead selling some to you at $10-$20 a pound (although handling "small" quantities is costlier).

Bob

 

[BarG]

Talk to the members , and welcome. You will be amazed on who might help you get your best pipe smoke.

 

[Chicken]

the main things you need to research . is HOW TO START IT, extremely important do your research

a poision that's systemic, to prevent APHIDS from destroying your crop ------------------ B.T. stands for bacillius therogenious, the main ingredient in a poision that stays on your leaves to kill HORNWORMS,,,.

without those ^^^^^^ 2 poisions you'll have problems,

 

[greenmonster714]

Welcome aboard. I have some of BigB's Burley and his dark air as well. Very good tobacco. Wlt has a nice dark air and the VA flue cured Redtips are excellent. They are not as pretty visually as the Redleaf or regular flue cured leaf but they are very good.

Id stick with tobacco's that air cure for the first grow to make things simple. Buying some VA from wlt or bigb' s isnt that expensive. Good luck. Be sure to start a growlog so we can watch too.

 

[L610]

B.T. stands for bacillius therogenious, the main ingredient in a poision that stays on your leaves to kill HORNWORMS,,,.

without those ^^^^^^ 2 poisions you'll have problems,

Good advice, I will use BT this year for hornworms and also the dreaded cutworms which devastated the garden last year.

BT is actually a natural bacteria. The bacteria produces a toxin which is fatal to butterfly/moth caterpillars but won't harm other beneficial insects, animals, etc... so there is no worry about pets or other wildlife being affected by it.

And Sevin Dust (Carbaryl) lowers testosterone. Since testosterone levels in Western men are plummeting these days (17% in the last 30 years across all age groups) it is probably something most tobacco loving manly men would want to avoid.

My favorite gardening channel is the one with Gary Pilarchik, he is very knowledgeable and explains things clearly, he also knows a lot about chemicals. He suggests a soapy water spray which is what I will probably use for aphids. I don't want to smoke pesticides.