How to package tobacco for sale?

[Michibacy]

I will be attempting to sell unprocessed tobacco this season, any tips on packaging it?

I hate to use this comparison, but marijuana is wrapped in breathable plastic and shipped, can small hands of tobacco be as well?

Michibacy (from Howtogrowtobacco.com)

 

[deluxestogie]

Michibacy,
Welcome to the FTT forum. Tobacco should be brought in to low-to-medium case, then enclosed in a vapor proof bag for shipping or display. High case will mold. A breathable bag would simply allow the leaf to dessicate and crumble to dust when handled.

Bob

 

[Tom_in_TN]

FmGrowit sends 1 lb packs in a plastic bag/tube that's about 20" in length and 10" round. Then it is sealed. This keeps the leaf in the same case (moisture level) as it was packed. He sends it in low case and it will keep a year in that condition. If the leaves dry-out they will shatter. So, ziplock baggies (gallon size) will be OK for a few days but for much longer time periods they are not suitable. Also, the packs must be in a nice sturdy box to keep from being mangled by the carrier.

I'm sure others will chime in and explain the process better than my limited experience.

Tom TN

Edit: See? Deluxe is johnny-on-the-spot with good advice and beat me to it.

 

[BarG]

I'd say that was pretty d--n good Tom. I haven't had any mold after being sealed for up to 3 months when more than a lb. is ordered. I haven't tested the limit but I bet FmGrowit is. I can't keep from smoking longer than that. If its something new it gets opened right away anyway to check the aroma and sample taste. Even unsealed leafs seem to maintain there aroma.

 

[deluxestogie]

We should note that FmGrowit's bags are a costly, bi-layer (polyethylene/nylon) material, rather than just thick polyethylene.

Bob

 

[Chicken]

i see nothing wrong with your example,,,,

if marijuana was legal,, i'd be growing it,, and buying my baccy

or growing both,,,,and buying my cucumbers,,{lol}

 

[Chicken]

edit;

you got 1 post,,,,are you growing baccy this year,,,???

and if so lets see some pics,

i think you'll like this site better than H,T,G,T, im a member there also,,,as are 85% of people on this site,,,,

but i havent visited there in months, if not a year,,

this site is the same as it is,,, just a little less strict,,,

> THE QUESTION YOU ASKED IS A '' TABOO'' QUESTION AT H,T,G,T,

 

[BarG]

edit;

you got 1 post,,,,are you growing baccy this year,,,???

and if so lets see some pics,

i think you'll like this site better than H,T,G,T, im a member there also,,,as are 85% of people on this site,,,,

but i havent visited there in months, if not a year,,

this site is the same as it is,,, just a little less strict,,,

> THE QUESTION YOU ASKED IS A '' TABOO'' QUESTION AT H,T,G,T,

For a good natured redneck Chicken, that guy at the bottom looks like he's ready to bite big baccys head off.

 

[Michibacy]

I'll upload pictures of my plants tomorrow on my computer, I've got (now) 17 plants growing, I do like this place quite a bit, nice I can sell my leaf here too! I've got a few blends I wanna try out and sell as well this year.

 

[Tom_in_TN]

I do like this place quite a bit, nice I can sell my leaf here too!

Welcome to the forum, Michibacy. Your input will be greatly appreciated. With that many plants (17) your first thought might be to 'baby' them plants or get some more started and hope they produce enough baccy to get you through a full years worth of smoking. There will be plenty of time later on to get an acre planted, cared for, topped, suckered, primed/harvested, cured and fermented prior to worrying about selling and shipping out a bag of tobacco leaf.

If your goal is to learn all you can about growing good tobaccy and possibly selling some down the road then you have landed in the right place.

 

[Michibacy]

I plan to learn more as well as get some smokeable baccy, I wouldn't mind selling some to see how it goes, I know I probably wouldn't smoke 17 plants worth.

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?856-Michibacy-Grow-Low-2012 here is my log on ftt

 

[Tom_in_TN]

Most us, myself included, need to think about expanding the number of folks growing tobaccy. Perhaps just putting up a few road signs to try and sell a few plants right now would definitely get some attention. Depending on the area it may lead to quite a few sales. If someone wanted to do a bunch of plants I would send them to BigBonner, especially for any volume orders. He also does a bunch of different varieties. As folks in any area begin to grow their own tobaccy they will certainly want to sign up at FTT to learn the finer points about how to raise, care, harvest and cure it.

 

[Michibacy]

Indeed, it would be perfect for agriculture, also have to keep in mind the business side of it, too many people growing, less people to sell whole leaf to. But still, it's the basis for Capitalism so let's do it! I've been trying to get a lot of locals in to Tobacco, but Tobacco seems to be so taboo.

I've got a coworker just growing to grow, and I have a few customers in the area that would be willing to buy whole leaf so I really think we all have a decent chance at going somewhere with this whole idea.

A lot of farmers around here are stuck on edible cash crop: corn, beans, beets etc. Tobacco CAN be done this far north (it is done in Wisconsin after all) you just need to give attention to the tobacco (learned that last season).

 

[Chicken]

ive actually thoguht of throwing up a sign to sell some of my left-over plants,,,

ive sold a lot allready on a swap-shop radio show, and made 130 bucks off of 6 sales,,,

 

[Michibacy]

Not bad! Not bad at all! I have experience blending tobacco (local tobacco shop has quite the variety of tobaccos and I blended some to make a good pipe tobacco a few years back) so I hope to sell "blends" of leaves in addition to "whole-stock" leaves. how much do you charge per pound?

 

[Chicken]

i guess the price,, depends on your area, and how much people are to pay...

start high, and lower your prices as you see fit,