Drought resistant Virginia…

[BradinNC]

Good morning. This coming year will be my first time growing tobacco. I have some property up in Virginia that I live about a hour and a half from and was thinking about working a small portion of my 1/4 acre field for a dozen or so plants for myself. Is there a strain that handles the heat/dry weather better than the others? I am generally in the area every weekend/every other weekend but would hate to put the time and money into preparing the soil just to have them cook. Any suggestions? Recommendations?

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. Check out the New Growers' FAQ. You may wish to scan through the topics in our Index of Key Forum Threads. Both are linked in the menu bar.

For most tobacco varieties grown in the field, supplemental watering may only be needed during the first two or three weeks after transplant.

Bob

 

[Skafidr]

This was my first season growing this summer, and, while I can't help you with your actual question, I learned that tobacco plants can be easy to maintain while they're growing (and are generally quite resilient), but they can be demanding and not very patient during some stages of the growth, e.g. when the leaves are ready to be harvested, or flowers topped. A delay of 1-2 weeks can make a difference on the end product you'll get.

What I'm trying to say here: you may get a final product that is not "optimal". And that's okay, you'll still get something good out of it, including some tobacco, a good learning experience and plenty of fun and challenges! Like any grower out there, you'll learn a thing or two that will make your next growing season better!

(Going on vacation did stress me a bit because I couldn't attend the plants—I must say that I grew in pots so watering was a bit of a concern.)

 

[Knucklehead]

Good morning. This coming year will be my first time growing tobacco. I have some property up in Virginia that I live about a hour and a half from and was thinking about working a small portion of my 1/4 acre field for a dozen or so plants for myself. Is there a strain that handles the heat/dry weather better than the others? I am generally in the area every weekend/every other weekend but would hate to put the time and money into preparing the soil just to have them cook. Any suggestions? Recommendations?

You're right smack dab in the middle of tobacco country. You're biggest concern is going to be where are you going to store all that massive leaf you are going to produce? Plant it and have fun! Start your seed indoors about two months before your last frost.

Lookup your first and last freeze/frost dates by zip code

Check out the largest plant identification database in the world. Read plant and insect reference guides at Daves Garden.

davesgarden.com

 

[deluxestogie]

Current drought monitor:

| U.S. Drought Monitor

droughtmonitor.unl.edu

Bob

 

[BradinNC]

Yes sir, there are fields and fields all over the area. I’m not from here, but I can’t help but feel at home driving down some backroad and passing massive fields of tobacco. I can’t imagine how many fields there were 100 years ago. Tobacco really means a lot to this area, my son’s school even took a field trip to the tobacco museum!

 

[PressuredLeaf]

I grow tobacco in the 120f + heat of the Sonoran desert. As others have mentioned, if you can get them through the juvenile phase tobacco is one tough plant.