Tips on Growing Tobacco and Making a Blend.

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Bosnian piper

Lurker
Jan 30, 2025
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I wanna grow some of me own tobbaco this summer and make me a blend as this time of year in (eastern Europe) it's getting hotter as summer comes and temps here can reach up to 46 degrees Celsius and for my American bros that's around 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Anyway I've never had any experience growing tobbaco or making a homemade blend so can someone give me the general process of growing tabbaco and making a blend. Also I have some qestions: which types of soil is best to use to grow the tabbaco as to keep the plant healthier and so it can grow faster? Fertilised soil, loamy soil, chalky soil? ,is it best to keep the tabbaco under some type of covering like a clear plastic sheet? When making the blend can I add or use herbs mixed with tabbaco to change or make a flavour? I have access to tobbaco flavouring how and should I use them? And how do I make the blend in the general process? Also dont tell me to go on google and yt and find out im a busy man and I don't have time plus these are professional pipe smokers and I'd rather trust human than Machine.
 

Sigmund

Lifer
Sep 17, 2023
3,515
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France
Run a search. Cosmic a mod here has done it in the past and posted some pretty extensive material from start to finish. Its about the most info Ive seen.
 
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cosmicfolklore

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Aug 9, 2013
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Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
It is really going to depend on what type of tobacco you are interested in growing. Heartier burleys benefit from a good healthy soil, but Orientals and more aromatic tobaccos benefit from poor soil conditions.
As far as that sort of heat... I am told over and over that if you can grow tomatoes there, you can grow tobaccos.

I spent seven years growing tobaccos, but I am not very familiar with your climate situation.

Edit, here are some previous threads...

Cosmic Crop 2018 :: Pipe Tobacco Discussion - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/cosmic-crop-2018.62694/
 
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Bosnian piper

Lurker
Jan 30, 2025
44
61
It is really going to depend on what type of tobacco you are interested in growing. Heartier burleys benefit from a good healthy soil, but Orientals and more aromatic tobaccos benefit from poor soil conditions.
As far as that sort of heat... I am told over and over that if you can grow tomatoes there, you can grow tobaccos.

I spent seven years growing tobaccos, but I am not very familiar with your climate situation.

Edit, here are some previous threads...

Cosmic Crop 2018 :: Pipe Tobacco Discussion - https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/cosmic-crop-2018.62694/
I have some virginia long tobbaco seeds laying around so I'm looking to grow those and have you ever grown them? and do they work well while smoking? Also the climate situation where I live bosnia,zenica is pretty good for growing tabbaco during the summer ill give ya a qiuk overview from what I found during research: In Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, summer months (June to August) typically feature warm temperatures, with daily highs averaging between 25°C to 35°C (77°F to 95°F). Nights can be cooler, with lows around 15°C to 20°C (59°F to 68°F). The climate during this season is characterized as warm and relatively dry, although occasional thunderstorms can occur. Zenica receives about 60 to 80 mm of precipitation per month during summer, with July often being the driest month. The region enjoys a mix of sunny and partly cloudy days. From what I hear the summer heat here is optimal for growing tobbaco the main things that I need to focus on is the soil and taking care of the tobbaco plant. Also from research I found on the internet zenicas climate is closest compared to kentucky and kentucky is a leading state in tobbaco production.
 

cosmicfolklore

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Aug 9, 2013
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Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
I have some virginia long tobbaco seeds laying around so I'm looking to grow those and have you ever grown them?
I am not familiar with a Virginia Long variety. When shopping for seed stock, keep in mind that "Virginia" in the name does not mean that it is a flu cured variety. There are Virginia Burleys also. If you are wanting to grow a flu cured tobacco, look for bright leaf varieties.
Also, if you are going to flu cure, you really need to do some research of building a flu, times and temperatures and humidity for the process. That is three things that you have to keep in balance. For a first crop, I would suggest a burley fit for your environment, or an oriental. Both of these could be cured in much easier ways with less potential for failure on your first try.

do they work well while smoking?
It may be a language thing, but I don't understand.

You are going to want to plan for irrigation.

Also, keep in mind that you will grow it and cure it in the first year, and then prep it for storage and then wait a couple of years before anything you have is palatable. Just after curing the leaf, you're not going to get anything worth smoking till it has had a couple of years to loose a lot of the ammonias and things that cause harshness. patience is the key.
 
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cosmicfolklore

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Aug 9, 2013
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Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
I have tried to grow tobacco but it was not worth the trouble.
Building the kiln for fermenting tobacco was too much trouble.
I recommend ordering pipe tobacco from Germany.
You don't have to do that for pipe tobaccos. Cigar tobaccos do need to be color cured or "fermented" as the cigar guys would say. Pipe tobacco can just be set aside for a couple of years to make more palatable. I found that putting stacks of tobaccos into unsealed plastic bags and putting them into a cooler in my barn worked very well for aging my tobvaccos for use.
 

Bosnian piper

Lurker
Jan 30, 2025
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61
I am not familiar with a Virginia Long variety. When shopping for seed stock, keep in mind that "Virginia" in the name does not mean that it is a flu cured variety. There are Virginia Burleys also. If you are wanting to grow a flu cured tobacco, look for bright leaf varieties.
Also, if you are going to flu cure, you really need to do some research of building a flu, times and temperatures and humidity for the process. That is three things that you have to keep in balance. For a first crop, I would suggest a burley fit for your environment, or an oriental. Both of these could be cured in much easier ways with less potential for failure on your first try.


It may be a language thing, but I don't understand.

You are going to want to plan for irrigation.

Also, keep in mind that you will grow it and cure it in the first year, and then prep it for storage and then wait a couple of years before anything you have is palatable. Just after curing the leaf, you're not going to get anything worth smoking till it has had a couple of years to loose a lot of the ammonias and things that cause harshness. patience is the key.
Can you tell me which tobbaco plants worked best for you and which ones have the best taste? Oh damm I didn't know it would take a few years I guess I better grow a bunch of tobbaco so I have alot. And how many years or months do you recommend aging the tobbaco?
 
Jul 28, 2016
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Finland-Scandinavia-EU
Grown at home in Alabama, i had the most success with a Ukrainian variety that gave me a very lemony leaf, and an heirloom variety called Cherry Red that gave me a red leaf with a very fruity aroma. In North Carolina, I grew NC95, which was an excellent and versatile burley.
Is that Ukrainian one type of Virginia , ? How about Rustica leaf Have You tried cultivating that one, I have read somewhere just during the WW2 and afetrwards it was widely grown here in many rural areas oif the country
 

cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,630
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Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
Is that Ukrainian one type of Virginia , ? How about Rustica leaf Have You tried cultivating that one, I have read somewhere just during the WW2 and afetrwards it was widely grown here in many rural areas oif the country
Yes, it was a bright leaf, very gold in color. I have grown rustica too.
 

Bosnian piper

Lurker
Jan 30, 2025
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Yes, it was a bright leaf, very gold in color. I have grown rustica too.
In what type of container do you age your tobbaco in? I got a few bunch of 1 kg nescafe tins laying around and I'm looking to store my tobbaco in them. And before you mentioned that u used to store your tobbaco in a fridge or freezer. Will that help the aging process? My fridge is not that big but I got a cold seller that always cold even in summer becuase it's always damp and dark. And im also looking to grow a few diffrent tabbaco plants as I want diffrent flavours so can you tell me the top few tobbacos that you have grown and enjoyed? And the taste of there smoke?
 
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cosmicfolklore

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2013
35,630
83,569
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
In what type of container do you age your tobbaco in? I got a few bunch of 1 kg nescafe tins laying around and I'm looking to store my tobbaco in them. And before you mentioned that u used to store your tobbaco in a fridge or freezer. Will that help the aging process? My fridge is not that big but I got a cold seller that always cold even in summer becuase it's always damp and dark. And im also looking to grow a few diffrent tabbaco plants as I want diffrent flavours so can you tell me the top few tobbacos that you have grown and enjoyed? And the taste of there smoke?
It doesn’t need to be kept cold. I used an old cooler, like what you would put ice in to go camping, not an electric one. It could be any box, but the cooler was just what was handy.

As to mold… keep the tobacco bone dry. Mold needs water.
 
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