Grow tobacco at home

Growing tobacco for smoking

Growing tobacco at home, the matter is quite simple, as it might seem to you at first glance. The main thing is the desire to work and have 1.5-2 acres of land available. This area is enough for you to provide yourself with tobacco for a year. But over time, your appetites may grow and then you will look at your capabilities.
I myself started growing tobacco spontaneously. A friend asked him to order tobacco seeds for him on the Internet, since he was on "you" with the Internet. I thought about it and decided to also order for myself for a test. Here you can read about the description of the varieties of tobacco. And now the sixth year has passed since I will grow tobacco in the garden for smoking and believe me, I have never regretted it.

Pros of growing homemade tobacco

Smoking your own tobacco is much more pleasant than these store sticks with an incomprehensible filler. In addition to all this, you get an extensive field for experimentation from various varieties of tobacco, various blends of varieties of tobacco, various sauces with which you can ferment tobacco, that is, here your fantasies are not limited.
And now, smoking your tobacco and taking a sip of your homemade wine, you experience bliss and a sense of contentment.
I hope I convinced you to do this noble cause. You yourself will not regret it later. Also, you will receive savings in your budget, at today's prices for cigarettes, it will be significant.
If you have decided to grow your own tobacco, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the description of my experience on the pages of this site, and we will start with sowing seeds.

Growing tobacco in an apartment

Is it possible or not? People ask themselves this question. To be honest, you can't get anything good from this idea, except for the initial experience. No smoking qualities, but the bush itself looks cool in a pot and perfectly complements the interior.

Do you think growing tobacco at home is difficult? Not at all, just read the articles on this site and most of the questions will disappear. The main thing here is not to repeat other people's mistakes, although after reading these articles, there will still be mistakes, but not so global.

If you have questions, ask in the comments or write to the mail.

Growing tobacco at home

Growing tobacco, in general, the matter is not difficult, you just need to follow the rules of agricultural technology.It should be noted right away that tobacco is a thermophilic plant and most of all southern regions are suitable for its cultivation.

Quite common are only a few types of tobacco, all of them are of no decorative value and most of them are grown rarely and only by amateurs.

Sticky tobacco

The plant is about a meter high, and as the name suggests, all parts of the plant are covered with a sticky bloom. This tobacco is very similar to country tobacco. The plant smells very unpleasant, with both flowers and leaves and stems.

A very expressionless plant, usually used in group plantings as a background for other plants. It blooms with tubular flowers of yellowish-green color, the flowering period is long - from June to September.

Fragrant tobacco

This plant has a pleasant aroma that can be felt at dusk. It has white tubular, rather large flowers, on the outside in red strokes. For the day, the flowers close and open only at dusk.

Smoking or Virginia tobacco

This type of tobacco is an annual plant that grows naturally only in South America. Here it can reach a height of 3 meters. Plants are not branched or slightly branched, depending on the variety.

The size and number of leaves on the plant also depend on the variety. The flowers of this species are tubular, pink or red, collected in paniculate inflorescences.

The main value of the species is the size, thickness and number of leaves on plants. There are quite a large number of varieties and hybrids of this species.

It is also worth noting that this type of tobacco undergoes a fermentation procedure before use, so that the leaves reveal their aroma.

Rustic tobacco

This species is called makhorka in the common people. Annual plants, in nature grow only in North America.

Plant height usually does not exceed 100-120 cm, flowers are yellow-green, stems are more branched than smoking tobacco.

Makhorka is a more unpretentious look and its leaves contain more nicotine than virgin tobacco.

Smoking tobacco varieties

The most common are the following varieties of tobacco: Virginia, Bryansk Large-leaved, Holly, Samsun, Cigar and Jubilee.

The cultivation technique for Virginia tobacco and for makhorka is the same, both species are grown in seedlings.

A greenhouse and a greenhouse are also suitable for growing seedlings, and besides, there is also a warm windowsill, here you can grow seedlings in a well-drained planting box or just a flower pot.

To grow tobacco seedlings, a nutritious substrate should be prepared; it is best to take natural fertilizers such as horse or cow dung.

But fresh fertilizers should not be applied, humus will be ideal. The ideal substrate is one that is made up of two parts of humus, one part of the regular soil from your plot, and one part of sand.

Before sowing, the substrate must be moistened.

You can sow dry seeds, but more friendly seedlings will be obtained if the seeds are germinated.

For germination, seeds should be wrapped in a clean cloth or gauze 4-5 days before sowing and soaked in clean warm water.

For better germination, you can add several crystals of potassium nitrate to the water.

In such a solution, the seeds should be kept for about a day, then rinse them well with water and put them on the same cloth. Put the cloth in an enamel or earthenware dish, place the container in a warm place, do not cover the seeds or dishes.

The cloth must be moistened in a timely manner.

Approximately on the third - fourth day, the seeds will begin to hatch, wait another day and you can plant the seeds in the soil, do not allow the sprouts to regrow too much, otherwise they may break off.

Seeds can be sown one at a time, or they can be dried and mixed in dry sand and sown in bulk. The sowing depth of seeds should not exceed 0.5 cm.

After sowing, the seeds are covered with a layer of sand mixed with humus in a ratio of 3: 1. Watering the seeds should be done very carefully so as not to erode the topsoil.

It is best to use a spray bottle for watering. Also, do not allow stagnation of water and overflow of soil.

If you are using a seedling box or flower pots for growing seedlings, as well as if the seeds are sown too close to each other, you will need to carry out such a procedure as picking.

A pick should be carried out when 3-4 true leaves appear on young seedlings.

Before picking, water the seedlings well and when the soil gets wet well, you can carefully transplant the plants into a greenhouse or separate pots for further growth and development.

The tobacco plant, like all other cultivated plants, should be fertilized for better growth. The following fertilizers can be used for feeding:

In 10 liters of water, you need to dissolve 30 grams of ammonium nitrate, 20 grams of sulphate or potassium chloride and water the plants with this solution.

In 10 liters of water, you need to dissolve 1 kg of chicken manure and leave the solution to ferment for two weeks, stirring occasionally.

After the solution has fermented, it can be used to fertilize young plants, but only before watering it should be diluted.

Adding 4-5 liters of water to 1 liter of solution.

Transplanting to a permanent place in the ground should be started only when the threat of late spring frosts has passed and the soil warms up well.

If you grow tobacco in a greenhouse after picking, you do not need to replant it anymore.

Already matured plants with a height of 14 to 16 cm should be planted in the ground, already having 5-7 true leaves and a stem about 0.5 cm thick.

A week before the planned transplant, the seedlings need to be hardened, reducing watering and accustoming the plants to open air and sunlight.

Before transplanting, about 2-3 days, watering the seedlings is stopped, and watered abundantly only 2-3 hours before transplanting.

Plants are carefully removed from the soil and placed in pre-prepared holes. About half a liter of water should be poured into these holes.

Make a recess with a peg in the center of the hole and put a plant in it, then sprinkle the roots with moist soil and crush it well, and sprinkle the plantings with dry soil on top.

This procedure helps to retain moisture near the roots for much longer.

For the whole season, it will be enough to carry out three dressings. The first feeding is carried out immediately after transplanting the plants into the ground.

The second feeding is needed two to three weeks after the first, and the third, respectively, two to three weeks after the second. For feeding, you can take a solution of chicken manure or any complex fertilizer. How to dilute the fertilizer is indicated on its packaging.

Caring for tobacco plants is reduced to regular weeding and loosening of the soil near the plants.

Growing tobacco at home

Growing tobacco at home, despite the general trend towards smoking cessation, is gaining in popularity.

The thing is that tobacco ground into dust is an effective natural remedy for pest control.

In addition, some recipes of traditional medicine recommend the use of tobacco leaf in the manufacture of medicinal products for external use. Therefore, for many gardeners, the question is relevant: how to grow tobacco at home?

Having decided to start growing tobacco at home, you should definitely take into account that the taste characteristics of the product depend on the area and soil where the culture grows.

For example, the texture of the leaves of a plant grown in soils with low moisture levels and minimal mineral salt content will be very fine and the tobacco will be non-aromatic.

And, conversely, bushes grown on silty or clay soil will have small leaves, but dense and fragrant.

Growing tobacco from seeds at home

Contrary to the fears of newcomers, growing tobacco at home is not difficult. It is important to make the right choice of crop variety.

For warmer regions, where tobacco is traditionally cultivated, almost all plant varieties are suitable; in a temperate climatic zone, varieties "Trapezond 15", "Sigarny 17" and "Bryanskiy 91" are recommended for breeding.

For a private plot, the Trapezond 15 and Trapezond Kubanets tobacco varieties are perfect, which ripen in 3-3.5 months, which is almost a month earlier than the maturation of other varieties.

How to plant tobacco seedlings?

As for any crop that requires a long period with a warm temperature for growing, it is more expedient for tobacco to use the seedling method of growing.

Planting of tobacco for seedlings is carried out at the end of March - at the beginning of April. You can sow dry seed, but agricultural technicians assure that the hatched seeds grow better.

To do this, 4 - 5 days before planting, the seeds, wrapped in a cloth, are soaked in warm water diluted with a few drops of tartaric acid. Soaking time is a day.

The procedure shortens the period of forcing by almost a week, has a beneficial effect on further vegetation and increasing yields.

Then the seeds are washed and placed on a damp cloth in an enamel (faience) dish in a warm place. Make sure the cloth is wet at all times.

When the seeds hatch on the 3rd - 4th day, they are dried and mixed with clean sand or humus. Seeds are sown in pots or wooden boxes with nutritious soil, while the planting depth is 0.5 - 0.8 cm.

After planting, the soil is watered from a spray bottle.

When growing tobacco seedlings, it is important to observe the watering regime: it is necessary to water little by little, but daily.

It is advisable to pick seedlings at the "ears" stage, when 3 - 4 true leaves appear. 2 times feed seedlings with mineral fertilizers or infusion of chicken droppings.

A week before planting in the ground, the seedlings are hardened with air and the number of watering is reduced.

Planting tobacco seedlings

When the height of the seedlings reaches approximately 15 cm, and the number of leaves increases to 5 -6 (this number does not include cotyledonous leaves), the seedlings can be planted in open ground. In this case, it is necessary that warm weather has already been established.

A furrow is prepared in advance, holes are made in it. Half a liter of water is poured into each hole, the hole is deepened with a peg, and a bush is vertically inserted into it. The moist earth is pressed against the roots, and dry soil is poured on top so that less moisture is lost.

During the growing season, regular loosening of the earth, watering and weeding should be carried out. Fertilizing tobacco is carried out in the same way as fertilizing tomatoes. When flowers appear, the inflorescences break off. It is also necessary to systematically carry out pinching - removal of side shoots.

Fluorescent lamps for plants There is a wide variety of lamps for plants on the market today that provide vital light. Separately, it should be said about fluorescent lamps and their use.	How to prune an apple tree in spring? You can see an apple tree in almost every garden plot. And the harvest of ripe apples will depend on proper care, including pruning. We will tell you more about how to prune an apple tree in spring.
Even novice gardeners know that timely pruning is essential for better fruiting of shrubs and trees. In our article, we will tell you in detail how to prune raspberries in spring.	Pruning is an important part of spring fruit tree care, which helps shape the crown and rejuvenates the plant. In our article we will tell you about the rules for spring pruning of cherries.

Growing tobacco at home as a business

Modern industrial tobacco cannot be called 100% high quality and corresponding to its value.That is why more and more people are thinking about starting a home tobacco growing business. We will talk about how to do this today.

Our business valuation:

• Initial investment - from 10,000 rubles.
• Market saturation is low.
• The complexity of starting a business is 3/10.

The best varieties of tobacco for growing in central Russia

The first thing to do is to select the varieties of tobacco. Please note that not all of them are suitable for smoking. You should not use those that have not been tested and not approved for the preparation of smoking mixtures.

The best varieties of tobacco for growing in central Russia:

• Refectory 15;
• Refectory 219;
• Ternopil 14;
• Holly 215
• Anniversary;
• Kentucky Burleigh.

The latter belongs to the varieties of tobacco that do not require fermentation - the leaves of the Kentucky Burley are steamed and divided into parts immediately after drying. (about the fermentation of tobacco at home will be discussed later).

And varieties of makhorka:

• Datura 4;
• Pekhlets 4;
• Pekhlets local.

You can buy smoking tobacco and makhorka seeds at a specialized outlet or in an online store. The latter is especially true for residents of small settlements. The goods will be delivered by a transport company or "Russian Post" in a few days.

The most appreciated is tobacco, which is made not from one, albeit the most expensive, variety, but from several. And makhorka is complemented by St. John's wort or sweet clover.

Growing conditions of tobacco

The main plus of tobacco is that it is unpretentious, i.e. is able not only to survive, but also to give an excellent harvest in almost any part of our country. But he, like all other plants, will be better in the south.

Do not despair if you cannot change your place of residence and start a business, for example, in Krasnodar. The problem is solved, and very simple.

It is enough to build or rent a room with heating or a greenhouse.

In other words, the conditions for growing tobacco in the garden - in the open air, without additional systems, can be created only in the south.

As for the soil, it must be saturated with moisture. Give preference to chernozem, loamy or sandy loam soil, which contains a lot of both moisture and nutrients - calcium, potassium and nitrogen.

Let's consider in more detail the technology of growing tobacco from seeds.

Tobacco growing technology

The technology of growing tobacco is no different from the technology of growing tobacco. Therefore, it is not possible, and even necessary, to plant both crops together.

Planting tobacco seeds begins with soaking them - not in water, but in a solution of tartaric acid at a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius for 24 hours.

It is very important to maintain the temperature, as it provides a better and faster growth for about a week. Ratio: for 1 gram of seeds, 3 milliliters of tartaric acid solution.

This is done due to the fact that tobacco and makhorka seeds are characterized by low germination and susceptibility to diseases.

After a day, the seeds need to be dried a little and put in a bowl - if there is, then in a ceramic one, but it is possible in an enamel layer with a layer of 2 - 3 centimeters. Leave them on for a couple of days, slightly moistening and stirring several times a day. The temperature remains the same, 27 degrees Celsius.

Next, we prepare the soil. We take three parts of humus and one part of sand and mix until the most homogeneous state.

And we plant tobacco and shag seeds: for every 10 square meters of soil, 4 grams of tobacco to a depth of 0.3 centimeters and 20 grams of tobacco to a depth of 0.7 centimeters.

And the last question: when to sow tobacco seeds for seedlings? The optimal time is late February-early March.

Growing tobacco seedlings

Growing seedlings of tobacco and makhorka is possible only with proper watering. Increase the volume of water from 1 to 4 liters, depending on how much the plant has grown.

At the same time, you also need to, little by little, reduce the temperature from 27 to 20 degrees Celsius.

A good harvest will not come out without top dressing. For tobacco, you can use one of the following recipes:

1. Superphosphate, nitrate and potassium salt, 50 grams, 30 grams and 20 grams, respectively, for 1 regular bucket of water. For every 1 square meter of seedlings, there are 2 liters of fertilizing.
2. Chicken manure at the rate of one part chicken manure to 7 parts water. The consumption is exactly the same.

A week before planting tobacco seedlings in open ground, you should reduce watering, and stop it 3 days before. The last saturation of the crop with moisture before planting in a heated room or greenhouse should be done at least 2 hours in advance.

If the technology of growing tobacco was followed "from" and "to", then the plant will have strong and, despite this, elastic stems half a centimeter thick and up to 15 centimeters high, as well as 2 or 3 leaves.

Planting seedlings of smoking tobacco in open ground

Planting seedlings of smoking tobacco in open ground should be in the area that is on the slope. Excess water will drain from it. But it should not be very high, otherwise the soil will go away along with the excess water.

In no case should the soil be processed with a tractor or other equipment, only manually, with a plow, due to which the most loose consistency will be obtained - just the way it is needed.

Work on open ground is allowed if its temperature is 10 degrees Celsius or more at a depth of 10 centimeters. As a rule, it is April-May, in the south - earlier.

Planting of tobacco seedlings is carried out with a distance of 20 - 25 centimeters between bushes and with an interval of 70 centimeters between rows.

Before putting the tobacco seedlings in the hole, it is necessary to pour half a liter of water into it, and dip the culture itself in a mixture of cow dung and clay. At the end, the entire plantation is watered.

In the process of growth, the plant needs to be weeded out, loosened and fed. Also, tobacco care involves pinching and edging. Let's dwell on these procedures.

Stepping

Different varieties of tobacco have a different number of stepchildren (there are also those varieties of tobacco that do not have stepchildren). They appear between the leaves after flowering. It is worth removing them when the size is from 1.5 to 2 centimeters.

Before that, it does not make sense, since there is a high probability of re-growth.

Shaping

Edging, as well as pinning, allows you to increase the number of sheets by several times. It is the cutting of flowers that have not yet blossomed.

The peculiarity of edging is that it leads to an increase in the content of nicotine. Do not forget about this when deciding on the procedure.

Diseases of tobacco and makhorka and methods of their treatment

The most common diseases of tobacco and makhorka include:

1. Rotting stems and leaves.
2. Mosaic disease.
3. Powdery mildew.
4. Ryabukha.

Decay of stems and leaves can be identified by a colorless spot with a white bloom, in which blackening nodules form after a few days.

The cause of this disease is an increased amount of moisture. So keep it dry and don't over-water it.

A symptom of mosaic disease is slightly white and green spots that can be seen with the naked eye. Over time, they turn yellow, the rest of the plant becomes brown, the leaves become wavy.

Since this disease is contagious, firstly, do not allow diseased and healthy plants to grow close to each other and, secondly, do not increase the volume of manure.

Powdery mildew attacks the leaves, they acquire spots and white bloom and wither. Treatment consists of spraying with sulfur, sulfur-based antifungal compounds, or baking soda.

Pockmarked is spoken of by large, clear-edged spots of white or, conversely, brown. Holes can form in their place.

This disease is caused by a lack of nutrients in the soil and sharp fluctuations in air temperature.Therefore, irrigate and fertilize the soil regularly and plant tobacco in a heated room or greenhouse if you live in an area with frequent weather changes.

Thus, proper tobacco care is 100% disease-free.

Harvesting and drying of tobacco

You can start harvesting tobacco after the first leaves turn yellow. This is done from the bottom up. Ripening of tobacco occurs after 4 months, and tobacco - after a little more than 2 months.

Tobacco drying can be divided into three parts:

1. First of all, the leaves of the plant are laid in a layer of 20 - 30 centimeters and left in the fresh air in the shade for half a day.
2. Then they are tied with a rope and put away in a dry and well-ventilated room. This can be a terrace and a shed. They stay there for 2 weeks.
3. Finally, the tobacco is transferred indoors. Remains in it until autumn.

Now let's move on to the conditions of tobacco fermentation.

Fermentation of tobacco

Fermentation of tobacco makes it an order of magnitude better and more aromatic. To do this, take its now dried leaves and put them in a container that is not damaged at high temperatures.

To ferment tobacco:

1. Warm up the culture to a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius and create a humidity of 65%. Leave the plant for 3 days.
2. Next, at the same temperature, lower the humidity to 75%. Leave the plant for another 7 days.
3. Then lower the temperature and increase the humidity to 80%. Gradually, within 2 days.
4. Continue to lower the temperature to 20 degrees Celsius and now lower the humidity to 15%.

Fermented tobacco should be left to rest for 1 month. And only then can they be cut into strips.

Yes, this procedure is not easy, it requires precision and endurance. But fermented leaf tobacco is also valued more than unfermented tobacco.

Financial question

In order to understand whether the described business is profitable or not, we will make calculations. Let's take a plot of land with an area of ​​10 acres. It will need 400 grams of tobacco seeds, which will yield from 200 to 400 kilograms of the finished product.

The cost of tobacco is about 2,000 rubles per kilogram, and makhorka is about 500 rubles per kilogram on the wholesale market.

The proceeds from the sale of tobacco will be up to 800 thousand rubles, and tobacco - 4 times less, up to 200 thousand rubles. And the profit is influenced by the price of seeds.

It is very difficult to assess the payback of the business we are considering, since someone will buy or rent a room with heating or a greenhouse, purchase equipment, and someone will manage with "improvised means" - a handmade greenhouse, an attic instead of a special dryer, etc. ... The approximate payback period, in other words, the return on the money invested in the home tobacco growing business is from 2 to 3 years.

Organization of product sales

You can organize the sale of products in several ways, including opening a small retail outlet such as a tent near your home or making an online store.

In both the first and second cases, you will need to seek the help of a lawyer. The fact is that tobacco is one of the goods that must have certificates and excise taxes. Without them, the sale is illegal.

You are now familiar with the basics of a tobacco growing business, including where to buy tobacco seeds.

Growing tobacco at home

April 1st.

So the beginning of the new season of growing tobacco at home in 2017 has come.

I will describe here superficially, but read in more detail in the article how to grow tobacco.

Tobacco seeds are sown in food containers

This year, I have planted only two varieties, they are Kentucky barley and aromatic. I did not sow more varieties, I like these. I collected seeds of Kentucky Barley in 2012, they are 5 years old, at the same time let's see the percentage of germination. We are waiting for seedlings.

April 5.

Yesterday, with the emergence of seedlings, I transferred the seedlings to a colder windowsill and began to light up the seedlings. The glass was sealed with cellophane from direct sunlight.

Kentucky gave about 95% of seedlings, this is an excellent result.

The aromatic began to show cotyledon leaves, well, this is understandable, he is an earlier variety of tobacco than Kentucky.

He also began constant airing by moving the greenhouse lid by 1 centimeter. We don't need mold on tobacco seedlings.

April 9.

The seedlings are doing well. I removed the covers from the greenhouses completely, the tobacco adapted to the dry air in the apartment.

This is how it looks now:

Nothing stretches, which means everything is fine with lighting. At the same time, I will conduct an experiment, one variety is illuminated by a 5-watt phyto-lamp, and the other with an energy-saving 24-watt spiral. My light is on from 6 am to 10 pm.

April 15th.

Top dressing of seedlings

Seedlings of tobacco are developing normally

I thinned it out and left as much as I need, plus a small margin. Under the phyto-lamp, the flavors develop faster (they are on the right) than under the energy-saving one.

Although for the purity of the experiment, it is necessary to conduct an experiment on one variety of tobacco.

Today I fed the seedlings with an infusion of onion peels and a pick is just around the corner.

April 23rd.

The tobacco has grown noticeably and it already needs to be dived into separate cups. I will do this for May. now it doesn't work out a little. I’ll go to the village and there I’ll open my legs so that I don’t get bored with glasses later.

Kentucky Barley

Fragrant

I thinned out all the plants again and left 12-15 roots each, with my tobacco consumption it will be enough.

April 30.

The tobacco went down, albeit with a slight delay.

I put it in a greenhouse on the street, the weather allows + 22 degrees overboard.

On May 15-20, I will plant it in the garden.

May 28.

Is tobacco afraid of freezing

May 2017 turned out to be quite capricious in terms of planting tobacco, frosts were not uncommon. Many tobacco growers were afraid to plant their tobacco and did the right thing. Now, using my example, I will show you how frost affects tobacco seedlings.

The tobacco was planted in the ground on May 20, and on May 24 there was a frost of minus about 2-4 degrees on the ground. This is what the seedlings look like today:

It turns out this is such a sad picture. I have planted only 20 tobacco bushes, and there are people who plant 300-500 roots.

Here is already a huge disappointment if everything freezes. Therefore, do not rush to disembark, watch the weather.

Let it be better not a big shortage of tobacco in terms of incomplete maturation than biting your elbows later.

But there is in this ointment and a small spoonful of honey. Some bushes begin to come to life, letting out new leaves.

I will continue to observe the revival of tobacco after negative temperatures and then deduce the percentage of how many survived.

June 11th.

Restoration of tobacco after overnight freezing

Two weeks have passed since the night frosts and the loss of tobacco seedlings can be estimated. Of the 20 planted shrubs, 13 survived, 5 fragrant and 8 Kentucky barley. In the photo below, the largest bushes at the moment and the smallest.

Tobacco variety Fragrant

And the smallest Kentucky:

Of course, they lose in time, especially barley, but nothing, we will observe further.

21st of June.

The tobacco begins to grow, plus they promise warm weather and then it will shoot. In the meantime, here's what it looks like: Variety Fragrant. And Kentucky Barley:

There is still a lot to make up for tobacco and he has time for that.

How cold weather affects tobacco growth

July 9.

The weather is not at all happy, it rains and it is cold. Last year, I have already broken off more than half of the flavor tobacco. Now he is still quite small.

Fragrant

Tobacco variety Fragrant

Likewise, barley slows down, and given the fact that this is a late variety, I don't even know how it will mature.

Kentucky Barley

Let's hope that the warmth will come to us, otherwise it’s quite sad.

August 1.

Three weeks have passed since the last report and this is how our tobacco looks now.

Aromatic tobacco variety

The lower leaves began to ripen, the peduncle appeared.

Ripe fragrant leaf

The Kentucky Barley is doing worse. Half of the cold summer has done its job.The bushes are not tall and light yellow, you might think that the whole bush is ripe.

Kentucky Barley

Growing tobacco at home this year, let's say, is not quite working out. In 2-3 days I will begin to break the fragrant leaf.

8 August.

Breaking tobacco leaves

With such a bad summer, the leaf still began to ripen. Today I made my first break.

And hung it on languor, under a canopy.

Tobacco variety Fragrant, unambiguously a leader, and after freezing it climbed out and went through a bad summer. Plus, I did not see any illnesses on it.

Next time, in a village where tobacco grows, I will get to about three weeks later. Then I will break the tobacco leaf and wait for the seeds to ripen.

September 3rd.

Home tobacco growing is coming to an end

When dried, such green spots of chlorophyll appear on parts of the tobacco leaves.

On a completely yellow sheet, these spots begin to crawl out during the drying process. What is the reason, I do not know exactly. Excessive moisture possible. Last year, I did not observe such a phenomenon.

Tobacco seeds, weather permitting, should ripen in 2-3 weeks. He left the largest boxes on the bushes, removed the rest.

I also made the last break of a leaf of tobacco that I saw fit. The weather is damp and cold, and he still needs to dry. I hung the bathhouse in the attic.

And this is what my little tobacco plantation looks like at the moment.

Now we are waiting for the seeds of aromatic tobacco varieties to ripen.

October 1st.

Is tobacco afraid of autumn frosts

Yes, tobacco is afraid of autumn frosts. The temperature dropped by 1-2 degrees below zero and this is what came of it:

The leaves became like wet rags.

I threw out all such leaves, or rather put them on the humus. Here, on the garden bed, he crushed and plowed everything. To be honest, I have never tried to smoke such sheets. If you have the desire and curiosity, you can give it a try.

Not everything is going smoothly with tobacco seeds either. All the boxes have darkened, but not because they are ripe, but from frost. I will not take such seeds, since I am not sure of their quality. Fortunately, I have a stock of this variety.

P.S In general, the cultivation of tobacco at home this season did not go very smoothly. The weather conditions brought a lot of surprises.

I also noticed that if a tobacco leaf is dried in the attic, at the end of summer (the last breaks), and not under a canopy, then the leaf dries out in a pure yellow-brown color.

No green spots of chlorophyll, as in the photo from September 3. At the same time, I hung the sheet immediately as if it were to dry.

Well, that seems to be all, we are waiting for the new season. Delicious tobacco to everyone!

Growing tobacco: planting, grooming, pest control. Which variety is suitable for growing tobacco at home?

Experienced summer residents assure that growing tobacco is no more difficult than growing tomatoes.

The plant is thermophilic and lends itself well to cultivation in the south countries. But it is successfully cultivated even in cold regions.

Germination and final taste characteristics of tobacco will depend not only on the selected variety, but also on the condition of the soil on the site and the abundance of the sun.

Think tobacco is only grown by heavy smokers? No, this culture blooms beautifully, which will decorate any site, and can become a means to combat some diseases and pests common in the garden.

What kind of tobacco should you choose for growing?

There are many varieties of tobacco. But not all of them are suitable for home growing.

If you are a beginner in this business, choose those types of plants that are adapted to our climatic conditions - leave the "exotic" varieties for professionals, plant them in whole plantations for the further sale of tobacco leaves.

In world tobacco growing, the plant is divided into 2 types - cigar and cigarette. In our country, it is easier to cultivate cigarette varieties. We list the most popular varieties of tobacco that are chosen by experienced summer residents for cultivation in their summer cottages or at home:

•   Refectory 92. Viral-resistant variety.It is famous for its short growing season - you can harvest the crop 100 days after planting.

•    Dukat Crimean. It is a large plant with fragrant leaves up to 1 m long. Ripens quickly.

•   Refectory Kubanets. Grows in 105-135 days. The variety is characterized by an average yield - about 25 technically suitable for processing tobacco leaves.

•   Virginia 202. It is a renal-ripening variety that perfectly gains strength and aroma. It is resistant to diseases and tolerates negative environmental conditions. The leaves contain a lot of carbohydrates.

•   Samsun 85. A mid-season variety that reaches maturity in 105-110 days after planting on the site. Up to 50 leaves can be harvested from one bush - a high-yielding type of plant.

•   Holly 316. The plant, in comparison with its other varieties, contains a small amount of nicotine. Ripens late - up to 120 days.

•    Dubeck... The variety is originally from Turkey. Named the best flavored tobacco in the world. In the middle lane, it will not show large yields - it is only suitable for growing in hot climates.

•    Country tobacco. Frost-resistant and unpretentious. Suitable for growing not only in an open area, but also on a windowsill or balcony.

•    Jubilee new 142. Fast ripening variety - can be harvested 80 days after planting. Resistant to many diseases.

Buy tobacco seeds from trusted vendors. It is unlikely that you will be able to find them on the free sale on store shelves - look for them in online stores or from private owners who are engaged in plant cultivation.

The cost of seeds, depending on the selected variety, ranges from 30-100 rubles. for 50 pcs.

And in the future, you will not need to buy seeds - 2-3 bushes of the plant will give so many seeds that it will be possible to sow a hectare of land with them.

Choosing a place for planting tobacco

Tobacco, if provided with optimal conditions for development, can take root in any conditions. The best soil for a plant is a light, loose, pebble-gravel structure, with a high humus content.

In swampy, too wet areas, tobacco will not grow. The culture loves the sun, and therefore, select unshaded areas of the garden for planting.

Cold winds should not blow here - they will be destructive for the seedlings.

Consider crop rotation when choosing a place to grow tobacco. It has been established that the best plant predecessors are legumes, cereals, winter breads, beets, perennial grasses.

But after nightshades and sunflowers, tobacco is not recommended to be planted in the same place, since these plants have similar diseases - there is a risk of infecting young plantings.

Sowing and planting tobacco

New to growing tobacco? Then start by cultivating several bushes, not entire beds - test your strength and check how well the selected plant variety takes root in the given climatic conditions.

Tobacco loves heat, so you can never wait for the harvest when sowing seeds directly into the open ground, since they will not hatch in cold ground. The best option - plant the plant with seedlings.

The seed material is very small, which makes it difficult to work with it. And although planting dry seeds is easier, it is better to pre-prepare them in order to achieve quick shoots.

To do this, 3-5 days before the intended planting on seedlings, soak the seeds, wrapped in a soft cloth, in warm clean water. Here you can add a couple of drops of tartaric acid or a few crystals of potassium nitrate.

Leave the seed in this form for a day. Then rinse the seeds, drain the excess water and leave in a warm place for germination in a faience or enamel container (also in a cloth). Moisten the cloth periodically.

After 2-4 days, the seeds hatch. A sprout longer than a seed must not be allowed! When most of the seeds hatch, they must be thoroughly dried, mixed with sand or humus.

In this state, if it is not possible to start planting the plant "right now", the material can be stored until planting for a few more days.

Start preparing seedlings for growing tobacco in February-March. By the beginning of the season, young seedlings are already strong enough to be transplanted to a "permanent residence". The scheme of sowing tobacco for seedlings is as follows:

• Fill the pot or seedling box with nutritious soil.

• Water the ground before sowing.

• Seeding depth - no more than 0.8 cm.

• Sprinkle the seeds with a mixture of humus and sand (3: 1).

• Water the soil (waterlogging is not allowed).

The optimum temperature for seeds to germinate is + 25… + 28 ˚C. You can keep a container with seedlings on the windowsill or balcony.

When the first shoots appear above the ground, it is better to lower the temperature to +20 ° C. Plantings should be watered regularly. Do this carefully so that the seeds do not go deep into the ground.

Feed the plant 2-3 times with mineral fertilizers (for example, saltpeter diluted in water).

Carry out the pick at the stage of 3-4 full-fledged leaves on the stalk. Seedlings will be ready for open field planting after 40-45 days.

A week before the deadline, start hardening young seedlings so that they gain strength and prepare for life in the open air.

Stop watering the plant in a couple of days.

Transfer the seedlings to an open area in May - when the threat of late spring frosts has completely passed. Do it like this:

• In the prepared grooves, make holes up to 30 cm deep. The distance between the plants is 20 cm, and between the rows - 70 cm.

• Pour 0.5-1 liters of water into each hole.

• Place the seedling together with a lump of "native" earth in the hole.

• Sprinkle the roots with damp earth, tamp a little.

• Pour dry earth on top.

Now, in order to get high yields of fragrant leaves at the end of the season, the tobacco needs to be properly cared for.

Growing and caring for tobacco

The best temperature for the growth and development of tobacco is 18-24 ° C. Some plant varieties can easily tolerate cold conditions - up to +2 ° C. Favorable soil moisture - 60-70%.

In low light, seedlings will develop poorly. Similar conditions can be provided in many regions of our country, which is why summer residents take up growing tobacco.

Your expectations for growing tobacco may not be met.

But the reason for poor germination and productivity does not always lie in the selected variety and seed quality.

Soil condition, day length, humidity and air temperature - everything matters when growing tobacco! How does a plant gain its final characteristics?

• The color, size and texture of the leaves depends on the composition of the soil.

• The scent of the leaves depends on the humidity of the air and soil.

• The leaves are saturated with a special taste due to free air circulation.

Let's list the basic rules for caring for plantings when growing tobacco:

• Watering. Stick to the "underfill is better than overfill" rule. Experienced summer residents get by with 2-3 waterings per season, while spending 5-8 liters of water per 1 bush. When the plant has grown enough, you can stop watering it altogether.

•  Loosening. During the period of active growth, tobacco needs regular loosening and removal of weeds, otherwise the plantings will overgrow.

•   Top dressing. Correct fertilization yields excellent results. For good yields, it is important to maintain the optimal ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the used dressings.

Immediately after planting the seedlings, you can fertilize them with superforfate slurry. A solution of sulfur in water is also effective. After the appearance of inflorescences, many summer residents process tobacco with an infusion of garlic and onion husks.

•    Shaping. Removing inflorescences and upper leaves helps to increase the yield of tobacco, since nutrients will not be spent on flowering, but will go to the development of valuable leaves.

Tobacco pest and disease control

The smell of growing tobacco repels some pests. But there are still "specimens" that the plant attracts. Caring for the bushes, basically, will be to combat diseases and pests.

Let's list the diseases and harm that are dangerous to tobacco:

•   Peach aphid. A common insect that feeds on both wild and cultivated tobacco.

Aphids suck the juice from the leaves and stems of the plant, thereby impairing the final properties of the raw material and reducing the yield. Aphids can be recognized by the sticky secretions that they leave after their "meals".

Having seen the first signs of a pest, you can treat the plantings with a solution of metathion or rogor.

•    Tobacco thrips. This pest eats not only tobacco, but also other cultivated plants. Insects eat the leaves, reducing yields and carrying dangerous diseases.

To avoid pest infestation, no later than a month before planting, treat the soil with 12% hexachlorane dust.

Spray with a dilute suspension of metathione or rogor three times per planting season.

•    Black root rot. A disease that often affects seedlings, but adult plants can also become infected.

The leaves of tobacco wither and dry up, and the roots die off in the advanced stages of the lesion. Watering the soil with benlate will help from rot.

The drug is also used for prophylaxis during soil cultivation immediately after planting, and when the first signs of infection appear.

•   Blackleg. The disease can completely destroy the seedlings - the affected base of the stem becomes thin and gradually dies off.

The bad thing is that the causative agent of the disease remains in the soil - the next "batch" of plantings also becomes infected. The black leg is more pronounced in high humidity and in the ground with an excess of nitrogen.

For the prevention of black leg, you can try to spray the seedlings with a 0.3% suspension of 80% cineb.

•  Powdery mildew. A bacterial disease manifested by the appearance of a whitish powdery coating on the leaves. Tobacco leaves turn brown and lose their aroma upon further drying. Powdery mildew can be removed with a 1% colloidal sulfur suspension.

•   Mosaic. A pathogenic virus that changes the color of tobacco leaves - light green blotches appear.

Later, the infected areas of the leaves die off. The source of infection is plant debris not removed from the site before planting.

An effective remedy against all types of mosaics is 80% polycarbacin.

•   Bacterial hazelnut. The disease is accompanied by the appearance of oily or weeping spots on the leaves, which leads to plant decay.

It is very difficult to get rid of the causative agent of the virus, since it can persist for some time even in the garden inventory. Summer residents are helped by mass spraying of plants with 0.5% Bordeaux liquid.

But it is better to prevent the disease by observing the crop rotation.

Since pathogens can remain in the soil and on the inventory, if an "infection" is found, it is recommended to process all working tools and, if possible, nearby soil areas. The inventory is well cleaned with 40% formalin. Then it should be kept for 3-4 days under a tarp at a temperature not lower than 10 ° C.

Harvesting tobacco

Already in August, you can start collecting tobacco. Some plant varieties need to be kept in the ground a little longer - until the end of September.

Gently break off the lower leaves of tobacco and keep in the sun for 2 days.

After that, the raw materials must be dried for a couple of months in a dark, humid room - a basement will do.

The process of preparing tobacco leaves for use is complex. To obtain aromatic cigar leaves at the output, their fermentation is necessary - the aging of the raw material under certain conditions.

Depending on the selected variety, the process differs in temperature and humidity indicators.

Home-made tobacco will necessarily differ in properties from products purchased in the store.

Growing tobacco or makhorka is not difficult at all. We are often asked about this process, and, combining personal experience with advice from experienced people, including our readers, we decided to publish this material. I must say that the process of growing tobacco is not much different from growing, for example, tomatoes. But still, growing tobacco, you need to know certain features of this plant. This is what our publication is about.

Content:

• General information about the tobacco plant
• Should you grow tobacco?
• Features of growing tobacco
• Tobacco pests and diseases
• Tobacco drying and fermentation

General information about the tobacco plant

Tobacco (Nicotiana) is a genus of perennial and annual plants of the Solanaceae family. Grown to obtain raw materials used in tobacco products. In culture, the following types are most often found:

• Ordinary tobacco, or Virginia Tobacco, or Real Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The plant is up to 3 m high with pink flowers, a tubular corolla with sharp lobes, leaves are oblong-lanceolate, sessile. Real tobacco is quite thermophilic, therefore it is especially productively grown in hot regions. In our country, ordinary tobacco is grown south of 55 ° north latitude (this is approximately the latitude of Ryazan, Smolensk, Ulyanovsk, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo). Ordinary tobacco is cultivated in many countries of the world and has many varieties.
• Common shag, or Rustic tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) - a plant much lower than ordinary tobacco (up to 120 cm high), yellowish flowers, corolla with a short tube and rounded blades, ovoid leaves, narrow, obtuse at the end. The leaves of this more unpretentious plant contain half the amount of nicotine.

In the 19th century in Russia, makhorka was cultivated on an industrial scale everywhere (even in the Urals and Siberia). Even now, some villagers traditionally grow this plant from their own seeds.

Bolivia and Peru are considered the homeland of tobacco; it was brought to Europe by the expeditions of Christopher Columbus. Traditional areas of cultural cultivation - North America, China, India, Asia Minor. On the territory of the former USSR, ordinary tobacco is cultivated in the Transcaucasia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea and Krasnodar Territory. Tobacco is a thermophilic plant, the optimal summer temperature for it is about 30 ° C. Moist, light, free-flowing sandy soils are suitable for it. Tobacco is propagated by seeds, growing seedlings from them, which are then planted in the ground.

All parts of the plant contain nicotine (nicotine leaves most of all - 0.75-2.88%). Nicotine is a potent neurotoxin and cardiotoxin that causes short-term euphoria. The use of tobacco in various forms and in various ways (smoking, chewing, sniffing) causes physical and psychological dependence. Nicotine is extremely toxic. Some of the substances in tobacco are carcinogenic. therefore smoking tobacco is dangerous to health.

Should you grow tobacco?

Suppose you are a smoker, and you have the good fortune to live somewhere in the south of Russia or in Ukraine. You have at your disposal several acres of land. Why not try on the role of Philip Morris or at least Jack Vosmerkin, an American?

First, some fun arithmetic. One cigarette contains about a gram of tobacco. And the cheaper the cigarettes, the less it is there. That is, the pack contains about 20 grams. If a person smokes a pack a day, he will need about 6-8 kilograms of tobacco per year.

Under favorable conditions, about 30 g of smoking tobacco can be obtained from one plant, and six to seven plants can be placed on 1 square meter. The planting density of large-leaved varieties is 70 × 30 cm, and the planting density of medium-sized tobacco and makhorka is 70 × 20 cm.It turns out that you need to grow 270-300 plants, occupying about 40 square meters. m. plot. Moreover, if the tobacco turned out to be too "evil", it can be diluted with the stems.

Therefore, from the point of view of economy and finances, it is definitely profitable for a smoker to grow tobacco.

Features of growing tobacco

Further in the article we will talk about the cultivation of ordinary tobacco. If you decide to grow shag (Nicotiana rustica), then you will not need many of the tips given, shag is much easier to grow and less thermophilic. For the middle lane, it is sown in May in the ground under a film or covering material, and it has time to grow and give a crop.

So, the first thing to attend to is the seeds and their planting. Seeds are now sold on the Internet on many sites, you just need to choose a store convenient for you and a variety of tobacco.

Tobacco varieties

There are many varieties of ordinary tobacco. It is worth saying that for the period from 1990 to 2010. in the All-Russian Research Institute of Tobacco, more than 20 new productive and disease-resistant varieties of tobacco with excellent characteristics have been bred.

As with vegetables, it is better to choose local varieties for your site. Therefore, we list some popular varieties that are zoned for the territories of the former USSR:

• Refectory Kubanets. The growing season from planting seedlings to the last breaking is 103-134 days. Technically suitable leaves on average 27 pcs. Nicotine content 2.6%.
• Refectory 92. The variety is resistant to numerous damaging factors, viral tobacco diseases. It has a short growing season. On average, leaf breaking occurs 98 days after planting.
• Samsun 85. The variety belongs to intensively ripening varieties, mid-season - the number of days from planting to leaf breaking will be approximately 105-110 days. The number of technically ripe leaves from one tobacco bush is about 50 pcs.
• Anniversary new 142. The growing season from planting seedlings to ripening of leaves of average breaking is 78 days, to the last breaking 82 days. The nicotine content in the leaves is 2.0-2.1%. The variety has a complex resistance to tobacco diseases.
• Holly 316. Late-ripening form, intensive type of leaf maturation. Low in nicotine. From planting to maturation of the leaves of the last breaking 120 days.

Planting seeds

We recommend growing just a few bushes for the first year. So you will test your strength and find out all the nuances of the process. Therefore, you need very few seeds to get started. Tobacco seeds are as small as dust. There are about 12 thousand tobacco seeds in one gram, and about 4 thousand pieces of makhorka. To get the annual “rate” of a smoker, you need to sow only a quarter of a gram of tobacco seeds or three-quarters of a gram of tobacco seeds. You don't have to buy seeds anymore. Two or three bushes will give them more than needed for sowing a hectare.

Tobacco seeds remain viable for a long time, so sowing with old seeds is also possible, although it must be borne in mind that their germination decreases over time.

Tobacco can be planted on the seedlings on the windowsills, with or without a pick. The required age of seedlings is 40-45 days. But this technique is good only for small (up to a quarter of a hundred) volumes. However, for the first experiment, we don't need more. When growing tobacco in large volumes, it is either immediately planted in the ground (in warm climates), or greenhouses and nurseries are used.

Tobacco seeds are sown superficially, scattering them over wet soil.

An important point. The seeding depth of tobacco seeds is no more than 0.7-0.8 cm (0.3-0.5 cm for shag). After sowing, they are only slightly pressed into the ground and watered very carefully so that the seeds do not go deep.

You can sow not dry seeds, but hatched seeds. In this case, 4 days before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm clean water and placed on a damp cloth. This will speed up the germination of the seeds and shorten the time to forcing the seedlings by a week.

The optimum temperature for germination of tobacco seeds is + 25ºC… + 28ºC. If the temperature is lower, then this can delay the emergence of plants, or even destroy them altogether.

It is impossible to overmoisten, as well as overdry the seedlings. It is best to water a little, almost daily.

Transplanting

Seedlings are planted when it reaches a height of 15 cm, has 5-6 developed true leaves and a well-developed root system. At this moment, the danger of spring frosts should be avoided outside the window, and the soil at a depth of 10 cm should warm up above 10 ° C. This period is different in different regions, but approximately it is from the end of April to the end of May.

A week before planting, it is necessary to start hardening the seedlings, reducing watering and accustoming them to open air. 2-3 days before planting, watering the seedlings is completely stopped, watering abundantly only 2-3 hours before planting.

Plants are planted one at a time in the holes, after pouring 1 liter of water into them. In general, the process is very similar to planting tomato seedlings. And of course, every transplant is a shock for the plant. Therefore, it is advisable to preserve on the roots the soil in which the seedlings grew.

Care

During the growth period, it is necessary to regularly loosen the ground, remove weeds, feed and water. You can feed the plants based on the fertilization rates of tomatoes. Watering is usually limited to two to three waterings per summer, consuming 6-8 liters of water per plant. It is better to water the tobacco insufficiently than to water it.

A rooted tobacco bush can have roots up to several meters, and many tobacco growers find watering mature bushes harmful. However, it would be nice to water the tobacco a few days before harvesting.

In flowering plants, inflorescences are broken off (vershoking) and lateral shoots are regularly removed (pinching).

The soil

Tobacco is planted on fresh soil, in the absence of such, it is placed either after steam, or after winter crops or other plants that impose other nutrient requirements on the soil. For this reason, tobacco should not be planted, for example, after beets and potatoes.

The best soils for tobacco should be considered sandy loam, characterized by the presence of potassium and nitrogen, which are necessary for the tobacco plant.

Like all immigrants from the New World, tobacco is rapidly depleting the soil. But the remedy is known - fertilizers perfectly solve this problem.

The best fertilizer for tobacco is cow dung. Bird droppings and oilcakes are also considered useful fertilizers for tobacco. On soils poor in lime, liming is used, it has a beneficial effect not only on the culture, but also on the completeness of combustion of the tobacco plant.

Harvesting begins when the color of the tobacco leaves changes from green to yellow-green or light green. Since even one bush will have leaves of varying degrees of color, harvesting can take several weeks.

Tobacco pests and diseases

Tobacco is damaged by a number of pests, namely:

• Peach aphid, Greenhouse aphids, Tobacco aphids. A dangerous pest of tobacco. A widespread species, it feeds on many cultivated and wild plants. Peach aphid inhabits all organs of the tobacco plant and sucks the juice out of them, which leads to a decrease in the yield and quality of raw materials.
• Blackleg... It is manifested by lodging and mass death of seedlings. The base of the stems becomes thinner and decays. A brown or white bloom appears on the affected surface. The pathogen remains in the soil.
• Powdery mildew. It is observed shortly after planting seedlings in the ground. Separate spots with a cobweb-powdery bloom appear on the lower leaves; then the plaque becomes solid and covers the upper leaves. The mushroom hibernates on plant debris. The disease reduces photosynthesis, leads to plant oppression. Reduces the yield and quality of raw materials.
• Black root rot more often it affects seedlings, but adult plants also get sick. On the affected seedlings, the leaves wilt, turn yellow and dry out, the roots turn brown or black and often die off. In adult plants, the leaves become attached, and black and white spots form at the ends of the roots.
• Common broomstick... Distributed throughout the south and southeast of Kazakhstan. The parasite settles on the roots of tobacco and develops at the expense of the host plant, forming a powerful branching stem of purple color.As a result of mass destruction of plants by broomrape, the yield of tobacco and the quality of raw materials are reduced. Broomrape propagates by seeds that remain in the soil for many years.
• Mosaic... The leaves of diseased plants have normal green patches that alternate with light green. Later, the tissue dies off in spots. The main source of plant infection is post-harvest residues of diseased plants, both in greenhouses and in the field.
• Bacterial hazelnut. Oily or weeping spots appear on the tips of the leaves of young seedlings or along the edges of the leaves. In wet weather, they rot, and the whole plant becomes infected from them. Round chlorotic spots appear on the leaves of grown plants, which merge, forming patches of dead tissue. The causative agent of the disease is stored in tobacco leaves, in tobacco dust, in inventory.

Tobacco drying and fermentation

Well, the most important part of getting smoking tobacco is drying and fermentation. Let's make a reservation right away: if you do not smoke, have no previous experience with tobacco, it will be quite difficult for you to determine the degree of readiness. You can either not dry it out, or rot. However, let me remind you that our grandfathers grew and dried makhorka without a higher education.

Drying

After collecting, the tobacco leaves are hung to dry in a ventilated room, while it is advisable to place containers with water there to increase the humidity. The leaves dry out in about a month.

Then the dried leaves must be moistened with clean water from a spray bottle and folded into piles, covered with polyethylene, and kept for up to a day for uniform moistening. The leaves should be soft, but not soggy. After that, the leaves, either whole or cut, are hidden in sealed glass containers (jars) for fermentation.

Fermentation

Fermentation is a biochemical process that takes place at a constant temperature of 50 ° C for several weeks. Tobacco is fermented to reduce the strength, change the taste for the better, and reduce nicotine and tar. This can be done, for example, in electric ovens at a temperature of + 50ºC… + 60 ºC. Sometimes it is more convenient to dry cut leaves rather than whole leaves.

The resulting tobacco can be smoked in pipes, wrapped in cigarettes, fortunately, wrapping machines and tissue paper are now sold in many places. Finally, you can try making a cigar - it's easy and fun.

Of course, our material does not claim to be a detailed textbook, and many subtleties remained unaffected. And if you are serious about growing tobacco, you will need to study this issue more. But in order to get the first harvest, you already know enough.

We'd love to read your tips and secrets for growing, drying and fermenting tobacco.

And in conclusion, we remind you once again: smoking is addictive and harmful to your health. If you don't smoke, don't start. If you smoke, maybe it's time to quit? Nerd against smoking!

It is not difficult to grow tobacco or makhorka; these crops have no more secrets than vegetables. True, you will have to tinker with the post-harvest processing of tobacco - fermentation to make it aromatic. But this is no more difficult than canning cucumbers. If you smoke, boldly follow the path of the ancient Indians, from whose "backyards" tobacco came to us.

If makhorka grows everywhere: from the south of Russia to the Arctic, then tobacco is more thermophilic. He succeeds well south of 55 ° north latitude, approximately this line passes through Ryazan, Smolensk, Ulyanovsk, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo.

Tobacco varieties for cultivation

It is better to choose zoned varieties. So, Trapezond Kubanets and Trapezond 162 are recommended along with the North Caucasian for the West Siberian region. Sigarny 17 and Bryansky 91 are considered the best for the Central, and Trapezond 15 - the Central Black Earth region.Most varieties have been created and zoned for the North Caucasus, where tobacco is a traditional culture.

On a personal plot, I advise you to plant Trapezond 15 and Trapezond Kubanets. They ripen in 100 days, a month earlier than many other varieties. Plastic - quickly adapt to different climatic conditions, while maintaining good smoking properties.

Beds and tobacco seeds

The average smoker smokes up to 8 kg of tobacco per year. Based on this, we will determine the planting area so as not to look at the tobacco kiosk for a whole year.

Under favorable conditions, about 30 g of smoking tobacco can be obtained from one plant, and six to seven plants can be placed per 1 square meter. The planting density of large-leaved varieties is 70 x 30 cm, and the planting density of medium-sized tobacco and makhorka is 70 x 20 cm.It turns out that you need to grow 270-300 plants, occupying about 40 square meters. m. plot.

The seeds of the crops in question are as small as dust. In one gram there are about 12.5 thousand pieces of tobacco seeds, makhorka - 4 thousand pieces. To get the annual “rate” of a smoker, you need to sow only a quarter of a gram of tobacco seeds or three-quarters of a gram of tobacco seeds.

Sowing and planting tobacco

Tobacco and makhorka are grown through seedlings, with or without a pick. The seedlings are 40-45 days old. It works well in a greenhouse, greenhouse, on a sunlit windowsill in a room - in a flower pot or wooden box, where nutrient soil is poured in a layer of 8-10 cm.

It is easier to sow dry seeds, but better to sow seeds. In this case, 4-5 days before sowing, the seeds in a cloth must be soaked in warm clean water, you can add a few drops of tartaric acid or a few crystals of potassium nitrate to it. Soaking time is 24 hours. This accelerates seed germination, reduces the time for forcing seedlings by 5-7 days. It develops better, the yield increases.

Then rinse the seeds, remove excess water and put on germination in an enamel or earthenware dish in a warm place, and it is better not to cover. Moisten the rag periodically. Usually on the 3-4th day the seeds are pecked: white "dots" appear. A sprout longer than a seed should not be allowed to form: such sprouts break off easily. When two-thirds of the seeds are baked, they must be dried to flowability, mixed with well-disinfected fine sand or crushed humus. If germinated seeds cannot be sown immediately, then they can be stored for a day or two at a temperature of plus 1-2 ° in the refrigerator.

Important! The seeding depth is no more than 0.3-0.5 cm for tobacco, 0.7-0.8 cm for tobacco. Sprinkle the seeds with humus and sand (3: 1). Water the soil before and after sowing through a thick strainer.

Watering small-seeded crops is a delicate matter. It is impossible to overmoisten, as well as overdry the seedlings. It is best to water a little, almost daily. Before the “cross” phase (cotyledons and two true leaves growing across) usually consume only 0.5 liters of water per sowing box; keep crops where it is warmer + 23 + 25 °. Then it is desirable to lower the temperature to 20 °, and double the watering until the “ears” phase (3-4 true leaves usually stick up). It is better to dive seedlings in the "ears" stage.

Sprinkle the seedlings with fertile soil two or three times and feed them with a solution of mineral fertilizers (for 10 liters of water, 30 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of sulphate or potassium chloride). You can use an infusion of chicken manure: pour 1 kg into 10 liters of water, leave for 10-12 days for fermentation, stir from time to time. Strain the fermented mass and add 4-5 parts of water to 1 part of the liquid.

Seedlings are planted with a height of 14-16 cm, having 5-6 developed leaves, not counting the cotyledons, a stem 0.3-0.5 cm thick and a well-developed root system.

Seedlings should be hardened 7-8 days before planting, reducing watering and accustoming them to open air. 2-3 days before planting, watering not dived seedlings completely stop. Water the seedlings 2-3 hours before planting.

They begin planting in the ground when the danger of spring frosts has passed, and the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm rises to 10 °, from about April 20 to May 25. Make holes along the prepared furrow, pour 0.5 liters of water into them and spread the seedlings. With your right hand, deepen the hole with a peg, place the seedlings vertically into it with your left hand, press the moist soil to the roots, and sprinkle dry soil on top so that the moisture evaporates less. It makes sense to plant extended seedlings deeper - additional roots will grow.

During the growing season, regularly loosen the soil, remove weeds, feed and water. You can feed based on the fertilization rates of tomatoes. Usually they are limited to two or three waterings per summer, spending 6-8 liters of water per plant. It itself will tell you: if the leaves have wilted a little, watering is needed. But it is better to underwater than overmoisten.

In flowering plants, break off the inflorescences (vershoking) and regularly remove the lateral shoots (pinching).

S. Cherkasov, candidate of agricultural sciences. The magazine "Household economy".

Tobacco growing, video