Problematic cultivation of smoking tobacco
Today, most of the world's population cannot imagine their life without smoking. This bad habit is confidently attaching more and more people to itself. Some prefer cigarettes, others will not trade their pipe for anything. A person who smokes a pipe enjoys not only the very process of smoking, but also the care of his pipe. For such tobacco gourmets, preparation for smoking turns into a whole ritual. They slowly stuff it with tobacco, clean it thoroughly and polish it after smoking.
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Many smokers grow their own home tobacco... This interesting activity becomes a real hobby for them. Gardeners often grow tobacco along with other plants that benefit, heal, and please the eye.
Tobacco varieties
Due to the fact that the cultivation of tobacco has become a fairly popular occupation, breeders have taken care of the variety of tobacco varieties. The exclusive seeds of this plant make it possible to grow tobacco that is difficult to distinguish from real Cuban varieties.
If you do not have a garden plot, but have a great desire to grow smoking tobacco, then this can be done even at home on the windowsill. You can sow cigar tobacco or shag. There are many varieties of tobacco.
- For those who decide to grow pipe tobacco, the Orinoco variety is perfect. It is a classic smoking tobacco with prune and aromatic vanilla flavors. Its cultivation does not require special knowledge and care.
- Another favorite of smokers is Kentucky. Ideal for cigars and roll-ups, it burns well in the tube. Its flavor of walnut and chocolate will give a real treat to tobacco connoisseurs. Kentucky surpasses all other varieties in the amount of nicotine. This tobacco does not need to be fermented, it is easy to use, it is dried, steamed and cut for smoking.
- The American variety is easy to grow. It is designed for pipes and cigars. Despite the high cost of its seeds, there are many fans of this variety. This classic smoking tobacco practically does not get sick, it needs minimal watering. Due to its spicy taste, it is often used in smoking mixtures, which allows for a magical aroma.
- The Perik variety, aged in oak barrels, is unique.
More than 60 species of this plant grow in the wild, but only two species are grown as a cultivated plant in Russia: Verginsky and Makhorka tobacco. The first species loves warmth, it is problematic and expensive to grow it. Therefore, Makhorka has become a real favorite of gardeners. It is otherwise called Rustic tobacco precisely because it is easy to grow on its site.
Planting and growing smoking tobacco
Growing tobacco in the garden, gardeners often face a lot of problems. Seeds are sown for seedlings in winter, only after three and a half months the first shoots appear. Every day, smoking tobacco plants need weeding, loosening, watering, feeding and garter stems. The difficulty of caring for tobacco is that it reaches a height of 3 meters. Shag is much easier to grow.
Tobacco seeds are sown for seedlings in flower pots or wooden boxes with nutritious soil, which are installed in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. It is better to pre-soak the seeds so that they hatch a little. Soak them for a day in warm clean water. You can add some crystals of potassium nitrate or a couple of drops of tartaric acid to the water. In this way, you can increase the yield of tobacco.
After a day, the seeds are washed and left in a warm place for 4 days for germination. Sprouted seeds are dried, mixed with fine sand or humus and are planted in boxes. When planting seeds in the ground, it is important to monitor the planting depth. Makhorka should not be deeper than 0.5 cm, and tobacco - 0.8 cm. Before and after sowing, the soil should be watered through a thick sieve.
Periodically, seedlings are fed with mineral fertilizers or chicken droppings. When it reaches 15 cm in height, you can start planting in open ground. A week before planting, seedlings need to be accustomed to open air and less watering.
Care and protection from disease
So, in the second half of spring, tobacco is planted in open ground. Now it is important to take proper care of him. Like other plants, smoking tobacco needs regular loosening of the soil, removal of weeds, timely watering and fertilization.
During the growing season, tobacco is watered at the rate of 6-8 liters of water per plant. Two or three waterings over the summer are enough. In plants that bloom, the tops and side shoots must be broken off.
Various solutions are used to fight diseases. If aphids have appeared on your plants, treat them with actelik at the rate of 30 grams per 10 liters of water or with rogor at the rate of 20 grams per 10 liters. With peronosporosis, a 0.3% polycarbacin solution or a 0.4% suspension of cineb will do an excellent job.
Growing tobacco for smoking is not an easy task, but the result is worth it. After all, tobacco grown by our own hands has an indescribable special aroma that does not at all look like cigarettes from a store.