posted 2 hours ago
hi all, I'm relatively new to posting here though I've read through so much.
I'm in the inland pnw/intermountain area of the US in Spokane. I grow in town on a .2 acre lot around my house.
3 years ago i started trying to grow my own tobacco. i thought i would start a thread on this and see if anyone else is doing similar or if there's any interest.
in year one i ordered in 6 types of tobacco to "experiment". i had no high hopes of producing and processing it to smoke, though i am a smoker. i wanted to simply see if i could grow it, and what that was like.
i ordered Golden Burley, Virginia Bright leaf, pa Golden, Massachusetts wrapper, simox, and rustica.
that year i put in mass wrapper, rustica, and burley. in two grow bags. they grew well, got about my height (5 feet) and produced big silky leaves which i color cured by hanging at first, then by towel wrapping later. all lost their green and then i hang dried them, then jarred the leaves to age. that was 2024.
i used a casing spray on the hanging leaves, made of vegetable glycerin, honey, water, and spiced rum. this kept them pliable and let them color up before they dried out fully.
In 2025 (last year) i planted rustica, Virginia, PA, simox, and seeds i had saved from the previous year. the land race/crossed seeds i saved did great. everything got very tall, and again i processed the leaves. i planted out twice as many plants and got triple the harvest by the end. 3 quart jars full of shredded dry leaves by the end of the process.
this year i started rolling and smoking the 2024 tobacco. it's very good, i haven't bought cigarettes in a few months as i go through it. it is all varieties i grew, blended, so it's a distinct flavor. the rustica has high nicotine content, as do specific leaves on each plant.
i started my 2026 plants 6 weeks ago in the heated greenhouse. they are sizing up well and nearly too big for the pots. this year I'll plant 50% my own saved seed from last year, plus golden Burley, VA, and rustica again. i also have white mammoth variety which I'll trial a few plants to see if i like them.
I've included photos of each year and some of the process and can explain more if anyone is interested.
I'm hoping my own seed will be good, i have purposely planted those out where there is no irrigation, no protection, and will be saving seed from the ones with the best ruffly leaves again this year. rustica/high nicotine often appears as a more pronounced ruffle, and big leaves are easier to process. so i am selecting for those traits, plus drought resistance.
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