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Old 19-02-2003, 04:39 AM
DGiunti
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

In article ,
writes:

With the price of cigarettes going up, I have taken to rolling my owm.
I have no intention of quitting, but I am getting tired of paying
those prices, and they are talking about adding more taxes. I live on
a small farm, and have done my share of gardening, but I have cut back
on the gardening because I grow all the veggies, and have no way to
store most of them, and they just go to waste. Bring a smoker, I
thought that I might be better using that garden space for tobacco.
I am only planning on a small patch, maybe 25 x 50 feet, just to grow
my own for myself.

I'd like to hear from others that have grown tobacco and learn what to
do, and not to do.

Anyone????


I have grown the ornamental version, nicatenia. It was fairly easy to
cultivate. I got a 6 pack of them started as sprouts and planted them. It was
an impulse purchase that I was quite happy with. They stayed in flower and
smelled wonderful for most of the summer and into the fall. You might try a
bit of that as well as the smokable version. You do not have to pick the spent
flowers to keep this plant in bloom. I am not sure where you would get seed
for the smokable version. There are likely places on the net, and I hope that
they give you the lowdown on what is expected of the plant, both while growing
it and treating it after harvest. There are several types that have different
textures when finished. From what I recall the treatment of the herb after
harvest is important, with a lot of care given to drying it out, but not
completely.

I do recall that there was a moth or butterfly that had an interesting
preference for this plant in California. It interested me because I could
cultivate both at the same time, as there were not that many of them and I had
about a 4' square patch of the plant. The caterpillar favored the flowers, but
when it noticed motion it would stop eating and become quite still. I have
never observed this sort of intelligent behavior in caterpillars before. It
also had an odd habit of 'stalking' the reproductive center of the flower. It
would stay there as if it was planning to pounce on other insects that might
come and try to pollinate the flower. I never actually saw it pounce, but the
possibility was there. Such behavior has been documented in Hawaiian
caterpillars, but has not been seen on the mainland... perhaps because no one
has looked long enough.


David Giunti email:
unity
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Old 19-02-2003, 06:03 AM
jammer
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 05:22:43 -0600, wrote:


Anyone????


No, but here are some links that may help you. My cousin tried it and
didn't like it.
http://www.webhost-free.com/growtobacco/3.html
http://www.boldweb.com/greenweb/nicoinfo.htm


·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸


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Old 19-02-2003, 04:03 PM
animaux
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

Smoking tobacco is not an easy crop to grow unless you live in the deep south
with a long growing season and plenty of heavy equipment and man/woman power.
Then you'd need a place to cure it. It will never taste like the cigarettes you
smoke now because they add at least a hundred chemicals to tobacco (including
added nicotine to keep you well addicted) which distinguishes the "brands," one
from another.

Why not just quit. Smoking was always like a ball and chain to me. Do I have
cigarettes, do I need them, how many are left, cough, cough, cough. I'd get
every flu every time it came around, I'd have sore throats, heavy chest colds,
etc.

Smoking is not a moral issue for me, it's a health issue. I will be damned if
I'll pay 35 dollars for a carton every week. Instead, I have 140 dollars a
month to spend on my other hobbies, stitching and gardening.

V


On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 05:22:43 -0600, wrote:

With the price of cigarettes going up, I have taken to rolling my owm.
I have no intention of quitting, but I am getting tired of paying
those prices, and they are talking about adding more taxes. I live on
a small farm, and have done my share of gardening, but I have cut back
on the gardening because I grow all the veggies, and have no way to
store most of them, and they just go to waste. Bring a smoker, I
thought that I might be better using that garden space for tobacco.
I am only planning on a small patch, maybe 25 x 50 feet, just to grow
my own for myself.

I'd like to hear from others that have grown tobacco and learn what to
do, and not to do.

Anyone????

Thanks

Mark


  #4   Report Post  
Old 19-02-2003, 05:03 PM
Judy and Dave G
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

Sorry, didn't see the original post, tacking on to this one. ;o}

"Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." wrote in message
...
jammer wrote:

On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 05:22:43 -0600, wrote:


Anyone????


No, but here are some links that may help you. My cousin tried it and
didn't like it.
http://www.webhost-free.com/growtobacco/3.html
http://www.boldweb.com/greenweb/nicoinfo.htm


Smoking tobaccos are blends, such as burley and bright used in American
cigarettes. Straight varieties are somewhat wanting in taste.


Hi all gardening friends.

Background on growing tobacco in general.

We live in Kentucky and have a tobacco base on our farm. The tobacco base
means that a farm has been assigned a certain number of pounds of tobacco
that it is permitted to grow for sale. The tobacco sales are usually made
to big tobacco companies. Some tobacco farmers have bases of over 500,000
pounds and this is what the do for a living. Other tobacco farmers, like
us, do not have large bases, usually under 4,000 pounds. We can sometimes
made enough $ on these small bases to pay our real estate taxes, if we are
lucky. Sometimes the big farmers will lease a small farmer's base and add
it to his own. The number of pounds that a farm can grow is limited only by
the land. We have 60 acres. At least 40 of them are on the hillside. Not
a good place to grow tobacco. So the government has assigned us a
permissible growing amount as 19,000 pounds. But we can only grow more than
the 4,000 base if we lease someone else's base. Kentucky is known in the
tobacco world as growing really good burley tobacco. We have bottomland
that is wonderful for tobacco and it usually grows the burley better than
other types of land, such as ridgetop. The amount of $ you get for your
tobacco crop is based upon the quality of it, or the grade. You take your
tobacco allotment to the tobacco warehouse. Tobacco is sold by auction at
these warehouses. In these economic times, an average price for middle of
the road to good tobacco is about $1.70/pound.

Tobacco uses a lot of fertilizer to make good leaves. The cost of the
fertilizer is by the ton and bought from a farm and seed dealer that rents
you a 'buggy' to take the fertilizer home and spread it. The buggy is a
large (size of a full size van) bin made of some king of metal. The dealer
measures your order into it and then you pay and take it to the field. Good
farmers usually get a soil test done every other year or so to determine the
amount of fertilizer and how much of each, i.e. 10-10-10, is needed to grow
the tobacco. Tobacco has specific diseases that you have to spray to
protect from. Also many bugs that harm tobacco plants. Also have to spray
for the bugs. Chemicals that are permitted to be applied to the tobacco is
limited and approved by the FDA.

Now, to the growing part.

In order to get a crop in the ground, cured, packed and to the auction in
time, growers start their seeds in hotbeds, water beds (hydroponic) or
greenhouses. Some people make a living just selling tobacco seedlings. The
seedling is permitted to grow to about a 12 inch size before it is
transplanted. If the weather is too cold, wet, or whatever, these growers
will use a type of lawn mower and go over their seedling beds to keep the
seedlings to a manageable size. Manageable means able to be put into a
tobacco planter and automatedly planted. The tobacco planter requires
someone to ride along on it and place the plants in the cups as it comes
around empty after putting the first plant in the ground. The planter also
has a blade in the front to make the furrow and a hoe type thing on the back
to pack and firm the soil around the plant. I have heard that there are
totally automated planters, never have seen one.

OK, so you start your seed like any other garden seed.

Preparing the land. The location of the plot is important. You want good
fertile land with a good breeze. The land that is used for tobacco is
usually planted with a cover crop in the autumn after the tobacco has been
harvested. The cover crop is cut and turned under at least 4 weeks prior to
placing the plants in. Depends on the type of cover crop and how long it
takes to break down in the soil. Once the cover is broken down, the grower
discs the land (tills with a fine tractor attachment). The fertilizer is
usually added at this time. Any systemic bug killer or disease preventer
may be added at this time. Well, spread out and then turned under. Some
tobacco treatments, such as for Blue Mold, costs about $170.00 per quart. I
think a quart treats an acre if the disease is not present and it is just a
preventative measure.

Once the tobacco is set (planted in the ground) you pray for rain. Just
like any crop. If you don't get rain, you have to water. Usually growers
use like a 2000 gallon tank on their tractor to water. Once the tobacco is
established, you treat for weeds between the rows. (When you fertilize you
can treat for weeds that are unlike a tobacco plant, i.e. broad leaf,
vining, fine blade).

A good tobacco plant needs to put all of its energy into making big, healthy
leaves. It is the leaves that are harvested. Therefore, you need to keep
the plant topped. Kept short and not permitted to flower. (When I helped
'top' the tobacco I thought I was gonna die of nicotine poisoning. Whew.
Straight nicotine right through the skin. Also the stains on your hands
from topping (breaking off the stalk about 5' high) are impossible to
remove. You just have to let it wear off.

After the tobacco has grown for the season you can tell it is ready to start
harvest by the color. It should have been deep green as it was growing.
Now that it is finished growing (usually September around here, determined
by the weather and length of days) it will start to turn yellow. This is
good. (But if it turns yellow it also may have a disease, so you gotta
watch it and make sure it is the whole field and all the leaves at once.)
Once it is yellow, you go out and cut it down. You usually use a tobacco
stick. A tobacco stick is about 36" long, about 3/4" thick, with a pointed
end on one side. You stick the tobacco stick in the ground. Then you cut a
tobacco stalk at the base and lift it up to horizontal. Then you place this
horizontal stalk over the tobacco stick. (The stick is sticking up between
leaves close to the stalk about at the middle of the plant). You put as
many stalks on the stick as will fit. You can leave the sticks in the field
for a day or two, but only if it doesn't rain. Now you gather up all of
your sticks.

Time to hang the tobacco. You need to hang the tobacco in a protected place
to cure. Curing means drying out, then reabsorbing moisture. A farmer
usually has a barn, 4 bent, or 5 bent. This means that it is so many feet
high. These barns are specifically built to be tobacco barns. There is a
system of rough grids placed between the posts and beams. The grid is
usually built from sturdy wood posts, just trees that have been cut before
they are too big. Usually about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. This grid is
created with the 36" tobacco stick in mind. Because you actually hang the
stick with the tobacco on it from the grid pieces. Usually a farmer will
find a really, really small (not short, just thin) person to hang. Because
you have to be up there at the top of the barn, which can be 50' high and
crawling around on that same grid system. Others are on the wagon, and up
into the grid to hand the sticks up in a water bucket brigade type of
system. Some farmers can afford barns or won't and they just hang their
tobacco onto a grid made of, well, like chain link fence posts. Outside.
Definitely more at the mercy of the weather.

Now you wait. You need just the right amount of air going through the barn.
You want the leaves to dry, but not too much. If they are too dry, they
crumble. And this is not good. The drying process is usually pretty long.
The leaves have to dry out, then they have to reabsorb moisture so they can
be packaged. A package is about a 300 pound or so packed tight rectangular
shaped tobacco bale. There are laws regulating how the tobacco leaves are
separated and put in the bales. If you put cheap stuff in the middle and
good stuff on the outside you are charged for a crime. This baler thing is
kinda a wood box that you lay the leaves into criss-crossed. And then a
heavy type of press is used to compact it as type as possible. (So it
doesn't dry or absorb moisture.) Then the box has natural twine (no
preservatives or face rope) spaced around it and in it so the tobacco bale
can be tied up tight. These bales then go the auction.

Government graders determine the grade of all bales. Then they are
auctioned by grade, by farm.

Last year's drought was horrible for tobacco. And the rainy spell at the
beginning of the season was another hit. The government requires that all
farmers purchase insurance to protect against crop loss. If you don't buy
private, you must buy government. Minimum of $50 per crop, per farm. This
was from when Clinton was helicoptering looking at the results of that flood
in 1997 or so. Said we need to protect these people. We must pass a law
that requires them to buy insurance. Thanks, just another bill added on.

The good tobacco is usually bought by American tobacco companies. The
cheaper, or lower grades, are typically sent out of country, to Japan or
China usually. Usually most of Kentucky's crop is purchased by American
companies.

The labor for tobacco is stage specific. When you are planting, when you
are topping, when you are cutting, when you are hanging and when you are
baling. Many tobacco farmers use alien labor to help with their crops.
Some aliens charge per stick for cutting or hanging. Others are employed by
the farmer and do other chores on the farm for an hourly rate plus room.
And not a very good hourly rate but it is more than they can earn at their
homeland.

Whew. Short course in tobacco. Let me know if I have confused us all or if
this helps.

Judy







  #5   Report Post  
Old 19-02-2003, 08:27 PM
Shelly
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

I've never been interested in growing tobacco, but I found your post
fascinating, Judy! I lived in N. Carolina for a time, and remember thinking
the tobacco fields were surprisingly pretty...


"Judy and Dave G" wrote in message
...
Sorry, didn't see the original post, tacking on to this one. ;o}

"Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A." wrote in message
...
jammer wrote:

On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 05:22:43 -0600, wrote:


Anyone????

No, but here are some links that may help you. My cousin tried it and
didn't like it.
http://www.webhost-free.com/growtobacco/3.html
http://www.boldweb.com/greenweb/nicoinfo.htm


Smoking tobaccos are blends, such as burley and bright used in American
cigarettes. Straight varieties are somewhat wanting in taste.


Hi all gardening friends.

Background on growing tobacco in general.

We live in Kentucky and have a tobacco base on our farm. The tobacco base
means that a farm has been assigned a certain number of pounds of tobacco
that it is permitted to grow for sale. The tobacco sales are usually made
to big tobacco companies. Some tobacco farmers have bases of over 500,000
pounds and this is what the do for a living. Other tobacco farmers, like
us, do not have large bases, usually under 4,000 pounds. We can sometimes
made enough $ on these small bases to pay our real estate taxes, if we are
lucky. Sometimes the big farmers will lease a small farmer's base and add
it to his own. The number of pounds that a farm can grow is limited only

by
the land. We have 60 acres. At least 40 of them are on the hillside.

Not
a good place to grow tobacco. So the government has assigned us a
permissible growing amount as 19,000 pounds. But we can only grow more

than
the 4,000 base if we lease someone else's base. Kentucky is known in the
tobacco world as growing really good burley tobacco. We have bottomland
that is wonderful for tobacco and it usually grows the burley better than
other types of land, such as ridgetop. The amount of $ you get for your
tobacco crop is based upon the quality of it, or the grade. You take your
tobacco allotment to the tobacco warehouse. Tobacco is sold by auction at
these warehouses. In these economic times, an average price for middle of
the road to good tobacco is about $1.70/pound.

Tobacco uses a lot of fertilizer to make good leaves. The cost of the
fertilizer is by the ton and bought from a farm and seed dealer that rents
you a 'buggy' to take the fertilizer home and spread it. The buggy is a
large (size of a full size van) bin made of some king of metal. The

dealer
measures your order into it and then you pay and take it to the field.

Good
farmers usually get a soil test done every other year or so to determine

the
amount of fertilizer and how much of each, i.e. 10-10-10, is needed to

grow
the tobacco. Tobacco has specific diseases that you have to spray to
protect from. Also many bugs that harm tobacco plants. Also have to

spray
for the bugs. Chemicals that are permitted to be applied to the tobacco

is
limited and approved by the FDA.

Now, to the growing part.

In order to get a crop in the ground, cured, packed and to the auction in
time, growers start their seeds in hotbeds, water beds (hydroponic) or
greenhouses. Some people make a living just selling tobacco seedlings.

The
seedling is permitted to grow to about a 12 inch size before it is
transplanted. If the weather is too cold, wet, or whatever, these growers
will use a type of lawn mower and go over their seedling beds to keep the
seedlings to a manageable size. Manageable means able to be put into a
tobacco planter and automatedly planted. The tobacco planter requires
someone to ride along on it and place the plants in the cups as it comes
around empty after putting the first plant in the ground. The planter

also
has a blade in the front to make the furrow and a hoe type thing on the

back
to pack and firm the soil around the plant. I have heard that there are
totally automated planters, never have seen one.

OK, so you start your seed like any other garden seed.

Preparing the land. The location of the plot is important. You want good
fertile land with a good breeze. The land that is used for tobacco is
usually planted with a cover crop in the autumn after the tobacco has been
harvested. The cover crop is cut and turned under at least 4 weeks prior

to
placing the plants in. Depends on the type of cover crop and how long it
takes to break down in the soil. Once the cover is broken down, the

grower
discs the land (tills with a fine tractor attachment). The fertilizer is
usually added at this time. Any systemic bug killer or disease preventer
may be added at this time. Well, spread out and then turned under. Some
tobacco treatments, such as for Blue Mold, costs about $170.00 per quart.

I
think a quart treats an acre if the disease is not present and it is just

a
preventative measure.

Once the tobacco is set (planted in the ground) you pray for rain. Just
like any crop. If you don't get rain, you have to water. Usually growers
use like a 2000 gallon tank on their tractor to water. Once the tobacco

is
established, you treat for weeds between the rows. (When you fertilize

you
can treat for weeds that are unlike a tobacco plant, i.e. broad leaf,
vining, fine blade).

A good tobacco plant needs to put all of its energy into making big,

healthy
leaves. It is the leaves that are harvested. Therefore, you need to keep
the plant topped. Kept short and not permitted to flower. (When I helped
'top' the tobacco I thought I was gonna die of nicotine poisoning. Whew.
Straight nicotine right through the skin. Also the stains on your hands
from topping (breaking off the stalk about 5' high) are impossible to
remove. You just have to let it wear off.

After the tobacco has grown for the season you can tell it is ready to

start
harvest by the color. It should have been deep green as it was growing.
Now that it is finished growing (usually September around here, determined
by the weather and length of days) it will start to turn yellow. This is
good. (But if it turns yellow it also may have a disease, so you gotta
watch it and make sure it is the whole field and all the leaves at once.)
Once it is yellow, you go out and cut it down. You usually use a tobacco
stick. A tobacco stick is about 36" long, about 3/4" thick, with a

pointed
end on one side. You stick the tobacco stick in the ground. Then you cut

a
tobacco stalk at the base and lift it up to horizontal. Then you place

this
horizontal stalk over the tobacco stick. (The stick is sticking up

between
leaves close to the stalk about at the middle of the plant). You put as
many stalks on the stick as will fit. You can leave the sticks in the

field
for a day or two, but only if it doesn't rain. Now you gather up all of
your sticks.

Time to hang the tobacco. You need to hang the tobacco in a protected

place
to cure. Curing means drying out, then reabsorbing moisture. A farmer
usually has a barn, 4 bent, or 5 bent. This means that it is so many feet
high. These barns are specifically built to be tobacco barns. There is a
system of rough grids placed between the posts and beams. The grid is
usually built from sturdy wood posts, just trees that have been cut before
they are too big. Usually about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. This grid is
created with the 36" tobacco stick in mind. Because you actually hang the
stick with the tobacco on it from the grid pieces. Usually a farmer will
find a really, really small (not short, just thin) person to hang.

Because
you have to be up there at the top of the barn, which can be 50' high and
crawling around on that same grid system. Others are on the wagon, and up
into the grid to hand the sticks up in a water bucket brigade type of
system. Some farmers can afford barns or won't and they just hang their
tobacco onto a grid made of, well, like chain link fence posts. Outside.
Definitely more at the mercy of the weather.

Now you wait. You need just the right amount of air going through the

barn.
You want the leaves to dry, but not too much. If they are too dry, they
crumble. And this is not good. The drying process is usually pretty

long.
The leaves have to dry out, then they have to reabsorb moisture so they

can
be packaged. A package is about a 300 pound or so packed tight

rectangular
shaped tobacco bale. There are laws regulating how the tobacco leaves are
separated and put in the bales. If you put cheap stuff in the middle and
good stuff on the outside you are charged for a crime. This baler thing

is
kinda a wood box that you lay the leaves into criss-crossed. And then a
heavy type of press is used to compact it as type as possible. (So it
doesn't dry or absorb moisture.) Then the box has natural twine (no
preservatives or face rope) spaced around it and in it so the tobacco bale
can be tied up tight. These bales then go the auction.

Government graders determine the grade of all bales. Then they are
auctioned by grade, by farm.

Last year's drought was horrible for tobacco. And the rainy spell at the
beginning of the season was another hit. The government requires that all
farmers purchase insurance to protect against crop loss. If you don't buy
private, you must buy government. Minimum of $50 per crop, per farm.

This
was from when Clinton was helicoptering looking at the results of that

flood
in 1997 or so. Said we need to protect these people. We must pass a law
that requires them to buy insurance. Thanks, just another bill added on.

The good tobacco is usually bought by American tobacco companies. The
cheaper, or lower grades, are typically sent out of country, to Japan or
China usually. Usually most of Kentucky's crop is purchased by American
companies.

The labor for tobacco is stage specific. When you are planting, when you
are topping, when you are cutting, when you are hanging and when you are
baling. Many tobacco farmers use alien labor to help with their crops.
Some aliens charge per stick for cutting or hanging. Others are employed

by
the farmer and do other chores on the farm for an hourly rate plus room.
And not a very good hourly rate but it is more than they can earn at their
homeland.

Whew. Short course in tobacco. Let me know if I have confused us all or

if
this helps.

Judy











  #6   Report Post  
Old 19-02-2003, 10:51 PM
Sunflower
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?


wrote in message
...
With the price of cigarettes going up, I have taken to rolling my owm.
I have no intention of quitting, but I am getting tired of paying
those prices, and they are talking about adding more taxes. I live on
a small farm, and have done my share of gardening, but I have cut back
on the gardening because I grow all the veggies, and have no way to
store most of them, and they just go to waste. Bring a smoker, I
thought that I might be better using that garden space for tobacco.
I am only planning on a small patch, maybe 25 x 50 feet, just to grow
my own for myself.

I'd like to hear from others that have grown tobacco and learn what to
do, and not to do.

Anyone????

Thanks

Mark


In some areas of the country it is illegal for a homeowner to grow tobacco
(or cotton, or other commercially farmed crops) because of the risk of pests
and diseases from the homeowner's crops being introduced into commercial
crops. Homeowners aren't allowed to use the big bucks pesticides that keep
these crops disease and pest free, and the fear is that a pest that thrives
on the homeowner crops may turn out to be resistant to the chemicals and
become $$$ loss to the commercial farmers.

Sunflower
MS 7b


  #7   Report Post  
Old 19-02-2003, 11:51 PM
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

http://www.hot-ent.com/
I get Lewiston ultra light 100's for 12.50 or so, 1 buck per carton shipping. Ingrid

wrote:
With the price of cigarettes going up, I have taken to rolling my owm.



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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  #8   Report Post  
Old 20-02-2003, 01:27 AM
Marcy Hege
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

Having grown up on a tobacco farm in eastern NC, you covered a lot of territory
about the tobacco. However, your post talked about burly but in eastern NC, the
tobacco is flue-cured.

Instead of waiting until September, flue-cured tobacco is typically harvested
one leaf at the time as the leaves ripen. Most farmers I knew tried to cover
all their fields at least once a week from mid-July until the last leaves were
harvested in early September. The first leaves harvested are called "sand lugs"
since being on the bottom of the stalk, those leaves were usually covered with
sandy soil. Choice leaves were in the middle of the plant (usually graded as
"wrappers" at the sale) and the top, smaller leaves were "tips."

After you pulled the leaves off the plant and put them in a trailer, the
trailer was taken to the barn where the leaves were "strung" on a stick. Women
and children did the barn work with the children preparing bundles of three or
four leaves to hand to the adult "stringing" the tobacco. You had to keep the
string tight and not loop it too far down the leaf. These sticks were then hung
in the tobacco barn where it was cured. It takes a special skill to properly
cure of barn of tobacco.

I guess I could go on about how it was done but these are more mechanized these
days. Farmers are limited by allotments and poundage restrictions as to how
much they can produce. Raising and harvesting tobacco is definitely putting
your faith out there since a hail storm could ruin it all in less than ten
minutes. We won't even get into the hard work of irrigating or dealing with
acres of plants blown over during a thunderstorm.

It's a hard way to make a living, just like most agricultural crops. But it
will teach you to appreciate air conditioning and many of the other
conveniences of city life.
  #9   Report Post  
Old 22-02-2003, 12:15 PM
Compostman
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

I grew up on a tobacco farm in North Carolina and I can assure you that
growing tobacco is not easy. At that time the government controlled the
production of tobacco by allocating the number of acres one could grow.
Therefore, everyone tried to get as many pounds of tobacco per acre as
possible. Rows were grown so close together that no mechanical equipment
could be used. Instead we used mules for the heavy work. Tobacco is very
nasty. The leaves are covered with sticky stuff and one is filthy after a
day in the field. Any many people get so sick working in tobacco that they
can hardly eat. We grew flue-cured bright tobacco which is hand picked,
cured in heated barns, and hand graded. Lots of labor involved. (I left out
a lot of steps, such as the steaming before grading. The steam room smells
very much like the Lapchoon souchon (I know this isn't even close to the
correct spelling) tea.) Then after all the wok the farmers do, the tobacco
companies do more before cigarettes are made. They blend the tobacco and
chop it up. The price of cigarettes is mostly taxes, not the cost of
tobacco. If you want to save money on tobacco, see if you can't buy it
direct from the farmers after it's been cured. Once it's at the tobacco
market it's a controlled substance. By the way, the reason the government
controls the amount a farmer can grow has nothing to do with the fact that
tobacco is a dangerous product, but instead is part of the USDA price
control system. When I was living on a farm the government guaranteed the
minimum price of tobacco and it bought and stored tobacco if it didn't sell
above that price. Just like butter and milk. I'm surprised that they
didn't give it to the schools as part of the school lunch program.

Compostman
Washington, DC
Zone 7
"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
One post said growing tobacco was easy, and that is not my
understanding. All the work is done by hand and the leaves need to
be cured. Not too many (tobacco smoking) people would enjoy smoking
the dried leaves, but those who I knew that did are not living today.
It is very strong. One farmer used to chew the leaves, but after
several years developed tongue cancer.



  #10   Report Post  
Old 22-02-2003, 12:39 PM
 
Posts: n/a
Default Has anyone ever grown tobacco?

thats odd, cause altho I have 150 students a year (and I am a heavy smoker at least
got one burning all the time) I rarely get sick. Had flu back in 97 I think. Last
cold was a couple years ago 4 days after correcting 150 students exams. Now I dont
even handle their exams before I nuke em in the microwave. LOL. Other than some
allergy induced asthma, I am extremely healthy. Ingrid

animaux wrote:
I'd getevery flu every time it came around, I'd have sore throats, heavy chest
colds,


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