Tobacco growing temperature. Preferred tobacco varieties for growing. Planting by seed

Regular tobacco, samosad or fragrant - all these concepts refer to one plant that is easy to grow in your own area. It is believed that the principle of growing tobacco itself is not so complicated; it is only necessary to devote more time to post-harvest processing or fermentation. But there is no need to be afraid of this either; there is nothing complicated in this work. Moreover, if you know how to grow garden crops and seal them for the winter, then you can handle tobacco fermentation just fine.

What do you need to know before sowing seeds?

Let's first think a little and think about whether this long process of growing a self-garden is so important for you, or is it better not to waste your personal time and buy a pack or two of cigarettes in the store? No, heavy smokers believe that the efforts are fully justified, the savings on the family budget are obvious, and they don’t spare time and effort for themselves. Moreover, the result will exceed all expectations: the product is pure and tested, there will be no chemicals or additives.

These positive aspects prove in the best possible way that it is better for a smoker to smoke a cigarette of his own tobacco than to buy a “tar” cigarette mixed with chemicals. Now go ahead, let's learn to grow tobacco together.

Before you begin work, you need to know that the properties of the plant will directly depend on the soil in which it grows. Tobacco adapts to any weather and climatic conditions, only the final result may differ from the original grown in the South of the country. Now it becomes clear that tobacco is a heat-loving plant. Don't worry, there are several varieties of self-gardening that adapt to soil composition and temperature.

Other things to consider before boarding:

The composition of the soil directly affects not only the size, but even the color and shape of the leaves.
The aroma of tobacco depends on the mineral salts contained in the soil, as well as the level of moisture.
If there is not enough air (growing in greenhouses), this affects the taste of the leaves.

A little history

It is difficult to say how many centuries ago humanity discovered the properties of tobacco and the fact that this plant can be smoked. Peru and Bolivia are considered to be the birthplace of the plant. But Europe is indebted to Columbus for bringing this plant and teaching Europeans to smoke.

Currently, this crop is widely cultivated in India, China and North America. In Russia, or rather in the former USSR, it was also customary to grow tobacco in plantations in countries with a warm climate: Moldova, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Currently, in the Transcaucasus, in the outback, people still grow tobacco on their plots, as they say, the old fashioned way.

The main requirement for growing this crop is high air temperature. Tobacco loves it when it is hot outside, so the optimal temperature for preserving the juiciness of the leaves and color is +30 o C. The soil is more suitable when moist and light, as well as “loose” with an admixture of sand.

The method of propagating tobacco is using seeds, from which you must first grow seedlings and then plant them in open ground.

Attention! Each of you should know that the stems and leaves of this plant contain nicotine, and there is more of it in the leaves (up to 3%). Nicotine is a toxic substance that can cause euphoria. This condition passes quickly, but there is no need to abuse tobacco smoking. By the way, they use tobacco not only by smoking, but also by chewing, and also sniffing tobacco powder. Natural nicotine is a potent toxic substance that is unsafe for human health.

So is it still necessary to grow tobacco or not? Theoretically, yes, if health problems do not bother you, then you can try growing smoking tobacco yourself. The first advantage is that there is little space on personal plot, the second is simple mathematics. It is known that there is very little tobacco in 1 cigarette, even less than what is indicated on the pack, about 1 g. It turns out that there is only 20 g in a pack. If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, then this is already a blow to the family budget. Let’s say you have to buy 30 or 31 packs per month, but for a year it turns out to be a large amount. As a result, tobacco will cost practically nothing, and even if you only need 6-8 kg per year, it is not as much as the cost of purchased cigarettes.

If conditions allow, then from just 1 bush you can get up to 30 g of tobacco! And in just 1 acre of land you can grow up to 7 plants! Seedlings are placed at a distance of 20 cm from each other, and large-leaved ones - 30 cm, planting density is 70 by 30 or 70 by 20 cm. If you occupy a plot of 40 m2, you will have to plant a total of 300 seedlings. And yet, if the plant turns out to be concentrated or, as they say, “evil” tobacco, then it will have to be diluted with the stems of the same plant, and this is even more profitable.

Find out which plant varieties are best to plant

If you are one of those who dreams of harvesting your first tobacco harvest from your own plot, then you need to get some seeds. Planting material must be purchased at the store. Consultants will offer a choice of several popular varieties of tobacco, it could be “Rural” or “Virginia”. Let's take a closer look at each type of this plant.

Variety "Virginia" - the taste of the leaves is soft and delicate. This plant variety adapts to any climatic conditions. Elite varieties of tobacco are grown in favorable conditions in Brazil. The collected leaves are processed in a simple way: fumigation with smoke.

Variety "Rural" - resistant to changes weather conditions, the leaf is strong and tart. The aroma is subtle.

There are many more different varieties tobacco, which you can also try to grow at home. Each variety was bred taking into account cultivation in central Russia. It is very important to consider the area where the tobacco will be grown in order to choose the right variety.

So, you should pay attention to the following types of tobacco:

“Kubanets Trapezond”, approximately 100 days pass from planting to collecting the last leaf. The content of the main substance – nicotine – is 2.6%;
“92 Trebizond” is a resistant tobacco variety that is not afraid of diseases and pests. Short growing season. After planting, 98 days pass and you can start collecting leaves;
"New Yubileiny" - a short growing season, only 78 days. Standard nicotine content: from 2.0%;
"85 Samsun" is an intensive variety, distinguished high speed maturation. 105 days pass from planting to the moment of leaf collection. Collection of mature leaves from one bush - up to 50 pcs.;
“316 Holly” is a late-ripening plant variety, characterized by a low percentage of nicotine content. Average term growing season: 120 days, including the last leaf collection.

Growing fragrant tobacco

To grow tobacco from seeds, you first need to prepare planting material. This is easy to do, this is how we prepare any seeds before planting: we simply soak them in a wet cloth with the addition of an antiseptic (this can be tartaric acid or a little potassium nitrate). Wrap the dry seeds in a cloth soaked in water with the addition of an antiseptic and leave for a day. This method improves the quality of seeds.

After exposure, it is necessary to rinse the planting material and squeeze thoroughly excess liquid, place it on a saucer or enamel bowl, and then place it on the windowsill (the place should be warm). From time to time you will have to moisten the cloth with the seeds. Be careful not to allow sprouts to germinate to a length exceeding the size of the grains, otherwise the sprouts will quickly break off and the germination of tobacco will decrease.

After the seeds germinate, they become dry or crumbly. They must be mixed with a special solution (sold in stores) or sand.

Estimated seed planting date: late February or early March. Sowing tobacco seeds is done at home. Watering very carefully so as not to dry out or waterlog the soil, as this negatively affects the aroma of the leaves. We moisten the soil every day, maintaining an optimal moisture level. Room temperature +23-25 o C.

When growing tobacco seedlings, it is very important to apply fertilizing, this can be chicken droppings or mineral fertilizers.

Seedlings ready for planting in open ground reach a height of 15 cm with 6 developed leaves and a strong root system.

7 days before the expected planting date, it is necessary to gradually accustom the seedlings to changes in temperature conditions in order to harden the young plants.

Planting tobacco seedlings

When growing tobacco from seeds, it is very important to choose the right planting location. Choose an area where there is no stagnation of moisture or draft. Fertilize the soil and loosen it thoroughly. The following fertilizers are suitable: manure or compost. Be sure to remove weeds from the area before planting.

Rules for planting tobacco:

The timing of planting seedlings is the end of April and inclusive until the end of May. These months are the most favorable time, because the frosts are already behind us.
Seedlings need to be planted keeping a distance of 20 cm. We will leave a gap of 70 cm between the rows so that each plant develops fully and the leaves are large.
After planting tobacco seedlings, pour 1 liter of water into each hole.
Side shoots and inflorescences must be broken off during planting.
The first feeding is immediately after planting with a mixture of slurry and superphosphates. You can also use water with the addition of sulfur powder.
When you see the first inflorescences, treat each bush with a tincture of onion peels or water infused with garlic.
After 7 days, you need to repeat the treatment of plants onion tincture, and a week later - the last time. Then you can ensure that the tobacco grows fragrant.

About pests and diseases

Tobacco has many “fans”, so it is necessary to take timely protective measures to preserve the harvest.

Common tobacco pests:

“Peach”, tobacco or greenhouse aphid is the most terrible pest for this plant. It affects many crops, including wild ones. Aphids suck all the juices out of the plant, reducing the quality of the crop;
“Black leg” - affects en masse all seedlings, affecting the base of the stem. A dark or light coating appears on the surface affected by the pest. Pathogens for a long time may remain in the soil;
“Mosaic” - the distinctive properties of this pest are visible to the naked eye: they appear on the plant light spots. Over time, these affected leaves die;

“Powdery mildew” - spots appear on the leaves that resemble cobwebs. The powdery coating gradually becomes continuous, affecting the tops of the plants;
“Root black rot” - this pest tends to attack young plants, but also mature plant. The leaves gradually fade, white spots with black dots form on the roots;
“Bacterial grouse” - the tips of young leaves on seedlings and young plants become covered with oily or wet spots. If it is humid outside, the plant gradually dies.

Proper harvesting

Growing tobacco at home is an interesting activity. Gradually you have mastered the intricacies of growing seedlings, and now it is time to harvest. First you need to break off the lower leaves from each adult plant. The collected leaves must be spread in 1 layer in the sun and left for 2 days. Then transfer the leaves to dark room with high humidity. Leave the leaves to dry for a whole month. To maintain a certain level of humidity in the room, you can place a container of water in the room where tobacco leaves are dried and monitor the level.

Be careful when picking tobacco. The fact is that each bush consists of 4 tiers and the leaves of each tier ripen gradually. Therefore, each time you collect, you need to sign the harvested crop so as not to get confused. The break between harvesting is 2 weeks. Collecting leaves now is from the top down. The top leaves will be the most valuable.

How to ferment tobacco

Proper drying of the leaves is already half the success. There will be very little left to achieve the final result and smoke the long-awaited cigarette of tobacco grown with your own hands. Don't rush to improve quality collected material, it is necessary to perform a fermentation procedure. You can do this yourself at home. But you will have to try hard for this.

A special cabinet is needed to process leaves. You can make it yourself from an old refrigerator. Place the thermostat inside and a heating element. Remember that each type of tobacco has a different fermentation technology.

What is fermentation? This difficult process processing of collected raw materials during high temperature(+50 o C) for 2-3 weeks.

Why is complex fermentation necessary? To get rid of excess strength, that is, to reduce the nicotine content, remove tar and improve taste.

If it is not possible to build a special cabinet for drying leaves, accelerated fermentation is allowed. Place the crushed leaves in the oven (temperature no higher than +60 o C).

The finished tobacco can be crushed and stored in linen bags, protected from moisture. They smoke home-grown tobacco in a pipe and wrap the cigarettes using special paper (sold in stores).

Now you know how to grow tobacco at home. Good luck in your endeavors!

For centuries, farmers and gardeners have grown tobacco for personal use and sale. Although today the vast majority of tobacco is grown and harvested by large corporations, it is also possible to do it yourself, provided you have the necessary knowledge and patience. Growing tobacco is not prohibited by law, but it is a rather complex process. In this article we will tell you where to start.

Steps

Soil and climate

Planting and transplanting

Scatter the tobacco seeds over the surface of the soil and water lightly. The soil should be in a small pot, preferably with holes in the bottom. Seeds should be germinated indoors for 4-6 weeks.

Water the soil regularly to keep it moist, but do not allow water to pool in the pot. The soil should also not dry out completely.

After three weeks, transplant the seedlings into a large box. By this time, the seedlings will already be quite large, if you did everything correctly.

If you transplant the plants into a larger container, it will be easier for them to form a strong root system.
To check if the plants have reached the desired size, try holding them. If you can easily clamp the plant with a large and index finger, it can be replanted. If the seedlings are still too thin, do not replant them until they grow.
Transplanting seedlings directly into open soil is easier and faster, since you only need to replant once, but this may cause the plant to become stressed and most of the leaves will turn yellow and fall off. After a week, the plant will begin to grow again, but it is better to protect it from stress and gain a week by transplanting the seedlings into a large pot.

Water the seedlings with a special growth solution (for example, one containing algae or fish emulsion). This will allow the plants to receive all the nutrients before they are transplanted into open soil in 3-4 weeks.

Prepare an area in the garden for replanting large plants. The location should be in full sun, the soil should be well drained, and the soil should be cultivated regularly.

Transplant the tobacco into the soil in the garden when the seedlings reach 15-20 centimeters in height. Plant the plants at a distance of at least 90-110 centimeters from each other.

Tobacco care

Water the tobacco thoroughly in the evening for several days in a row after transplanting. Once the seedlings are established in the soil, you can water less frequently to prevent moisture from accumulating in the soil.

Apply a low-chlorine fertilizer that contains nitrogen in salt form. Fertilizers for tomatoes, peppers and potatoes are also suitable.

Excess fertilizer is dangerous because it can disrupt the salt accumulation process. The amount of fertilizer will depend on the concentration of the fertilizer, the characteristics of the soil, loss nutrients due to soil leaching and other subjective factors. The fertilizer packaging will contain instructions - there you will find the right dosage.
Fertilizer should be applied several times. Once the tobacco begins to bloom, fertilizer will no longer be necessary.

Cut off the top bud of the plant when it begins to bloom. Cutting off the top allows the top leaves to reach bigger size and thickness.

Gently hoe the soil around the plants to remove weeds. You can shake the soil at the base of the plant to make it cleaner.
- Tobacco roots grow quickly, and the root system of these plants is large, with hundreds of small root filaments that grow near the soil surface. Be careful when weeding and don't go too deep with the hoe to avoid hitting the roots.
- 3-4 weeks after planting, you need to stop carefully loosening the soil. Just pull the weeds.
Treat the plants with tobacco-specific pesticides if pests or rot appear on the leaves. Most often, leaf rollers, caterpillars and pathogens grow on tobacco.

Collection and drying of tobacco

Cut the plant along with the stem without tearing off the leaves. You can cut the leaves from the trunk in the garden. The leaves can be cut off approximately 3 months after planting.
- Cut the stems 3-4 months after removing the apical bud. By this time, the lower leaves will already be partially destroyed. If you remove leaves from the garden bed, you should take breaks of 1-2 weeks between collections, and you need to start with the lower leaves. The first time the leaves need to be cut off soon after the apical bud is removed, when they turn slightly yellow.
- The flowers will slow down the growth of the leaves and compete with them for sunlight. It is better to pick them so that they do not interfere with the leaves growing.
- Don't tear the leaves themselves because they will need to be hung while drying. Drying is essential as it prepares the leaves for consumption. During the drying process, those properties of the leaf are revealed that give the tobacco the flavor of hay, tea, rose oil or fruit. Drying also softens the tobacco.

How to grow tobacco for smoking in the garden? No, it’s not the wild 90s that have returned, when there was a catastrophic shortage. And then they mostly grew shag. Let's talk about how to get tobacco - high-quality, fragrant and inexpensive.

If you are going to poison yourself, then you need to do it with taste. And don’t pay crazy money to manufacturers for a pack of strange straw soaked in synthetics.

In general, growing tobacco in the garden is not at all difficult. There is more dancing with seeds and subsequent processing of raw materials. Following the recommendations will help make this easier and without much effort.

Sowing seedlings

Yes, you will have to deal with seedlings. Because tobacco has a long growing season. And it simply will not have time to gain enough aroma if it is sown directly into the ground. Yes, and this is impossible. If only because many, seeing tobacco seeds for the first time, exclaim: “Some kind of dust!”

Indeed, they are so small that if you sow them in the usual way, you will never get a harvest.

Proper planting of tobacco seeds. You will need a wide container, no more than 10 cm high. Or better yet, separate cassettes for each seed. The soil should consist of fertile soil with clean sand, 1 to 1. It is poured in an even layer, then thoroughly leveled and moistened. Some sources recommend watering the soil mixture after sowing. We do not recommend it, because there is a risk of washing away the microscopic seeds.

Using a wet toothpick, spread the seeds onto the prepared soil. You can simply scatter them over the surface, but only very rarely. Otherwise, the seedlings will interfere with each other, despite their tiny size. Carefully sprinkle earth on top, in a layer of no more than 0.5 cm.

Next, the container is covered with glass or a piece of transparent plastic. Afterwards they are placed in a warm, bright place, with a temperature of 25-27°C. Once a day, remove condensation from inside glass, turning it over to the other side. When the soil dries out, carefully spray it with a spray bottle.

Shoots usually appear in approximately 7-9 days. When the first shoots appear, the temperature is reduced to 20°C. Otherwise they will stop growing. The cover is also removed.

When the third true leaf appears, the seedlings need to be picked. If planting was done in separate cups, then this point can be skipped.

For the first two weeks, it will seem that the seedlings are sitting still and not developing. Actually this is not true. It’s just that during this period the root system is growing. And only then the above-ground part of the tobacco will show all its power.

To prevent young bushes from falling on their sides under the weight of their own leaves, carefully hill them up or add soil to the roots.

It is very important to monitor soil moisture at this time. Overmoistening threatens the appearance of blackleg and complete lodging of seedlings. Good lighting is required from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can use additional lighting with lamps. In this case, it is strictly forbidden to place seedlings under direct Sun rays. Young leaves burn instantly.

Advice. Two weeks before planting seedlings in the ground, feed tobacco with any phosphorus-potassium fertilizer.

Planting seedlings in the ground

Tobacco is very thermophilic and can die at temperatures below +3°C. Therefore, it is planted in the ground in the third ten days of May, when all the return frosts have finally passed. The planting pattern is very simple - 30 by 50 cm. The principle is the same as for tomato or pepper seedlings. That is, from 0.5 to 1 liter is poured into the plant hole clean water, make an earthen mound and plant a young tobacco bush. It is advisable to deepen it a little, by 3-4 cm. This will form additional roots.

How to determine that a plant is ready for transplanting? It should have 4-6 true leaves, well developed. They try not to touch the seedling by the foliage at all, it is very fragile and delicate. And through an ordinary scratch on the surface, fungal spores penetrate and pathogenic bacteria. It is best to use the transshipment method along with a lump of earth.

On the third day after transplanting into the ground, tobacco is fed with a large amount of organic fertilizer. And they don’t give any more food during growth. The mineral remains in the leaves and enters the lungs along with the smoke. Organics rich in nitrogen make tobacco smelly, with an unpleasant aftertaste. In addition, the tobacco root is so long and powerful that it will find enough food at any depth.

Advice. If after planting the sun begins to shine, then the young shoots must be shaded in the first week. This can be a canopy made of gauze or non-woven material. You can put up arcs and throw cover over them. The main thing is to leave light, but to prevent sunburn.

Caring for tobacco in the garden

Despite the fact that the infusion of dry tobacco leaves repels many pests, they love to eat its fresh leaves. Even Colorado potato beetles sometimes try to feast on it. Some sources advise spraying the plantings with a formaldehyde solution. But this option is only suitable for industrial plantations. What to do in your own garden, where next year the same land will be needed for other plantings?

Option two:

Collect pests by hand. The method is suitable if there are only a few bushes.
Use approved insecticides. The method is suitable for large home-grown plantations.

Just don’t talk about the accumulation of poisons in tobacco leaves from chemicals. You might think that when smoking the body is not poisoned, but becomes healthier.

And in order not to have to add industrial poison to the nicotine poison, you will have to keep the area for tobacco perfectly clean from weeds. After all, they are where most of the pests live. You will have to weed not only during tobacco cultivation, but also in advance. Then prevention will be effective.

Diseases. Yes, oddly enough, even strong tobacco is affected by diseases and fungi. You can dance around the plantings with a tambourine, blowing off specks of dust from them, but one single cold snap below +15°C will bring all your efforts to naught. Prevention from diseases is the health and strength of the plant. If it is weak and poor, it is unlikely to even survive to technical maturity.

It happens that sometimes even a plant that is full of strength gets sick. Then there are a couple of options for getting rid of the misfortune:

Rip out the sick tobacco bush by the roots, take it away from the garden and burn it. In this case, there will be no guarantee that the infection will not spread further.
Spray the plantings with a solution of copper sulfate. It stops the development of many diseases.

Here again indignation may follow - but then what about smoking tobacco? Yes, very simple. Because copper sulfate is not absorbed by the plant and is washed off by the first rain or good watering. This treatment does not affect the taste of the raw materials.

Watering. Tobacco loves to drink, because its wide leaves evaporate a lot of moisture. Just don’t water the plants every day. Usually focus on appearance: Do the tips of the leaves droop down and look limp? So it's time to thoroughly water the soil. 5-7 liters of clean water will be enough for one plant.

If the outside temperature rises above +35°C, then it is advisable to humidify the air and soil, regardless of the time of the last watering. Otherwise, plants slow down in growth or die.

Flowers and stepsons. In order for tobacco in the garden to gain sufficient strength and a good amount of aromatic substances, absolutely all the flowers and additional stepsons are cut off. In general, the norm is to leave no more than 10 leaves on the plant. The rest must be deleted. But, if not a garden bed is planted, but at least a hundred square meters of tobacco, then you will have to crawl through the thickets for a whole season and count the leaves.

To make the task easier, it is enough to remove the stepsons and all flower stalks 4 times during the summer.

Useful subtleties

Real tobacco greatly depletes the soil. Therefore, a year before planting, add a large number of fertilizers The same is done after harvesting the plant.
There are recommendations to pre-soak tobacco seeds for faster germination. And they immediately advise sowing the hatched seeds, trying not to damage the sprouts. But be sure to mix them with sand. Where is the logic? If you follow these tips, then all manipulations must be done with a microscope. After all, the sharp edges of grains of sand can scratch tiny seedlings. And how to separate soaked seeds? If only with a needle.
Tobacco cannot be grown in the garden in those beds where other nightshade crops grew. Otherwise there is high risk what he will pick up viral diseases from predecessors.
On poor and scarce soils, you will have to feed tobacco with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers 2 times per season. Just strictly follow the recipe and dosage. An excess of mineral water makes the raw material rough and smells bad.
If a tobacco leaf has dried on the plant during the growing season, then it is not suitable for smoking. Only green leaves are picked off. A characteristic signal for harvesting is the appearance of a specific aroma, stickiness on the surface of the leaf and a lighter shade of green than the entire bush.
Do not break off all the leaves at once. They are harvested only when they ripen. This is usually a three-time procedure. First, they tear off 4 leaves, then the next 3, and finally break off the last 3. This is ideal if only 10 pieces are left, as industrial agronomists recommend. Cleaning begins from the bottom of the plant.
But sometimes when good care, real tobacco grows up to 2 meters tall. There will already be much more than 10 pieces of burdocks. In fact, there is no need to break off half of the plant if the soil and care allow it to grow such a hero.
The collected leaves are left to dry in a room with high humidity. If this is a barn or attic, then be sure to place additional containers of water. The raw materials should seem to dry out, and not dry out to a crunch.
After drying, it is not quite a smoking tobacco. In order for it to become a high-quality smoke with a good aroma and proper strength, it must be fermented. You can see how to do this correctly on specialized forums. There are a great many recipes, there is a special technology and various additives. The most common are cognac and honey. Only after such processing can you enjoy the high-quality taste of homemade tobacco. Before the fermentation process, they are simply dried leaves.
If after all the manipulations the tobacco turns out to be too strong and rich, it is recommended to dilute it with cut stems. They contain less nicotine, and the aroma differs little from the smell of leaves.

How to grow tobacco for smoking in the garden? It turns out to be very simple. And it’s not at all necessary to smoke it afterwards. You can use tobacco to repel pests in your garden. Properly dried and fermented, it will be an excellent gift for lovers of good, high-quality smoke. And let the Ministry of Health warn...

Video: growing tobacco at home

The constant rise in cigarette prices stimulates the interest of many smokers in growing tobacco on their land. In the pre-revolutionary years and especially during the revolutionary devastation in Russia, one of the most unpretentious types of tobacco was grown everywhere.

Currently, you can purchase seeds of the most exquisite varieties. Knowledge of how to grow tobacco for smoking in the garden will probably inspire many lovers of quality cigarettes.

Varieties

Landing

How to properly care for crops before germination

Care

Diseases

Top dressing

Trimming

Seed collection

Procurement of raw materials and fermentation

Drying

Fermentation

Conclusion

Varieties

Growing smoking tobacco is an exciting activity for a cigarette lover. It is impossible to compare the taste of fresh fried fish With canned fish, or the taste of zucchini game with fresh vegetable stew. Thus, the taste and aroma of real tobacco cannot be compared with what is included in cigarettes.

Tobacco is a plant from the nightshade family, annual, tall, with large veined leaves and a tap root.

The plant is an industrial cultivated species of hybrid origin. This species has not been found growing wild anywhere.

A plant that belongs to a different species, well known in our country, is shag or samosad. They belong to the alkaloid plants containing nicotine, nicotine, nicotine, nicotelline, cornicotine.

There are over 70 types of tobacco that grow in temperate and southern regions of America, Australia, China, India, Turkey, and Polynesia. Smoking tobacco is used to obtain raw materials in the tobacco industry.

Tobacco began to be grown in Russia in large quantities during the revolutionary events, when its supplies from other countries were stopped. Country tobacco, that is, shag, grew well not only in the southern regions, but even in the Urals region.

During Soviet times, many varieties of tobacco were developed for cultivation in the Krasnodar region and in Black Sea coast. After all, this plant is very heat-loving, and, in addition, all varieties have a long growing season, more than 100 days.

Currently, the State Plant Register of the Russian Federation lists 17 varieties of tobacco, including domestic selection:

Burley;
Virginia;
Large-leaved;
Holly;
Ruby;
Samsun;
Trapezond;
Anniversary.

You can purchase foreign varieties in online stores:

Kentucky Barley;
Maryland;
Havana;
Orinoco;
Perique;
Herzegovina Flor;
Sumatra;
Dubek.

Important! Each variety has its own unique aroma and taste, nicotine content, and absorption qualities.

Even shag has numerous varieties:

Mopacho (Peruvian);
Moscow;
Yeletskaya;
Turkish;
Crimean;
Khersonsky-7.

This type of tobacco, which is called country tobacco, although inferior in taste to American varieties, is the most unpretentious and frost-resistant.

Shag has a different taste, it is more aromatic than real tobacco and much stronger. Some fans collect wonderful collections of 70 varieties and offer seeds that can be grown on your own plot.

There are no industrial plantations of this plant in Russia today. The agricultural technology of once cultivated varieties has been forgotten. Amateurs cultivate tobacco on their own plots. Cultivation and care are not very different from the cultivation of other nightshades.

It is easy to make cigarettes from home-grown tobacco using a machine for cutting dried leaves and rolling cigarettes. These devices are inexpensive - 500 rubles each. If you take into account the cost of a pack of cigarettes, then with your own raw materials you can significantly save your budget.

Landing

Culture requires a lot of time and labor. Seeds are used to grow tobacco. They are very small, and the shelf life reaches 15 years, like tomatoes.

Planting tobacco begins with growing seedlings. Sowing dates depend on the region; for the middle zone it is mid-April.

Important! The duration of growing seedlings is 45–50 days, another 40–60 days pass from transplanting into the ground to budding, and 90–120 days before harvesting the leaves.

The question of how to plant tobacco and how to grow it arises for everyone who has not encountered this plant. The technology for preparing seedlings includes several standard points:

landing at a certain temperature;
watering and fertilizing;
crop protection;
hardening.

Growing from seeds begins with planting seedlings. The seeds are laid out superficially in a small container with soil, without covering them with soil.

Which soil do you prefer? It is better to choose a universal soil for vegetables without excess fertilizer. After sowing, the container is covered with polyethylene or a lid.

How to properly care for crops before germination

The container should be in a warm environment at +26–30 °C; the lid over the seedlings for air circulation can be slightly opened twice a day for five minutes. On the 3rd day we leave the lid over the crops slightly open by 0.5 cm, on the 7th day we remove it completely. Tender seedlings will get used to dry air and will not die. At this time, we do not water the seedlings; the soil is already moist.

On days 7–10, we begin watering through the pan. After 2 weeks, combine watering with fertilizing with a weak infusion onion peel. When mold appears on the ground, it must be loosened with a match and a little potassium permanganate should be added to the water for irrigation.

If there are not many plants, you can pick them up and plant them in individual cups. Picking is carried out at the moment of growth of two true leaves, 3 weeks after planting.

Before planting in the beds, the seedlings are hardened off. That is, she should be accustomed to being in the sun. 1.5 weeks before transplantation, we begin to expose the container with seedlings to the sun. On the first day - for 20-30 minutes, on the second - for 40-60 minutes and so on.

At the end of hardening, the seedlings should stand outside all day without experiencing stress. In this case, you need to monitor the soil moisture.

Planting tobacco seedlings in open ground begins from the time the plant produces 4–5 true leaves and reaches 10–15 cm in height.

When to plant seedlings in the garden? Like all nightshades - after establishing positive temperatures above + 14 ° C in the soil at a depth of 10 cm. At an air temperature of +4 ° C, tobacco dies. Therefore, it is important that there are no return frosts after planting.

Care

For growing tobacco in open ground First of all, a temperature suitable for the plant is required. It is better to plant tobacco in an open, sunny place protected from the wind. This crop is demanding on soil fertility, but for a tobacco plantation it is better to choose poor lands.

Important! The poorer the land, the better the tobacco tastes.

Tobacco care involves carrying out the following work:

weeding and loosening;
watering and fertilizing (usually no more than 2 times per season);
plantation protection;
removal of stepsons;
finishing

The scheme for planting tobacco in the country is 50 cm between plants, 80 cm between rows. For those growing several varieties of tobacco, it is worth installing signs with the name of each variety.

Agricultural technology is similar to that of tomatoes. In open ground, the first few days the tobacco is watered daily. Once the plant has established itself, it does not need watering.

If there is a drought and the leaves of grown tobacco become wilted in the morning and evening, then the plantation should be watered. Drooping leaves in daytime does not cause concern.

Important! The more moisture, the weaker the tobacco.

Diseases

Smoking tobacco is affected by some infections, and the most common is tobacco mosaic. Infection occurs through sucking insects. Therefore, immediately when planting seedlings, you can water each hole with Prestige.

Dilute 15 ml in 10 liters of water and pour 200 ml under the plant. That is, the planted plant is watered with 1 liter of water, then 200 ml of the drug solution, and then another 0.5 liter of water.
Other tobacco diseases include:

bronzeness;
mottling;
burnt

Diseases are mainly transmitted through insects, so it is worth treating the plantation with an insecticide several times. The diseases themselves cannot be treated; at the first manifestations, the diseased bushes should be removed along with the roots.

If crop rotation was observed on the site and tobacco grew where there were no nightshade crops before, then the risk of infection is minimal. After 3-4 weeks, it is recommended to tear off 2-3 lower leaves. This allows the plant to be better ventilated and to protect against disease and mold.

Top dressing

At the end of 2 weeks of growth, the first and only feeding is carried out with Fertika or Kemira Lux. It is enough to dilute 1 matchbox of fertilizer in a bucket of water.

Water 1 liter of water under each plant, then 1 liter of fertilizer and again 1 liter of water.

There is no need to feed more, especially nitrogen fertilizers. They make the taste of tobacco unpleasant, it hurts and burns the throat. Phosphorus fertilizers are applied during autumn digging. Potassium fertilizers are sprinkled during spring digging of the soil.

Trimming

At the end of the second week, the plantation begins to become overgrown with weeds. They should be weeded out and the soil loosened. Weeding can be done a couple of times, when the tobacco grows to 50 cm, its huge leaves will drown out all the weeds.

In adult plants, the procedure is to remove stepsons that have grown to 3–4 cm. This must be done periodically, as new stepsons grow.

When about 40% of the flowers bloom, a topping procedure is carried out - the flowers are torn off with the upper leaves. This procedure accelerates ripening; the plant spends a lot of energy and nutrition to ripen the seeds. After all, tobacco takes a long time to grow and does not always have time to ripen. The same procedure for shortening the stem is typical for many pumpkins so that its fruits have time to ripen.

Seed collection

To stock up on your own good seeds, we have to try. To collect smoking tobacco seeds, 1–3 plants with central peduncles are left, the lateral inflorescences are torn off. To preserve the purity of the variety, you can put an agrospan bag on them before flowering begins.

It is also necessary to regulate the number of seed pods on the bush. Leave no more than ten large boxes. On a seed bush, the leaves are picked off only 2-3 times.

The seed pods ripen gradually. Each is picked at the moment of full ripening. The boxes are laid out in a sunny place on a sheet of paper for 2 weeks. Then the seeds are selected from them, sifted from debris through a sieve and placed in small plastic bags, signing the name of the variety and the year of harvesting.

Procurement of raw materials and fermentation

While caring for a tobacco plantation is not at all difficult, preparing high-quality raw materials for making cigarettes is not easy. Even on summer cottages where you can grow completely a small amount of large plants, for drying leaves you need to equip a special place - a dryer.

The production of smoking tobacco from raw materials takes place in several stages:

collection (breaking);
languor;
drying;
laying down;
fermentation;
slicing.

Important! The leaf matures gradually along the stem, in tiers. Leaves are removed from one plant in 4–8 approaches.

40–45 days after planting, they begin to break the leaves in the lower tier. This occurs at approximately the same time as the appearance of flower buds. After 40–45 days from the start of harvesting the lower tier, the leaves on the upper tier begin to break.

The ripe leaf is very dense, lumpy and sticky, curls down, and the color changes to pale green with yellowish tint. The matured sheets click when assembled.

Drying

Drying is one of the main operations for obtaining real raw materials from leaves. The leaves are torn off by hand when they are 90% yellowed, strung on ropes in stacks and spread apart to the width of a finger. After which they are hung for several days in wooden sheds or attics to languish. They weigh in the dark, without sunlight, at a temperature of +25–35 °C and humidity 80–90%.

Important! The leaves change color, becoming yellow or red-brown, but do not completely dry out. And they also acquire a specific smell.

Drying usually lasts 3-4 days for light green leaves and a week for dark green leaf tobacco. Hang bunches of leaves to a height of about a meter.

Second necessary operation preparation of raw materials - drying. Bundles of leaves for drying can be hung higher to make room for the next batch to simmer. It needs to dry for at least a month. In a well-dried leaf, the central vein breaks with a crunch, but does not bend when folded.

After going through the full manufacturing process, any tobacco needs rest - resting. Dry leaves are placed in a box, where they lie for 3–4 months.

Important! The taste and aroma of collected and properly prepared tobacco after resting becomes more refined and noble.

Fermentation

The fourth operation is fermentation. Fermentation technology at home is different. It is developed by the gardener himself, who must be satisfied with the taste of the tobacco resulting from this process.

To start the fermentation process, a heat source is needed: stove, oven, radiator, microwave, special cabinet, solar heat. The easiest way to ferment is using an electric oven:

completely dry and yellow leaves are slightly moistened with a spray bottle on both sides and placed in a pile for a day, covering them with polyethylene;
disassemble the leaves and remove the central vein;
using a noodle cutter, the leaves are cut into strips 1–2 mm thick;
place the slices in glass jars, filling 2/3 of the volume, and close with an airtight lid;
The jars are placed in a cabinet and turned on at +50 °C, leaving them there for 5–7 days.

Important! During the fermentation process, condensation should not form on the glasses.

As a result, the sheet acquires its usual dark brown color, herbal smell gives way to a specific tobacco aroma, bitterness is lost, and flammability increases.

It is worth saying that some types of tobacco are not fermented: New Jubilee 142 and Kentucky Barley.

When growing tobacco, it is still worth remembering the folk wisdom: “Smoking is harmful to health.” But everyone is free to choose for themselves what to do.

However, tobacco leaves can be used for more than just smoking. This is a very valuable means of protecting many crops from pests. They also use tobacco in medicinal purposes, during treatment:

rheumatism;
gout;
dropsy;
epilepsy;
as an anthelmintic;
for leg diseases.

Conclusion

Growing tobacco plants in the garden for smoking is a fun activity. 17 zoned varieties of Soviet selection are registered in the State Plant Register of the Russian Federation; several dozen foreign varieties can be purchased in online stores. And each one has its own unique taste and aroma.

Growing tobacco in the garden can be a very interesting hobby, no worse than winemaking or growing exotic and rare plants.