Tobacco Seeds

Any green thumbs out there? Want to plant your own tobacco? There are plenty of resources available online to show you how, but for the most part, if your climate isn't prone to freezing for at least a third of a calendar year, you can grow tobacco.

I bought some seeds last year, and, aside from a few bumps in the road, had a couple of cool looking plants. I have a bit different strategy for this year, however, and plan on much larger plants. And more of them!

Some of the seeds I'm considering ordering come in huge quantities (I don't need 200 seeds), so I thought if any of you guys enjoy gardening in any fashion (although I wouldn't grow tobacco near your vegetable garden - at least your tomatoes), you might enjoy this. Me personally, I would like to start around 100 seeds or so, which may ultimately yield me 10-20 plants. That's for my environment, and what I know I can handle. Plus, I'm not that good of a gardener.

The two online retailers I'm considering are here:

Seedman: I bought from him last year. Worked out well. Very quick shipping. He does ship only 40-50 seeds at a time, so I'd probably only split one of those packages. I'd be interested in most any of his cigar seeds, including:
Florida Sumatra
Glessnor
Pennsylvania Red Leaf
Long Red Leaf
Havana #142 or #608
Small Stalk Black Mammoth

Tobacco Seed Company: Looks like they offer some different varieties. Their quantities are also larger, so I'd be looking to split them 4-5 ways on the 200 seed quantities and 10 ways for the 500 seed quantities, though I doubt we'll get to that. The seeds I'm interested in from this site include:
Black Stalk Mammoth
Dark Virginia
Goose Creek Red
Stag Horn

I won't be buying all of them; I'll figure out what I really really want here pretty soon. If you're interested, I'll probably be making an order in the next 2 weeks. Shipping won't be nearly as much as priority, and aren't in that much of a rush. There are plenty of online resources available to assist you in growing your own tobacco. It's an interesting way to learn a little bit more about your hobby.

Do you have any specific sites you like to use? This seems like something interesting for me to tackle.

And I could finally make my tomacco!

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Originally Posted by dr. cox

Do you have any specific sites you like to use? This seems like something interesting for me to tackle.

And I could finally make my tomacco!

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Tomacco????

Yeah, Tomacco... You know, when you plant your tobacco plants next to your tomato plants.:smiley2:

Tomacco. Thanks, Bart.

I would be interested in trying this out. Is it worth a split, or can you vacuum pack and store the seeds for next season?

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Originally Posted by dr. cox

Do you have any specific sites you like to use? This seems like something interesting for me to tackle.

And I could finally make my tomacco!

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You could make your own tomacco. And still have some left over tobacco as well. Personally, I'm not looking to roll my own cigars. I enjoy gardening, and the tobacco plant is a nice conversation piece in the garden. Last year, I did a few things wrong, and ended up with really small plants (they only got a little bigger than the plants in my avatar). I'm planning on getting them MUCH bigger this year.

Well, like I said, I ordered from SeedMan last year, but have also noticed the Tobacco Seed Company, which looks to have some interesting varieties as well. After I made the post yesterday, I noticed New Hope Seed Company as well. I think all of them should be reputable, but then again, I can only speak from experience regarding SeedMan.

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Originally Posted by Smoked!

Tomacco. Thanks, Bart.

I would be interested in trying this out. Is it worth a split, or can you vacuum pack and store the seeds for next season?

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I don't know for sure. The seeds I ordered last year from SeedMan have an expiration date on them, similar to when you buy vegetable seeds at Lowe's or whatever. I don't know if that is a gimmick to get you to buy new seeds each year, or if they actually lose their ability to germinate after a certain period of time outside of soil.

I thought about a split just because one of the sites sells seeds in quantities of 200 (at the smallest), and I can't use that many. I thought if several of us went in on them, it might be neat to compare plants and learn from each other as the year goes on. But you're right, it may not be worth it.

I find this very interesting and definately something that I would like to try in the future. I can't commit to planting anything right now since I will hopefully be doing some remodeling in the backyard with a new deck, sprinkler system, etc. Once I get all that settled in, I would like to throw in a small garden of some sort. Keep posting on your progress once you get started and good luck!

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

*snip*
I don't know for sure. The seeds I ordered last year from SeedMan have an expiration date on them, similar to when you buy vegetable seeds at Lowe's or whatever. I don't know if that is a gimmick to get you to buy new seeds each year, or if they actually lose their ability to germinate after a certain period of time outside of soil.

I thought about a split just because one of the sites sells seeds in quantities of 200 (at the smallest), and I can't use that many. I thought if several of us went in on them, it might be neat to compare plants and learn from each other as the year goes on. But you're right, it may not be worth it.

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Depending on the plant, seeds may remain viable for 1 - 10 years. I have used very old tomato and corn seeds (3-5 years.) Some people like to use foil pouches or mason jars to save seeds. Many keep them in the freezer. If you just prefer to use fresh seed, that's fine. You should get 95% germination rates from commercial seed.

It may be worth holding out a few dozen seeds to see if they stand up to storage. I can vacuum pack some and put them in the deep freeze, right next to the elk venison. As far as the value of comparing notes and sharing progress, I think you're on to something. I'll go in on a split... as long as you agree to post pictures. I like pictures... :smiley4:

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Originally Posted by Smoked!

Depending on the plant, seeds may remain viable for 1 - 10 years. I have used very old tomato and corn seeds (3-5 years.) Some people like to use foil pouches or mason jars to save seeds. Many keep them in the freezer. If you just prefer to use fresh seed, that's fine. You should get 95% germination rates from commercial seed.

It may be worth holding out a few dozen seeds to see if they stand up to storage. I can vacuum pack some and put them in the deep freeze, right next to the elk venison. As far as the value of comparing notes and sharing progress, I think you're on to something. I'll go in on a split... as long as you agree to post pictures. I like pictures... :smiley4:

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Good to know. I'm pretty sure I held on to my seeds from last year, although I know I didn't keep them in a freezer; they were kept in a dark drawer. in our laundry room. It's worth a shot to plant a few seeds, anyways. If you'd like, and there are enough extras, I'll shoot some of them to you as well.

I'm down for keeping up with this and posting pictures; we can start a new thread once we get going.

What varieties did you have in mind? The ones I posted above were either easy for beginners to grow, or just sounded interesting, but really, I'm just in it to experiment. It would be cool to have great big leaves, and something that is rather hardy. I probably won't be launching a mrtr33 line of cigars anytime soon. :smiley36:

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

*snip*
What varieties did you have in mind? The ones I posted above were either easy for beginners to grow, or just sounded interesting, but really, I'm just in it to experiment. It would be cool to have great big leaves, and something that is rather hardy. I probably won't be launching a mrtr33 line of cigars anytime soon. :smiley36:

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The "Louisiana Lanceros" :smiley36: I call dibbs on the first box! :smiley20:

Maybe "La Flor de Shreveport"?

This is a great idea. I'm sold. Count me in on the order for whatever variety you prefer to grow. I just want to give it a try along with my other garden adventures.

"Dark Virginia" sounds good, and "Florida Sumatra" seems appropriate. Um, I'm not sure I want any "Black Stalk Mammoth" around the house. You know what they say. Once you go Mammoth... never mind. That just went all to hell.

Speaking of Dante's works... :smiley15: If I have enough to process, I'll call mine the "Devil's Victory" line.

nvd21 - Always ask about price, shipping, and 'inconvenience fees' before calling dibbs. Just a suggestion. :smiley36:

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Originally Posted by Smoked!

This is a great idea. I'm sold. Count me in on the order for whatever variety you prefer to grow. I just want to give it a try along with my other garden adventures.

"Dark Virginia" sounds good, and "Florida Sumatra" seems appropriate. Um, I'm not sure I want any "Black Stalk Mammoth" around the house. You know what they say. Once you go Mammoth... never mind. That just went all to hell.

Speaking of Dante's works... :smiley15: If I have enough to process, I'll call mine the "Devil's Victory" line.

nvd21 - Always ask about price, shipping, and 'inconvenience fees' before calling dibbs. Just a suggestion. :smiley36:

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"What you talkin' 'bout Willis???!!!" I am offering to be the ginnie pig for this venture! I am not sure of what chemicals he might throw in the plants in order to "enhance" the flavor! LOL.

Just talking smack MRTR33, I do support your desire to learn more of the culture of our little hobby and like I stated before, next year I will partake in this venture. Please post pics throughout the process! :smiley32:

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Originally Posted by ndv21

"What you talkin' 'bout Willis???!!!" I am offering to be the ginnie pig for this venture! I am not sure of what chemicals he might throw in the plants in order to "enhance" the flavor! LOL.

Just talking smack MRTR33, I do support your desire to learn more of the culture of our little hobby and like I stated before, next year I will partake in this venture. Please post pics throughout the process! :smiley32:

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Too bad, I was starting to think you were offering some venture capital for this little excursion. Don't you realize these are limited editions?

@Smoked!: how about Florida Sumatra, Long Red Leaf, and Small Stock Black Mammoth. I know of your "Mammoth" reservations, but I don't think it's what you're thinking.......:smiley3: I've read elsewhere that Black Mammoth is supposed to be easy to grow. If you don't want it, that's okay. The Dark Virginia on the other site looked pretty good as well, but I don't want to get carried away. Shoot me your addy.

Anyone else want in on this? Tomacco man?

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Originally Posted by mrtr33

Too bad, I was starting to think you were offering some venture capital for this little excursion. Don't you realize these are limited editions?

@Smoked!: how about Florida Sumatra, Long Red Leaf, and Small Stock Black Mammoth. I know of your "Mammoth" reservations, but I don't think it's what you're thinking.......:smiley3: I've read elsewhere that Black Mammoth is supposed to be easy to grow. If you don't want it, that's okay. The Dark Virginia on the other site looked pretty good as well, but I don't want to get carried away. Shoot me your addy.

Anyone else want in on this? Tomacco man?

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I think I will have to sit this round out. But I look forward to seeing pictures of how your plants turn out.