Homestead mailing list

[keith bellinger <bartermn AT epix.net>]

VAN DELL JORDAN wrote:
> question one, does anyone have any experience with
> growing tobacco? 
I've grown a tobacco plant or two each year since a friend offered seed 
a decade ago. Here's an article I wrote about it:

> Tobacco, 1000 words
> By bartermn
>
> 5/23/02
> An ancient Native American myth contends that when the land was barren 
> and the people were starving the Great Spirit sent forth a woman to 
> save humanity. As she traveled over the world, everywhere her right 
> hand touched the soil there grew potatoes, where her left hand touched 
> grew corn. When the world was rich and fertile, she sat down and 
> rested. When she arose, there grew tobacco.
>
> Among all indigenous people of the Americas tobacco was considered one 
> of the most holy of plants. The sacred uses of tobacco were many; it 
> was used for prayer, protection, respect and healings. Tobacco was 
> medicine.
>
> Christopher Columbus could be blamed for the introduction and misuse 
> of tobacco, this native New World herb, to the Old World aristocracy. 
> Upon his return to Spain, he offered Queen Isabella a cigar and she 
> was hooked. In 40 years there were Spanish owned tobacco plantations 
> in Haiti and Cuba.
>
> In 1560 Jean Nicot, the French Ambassador to Portugal, introduced 
> tobacco to the rest of Europe. Nicot made a fortune selling tobacco 
> and had the dubious honor of the genus (nicotiana) being named after him.
>
> To stop trade with Spain, the English decided to set up tobacco 
> plantations in the New World. In the colonies, farmers could earn 50 
> pounds sterling per acre, five times more than with maize. It became 
> the number one cash crop, often used in place of gold.
>
> Valued at $2.4 billion annually, tobacco is the nation's sixth largest 
> cash crop and the world’s leading non-food crop. The United States is 
> the world's leading tobacco exporter and importer and the second 
> largest tobacco producer, behind only China.
>
> In our modern, politically-correct world tobacco is generally thought 
> of as an evil drug marketed by greedy corporations to a population 
> addicted to its deadly properties. To a gardener, the plant has more 
> favorable qualities.
>
> Today nicotine is extracted from tobacco or related Nicotiana species 
> and is one of the oldest botanical insecticides in use. On a per dose 
> basis it is 30 times as toxic as rotenone.
>
> Nicotine sulfate is sold as a 40 percent nicotine sulfate concentrate 
> under trade names that include Black Leaf 40 or Tender Leaf Plant 
> Insect spray. Nicotine kills insects by interfering with the 
> transmitter substance between nerves and muscles. It's commonly used 
> to control aphids, thrips, spider mites and other sucking insecticides 
> on most vegetables, some fruits, flowering plants and ornamental 
> shrubs and trees.
>
> An easy homemade concoction can be made by mixing one teaspoon tobacco 
> dust, one teaspoon of black pepper and ½ teaspoon liquid soap to one 
> gallon of water.
>
> Tobacco blossoms have a tubular shape with five fused petals that 
> flare at the mouth into five distinct lobes. They range in color from 
> white to a very light pink, purple, or yellow. The flowers provide 
> drink for butterflies and food for their larva, are a favorite nectar 
> for hummingbirds and bees, and because they bloom at night with a 
> strong sweet fragrance they attract moths; all providing necessary 
> pollination.
>
> Their leaves are oval to heart-shaped to elliptic; more grow toward 
> the base. The whole plant is fuzzy and somewhat clammy when handled.
>
> Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of dwarf 
> varieties that bloom on short stems. Although the more compact types 
> are very useful for mass color displays, they usually lack the 
> fragrance of the larger-growing, older types. The fragrant types are 
> sometimes planted near a window where the scent can move indoors. A 
> renewal of interest in aromatic plants has brought a new interest in 
> the larger-growing, more redolent types. They are attractive in border 
> plantings, and the soft colors mix well with other perennials and annuals.
>
> Raising tobacco is easy. The seeds should be started inside in flats. 
> In northern states, start the seeds 4-6 weeks before the last frost in 
> a mixture of peat humus and potting soil. Place the mixture into the 
> flats, soak the soil with water and allow the excess water to drain 
> off. The next day, sprinkle the tobacco seeds onto the surface of the 
> damp soil. Do not cover the seeds, they need light for germination. 
> Tobacco seeds are very tiny, so be careful to spread the seeds evenly. 
> Keep the soil damp. You will begin to notice sprouts in about two 
> weeks. Transplant outside after all danger of frost is past.
>
> The plants are big enough to transplant when the largest leaves are 2" 
> or larger. Always transplant outside in late evening or when it is 
> cloudy and overcast. Water plants thoroughly after transplanting and 
> water daily until plants have become established. Tobacco plants need 
> to be exposed to full sun while growing.
>
> If you have a moderate growing season and can start the seeds outside, 
> try to sow the seeds where leaves or wood has been burned. The plants 
> will thrive in these spots. Tobacco requires a lot of nitrogen and 
> potash which is supplied by wood ashes.
> Working in rotted manure is very good for the plants. You should space 
> the tobacco plants about 2 ft. apart in rows 3 ft. apart when 
> practical. Never raise tobacco plants in the same spot in the garden 
> for more than a few years at a time; they will totally deplete the 
> nutrients in the soil.
>
> Tobacco roots grow quickly and often close to the surface. Be careful 
> when hoeing or cultivating around the plants. Try not to disturb the 
> soil anymore than necessary. As the plant begins growing remove all 
> suckers, they will sap the plants growth.
>
> Nicotiana is pronounced nik-o-she-A-nuh, with a long ‘a’ sound. Spoken 
> aloud in a garden with only the butterflies to hear, you can almost 
> sense the Great Spirit’s scorn at what has become of his sacred tobacco.
>
> Commercial availability:
>
> Companion Plants
> 7247 North Coolville Ridge Road
> Athens, OH 45701
>
> JLF
> P.O. Box 184, Dept. SDIZ
> Elizabethtown, IN 47232
> (812) 379-2508
>
> Legendary Ethnobotanical Resources
> P.O. Box 1676, Dept. SDIZ
> Coconut Grove, FL 33233 U.S.A.
> Phone/Fax: (305) 649-9997

--
For by your words you will be justified                Keith Bellinger
And by your words you will be condemned              bartermn AT epix.net