Planting seedlings of tobacco in open ground. Subsidiary farm

How to grow tobacco for smoking in the garden? No, it's not the dashing 90s that returned when there was a catastrophic shortage. Yes, and they grew up then for the most part shag. Let's talk about how to get exactly tobacco - high-quality, fragrant and inexpensive.

If you are going to be poisoned, then you need to do it with taste. Instead of paying crazy money to manufacturers for a pack of incomprehensible straw soaked in synthetics.

In general, it is not difficult to grow tobacco in the garden. More dances are obtained with seeds and subsequent processing of raw materials. Following the recommendations will help make it easier and without much effort.

Sowing for seedlings

Yes, you will have to do seedlings. Because tobacco has a long growing season. And he just won't have time to dial enough aroma, if it is sown directly into the ground. Yes, and it's impossible. If only because many, when they see 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 see a harvest.

Proper planting of tobacco seeds. You will need a wide container, no more than 10 cm high. 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 it is well leveled and moistened. Some sources recommend watering the soil mixture after sowing. We do not recommend, because there is a risk of washing off microscopic seeds.

Spread the seeds with a wet toothpick on the prepared soil. You can just sprinkle them on the surface, but only very rarely. Otherwise, the seedlings will interfere with each other, despite the tiny size. From above, carefully sprinkle with earth, with a layer of no more than 0.5 cm.

Next, the container is covered with glass or a piece of transparent plastic. After put in a warm, bright place, with a temperature of 25-27 ° C. Remove condensate once a day inside glass by flipping it to the other side. When the soil dries, gently spray it from the spray gun.

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

When the 3rd true leaf appears, the seedlings must be picked. If landing was made in separate cups, then this item can be skipped.

The first two weeks it will seem that the seedlings sit still and do not develop. Actually it is not. Just during this period, the root system is building up. And only then the above-ground part of tobacco will show all its power.

So that young bushes do not fall on their side under weight own leaves, carefully spud them or pour soil to the roots.

It is very important at this time to monitor soil moisture. Waterlogging threatens with the appearance of a black leg and complete lodging of seedlings. Be sure to have good lighting from 7 am to 21 pm. You can use additional lighting lamps. At the same time, it is strictly forbidden to substitute seedlings under direct Sun rays. Young leaves burn instantly.

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

Planting seedlings in the ground

Tobacco is very heat-loving, it can die even at temperatures below +3°C. Therefore, it is planted in the ground in the third decade of May, when all return frosts have finally passed. The planting pattern is very simple - 30 by 50 cm. The principle is like seedlings of tomatoes or peppers. That is, from 0.5 to 1 l is poured into the hole for the plant clean water, make an earthen talker and plant a young bush of tobacco. It is advisable to deepen it a little, by 3-4 cm. This is how additional roots are formed.

How do you know if a plant is ready to be transplanted? It should have 4-6 true leaves, well developed. They try not to touch the seedling for foliage in general, it is very fragile and delicate. And through an ordinary scratch on the surface, fungal spores and pathogenic bacteria penetrate. It is best to use the transshipment method along with a clod of earth.

On the third day after transplanting into the ground, tobacco is fed large quantity organic fertilizer. And no more nutrition is given during growth. The mineral water remains in the leaves and enters the lungs along with the smoke. Nitrogen-rich organics make tobacco smelly, with an unpleasant aftertaste. In addition, the tobacco root is so long and powerful that it will find enough food for itself at any depth.

Advice. If after planting the sun begins to bake, then in the first week the young sprouts are sure to shade. It can be a canopy made of gauze, non-woven material. You can put arcs and throw cover on them. The main thing is to leave the illumination, but not to allow sunburn.

Tobacco care in the garden

Despite the fact that the infusion of dried tobacco leaves repels many pests, they are very fond of eating its fresh leaves. Even the Colorado potato beetles sometimes try to feast on them. Some sources advise spraying plantings with formalin solution. But this option is only suitable for industrial plantations. And what to do in your own garden, where on next year Will the same land be needed for other plantings?

Option two:

  1. Collect pests by hand. The method is suitable if there are only a few bushes.
  2. Use approved insecticides. The method is suitable for large plantations of home cultivation.

That's just not necessary now 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 so that you don’t have to add industrial poison to nicotine poison, you will have to keep the tobacco area perfectly clean from weeds. After all, it is on them that most of pests. Weeding will have to be done not only during the cultivation of tobacco, but also in advance. Then prevention will be effective.

Diseases. Yes, oddly enough, even vigorous tobacco is affected by diseases and fungi. You can dance with a tambourine around the landings, blow off dust particles from them, but one single cold snap below + 15 ° C will nullify all your work. Prevention from diseases is the health and strength of the plant. If it is weak and queer, it is unlikely to survive even to technical maturity.

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

  1. Tear out a sickly bush of tobacco with a root, take it away from the garden and burn it. In this case, there will be no guarantee that the infection will not go further.
  2. Spray the plantings with a solution of copper sulfate. It stops the development of many diseases.

Here again, indignation may follow - but what about smoking tobacco then? Yes, very simple. because blue vitriol is not absorbed by the plant and is washed off by the first rain or good watering. Such processing does not affect the taste of raw materials.

Watering. Tobacco loves to drink, because its wide leaves evaporate a lot of moisture. Just don't water your plants every day. Usually oriented towards appearance: do the tips of the leaves go down and look sluggish? So it's time to properly shed the soil. Under one plant, 5-7 liters of clean water will be enough.

If the temperature outside rises above + 35 ° C, then it is advisable to moisten the air and soil, regardless of the time of the last watering. Otherwise, the 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 flowers and additional stepchildren are cut off from it. In general, it is considered normal to leave no more than 10 leaves on a plant. The rest must be removed. 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 facilitate the task, it is enough to remove the stepchildren and all flower stalks 4 times over the summer.

Useful subtleties

  1. Real tobacco is very depleted of the soil. Therefore, a year before planting in the garden they make a large number of fertilizers. The same is done after harvesting the plant.
  2. There are recommendations to pre-soak tobacco seeds for faster germination. And then they advise to sow 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 the soaked seeds? If only with a needle.
  3. It is impossible to grow tobacco in the garden on those beds where other nightshade crops grew. Otherwise there is high risk that he will pick up viral diseases from predecessors.
  4. On poor and scarce soils, tobacco will have to be fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers 2 times per season. Only strictly observe the recipe and dosage. An excess of mineral water makes the raw material rough, smelling bad.
  5. If a tobacco leaf has dried up on a plant during the growing season, then it is not suitable for smoking. Cut off only green leaves. 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.
  6. Do not break off all the leaves at once. They are harvested only as they ripen. Usually this is a three-time procedure. First, 4 sheets are cut off, then the next 3, and the last 3 are finally broken. This is ideal if only 10 pieces are left, as industrial agronomists recommend. Cleaning starts from the bottom of the plant.
  7. But, sometimes when good care, real tobacco grows up to 2 meters tall. There will already be much more than 10 pieces of burdock. In fact, do not break off half of the plant, if the soil and care allow you to grow such a hero.
  8. The collected leaves are left to dry in a room with high humidity. If this is a barn or attic, then be sure to put additional containers with water. The raw material should, as it were, wither, and not dry out to a crunch.
  9. After drying, it is still not quite smoking tobacco. In order for it to become a quality smoke with a good aroma and proper strength, it must be fermented. How to do this correctly, you can see on specialized forums. There are a lot of recipes, there is a special technology and a variety of additives. The most common are cognac and honey. Only after such processing can you enjoy the quality taste of homemade tobacco. Before the fermentation process, it's just dried leaves.
  10. If after all the manipulations the tobacco turned out to be too strong and saturated, it is recommended to dilute it with chopped stems. They have less nicotine, and the aroma differs little from the smell of leaves.

How to grow tobacco for smoking in the garden? It turns out it's very simple. And you don't even have to smoke it. You can use tobacco to repel pests in the garden. And properly dried and fermented, it will be an excellent gift for lovers of a good, high-quality smoke. And let the Ministry of Health warn ...

Video: growing tobacco at home

Tobacco is considered a heat-loving crop, but there are varieties intended for cultivation in temperate climates. Following the tips below, you can easily grow tobacco with your own hands.

We will tell you how to properly prepare the site and seeds for planting, care for grown plants and harvest. Our tips will make growing tobacco simple, easy and enjoyable.

It should immediately be clarified that the taban does not belong to mass-growing crops, although in some regions and among individual summer residents one can find quite large plantings of this crop. Like other plants, tobacco has certain cultivation features, although in general this culture cannot be called capricious in terms of care.

However, if your goal is to grow quality tobacco for resale or own consumption, certain nuances still have to be taken into account. In the following sections, you will find detailed instructions for growing tobacco at home using various methods.

Varieties of tobacco

Behind last decade In the 20th century, several dozen types of tobacco were bred with high yields and disease resistance. But to get a good harvest, it is better to choose local species.

Varieties differ not only in early maturity, but also in the number of leaves from one bush and the content of nicotine in them (Figure 1):

  1. Trapezond Kuban- productive variety. The collection is carried out 3-4 months after planting. The nicotine content is 2.6%.
  2. Trapezond 92 - disease resistant. Differs in early harvesting: the raw material is ready for drying already 3 months after sowing.
  3. Samsun 85 - one of the most productive species. The time from planting to harvest is approximately 105 days. It has a high yield: from one bush you can get up to 50 leaves.
  4. Anniversary new 142- an early variety resistant to diseases. The nicotine content is just over 2%.
  5. Holly- late high-yielding variety with low content nicotine.

Figure 1. Varieties of tobacco: 1 - Trapezond Kubanets, 2 - Trapezond 92, 3 - Samsun 85, 4 - Jubilee new 142, 5 - Holly

When choosing a variety, it is necessary to consider not only climatic conditions but also the type of land.

How to grow tobacco

Particular care should be taken when choosing a landing site. The soil must be well drained, as the culture does not tolerate high humidity and cold wind.

Soil preparation

The soil should be loose and fertile, if necessary, organic fertilizers (manure or compost) are added to it. Before planting, the area is cleared of weeds.

Seeds are sown in late April or early May, but this period may vary depending on the region, since sowing begins after the end of the frost and with consistently warm weather.

Seeds can be sown directly in open ground, but the seedling method is used to obtain an early harvest. Seedlings are placed 20 cm apart, and the distance between rows should be at least 70 cm. To further increase the yield, additional fertilizers are applied: a mixture of slurry with superphosphate or a solution of water with sulfur powder.

Sowing seeds

A few days before planting, the seeds are soaked in a weak solution of tartaric acid for a day, and then dried and laid out. thin layer into separate containers (Figure 2). Keep at room temperature, periodically moistening and turning. This procedure helps to increase germination and yield.


Figure 2. Sowing seeds in open ground

Germinated seeds are best used for growing seedlings. Pots are placed on the windowsill in the apartment, or sown in loose nutrient soil in the greenhouse. Seeds are scattered superficially, as they are very small, but do not lose their germination capacity for a long time.

The video shows how to properly sow tobacco in a seedling growing container.

Growing seedlings

When germinating seeds for seedlings, they should not be allowed to release too large sprouts (Figure 3). In the process of sowing, they can break off. Seedlings are regularly watered using a fine sieve, as too much moisture or overdrying can destroy crops. Feed several times mineral fertilizers or infusion of chicken manure.

Note: In order for the seedlings to take root better in the open field, it is hardened. To do this, watering is almost completely stopped and an intensive influx of fresh air is provided.

When the seedlings reach the age of 40-45 days, the seedlings are moved to open ground. Before planting, the soil must be moistened. The transfer is done like this:

  • Furrows with holes are made in the ground, 0.5 liters of water are poured into them and one seedling is laid out;
  • The hole is deepened with a peg, the seedlings are placed vertically, and the roots are covered with moist soil;
  • From above, the hole is covered with ordinary dry earth.

Figure 3. Growing seedlings

If the seedling is too long, it can be deepened into the soil more. In the future, the soil is regularly loosened, removing weeds, and the crop is watered and fed.

Outdoor cultivation

Seeds are sown in open ground in May, when warm weather stabilizes. Grooves for sowing should not be deep, but it is not recommended to sow directly on the surface, as the seeds can be destroyed by birds.

It is best to make shallow rows, sow seeds in them and sprinkle on top with a mixture of ordinary earth and sand.


Figure 4. Cultivation in the open field

plant care

Tobacco is a rather unpretentious culture. And although initially it could only be grown in warm climates, modern varieties are also suitable for regions of the temperate climate zone.

In general, care for the bushes is the same as for other plants: the soil is regularly loosened, freed from weeds, fed with mineral or organic fertilizers, and watered.

Note: The bed is watered only 2-3 for the entire growing season, since the plant may die from high humidity. The main guideline for the need for watering is the appearance: if the leaves turn yellow and wilted, then you need to add water (up to 8 liters per bush).

It is believed that due to the developed root system, adult bushes can not be watered. But experienced gardeners are still advised to add additional liquid a few days before harvest (Figure 5).


Figure 5. Growing and caring for tobacco

A characteristic feature of care is pinching and topping. This is the removal of the upper inflorescences and side shoots, which helps to activate growth.

Pests and diseases of tobacco

Despite the unpretentiousness, the culture is prone to some diseases (Figure 6):

  1. black leg - It mainly affects seedlings, which first weaken and then die. Affected stems become thin and rot. It is important that the causative agent of the disease remains in the soil, therefore, if a disease is detected, the soil must be treated with chemicals.
  2. Powdery mildew - develops on seedlings in open ground. The lower tiers are spotted with white cobwebs, gradually covering the entire plant. As a result, the yield of the affected bushes is reduced.
  3. Black root rot - It mainly affects seedlings, but can also occur on adult plants. On the affected bushes, the leaves begin to dry out, and the roots turn black and gradually die off.
  4. Mosaic - in diseased plants, the leaves are covered with light yellow spots. These areas gradually die off, which can lead to the death of the entire plant.
  5. bacterial vendace occurs with high humidity. First appear wet spots, which gradually rot and spread.

Figure 6. Common diseases: 1 - black leg, 2 - powdery mildew, 3 - black root rot, 4 - mosaic, 5 - bacterial vendace

Most of the causative agents of these diseases persist in the soil, plant debris and inventory even after harvesting or destruction of diseased plants. To prevent reinfection, all equipment must be disinfected, and the soil treated with special preparations.

The main pests are peach aphids and broomrape (Figure 7). Peach aphid is a very common pest that settles on leaves and stems, drinks plant juice and leads to a decrease in yield or complete death of the crop.


Figure 7. Plant pests: aphids (left) and broomrape (right)

Common broomrape - pest plant origin. It reproduces by seeds that develop near the roots of the crop, forming its own stem. It feeds on the bush, and mass infection can lead to the loss of the entire crop.

Collection and processing

Collect raw materials begin from the lower tiers at the first yellowing. It is important that the raw material must be dry and undamaged. After collection, the leaves are transferred to the shade, laid out in a thick layer (about 30 cm) and left for 12 hours to wither. After that, the leaves are put on cords and dried (Figure 8).

Note: Leaves and stems can be dried in the sun by hanging them in a place protected from wind and rain. This process takes about two weeks.

After that, the cords are transferred to a closed room and dried. The finished raw materials are stacked and sent for fermentation.


Figure 8. Collection, drying and fermentation of tobacco

Fermentation is a special process after which the raw material becomes more fragrant. The leaves are folded into a container and heated for 3 days at a temperature of 50 degrees and a humidity of 65%. During the week, the humidity is gradually increased, while maintaining temperature regime and then decrease the temperature by increasing the humidity. Further, the leaves are stored at room temperature with a minimum humidity (no more than 15%).

Next, the leaves should rest for a month, after which it is cut into strips and crushed for further use. The video shows how to ferment tobacco at home.

Growing tobacco in Russia as a business

When planning to grow tobacco for sale, some calculations should be made. For example, for sowing a crop on 10 acres, 400 grams of seeds are required. Retail price a gram of seeds is 1900 rubles, respectively, the cost of the required amount will be 76 thousand rubles.

From a plot of 10 acres, on average, 200-300 kg of raw materials can be collected. After that, it is important to establish retail sales of products. It can be sold in stores or via the Internet, but you must obtain permission from government agencies to start trading.

Cultivation of this crop is quite a profitable enterprise. On the initial stage you only need to spend money on the purchase of seeds, since the high yield allows you to grow the first crop without the use of special fertilizers. For drying finished products and growing seedlings, you can use any non-residential heated premises, and after receiving the first profit, equip greenhouses, greenhouses and drying rooms.

Once upon a time, growing tobacco was a common thing in our country. In many household plots, this plant was bred for the purpose of sale. Samosad could be found in any market.

The fact is that the cost of cigarettes at that time was too high for many. Later, when the incomes of the population began to grow, and the prices for tobacco products dropped significantly, shag and tobacco slowly began to disappear from the markets. This business is dying. But even today there are a lot of lovers of such tobacco products who are happy to grow this crop at home.

Cigar or cigarette tobacco is a thermophilic culture, it can be grown in open ground only in the south of the country. In the middle lane, special greenhouses are needed for growing tobacco. But shag will grow anywhere except the North, of course.

The calculation here is simple. If on average one cigarette contains 1 gram of tobacco (less in low-grade ones), then there are 20 grams in a pack. A heavy smoker smokes a pack a day, which is 6-8 kilograms of tobacco per year.

For all favorable conditions from one bush you can collect about 30 grams of tobacco. Planting at the rate of 1 square meter for 6-7 plants, if the tobacco variety is large-leaved, the planting density will be 30 x 70 cm, while the shag or medium-leaved variety will require 20 x 70 cm.

From all arithmetic calculations it follows that the culture will take about 40 square meters per annual norm of 270-300 bushes.

It should be noted, however, that tobacco pure form will be very strong, and stems are usually added to it.

If these calculations prove the feasibility of growing this crop, then it is quite possible to do such a thing.

Step by step instructions for growing tobacco

Here it should be clarified that the cultivation of less heat-loving shag (scientifically Nicotiana rustica) is much easier. This crop in the middle lane is sown directly into the ground in early May. Then the bed is covered with a germination film so that the plants can develop normally and then get a good harvest.

Cultivation of ordinary tobacco is somewhat more complicated. To begin with, you should choose from a huge variety suitable variety planting tobacco. When choosing, it is better to give preference to local varieties.

The growing process itself has several stages.

seed germination

The method of breeding tobacco and shag has much in common, but the difference is that the maturation of tobacco is much longer. The ripening period of shag is 75-80 days, and tobacco needs about 120 days to mature. Therefore, it is not possible to sow tobacco seeds in the garden in the middle lane. For such a long growing season, suitable conditions. Tobacco is sown at home in pots and seedling boxes or in a greenhouse.

Action algorithm:

  1. Acquired seeds should be soaked a couple of days before sowing in a solution of tartaric acid in a ratio of 3 ml per 1 gram of seeds per day. Moreover, the temperature should be in the range of 25-30 degrees.
  2. Soaking will speed up seedling maturation by a week and increase seed germination by 20%!
  3. A day later, the soaked seeds are removed from the solution, dried slightly, and then placed in a prepared container in a thick layer, about 3 centimeters.
  4. Planting material should be moistened for several days 5-6 times a day, maintaining a temperature of 27-30 degrees, conducive to germination.

Greenhouse preparation

Since growing tobacco seedlings in a greenhouse is the best option, you need to prepare it for landing.

First of all, a nutrient layer 10 centimeters thick is poured, which will be humus mixed with sand in a ratio of 3: 4.

AT last days February, it is necessary to start sowing tobacco seeds. At this time, it is usually still quite cold, so the greenhouse needs to be heated.

Sowing seeds and germinating seedlings.

The prepared nutrient layer should be spilled with water at the rate of 1 liter of water per square meter. In the future, moisture is increased to 3-4 liters per meter.

After that, tobacco seeds are evenly scattered on the surface at the rate of 4 grams per square meter. Makhorka is sown more often, at the rate of 20 grams per meter.

Scattered tobacco seeds should be carefully pressed into the ground by 30 mm, but if these are shag seeds, then a little deeper - about 70 mm. In conclusion, the planted seeds are watered with great care so that they do not go deep into the ground.

The required air temperature in the greenhouse at this time is about 20 degrees.

Subsequent care consists in regular feeding of plants and proper watering.

It is necessary to feed seedlings with a solution consisting of potassium salt, superosphate and ammonium nitrate in a proportion of 20 g, 50 g, 30 g per 10 liters of water. Spill the earth with such fertilizer at 2 lira per square meter.

You can also use chicken manure in a ratio of 1:7.

Immediately a week before transplanting seedlings, the frequency of watering is reduced, and the last three days are completely stopped.

It is necessary to transplant seedlings hardened, with elastic stems. Immediately before transplanting, water with plenty of water to make it easier to get the plants out of the soil.

After a month and a half, when the grown and grown seedlings will have several true leaves and rise to 15 cm, and its stems will be about 0.5 cm thick; - it is necessary to transplant it into open ground.

Transfer

When transplanting, they are usually guided by the temperature of warming up the soil. For tobacco, the soil should warm up to 10 degrees at a depth of 10 centimeters (depending on the climatic zone).

Small pits are prepared for transplanting plants, keeping a distance of 25-30 centimeters between them, the row spacing is at least 70 centimeters.

About a liter of water is poured into the prepared pits, and then the plants are taken out one at a time and planted in a prepared place. To reduce transplant stress for plants, you should try to leave on the roots more land in which they grew up. When planting in a new place, each bush should be dipped in a mixture of mullein and clay. After that, the pits are carefully filled and lightly tamped.

Care

Further care consists in the timely loosening and weeding of the ridges, the application of fertilizers. During the growing season, tobacco bushes should be watered no more than 2-3 times, spending 8 liters of water on each bush.

In addition, it is periodically necessary to pinch the plants and break off the inflorescences in a timely manner.

Diseases and pests

This plant has two main growing problems. The first is aphids. Most effective method fight against this scourge - "Rogor-S". The second problem is peronosporosis. To get rid of such a problem, a 4% suspension of cineb is used, which must be applied at the rate of 5 liters per 10 acres. It is also possible to use a 0.3% solution of polycarbocin.

Growing tobacco at home, video:

Harvesting

In general, growing tobacco is not difficult. It will be more difficult to process the harvested crop.

There are some subtleties here. When the leaves of tobacco begin to turn yellow, then it is necessary to start harvesting. But it is necessary to remove tobacco sheets, starting from the lowest rows.

It is especially important to ensure that the leaves of smoking tobacco are whole and dry!

After collecting the leaves, you need to transfer them to a shaded place for 12 hours, folding them into a pile with a layer of 30 centimeters so that they wilt. After that, the leaves are strung on cords and hung to dry. It is necessary to find a place protected from the wind for this purpose. With suitable sunny weather, it will take about two weeks to dry.

After that, you need to take 5-6 pieces of cords on which tobacco leaves are strung, fold them 4 times, and then hang them on a special hook. This design is called a harbor.

Havankas are transferred and dried in a well-ventilated room until completely dry, hanging them on the crossbars.

With the arrival of cold autumn days, dry tobacco leaves are removed and then stacked in piles, carefully smoothed out.

The process is finished and tobacco can be consumed.

Varieties of smoking tobacco for growing

There are several well-known tobacco varieties that are easy to grow at home.

"Trapezond" - resistant to various diseases grade c short period growing season (total 100 days)

Variety "Virginia" - early ripe, with a good smell, strong tobacco. This variety is quite resistant to various diseases and various vagaries of nature.

Variety "Jubilee" - early ripening, after 80 days you can harvest. Completely disease resistant.

Variety "Samsun" - maturation occurs in 110 days. This is one of the high-yielding varieties, up to 50 leaves of tobacco grow on one bush.

"Rustic tobacco" - frost-resistant. It can be grown both in open ground and on a loggia or window.

If you correctly determine the type of smoking tobacco, then it is quite possible to grow this crop on a personal plot. You just need to use the knowledge gained.

Can you please tell me how to grow tobacco? The prices for cigarettes today are such that I decided to try to provide myself with "poison", as my wife says, on my own. I remember how, as a child, I often helped my grandfather collect fragrant leaves and string them on a thread to dry. Grandfather always smoked only his hand-rolled cigarettes, made from homemade tobacco. Only due to the young age I did not remember anything about its cultivation. How should seeds be sown - directly into the ground or for seedlings?


Sometimes in front gardens among roses, asters and Chernobrivtsy one can find powerful bushes with large wide leaves. It grows tobacco close relative pepper and potatoes, because it also belongs to the nightshade family. Some put it in medicinal purposes Because tobacco has a good diuretic effect. But the majority still have a completely opposite task - to replace expensive and "unclean" cigarettes with homemade and natural tobacco. Whatever the reason, to get a good harvest, it is important to know how to grow tobacco. Although he is not particularly whimsical, however, there are some nuances of planting and care, but let's talk about everything in order.

Features of planting tobacco

Before you start sowing seeds, it is worth considering three main features of growing a crop:

  1. has a long growing season. From the moment of planting to harvesting, at least 100, or even all 130 days pass. So that the leaves have time to ripen, tobacco should be planted in seedlings.
  2. The plant is demanding on heat: get juicy and desired color leaves can only be if the temperature outside is at least 30 ° C.
  3. The highest quality and fragrant tobacco grows on moist loose soil.

The texture and taste of tobacco leaves can vary depending on the composition and structure of the soil where the plant is planted. On oily, moist soil, the leaves will be coarser. But if there is little moisture and fertilizer in the soil, then the leaves will grow tender and more fragrant.

They start sowing seeds in early March, after soaking them. This will speed up the emergence of seedlings and further development seedlings. Germinated seeds are dried and planted in separate small pots of 2-3 seeds. The soil should be nutritious, with the addition of humus and mineral fertilizers.


Seedlings are grown in good but diffused light and in warmth. Until the emergence of seedlings, the temperature is maintained up to 25 ° C, and then it can be reduced by 5 ° C. Transplantation into open ground is carried out not earlier than a stable positive temperature outside is established. Between the bushes you need to leave at least 30 cm with a row spacing of up to 70 cm.

Seedlings are ready for planting when up to 6 leaves form on each bush. The height of the plants should be about 15 cm.

How to grow tobacco: the basics of plant care


Tobacco care in the beds is simple and includes simple procedures:

  1. Remove weeds promptly.
  2. Water regularly, but do not flood plantings - tobacco does not like this.
  3. Timely feed the plants to increase the deciduous mass. The first time (a week after planting the seedlings), tobacco is watered with a solution of urea. In the future, three more top dressings are carried out mineral complex: at the beginning of foliage ripening, 2 weeks after the introduction of minerals and a week later.
  4. Remove inflorescences that appear in time so that they do not take away strength.
  5. Periodically stepchild bushes - so the leaves will be larger.
  6. If necessary, treat for pests.

Tobacco leaves do not ripen at the same time, but starting from the bottom, and therefore they are plucked gradually when yellowing begins. Then the tobacco crop is dried by hanging it in the shade.

Any garden culture requires individual approach to get a good harvest. Even people who are familiar with how to grow tobacco can make mistakes when choosing a place on a plot or the frequency of watering, which will affect the quality of raw materials later.

What kind of tobacco to grow?

This plant can be either perennial or annual. It belongs to the nightshade family and is cultivated for smoking raw materials - leaves that are dried and crushed to be used to fill cigarettes and pipes. Before planting, you have to make a choice which type of tobacco is better to grow, based on its characteristics:

  1. Rustic tobacco. Ordinary shag, as it is also called, grows up to 120 cm and contains half the nicotine than virgin varieties. The yellowish flowers have a corolla with a short tube and rounded lobes. In the middle lane and in the south, shag has been grown since the 19th century, starting from the first warm days until late autumn. Varieties of this type- "Holly 316", "Samsun 85", "Turkish", "Datura".
  2. Virginian tobacco. It is also called "real tobacco" (Nicotiana tabacum) because its taste is considered classically strong. The most important feature that characterizes how to grow varieties of tobacco in this category is its high thermophilicity. It will sprout only in regions with high humidity or hot summers. This type includes "Anniversary new 142", "Trapezond 92", "Trapezond Kubanets" and "Pechlets".

planting tobacco

On one hundredth of a hectare of land, you can collect up to 40 kg of raw tobacco, given that the average smoker consumes only 8 kg per year. Tobacco planting and care are carried out based on the type of planting. It has been empirically found that when planted directly in the ground, this plant is severely limited in growth and gives a negligible yield. Therefore, tobacco is planted through seedlings as follows:

  1. Tobacco for seedlings is sown in early to mid-February at home. Before this, the seeds are soaked in water for a day, in which a little potassium permanganate can be added to disinfect the seed.
  2. Seeds are washed 2-3 times and dried.
  3. The soil is intensively loosened, since tobacco can only be grown in soil saturated with oxygen.
  4. 4-5 cm of soil is poured into a box or peat pots, but the depth of immersion of seeds should not exceed 0.5 cm.
  5. After planting the seeds, they are sprinkled with earth and watered abundantly. The box is covered with a film: shoots under it will be noticeable for 6-10 days, depending on the air temperature in the room.
  6. As necessary, the soil is filled up so that it reaches the cotyledon leaves, otherwise the sprouts will die.

Tobacco Planting Scheme

In the interests of any gardener - convenient placement of rows for easy watering, loosening or transplanting if necessary. Planting tobacco in open ground on the site should be optimized for all of the above factors. There are two ways to arrange the beds:

  1. Suspension. Varieties with limited growth can be planted in greenhouses in hanging boxes with drainage holes in the bottom. This option is suitable for growing in the cold season, if you plan to harvest twice a year.
  2. Horizontal. Habitual placement in the open field should not have a circular shape, because planting tobacco in flower beds inefficiently consumes land area. Even rows can be divided by furrows to facilitate watering.

Tobacco planting distance

The scheme of distribution of sprouts after growing up is selected depending on which variety it belongs to. Before growing tobacco seedlings, you need to choose the distance between the ridges, since they are prepared in advance. In autumn, they are scrupulously cleaned of weeds and fertilized with organic additives with potassium and magnesium. And in the spring, seedlings are placed in the ground according to one of two types:

  1. 70x100 cm. This distance between crops is considered optimal for virgin varieties characterized by vigorous growth. They have a strong root system that is prone to overgrowth, which can be prevented by widening row spacing.
  2. 50x30 cm. Makhorka varieties are determinant, so their compact root system is enough for 50 cm between rows and 30 cm between plants.

Date of planting fragrant tobacco

It is time to transfer seedlings to open ground if 3-4 true leaves have already appeared on the stem. As a rule, the age of the plant at this point is 40-45 days. Thin tobacco leaves can be obtained by transferring the sprouts to the ground at the age of 30 days, as is done in some regions of America. Exact time planting of tobacco is calculated taking into account the region of growth:

  1. In the south, early spring allows transplanting as early as 2-3 weeks of March. It is not necessary to harden the plant first.
  2. In the middle lane, tobacco for seedlings is planted later and transferred to open ground in late May - early April.
  3. In colder regions, tobacco can be grown in heated greenhouses, de-linking transplant time from a specific date due to balanced conditions.

Conditions for growing tobacco

Knowledge about the scheme of planting and caring for seedlings is not enough to get a full harvest. Much greater impact on taste qualities leaves regulate growth by removing diseased and dead leaves, timely removal of flowers. No matter how much you want to grow smoking tobacco on suburban area with minimal hassle, there are conditions that cannot be refused:

  1. Humidity. If watering is not enough due to a dry summer, humidifiers or sprayers are installed in the garden. Plantation owners who are confident in how to grow tobacco spend a lot of money to install such devices, while inexperienced gardeners cannot even imagine how important moisture is for the juiciness and flavor of the leaves.
  2. growth correction. Stepchildren and buds are best removed so that all the juices go to leaf growth. Tobacco begins to ripen from the bottom of the plant, so it can easily survive up to five leaf cuts. If some of them are damaged, they are removed during harvesting.

Tobacco growing temperature

At each stage of maturation of the plant, it needs a certain temperature regime. In the open field, it is difficult to regulate it from the outside - for example, during the cultivation of rustic tobacco (shag) in the middle lane. Therefore, gardeners are trying to adapt to natural temperature changes, taking into account the fact that:

  • seedlings should root after transplantation at 20-22°C;
  • the development of large leaves begins at 25-28°C;
  • harvesting ends when the temperature drops to 15-18°C.

Growing tobacco in the country - soil

In Cuba and America, the ground for planting seedlings is never cultivated with tractors, because they compact the soil too much. Where tobacco is grown, fertilizer, watering and harvesting is done only by hand for the same reason. In the country, you can repeat the same conditions by creating wide rows so as not to trample the ground near the plants while moving around the garden. Soil care provides for compliance with the following rules:

  1. Use as humus last year's tobacco bushes and roots left after harvest.
  2. Control over the level of chlorine in the soil. Its excess becomes noticeable by the lethargy of the leaves on the shoots, even when they are in the shade. You can get rid of it by adding sand to the topsoil and subsequent loosening.
  3. Compliance with the depth of plowing. The layer of land for planting should occupy a maximum of 20-25 cm.

tobacco care

When the seedling reaches a height of 25 cm, it begins to need shade to give the leaf a strong taste and subtle aroma. After planting in the ground care fragrant tobacco changes: he needs to build an awning or shelter over the beds to create shade on the hottest days. For it to be reliable, some conditions must be met:

  1. At the edges of the bed, 4 pegs of sufficient thickness should be dug in to withstand the weight of an awning made of thin fabric or film.
  2. Pegs need to be immersed to a minimum depth of 5-7 cm so that you do not have to think about how to grow tobacco under a regularly collapsing awning.
  3. You can additionally strengthen the "legs" with the help of stones or gravel poured into the installation hole.
  4. After completing these manipulations, a piece of fabric or a transparent film is pulled onto the pegs according to the size of the ridge.

Growing tobacco in the garden - watering

In contrast to the fact that this crop likes abundant watering during the germination stage, it likes to grow in moist, but not swampy soils. Great importance has a watering method. A jet of water directed under the roots erodes them and leads to a disease of the fungus. In all the books that mention how to grow tobacco for smoking in the garden, it is indicated that it must be irrigated with water. Spraying by the type of a small drip shower from a spray gun is carried out so that water gets on the trunk and leaves.


Tobacco seedling care - top dressing

The roots of the plant are so strong that they require complex feeding, so all efforts should be directed to accelerating the development of the leaves and increasing their area. Growing and planting tobacco is accompanied by watering with the addition of the following dressings:

  • phosphorus;
  • bird droppings;
  • sulfate or potassium chloride.

Growing tobacco in the country - diseases and pests

  1. Black root rot. It affects young plants, which causes the shoots to dry out and wither, and black-brown spots appear on the root part.
  2. Bronzing of tomatoes. The disease of tomato seedlings also affects tobacco: rings and arcs appear on the stem - traces of the slow death of tissues.
  3. Dry root rot. Every gardener understands how difficult it is to grow tobacco if its roots gradually dry out. Dry rot shrinks them, disrupting the transport of moisture and nutrients.
  4. The disease thins the stem, making it brittle and brittle. The base of the plant turns black as a lesion with a microorganism called Rhizoctonia solani Kuehn develops.