Grow your own tobacco plants?

MickMun

Hey folks!

I was talking to my gf the other day (who is a smoker....i know, she should really quit!!) and we got to talking about whether it was possible to grow your own tobacco plants in the uk.
We've had a little look online about this, but i was wondering if anyone had any experience of actually growing their own tobacco for personal consumption?!! In theory it sounds like a fantastic way to save money especially since she has no view to quit smoking.....

Any thoughts?

pogofish

Its dead easy - My grandfather used to do this. Many nicotania species grow very well in our climate.

Its the curing that you need to get right, you can't just dry the leaves and smoke them straight away - They need to be bunched and hung in a dry but well (naturally) ventilated space for quite a while - A year at least IIRC, and anything up to three years depending on the exact type/of tobacco required. Skimp on this and you will get something that smells and smokes like old boots!

I remember him cutting and bunching the leaves, then trying two together on a bit of string and hanging them together over the rafters of his timber-framed & lined garage/workshop (he was a joiner) - which was perfect for curing, then shredding them and I think he mixed with a portion of bought tobacco.

There was a website somewhere once that had much more detail and sold seeds for all the common pipe/rolling tobacco plants.

Alternatively, if you still have a traditional tobacconists in your area, you can get a variety of good quality pure tobaccos for a lot less than commercial fags. I go for rough-cut Burley and I can smoke all I like for less than a tenner a week. Virginia would be cheaper still.

Steel_2

Check out this website specifically for the UK. Never had experience but often wondered about it....

As ever customs and excise are lurking in the background....

pogofish

Growing for your own use should not be a problem for excise. If you try to sell it though, watch out! :eek:

MickMun

Thanks for that website steel, the forum on there seems to have a lot of good info on all aspects of growing and curing tobacco!

Apparently they say growing tobacco is very similar to growing tomatos......now if only i could grow them!

Pogofish - Do you mind me asking how expensive tobacco is from a traditional tobacconist? How does this compare in price to hand rolling tobacco that you can buy in most shops (golden virginia etc).
Ive had a look but im having trouble finding any traditional tobacconists, there doesnt appear to be any in dundee - maybe somewhere bigger like aberdeen may have one?

My gf at the moment smokes roll ups, much cheaper than cigarettes but can still be costly! Maybe we should just go to spain or somewhere for the weekend where you can buy about 250g of tobacco for about £10......savings would probably cover the flight cost!

pogofish

I was £9.80 for 50g of Burley & a couple of packs of papers from the tobacconists in King St. Which lasts me a full week It is slightly cheaper from the stall in the New market as well.

Personally I'd say it is far better than any of the big brands, both in taste and smokability.

King St does mail order and I think this is their addy:

SILLETTS
166 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 5BD
Tel: 01224 64 44 55

I can double check next time I'm past.

You often meet Billy Conolly in the shop too, he gets his cigars there.

I've also used this firm near Edinburgh for bulk buying papers, rolling boxes etc but I've not bought tobacco from them yet.

http://www.pazyryk.co.uk/

ETA - I notice a lot of suspended items on that site. I hope it is just a temporary glitch, not that they have gone down the pan.

buddywitch

MickMun wrote: »

Thanks for that website steel, the forum on there seems to have a lot of good info on all aspects of growing and curing tobacco!

Apparently they say growing tobacco is very similar to growing tomatos......now if only i could grow them!

Pogofish - Do you mind me asking how expensive tobacco is from a traditional tobacconist? How does this compare in price to hand rolling tobacco that you can buy in most shops (golden virginia etc).
Ive had a look but im having trouble finding any traditional tobacconists, there doesnt appear to be any in dundee - maybe somewhere bigger like aberdeen may have one?

My gf at the moment smokes roll ups, much cheaper than cigarettes but can still be costly! Maybe we should just go to spain or somewhere for the weekend where you can buy about 250g of tobacco for about £10......savings would probably cover the flight cost!

.
What region do you live? have you considered going for a day on ferry to Guernsey, france or Jersey, look for deals in papers for going on ferry's. You can also fly from Exeter to either place and it still works out cheap.

MickMun

I live in Dundee buddywitch, so is unfortunately a bit more hassle for me, but still worth considering so ill keep an eye out!

Thanks for the tip pogo, Im from outside aberdeen originally and have family and friends that i often visit, so we'll try and pop in next time we're up in the area! Have to admit i didnt have a clue that there was a tobacconist there at all!

As an update me and my gf have purchased some seeds online to attempt to grow. I know we should have started about march time with these, however as we live in a flat and have no garden we are going to grow a couple in pots inside!!!

Also if they do grow ok, we could give them as a gift to other smokers - something unusual at least!

mardatha

My friend in Maine grows his own, and Maine is not as far north as Scotland , but mountainous and they get bad weather. But I dono if its possible here.

grum100

I've been growing my own for years. I just order tobacco plants from the web, pop them out in the garden in early summer and harvest them a few months later... works a treat!:money:

T.S.Nicholl

Hi,

I've written a free PDF about growing tobacco in the UK. It is available for download free at my website, but I can't post links yet.

If you do a seatch for T.S.Nicholl Tobacco Growing UK, then you'll get the link. There's no spam or pop-ups etc on the site.