Tobacco Multipacks are a great way to start growing your own. This pack contains Virginian, Burley, and Turkish varieties. The strains included in this pack are Golden Burley, Virginia 116, and Turkish Izmir.
About Golden Burley
Golden Burley is a medium flavored Burley with excellent curability. The leaves grow up to 30" long by 12" wide, and turn a bright lemon yellow when ripe. Plants grow 5 to 6 feet in height with little to no suckering. Matures in 60-65 days after transplant. Air cures to a light buck skin brown color. The smoke is flavorful, yet mild. Requires less aging time than most Burleys.
About Turkish Izmir
This Turkish tobacco is renowned for its unique flavor. It grows quite tall ranging from 5-7 feet and produces 20 to 30 leaves, each 15-16 inches long and c8 inches wide. The taste of this variety is distinguished by its unmistakable aroma and mildness.
About Virginia 116
Virginia 116 is a bright leaf Virginia Gold variety which grows to 4 1/2 feet in height. Good disease resistance. It produces an average of 19 leaves when topped, excluding bed leaves. Leaves are up to 24" long and 12" wide. It gives good yields, and turns light yellow as it ripens in around 65 days. Easy to air cure and dries a bright golden yellow. It is mild to smoke and is an excellent choice for a cigarette tobacco or in a pipe.
How to Grow Tobacco
Growing your own tobacco is so easy and not dissimilar to growing tomatoes. Place commercial seedling compost into a tray and soak the soil with water and allow the excess water to drain off. Sprinkle the tobacco seeds onto the surface of the damp soil. Do not cover the seeds, as they need light for germination. Tobacco seeds are very tiny, so be careful to spread the seeds as evenly as possible. Keep the soil damp being careful not to wash the seeds around when you water; better still water from below or use a mist sprayer.
At a temperature of 75-80 degrees, seeds typically take a matter of days to germinate; though at this stage they are still rather small. At lower temperatures, the germination simply takes a few days longer.
Plantlets are ready to be transplanted into bigger pots, when the leaves are about 1cm in length. Care should be taken not to disturb the roots. Feed should only be given to established and rapidly growing plants after they have been replanted. Tobacco requires a lot of nitrogen and potash, which can be supplied using standard garden fertilizer. You may want to grow your tobacco using only organic fertilizers.
Ideally, space the tobacco plants about 2 ft. apart in rows 3 ft. apart. Transplant outside in the evening or when it is cloudy and overcast to avoid the youngsters from drying out. Water plants thoroughly after transplanting and water daily until plants become established. Like tomato plants, the branches (suckers, offshoots), should be removed to focus the plants energy on the large leaves.
Tobacco plants generally require full to partial sunlight to grow properly. Tobacco is ready to be harvest after 60-90 days after germinating.