I ordered Tobacco Seeds to add to my seed stores.

I've been thinking about what would be good items for barter for the past year, and stocking accordingly. Because of the rural area I live in, the climate is perfect for planting tobacco. In the South, on top of a mountain.

So, I decided to do my research on planting, harvesting, and curing regional tobacco varieties. Was quite surprised how really simple it is. I figure when TSHTF...tobacco in dried leaf form, would actually come in handy for trade/barter.

There are also many medicinal uses for tobacco.... en.wikipedia.org...

In my quest for tobacco seeds for planting, I found it surprising how many online heirloom seed houses are completely sold out at this time. Same true for places that sell the already growing seedlings. I did find a place I ordered 3 different varieties, good for my geological area. They only sell product from their own fields, non Monsanto seeds. Unfortunately, there are some states it is illegal to ship to...Georgia is not one of them. The price was much less than I would have thought too.

I decided to post this here in our Survival forum for others to ponder over.....when our dollar is worth nothing...tobacco will still retain it's value. To read from the site I used for my seeds, has guides on planting and what not...www.newhopeseed.com...

If you have any thoughts on seeds I should pick up while they are still available, post away, please

ps...it took forever to find some places, but I did already order cocoa seeds/chocolate for planting. Trade/barter...and just plain like the stuff.

Des

I remember from history class that tobacco is a pretty labor intensive crop. That's why slaves were so attractive to tobacco farmers. Takes a lot more nutes out of the soil than food crops too. Requires more land due to needed crop rotation. I don't know, I would say just kick the habit before cigarettes disappear and spend time and energy on life sustaining crops.

That's a great idea. I've wanted to try and find some seeds as well- I don't know if tobacco would grow well in New York though...maybe in a green house with good lights and humidity.

It'd probably be illegal in New York though pretty much every thing is.

reply to post by Destinyone

I dare say that at $5 a pack and much higher in some places, you wouldn't really need to wait for everything to come apart for that to make a decent living....if one could avoid the Government and tax agents who'd want to seize it all.

Originally posted by ZeroReady
I remember from history class that tobacco is a pretty labor intensive crop. That's why slaves were so attractive to tobacco farmers. Takes a lot more nutes out of the soil than food crops too. Requires more land due to needed crop rotation. I don't know, I would say just kick the habit before cigarettes disappear and spend time and energy on life sustaining crops.

Tobacco has been used over the history of man for may reasons. Spiritual, medicinal, and as currency. I plan to have a few of those bases covered as part of my bug out plan. The only thing labor intensive about growing tobacco is. nipping off the flower/seed pods as they grow. Those are the source of seeds for your future plants, and the plant grows to it's maximum potential with the nipping/clipping of the flowers. If you are only planting a few rows of tobacco, well...it's kind of a no brainer, JMOHO.

Des

Have you ever smoked tobacco after it was cured in the barn? It is not a pleasant experience. It is very harsh tasting and tastes awful. I would quit before I would ever think about raising my own to smoke. Its not worth it. And I speak from my knowledge of growing up on a tobacco farm and being around raising it all my life.

There are multiple processes that it goes through after it is taken to the market, after it is cured, that gets it to the point you can smoke it.

if you're going to smoke tobacco that you grow, make sure you know how to cure it properly. one drop of pure nicotine on the tongue will kill a person.

I know a fellow named Jack who has some beanstalk seeds.

Originally posted by MzMorbid
That's a great idea. I've wanted to try and find some seeds as well- I don't know if tobacco would grow well in New York though...maybe in a green house with good lights and humidity.

It'd probably be illegal in New York though

pretty much every thing is.

Here is a link with some good accurate info. It is the same link from my OP....

Tobacco Growing

Starting and Growing Tobacco from Seeds.

"Starting seeds"

Tobacco is a relatively easy plant to grow and can be grown as far north as Canada and Alaska with the proper planning and preparation.
www.newhopeseed.com...

As far as legality for NY...You are OK for shipping...

From the site..

Sorry, we cannot ship plants to California, Hawaii, Alaska or Internationally.

reply to post by Destinyone

Sure but as with any plant that requires curing before smoking/using, you're going to lose a lot of weight during the curing process. Might think you have a big harvest, but after it's dried you find you only have a third of your crop that's usable. Plants are mostly water. Drying and Curing removes that water. A few rows of tobacco - just don't think it would be worth the energy. You'd need lots and lots to end up with a harvest of usable size. And as another poster stated, it's pretty gross and useless without refinement and chemical additions that Phillip Morris has been perfecting for the last 300 or so years.

If bartering is what you're intending, I'd say learn how to hand-load .22 rounds. Those will be much more valuable than a few oz of tobacco that will take most of a year to get.

ETA: Sorry. Not to poohpooh on your idea - it's good you're thinking outside the box. I would just suggest more thinking before devoting any usable land to growing tobacco.

Remember the most important lesson of Scarface...never use your own supply.
But yeah, when SHTF the value of tobacco will be ridiculous. It'll be worth its weight in gold. The problem is if the fiends know where you're growing, they aren't going to buy it from you, they will steal it. so make sure no one knows, and sell it far from where you are growing.

Originally posted by Bob Sholtz
if you're going to smoke tobacco that you grow, make sure you know how to cure it properly. one drop of pure nicotine on the tongue will kill a person.

Here is a good down to earth site on home growing and curing tobacco....It's not a fancy shmancy site...what you would expect from someone making a good quality moon shine...

Harvesting and Curing

A lot of unmitigated drivel is put about over the difficulty of curing tobacco. I believe that it's an evil plou sitet put out by the tobacco magnates and perpetuated by our respective but seldom respected or respectable Governments to wring money from us unnecessarily. Curing tobacco is basically the drying of it in a moderately controlled environment. There are all sorts of bells and whistles you can add to enhance the end result, but YOU DON'T HAVE TO! You can make a perfectly acceptable product by just drying the leaves adequately, slicing them thinly, rolling them in cigarette paper, and setting them alight, - so put that in your pipe and smoke it! theoldfirm.hubpages.com...

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


5 dollars a pack....lol...my cigs are $10.60,just googled exchange rate,per 20 here in scotland,super unleaded is now $2.40 per litre (per LITRE) count yourself lucky,but we do have free healthcare,so when you get lung cancer or have a car wreck you get value for money.lol

Originally posted by ZeroReady
reply to post by Destinyone

 

Sure but as with any plant that requires curing before smoking/using, you're going to lose a lot of weight during the curing process. Might think you have a big harvest, but after it's dried you find you only have a third of your crop that's usable. Plants are mostly water. Drying and Curing removes that water. A few rows of tobacco - just don't think it would be worth the energy. You'd need lots and lots to end up with a harvest of usable size. And as another poster stated, it's pretty gross and useless without refinement and chemical additions that Phillip Morris has been perfecting for the last 300 or so years.

If bartering is what you're intending, I'd say learn how to hand-load .22 rounds. Those will be much more valuable than a few oz of tobacco that will take most of a year to get.

ETA: Sorry. Not to poohpooh on your idea - it's good you're thinking outside the box. I would just suggest more thinking before devoting any usable land to growing tobacco.

edit on 7-8-2011 by ZeroReady because: (no reason given)

Guns...check.

Bullets...check.

All solar powered radios, multi band...check.

House on acreage...check

Stocked pond fed by 5 artesian wells...check.

Deep well with artesian aquifer...check.

Bulk stores of seeds, spices, herbs...check.

Generators and gas...check.

Hand pump for well for when no gas...check.

But, I am interested in those giant bean stalk seeds someone posted about....

tobacco u say...i hadnt thought about that.....lucky for me here in oz there is masses of tabbaco growing wild in the bush left from the early settlers

peace

All I can say is....I think it's a good seed to add to my stores. If, as someone posted earlier that it's so darn toxic and will instantly kill you unprocessed....All I can say is...we wouldn't have any American Indians if true....

Plus, I personally think, it has great trade/barter value....

I kind of think the non smoker whiners are going to end up with a Louisville slugger dent where there brain used to be or some other permanent solution when shtf.

That may be one time when those particular folks need to stfu for their own safety.

Just a public service shtf safety tip. Carry on.