Considerations For Cultivation
Intention is an important consideration for the cultivation of any medicine.
Our intention for working with ceremonial tobacco is to make it accessible to those looking to grow their own medicine and to encourage a new relationship we can have as a community with this plant.
So, as you start your own journey cultivating tobacco set an intention for the practice.
We cultivate our seedlings with the intention that they will be used for ceremonial purposes. We understand that some individuals may not look to use our plants for this purpose, yet we encourage all to consider doing so.
Steps to Take When Receiving a Live Seedling
We ship plants using bubble wrap, plastic wrap, cardboard filling, and other packaging materials. Upon receiving a live seedling, carefully remove the packaging. Ensure no damages to the plant were incurred during transit. If there are any damages, please reach out to us at hello@freshcultivators.com and we will promptly resolve all concerns.
These are some of the packaging materials we use when shipping plants. Inspect the plant upon arrival to ensure it is in good condition.
Here is the same seedling from the previous image freshly potted into a 6-inch container. It will grow for 4-6 weeks in this container before repotting or planting directly into the ground.
After the plant has passed inspection, it’s best to replant the seedling into a larger container. We recommend using at least a 6-inch pot for the first transplant. An organic or basic potting soil with a neutral PH will work well. Adding a granular mycorrhizae supplement to the soil or dusting roots with a mycorrhizae powder will encourage root development.
Note: Seedlings are still quite fragile at this stage, so allowing them to grow out in 6-inch containers is preferable before planting them into the ground.
Once the seedling has been repotted, water your seedling thoroughly. A soluble fertilizer can be added to the water, or a granular, slow-release fertilizer can be placed on top of the soil during at this stage. Follow the feeding instructions on the fertilizer packaging for proper use.
Place the newly potted plant in a shaded area with lots of natural sunlight for one to two weeks so it may acclimate to its new home. Keeping a newly repotted seedling indoors during this time can reduce shock and increase recovery odds, although a seedling can recover normally if kept outdoors. Always keep plants indoors when temperatures drop below 45.
Keeping tobacco in a 6-inch pot for the life of the plant is okay if space is limited such as growing in an apartment. If the desire is to grow the largest leaves then it’s best to transplant the plant into a larger pot or the ground soon after it outgrows its current pot
Tobacco can be grown in smaller pots for ornamental purposes. The plant to the left was kept in a 6-inch pot and never repotted. Also, it wasn’t given fertilizer, which allowed the leaves to remain small. This is a great growing tip for those who want a plant but have limited space to grow.
Continual Care
This plant is kept indoors in a 6-inch pot. The temperature remains between 70-78, and it is given fertilizer and mycorrhizae on a weekly or every-other-week basis to encourage healthy leaf and root development.
The use of fertilizer is highly recommended throughout the cultivation cycle. A solid fertilization regimen will provide the largest leaves during harvest.
A mycorrhizae supplement is also encouraged. It will greatly support root development, which leads to stronger roots, and stronger roots will grow larger plants and leaves. Follow the feeding instructions on the mycorrhizae packaging for proper use.
Tobacco is very easy to care for. It thrives in warm climates and loves full sun. Place indoor plants near a window with full-sun.
Ensure that the soil remains moist. Tobacco will grow quickly with proper fertilization, so its roots will quickly and absorb the available water in the soil to use for leaf development and growth.
Once the plants roots have begun to grow around the edge of the pot, it’s best to transplant tobacco into a new pot or the ground. This will occur approximately 4-6 weeks after first transplanting a seedling into its 6-inch pot.
If the plant is kept outdoors, ensure the soil is well watered, especially during the hotter months. Once-a-day watering is often best during the hotter season, particularly if the plant is still potted.
Potted plants tend to dry out quicker than ones placed in the ground. Leaves will begin to quickly wilt when the soil is dry. Simply water the plant and it will readily recover. If the soil has dried out excessively, allow the pot to soak in a bowl of water for an hour to ensure the all the soil is able to hydrate completely.
The plants in the drainage ditch were planted directly from 6-inch pots. The plants roots were allowed to fully colonize the soil in the pot before being planted in the ground. This ensured that the plants were able to absorb water quickly from the surrounding soil which minimized shock during the hotter months.
These three plants are the same age. The plant to the left was kept in a 6-inch pot while the two on the right were planted in the ground.
When choosing a pot to transplant into, keep in mind that the size of the pot will determine how wide the plant can spread out.
If a plant is kept in a smaller container then its leaves will stay small and the plant will grow tall and thin. Oftentimes the plant will not develop lateral branches and will only have a single primary stem.
A 5-gallon size pot should allow a plant to reach equivalent heights as a plant that has been planted directly into the ground.
If the intention is to grow the largest leaves for harvest, then providing more soil for root development will directly affect the overall size of the maturing plant.
Under ideal conditions, tobacco can reach heights over six feet tall at full maturity, and its diameter can extend over four feet wide.
Flowers will begin developing about 30-45 days from the time a seedling is first transplanted.
Once flowers have bloomed, they will remain open for about a week and then will begin falling off to allow the seed pods to begin drying.
This species of tobacco is Nicotiana Tabacum, and it blooms lovely pink flowers. The plant in this picture was grown from pedigreed seeds that we harvested from a ceremonial plant collected in Mexico. Other Tabacum varieties can bloom in a number of colors.
The seeds on this table came from a single pod the same size as the ones lying next to them. A single pod can easily sprout hundreds of seedlings.
Seed pods will fully cure in about 30-45 days from the time its flowers have fallen off.
Each pod can contain a few hundred to over a thousand seeds.
These seeds have a high germination rate. 80-90% percent germination is common, allowing growing tobacco from seed a very simple process, with only a few steps required to ensure success.
During the winter, bring plants indoors. Tobacco won’t last long in temperatures below freezing. If the plant is rooted in the ground, then wrapping the plant in sheets during a freeze may help to keep it alive, although the safest bet would be to harvest some seeds and start off new in the late winter or early spring.