Nicotiana Tabacum Seeds

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Our Nicotiana tabacum seeds are usually harvest this year or the year before. This guarantees a very good quality and a high germination rate (80%) when properly used.

Nicotiana tabacum L.;
Nightshade family (Solanaceae)

An herbaceous annual growing to 6 feet tall, covered with short, sticky hairs. The leaves are thin, 1 foot or more long. The flowers are rose, purplish-red, or white, 2 inches long, on stalks. Native to tropical America. Possibly a hybrid.

Cultivation and Propagation: Tobacco grows best in a rich, sandy loam. It is easily grown from seed. These should be started in flats of finely sifted soil indoors in the early spring. Because they are very small they should be mixed with sand and sown thinly on the surface of the soil, and lightly pressed in with a small, flat object. The flat should be watered only with a fine spray or perfusion from the bottom. When the seed has germinated move the flat to a sunny position. When the seedlings are large enough to handle they may be transplanted to small pots or moved directly to the garden if the weather is warm enough. The plants should be set out a foot apart in rows 3 feet apart. They should have a warm sunny location with plenty of water when the weather is hot and dry.

Flower buds should be picked off as they appear. This will increase the size and thickness of the leaves. A plant or two may be allowed to flower, because they are beautiful.

Tobacco is susceptible to many insect pests, fungi, and viral blights.

Tobacco is one of the worst soil depleters. After each season the soil in which it has been grown must be heavily fertilized.

Harvesting: The curing of tobacco is an expert business, and will not be covered here. Furthermore, this process greatly reduces its alkaloid content. For hallucinogenic purposes, the leaves should be dried quickly, preferably in the shade or indoors, and without the application of heat. Uncured tobacco is very potent -- the Indians who used it would often pass out after as little as one cigarette, and "communicate with the gods." This type of tobacco should be smoked with caution. The danger here is death from overdose rather than addiction. When used as a ritual narcotic it is not smoked often enough to result in addiction.