Indoor Tobacco Growing Guide

Tobacco plants are traditionally large crops grown outdoors, but special growing techniques allow for the miniaturization of these exotic crops for indoor gardens. The tobacco plant in the picture is ready to harvest and its only 18 inches tall! Don't let the winter months hold you back any longer. Manage a miniature tobacco garden and always have fresh cigars and smoking tobacco. You'll learn all you need to know about indoor tobacco growing.

The Indoor Tobacco Growing Guide!

Selecting the Seed:

Research around the internet and find the right tobacco seeds for you. There are many different varieties, all having unique individual characteristics. I have had very good luck locating tobacco seeds on eBay, but there are also other sites that sell seeds. The variety that I chose to grow is N. rustica aka Ceremonial Hopi Tobacco. I chose this species based on that fact that it is a smaller variety naturally and many sources said that it was a very undemanding tobacco species. Here is a common variety list to guide you on your way through the different tobacco seeds.

· Cigar Tobacco Varieties: Black Sea Samsun, Black Stalk Mammoth,

· Pipe Tobacco Varieties: Black Sea Basma, Del Gold, Stag Horn,

· Snuff Tobacco Varieties: Virginia Gold Types, Del Gold, Shirey

Germinating the Seeds:

Extreme care should be taken when working with tobacco seeds. These are some of the smallest seeds that gardeners get their hands on! It is very easy to break, smash or lose all the seeds if care is not taken. Tobacco seeds need light and heat in order to have successful germination rates. Making planters of old 2-Liter bottles, I sowed 2-3 tobacco seeds directly on top of a pre-watered organic soil mix. The bottle was covered with a zip lock bag to retain moisture and placed near the light where temperatures were a constant 70-80 degrees F. It is normal for seeds to germinate within 7-10 days. Mine germinated in 5 days with a 90% Germination Rate. Once the tobacco seedlings are a couple of weeks old, thin each container so that there is only one plant per container.

Miniaturizing Your Plants:

This step occurs once your tobacco seedlings have grown into immature plants and have now rooted out the current growing container. You will want to move your tobacco plant to a larger container to allow more available nutrients, but you don't want the larger container to grow a vertically larger plant. The trick is to trim the roots when you transfer the tobacco plant to the new container. I trimmed away the bottom 1/3 of the roots with no damage to the plant. It just stunts the growth, much like how a Bonsai Garden works. The tobacco plants are now miniaturized and ready for the final stage of growth. I finished my tobacco plants in 1 gallon containers.

Indoor Tobacco Light Requirements:

A south facing window will be enough to supply a small tobacco plant enough light through its life. For those who don't have a south facing window, supplemental lighting is needed. My tobacco was grown with tomatoes under 218watts of 2700K HO Compact Fluorescent Lighting. The minimum light requirement per tobacco plant is 50watts of lighting.

Indoor Tobacco Growing is Easy and Rewarding!

Other than the miniaturizing technique outlined above, follow regular water and feeding instructions for your specific strain. A mini garden of 12 plants in 1 gallon containers can be safely grown under a 4ft 4 Bulb Compact fluorescent grow light. The amount of tobacco obtained is enough to roll 3 cartons of cigarettes.