I'm only growing one type of seed this year. I wanted a seed that would grow well for my location. As much as I want to grow a Burley or Dark Air Cured tobacco, the sandy soil here in Central Florida would not give me good results with those type of tobaccos. I wanted something that would work well here so I went with Delgold which is a Virginia bright leaf variety that grows well in sandy soil.
I do have plans next year on growing a White Burley and probably Va359 which is a Virginia Dark Air Cured Tobacco. The plan right now is to grow these in 5 gallon buckets buried flush in the ground and I will ammend the sandy soil here with clay and silt to give the soil the approximate texture tailored for my desired tobaccos.
Here are some notes from a book written in 1905 which can be found on Google Books.
Google Books - The Culture of Tobacco - By George M. Odlum B.S.- British South Africa Company - copyright 1905
I do have plans next year on growing a White Burley and probably Va359 which is a Virginia Dark Air Cured Tobacco. The plan right now is to grow these in 5 gallon buckets buried flush in the ground and I will ammend the sandy soil here with clay and silt to give the soil the approximate texture tailored for my desired tobaccos.
Here are some notes from a book written in 1905 which can be found on Google Books.
Google Books - The Culture of Tobacco - By George M. Odlum B.S.- British South Africa Company - copyright 1905
(taken from pages 2-4)
TOBACCO SOILS.
The tobacco plant readily adapts itself to a great variety of soils. It can, in fact, be produced on any soil where other agricultural crops will thrive ; and yet there is no other plant eo easily affected by the chemical and mechanical conditions of the soil, for, while the tobacco plant will adapt itself to diverse conditions of soil and of climate, still each distinct type requires certain conditions to give to it those qualities of colour, texture, and aroma for which it is prized.
The relation of the physical condition of the soil to the texture and quality of the leaf has been so well established that soil experts are now able to go into a non-tobacco producing section of the country, and, by a mechanical analysis of the soil and a determination of its moisture-holding capacity, state very nearly the adaptability of the section to any particular class or type of tobacco. The chemical condition of the soil has largely to do with the burning qualities of the leaf as well as with the rapidity of growth of the developing plant.
The colour of a soil is largely indicative of its mechanical and, to some extent, its chemical condition. Light coloured soils generally produce bright coloured tobaccos, and dark soils dark coloured tobaccos. Soils containing a large proportion of clay, or which have a large moisture-holding capacity, produce heavy tobacco which cures to a dark brown or red ; while soils consisting largely of sand produce tobacco that cures out a yellow or bright colour! Often the clay subsoil will be-exposed in some portion of a yellow field, and on this exposed portion the tobacco produced will be of a darker colour. Very rich soils that will produce a large leaf will usually produce a tobacco of poor quality.
An attempt to produce a tobacco on a soil not suited to the type of tobacco planted will, in most cases, meet with failure, for the tobacco produced is unfit to place in the same class as the parent plant, and at the same time it is not likely to grade with any other established type, and as a result is unclassed, and sells as nondescript. It is only the exceptional case where a new type is thus established worthy to create a market on its own merits. Seed of the dark export varieties of tobaccos, if planted on the light soils adapted to the yellow tobaccos, will not be bright enough to class with those tobaccos, nor dark enough to class with the exports, and furthermore, the yield will not be as heavy as it would be if the varieties had been planted on their own heavy soil.
The White Burley tobacco of Kentucky is grown on a welldrained deep red soil, the surface of which is of a light loamy character, and not likely to clod when properly worked. These lands are fairly rich in lime, and produce almost ideal crops of maize, wheat, hemp and grass. The subsoil contains about 30 per cent, of clay, and has a moisture content of about 20 per cent.
The Bright tobacco lands of Virginia and North and South Carolina consist of sand of varying density. This soil contains not more than 8 to 10 per cent, of clay, and is usually underlaid with a red or yellow clay subsoil, at a depth of about a foot. The deeper the sand, the brighter the tobacco produced, and the nearer the surface that the subsoil comes, the more inclined the tobacco is to darken and be mahogany in colour, until where the subsoil is completely exposed, the tobacco produced is altogether dark. However, where the sand is very deep, there is not the same surety of a sufficient supply of moisture during the growing season, and for this reason it is preferred that the subsoil be within 18 inches of the surface.
The heavy dark export types of tobacco produced in Tennessee and Kentucky are grown on a rich well-drained soi1, containing about 50 percent of silt, 23 percent of clay and have an average moisture content of 15 per cent. These lands are underlaid with a red clay subsoil, and are fair1y well supplied with lime. They produce heavy crops, but deteriorate rapidly, unless the land is kept up to its original condition, by the addition of fertilizers or by methods of cultivation.
The cigar leaf lands of Connecticut consist of light, alluvial, sandy soils containing a small percentage of clay, and, as a rule, the less the percentage of clay the greater the percentage of fine cigar wrappers. A few years ago, when a darker coloured cigar was the fashion, this class of land was not used, but a much heavier soil, with a moisture-holding average of from 25 to 27 per cent., was cultivated, whereas the soil now used for the production of light wrappers has a moisture content of but 7 per cent. Where cigar filler leaf is grown, and the colour, texture, and elasticity are not points so important as with the wrappers, a rich clay is used, and a very heavy crop of leaf secured. The Sumatra seed tobacco is produced in this section on the lighter soils.
In the cigar leaf section of Ohio no attempt is made to produce anything but a filler tobacco. The soil that produces the highest quality of leaf is a thin silty soil resting on a red clay or a silty subsoil. The tobacco lands of this section contain, on an average, 25 per cent, of moisture, which would be too much for the production of a wrapper leaf. In this region any attempt to grow tobacco on the rich black lands results in a coarse, heavy, badly flavoured leaf.
In Pennsylvania there are two types of tobacco soils, the light alluvial soils similar to those in Connecticut, on which a fair wrapper leaf is grown, aDd the heavy clay limestone, on which heavy crops of cigar filler are produced. The latter soil contains an average of 30 per cent, of clay and 20 per cent, of moisture.
The Wisconsin leaf is grown on a well-drained dark rich loam, underlaid by a heavy silt or clay. This leaf is chiefly used as cigar binders.
The cigar leaf soil of Western Florida is a light sand loam underlaid by a red clay subsoil, and closely resembles the yellow tobacco lands. This soil very successfully produces both the Cuban and the Sumatra tobacco. Sumatra tobacco is grown for the production of high-grade wrappers, and these soils contain from 8 to 10 per cent, of moisture, an amount very similar to that in good wrapper-producing soil elsewhere. Both the Cuban and the Sumatra tobaccos are also being grown further south in Florida on a somewhat coarser sand, which contains about the same percentage of moisture.
Perique tobacco is grown in Louisiana on a deep, gray, fertile loam. This soil is well drained, friable, and retentive of a medium percentage of moisture. It not only forces a rapid growth of the plant, but helps to give to it that gumminess necessary to develop the characteristic Perique aroma.
It will be noticed that the texture of the tobacco grown, and the purpose for which it is adapted, is dependent on the moistureholding average of the soil. A soil with a moisture content of over 12 per cent, is not adapted to the production of wrappers. However, the texture of the soil does not account for differences in combustibility and in aroma; for these we must look for differences in the chemical constituents of the soil, and variations in climate.
TOBACCO SOILS.
The tobacco plant readily adapts itself to a great variety of soils. It can, in fact, be produced on any soil where other agricultural crops will thrive ; and yet there is no other plant eo easily affected by the chemical and mechanical conditions of the soil, for, while the tobacco plant will adapt itself to diverse conditions of soil and of climate, still each distinct type requires certain conditions to give to it those qualities of colour, texture, and aroma for which it is prized.
The relation of the physical condition of the soil to the texture and quality of the leaf has been so well established that soil experts are now able to go into a non-tobacco producing section of the country, and, by a mechanical analysis of the soil and a determination of its moisture-holding capacity, state very nearly the adaptability of the section to any particular class or type of tobacco. The chemical condition of the soil has largely to do with the burning qualities of the leaf as well as with the rapidity of growth of the developing plant.
The colour of a soil is largely indicative of its mechanical and, to some extent, its chemical condition. Light coloured soils generally produce bright coloured tobaccos, and dark soils dark coloured tobaccos. Soils containing a large proportion of clay, or which have a large moisture-holding capacity, produce heavy tobacco which cures to a dark brown or red ; while soils consisting largely of sand produce tobacco that cures out a yellow or bright colour! Often the clay subsoil will be-exposed in some portion of a yellow field, and on this exposed portion the tobacco produced will be of a darker colour. Very rich soils that will produce a large leaf will usually produce a tobacco of poor quality.
An attempt to produce a tobacco on a soil not suited to the type of tobacco planted will, in most cases, meet with failure, for the tobacco produced is unfit to place in the same class as the parent plant, and at the same time it is not likely to grade with any other established type, and as a result is unclassed, and sells as nondescript. It is only the exceptional case where a new type is thus established worthy to create a market on its own merits. Seed of the dark export varieties of tobaccos, if planted on the light soils adapted to the yellow tobaccos, will not be bright enough to class with those tobaccos, nor dark enough to class with the exports, and furthermore, the yield will not be as heavy as it would be if the varieties had been planted on their own heavy soil.
The White Burley tobacco of Kentucky is grown on a welldrained deep red soil, the surface of which is of a light loamy character, and not likely to clod when properly worked. These lands are fairly rich in lime, and produce almost ideal crops of maize, wheat, hemp and grass. The subsoil contains about 30 per cent, of clay, and has a moisture content of about 20 per cent.
The Bright tobacco lands of Virginia and North and South Carolina consist of sand of varying density. This soil contains not more than 8 to 10 per cent, of clay, and is usually underlaid with a red or yellow clay subsoil, at a depth of about a foot. The deeper the sand, the brighter the tobacco produced, and the nearer the surface that the subsoil comes, the more inclined the tobacco is to darken and be mahogany in colour, until where the subsoil is completely exposed, the tobacco produced is altogether dark. However, where the sand is very deep, there is not the same surety of a sufficient supply of moisture during the growing season, and for this reason it is preferred that the subsoil be within 18 inches of the surface.
The heavy dark export types of tobacco produced in Tennessee and Kentucky are grown on a rich well-drained soi1, containing about 50 percent of silt, 23 percent of clay and have an average moisture content of 15 per cent. These lands are underlaid with a red clay subsoil, and are fair1y well supplied with lime. They produce heavy crops, but deteriorate rapidly, unless the land is kept up to its original condition, by the addition of fertilizers or by methods of cultivation.
The cigar leaf lands of Connecticut consist of light, alluvial, sandy soils containing a small percentage of clay, and, as a rule, the less the percentage of clay the greater the percentage of fine cigar wrappers. A few years ago, when a darker coloured cigar was the fashion, this class of land was not used, but a much heavier soil, with a moisture-holding average of from 25 to 27 per cent., was cultivated, whereas the soil now used for the production of light wrappers has a moisture content of but 7 per cent. Where cigar filler leaf is grown, and the colour, texture, and elasticity are not points so important as with the wrappers, a rich clay is used, and a very heavy crop of leaf secured. The Sumatra seed tobacco is produced in this section on the lighter soils.
In the cigar leaf section of Ohio no attempt is made to produce anything but a filler tobacco. The soil that produces the highest quality of leaf is a thin silty soil resting on a red clay or a silty subsoil. The tobacco lands of this section contain, on an average, 25 per cent, of moisture, which would be too much for the production of a wrapper leaf. In this region any attempt to grow tobacco on the rich black lands results in a coarse, heavy, badly flavoured leaf.
In Pennsylvania there are two types of tobacco soils, the light alluvial soils similar to those in Connecticut, on which a fair wrapper leaf is grown, aDd the heavy clay limestone, on which heavy crops of cigar filler are produced. The latter soil contains an average of 30 per cent, of clay and 20 per cent, of moisture.
The Wisconsin leaf is grown on a well-drained dark rich loam, underlaid by a heavy silt or clay. This leaf is chiefly used as cigar binders.
The cigar leaf soil of Western Florida is a light sand loam underlaid by a red clay subsoil, and closely resembles the yellow tobacco lands. This soil very successfully produces both the Cuban and the Sumatra tobacco. Sumatra tobacco is grown for the production of high-grade wrappers, and these soils contain from 8 to 10 per cent, of moisture, an amount very similar to that in good wrapper-producing soil elsewhere. Both the Cuban and the Sumatra tobaccos are also being grown further south in Florida on a somewhat coarser sand, which contains about the same percentage of moisture.
Perique tobacco is grown in Louisiana on a deep, gray, fertile loam. This soil is well drained, friable, and retentive of a medium percentage of moisture. It not only forces a rapid growth of the plant, but helps to give to it that gumminess necessary to develop the characteristic Perique aroma.
It will be noticed that the texture of the tobacco grown, and the purpose for which it is adapted, is dependent on the moistureholding average of the soil. A soil with a moisture content of over 12 per cent, is not adapted to the production of wrappers. However, the texture of the soil does not account for differences in combustibility and in aroma; for these we must look for differences in the chemical constituents of the soil, and variations in climate.
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