StoneCarver
Active Member
This last year I grew some tobacco for the first time: Hopi N. rustica. I have some Native American ancestry and am somewhat involved in local native culture. So, I wanted to grow a ceremonial variety. Its not much more complicated than that. I have a lot of experience gardening and used to be a foreman of a landscaping crew and worked in a nursery. So, the growing part was the easy part. What I'm most interested in learning about is curing and ageing tobacco. That part fascinates me. I used to work in a mom-n-pop tobacco store: Briar and Bean. That's where I started learning about tobaccos and cigars. We sold tobacco products and coffees hence the name. Smoking a cigar and drinking a cup of fine coffee was delicious. BTW: the store owners were members of the Tobacconist Association of America. I got to try a lot of different cigars there as cigar reps were constantly giving us samples to try. The owners didn't smoke. So, someone had to: me. My absolute favorite were Juan Clemente. Sadly, they are no longer made after Sr. Clemente died.
I chose the username StoneCarver because I've carved a few pipes from stone, mostly soapstone and catlinite. I've carved them in traditional native fashion with a long wooden stem. Now that I have some ceremonial tobacco, I understand now why the people carved the pipes the way they did. They don't suit tobaccos for smoking in briar pipes but they do suit N. rustica very well. It makes sense to me now.
I've been lurking here at FTT for some time to learn about ageing and curing tobacco. I'm in the process of building a kiln. I had a lot of foam insulation I ripped out of my basement when I bought my house. Its been sitting out in my woodshed for over a decade getting chewed up by animals. I'm happy to finally have a use for all that foam. Now, I have more room in my woodshed for more firewood. And the animals can no longer be making a mess in there from chewing up the foam. I may also try my hand at rolling some cigars but one thing at a time. I already have a lot of irons in the fire.
I also have a lot of experience growing cacti. If you think sprouting tobacco seeds poses a challenge, cacti will make it seem easy.
Next year, I plan on growing some N. tobacum varieties. One I definitely want to try is Vuelta Abajo. I'm building a new garden bed to give me more room for tobacco and to keep it separated from the potatoes and tomatoes. I kinda got tired of the animals eating my veggie plants. So, that was another reason why I wanted to grow some tobacco. I dare the deer and woodchucks eat these.
Lets see, another thing about me: I have a collection of airguns and enjoy target shooting with them. They are .177, .22, .25 and a .30 cal. The larger caliber ones are powerful enough to take out small game. Yes, one year I did get a problematic woodchuck. One single shot to the head and down it went without ruining any of the meat. It sure made for some good eating. I like airguns because they are much quieter to shoot than powder burners and I never have to worry about the occasional nationwide ammo shortages. Plus, I never have to clean powder residue from the barrel when I'm done shooting. I can just put the gun up.
Finally, I really appreciate that there is a forum here for astronomy. I'm a member of our local astronomical society: Forsyth Astronomical Society. We have a webpage: fas37.org
Okay okay, I should admit I play traditional Appalachian fiddle. My family is famous in the old time folk music scene because of a certain relative of mine: Jean Ritchie.
I chose the username StoneCarver because I've carved a few pipes from stone, mostly soapstone and catlinite. I've carved them in traditional native fashion with a long wooden stem. Now that I have some ceremonial tobacco, I understand now why the people carved the pipes the way they did. They don't suit tobaccos for smoking in briar pipes but they do suit N. rustica very well. It makes sense to me now.
I've been lurking here at FTT for some time to learn about ageing and curing tobacco. I'm in the process of building a kiln. I had a lot of foam insulation I ripped out of my basement when I bought my house. Its been sitting out in my woodshed for over a decade getting chewed up by animals. I'm happy to finally have a use for all that foam. Now, I have more room in my woodshed for more firewood. And the animals can no longer be making a mess in there from chewing up the foam. I may also try my hand at rolling some cigars but one thing at a time. I already have a lot of irons in the fire.
I also have a lot of experience growing cacti. If you think sprouting tobacco seeds poses a challenge, cacti will make it seem easy.
Next year, I plan on growing some N. tobacum varieties. One I definitely want to try is Vuelta Abajo. I'm building a new garden bed to give me more room for tobacco and to keep it separated from the potatoes and tomatoes. I kinda got tired of the animals eating my veggie plants. So, that was another reason why I wanted to grow some tobacco. I dare the deer and woodchucks eat these.
Lets see, another thing about me: I have a collection of airguns and enjoy target shooting with them. They are .177, .22, .25 and a .30 cal. The larger caliber ones are powerful enough to take out small game. Yes, one year I did get a problematic woodchuck. One single shot to the head and down it went without ruining any of the meat. It sure made for some good eating. I like airguns because they are much quieter to shoot than powder burners and I never have to worry about the occasional nationwide ammo shortages. Plus, I never have to clean powder residue from the barrel when I'm done shooting. I can just put the gun up.
Finally, I really appreciate that there is a forum here for astronomy. I'm a member of our local astronomical society: Forsyth Astronomical Society. We have a webpage: fas37.org
Okay okay, I should admit I play traditional Appalachian fiddle. My family is famous in the old time folk music scene because of a certain relative of mine: Jean Ritchie.
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