Can You Grow Your Own Tobacco In Canada
To answer this question in case you're simply curious or willing to start tobacco plantation, we have to find the answer based on the law and regulation set by Canadian government. The regulations state that it's illegal to plant, produce and manufacture tobacco without license. In other words, one can legally grow tobacco plants and harvest the seeds and leaves once he obtained license granted by Canadian government. Basically, this regulation is similar to regulation applied in certain other countries like Australia. With this regulation, the chance for growing tobacco is actually wide open as long as there is a license.
Regulation of Tobacco in Canada
Section 25 of Tobacco Regulation
According to part 3 of section 25, government allows a person who doesn’t have tobacco license to manufacture cigars or tobacco for personal use only from packaged raw tobacco leaves or manufactured tobacco leaves in which there is no duty left to pay. Or, from the raw tobacco leaves grown on the land in which the person resides and lives. However, the manufactured cigars or tobacco should be for personal use of the family members residing in the same place with the individual and all of them have to be 18 years old or older. The regulation also states that the allowable amount of manufactured cigars or tobacco shouldn't exceed 15 kg for each individual.
From this regulation, it's clear that anyone can actually grow tobacco in Canada as long as the amount doesn’t exceed 15 kg. This regulation is certainly different to regulation applied in Australia. In Australia, a person should obtain tobacco license for growing even only one tobacco plant. And if the person doesn’t follow the regulation, he will be facing penalty of at least $85.000 and 2 years of imprisonment. So, growing tobacco in Canada is definitely much easier than in Australia. Therefore, it's no wonder that finding tobacco plant in Canada can be quite easy.
According to regulation on Section 25 part 1, Canadian government through Minister may issue license for individuals who import tobacco products but the duty of the imported products should be paid by the individuals. However, the amount of imported products can be limited by the Minister under certain circumstances. For instance, the individuals cannot provide satisfactory security in a form to the Minister thus the amount of imported products should be limited. Or, it's due to the supply of exercise stamps. This regulation has also clearly stated regarding the stamps. Only the minister has the authority to issue the stamps to packed tobacco product. There is no other department or government officials can issue the stamps including individuals.
Meanwhile, under certain circumstance, the Minister also has the authority to cancel the stamp that already has been issued. Or, the Minister can also return or destroy the stamp in specified manner as requested by the Minister. When it comes to selling tobacco, the individual should have the license issued by the Minister before he can start doing tobacco dealer related activities. If the individual doesn’t have the license yet, he is considered doing illegal practice and will be facing imprisonment and penalty.
How To Grow Tobacco in Canada
Now that you have been informed with the regulations applied in Canada in terms of growing tobacco by individuals, you should be informed with the step by step guide to grow a tobacco plant. Similar to planting any other plants, there are some specific steps in planting tobacco that everyone should be aware of.
Locating the nursery
First of all, you have to locate the nursery or the person who provides tobacco seed to be planted into tobacco plants. There are some nurseries in Canada that you can locate and buy the seeds from them. If you have many experiences in growing plants, you can make your own nursery and grow the plants from the seeds. But you should pay extra effort when growing your own seeds because the seeds have microscopic size and are considered difficult to successfully germinate. So, if you're a beginner, consider buying starter plants instead.
Starter Plants
Now that you have the starter plants, put them in cups with good fertile soil. Then, leave them right under the sun for at least one week. As for the watering, you need to do it daily to make sure the soil stays moist.
Garden Tilling
The next thing is tilling your garden to make sure your garden organized and can be used to grow ideal number of tobacco plants
Growing Tobacco in Rows
Should you have done with the tilling and preparing the garden, continue by removing the already growing starter plants from the cup to the garden. Plant them in rows. Each row should be at least three feet apart from another row.
Natural Fertilizers
It's important to make sure the plants stay nourished. In this case, you can use fertilizer especially natural fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer. Make sure to observe the growth of the plants to see whether they are doing well.
Cut Flowers
When you notice the flowers start to develop on plant’s top, you have to cut them off. Remember that the flower is the place of the seeds production and it actually stunt the growth of the plants. Therefore, it's important to cut the flowers. When the plants have reached 4 months, they are considered mature.
Cut the Plants Down
After you have cut all the flowers, you need to leave them under the sun for several days. But you can also wash them first before leaving in the sun. You can store the dried flowers once they have turned into golden brown.
Pull Leaves Selectively
Now is your time to pull the leaves from the stem. You should be really selective because you only want to get the best leaves for making the best tobacco. In this case, you want to pull the top leaves instead of the lower leaves because they are sweeter. But if you don't want to discard the leaves, pull all the leaves instead.
Process Leaves in Processor
With the leaves ready, continue by using the food processor to run them through. This way, you can get the leaves being flaked and are ready to be produced to make cigars and tobacco.
Store Tobacco
The flaked tobacco leaves can last long even up to years. So, what you can do is to store the tobacco in tight containers. Every time you feel like smoking your homemade cigars, open the container and get the tobacco.
Indoor Tobacco Plantation
There is another thing you have to know when it comes to growing tobacco. This plant requires the right temperature. Too cold temperature is not ideal because this plant is actually a tropical plant growing in high altitude. Therefore, you may want to mimic the natural environment so the plants can optimally grow. In this case, you may consider growing the tobacco indoor. You heard it right, indoor tobacco garden or small plantation sounds like a great idea if you really want to produce high quality tobacco leaves and seeds for the best cigars.
When it comes to growing tobacco indoors, there are some essential things you need to learn. For instance, you should choose no less than 2 gallons in size of planting post. This is an ideal size to prevent the roots from crowding into soil underneath. Plenty of light and heat is extremely important for tobacco plants so they can grow fully mature. When you choose to grow the plants indoor, you can mimic the ideal condition where it's warm and sunny. What you need is additional light or heat. And, it's important to make sure to plants stay healthy and nourished by adding in fertilizer that is rich in potash and nitrogen.
Tobacco Seeds Germination
Ideal germination for tobacco seeds is around 5 to 7 days. Since the leaves of tobacco plants are quite big in size, you need to plant the each no less than 6 inches apart. But if you want to get smaller size of plants, you may consider searching for hybrid tobacco plants seeds to be planted in your backyard.
When you notice that the leaves and roots of the plant start to grow, you should remove both offshoots and smaller leaves. This treatment is necessary to increase major plant’s portion growth. You'll love the look of this plant once growing because it has beautiful colorful flowers of red, purple and yellow.
Treatment for Indoor Tobacco Plants
If you have made decision to grow the tobacco plants indoor, you should be aware of the necessary treatments. Special treatments that the plants require include heat and light profusion, frequent watering, room for growth and rich soil. When you have started planting the plants indoor, you'll realize that you have come to the right answer to high tobacco production cost because indoor plantation saves more of your money thanks to less treatment and maintenance. As exotic plants, you'll be amazed of how pretty your indoor garden will be with the existence of tobacco plants inside.
In case you care about the size of the plants and are looking for something smaller, you can actually create miniature tobacco plant by yourself. The plant’s size is often the main concern of those having indoor garden. In order to do this, you have to train the plants to simply grow smaller. Basically, what you should do is similar to the bonsai trees. For a start, you should remove less than 1/3 of tobacco root system in each plant. You can do this during the replanting or roots separating. Don't worry about cutting the roots because the tobacco’s roots are considered sturdy to withstand even the minimal cuttings. Then, place the plants in new pot once you have cut the root system. However, the planting pot should have soil with the same amount of nutrient value as the soil in previous cup to make sure the plants won't go into shock mode. Shock mode leads the plants to turn dry, yellow and their leaves begin to fall off.
Once you have the tobacco plants start growing in your garden, you'll be amazed with how fresh the aroma is. Coupled with large lush leaves and beautiful flowers, the plants do give nice change on your garden. This way, you have garden to adore every day. With this indoor growing method available, it'll be much easier to grow tobacco in Canada including in certain areas of Canada with harsher or colder temperature. And in a few months, you'll have your own tobacco leaves to harvest and produce into your personal style cigars.
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