Tuesday, November 22 2011
(Brentwood, TN) - Ray French, product director of Floragem, one the of most successful plant propagation companies in the world, is author of the upcoming How to Grow Your Own Tobacco: From Seed to Smoke (Cool Springs Press, September 2011). French is a master grower – with a complete and pure understanding of the ancient practice of creating the perfect soil. His growing habits are uncompromised and of the classic form: plant on time, create good soil, water with precision, prepare the climate, and watch the sun. He knows exactly how to grow.
French’s horticultural interests are vast and mixed. In any given season, French’s travels may take him to Mexico on hunt for a rare tropical plant or the Netherlands for a summit with the world’s finest breeders. His quest for the rare and the beautiful gives him exclusive plant knowledge that precedes the market often by months or even years. In this country, he plays a role in shaping what we buy and what we grow in our own gardens.
So, tobacco. French’s interests were peaked. With a finely tuned knowledge of sustainable agriculture, he was eager to apply the same principles of good gardening to organic tobacco growth. He tackled the notoriously tricky processes of drying and curing with the same simple practices (manage water and know the climate) and transformed his own three acre lot, patio and office space into a home-grown tobacco facility.
How to Grow Your Own Tobacco is French’s diary of sorts - documenting the process from seedling to transfer to picking, drying and rolling. His delicate handling of minuscule seedlings - with spoon and toothpick – is almost parental; and his pointed watering advice climaxes with a do-it-right-or-die scenario. Drying and curing chapters are marked with advice only a true agriculturist could know with drying strategies that any home grower can duplicate. “You can make a tent with plastic sides that hang over a portable heater with a wet pair of jeans draped over top to control moisture,” says French. "This process doesn’t have to be complicated, but it needs your attention."
Deep in his element, French eliminated all pesticides from the typical process of home tobacco growth and relied, instead, on his trusted solution of liquid soap, minced garlic, dried lemongrass and a chopped jalapeno. His yield, a combination of six varieties, is enough to save a typical smoker a year’s worth of commercial cigarettes, not to mention the consumption of some of the world’s deadliest pesticides.
French is proud of his harvest, and admits the flavor is deeper and richer than any commercial cigarette. His Virginia Gold #1 performed the best in the soil of his Fairhope, AL, garden – but recommends and outlines a dozen varieties that any home grower can attempt. Even though tobacco typically requires several months and even up to a year to reach peak flavor, French liked the flavor of Virginia Gold #1 after six short weeks of drying. “Just grab a bundle from the rafters of your garage and cut it with a sharp knife,” he says.
How to Grow Your Own Tobacco is one of only a handful of resources available to those attempting a backyard tobacco crop. French brings his experience in large scale farming, botany, and a specialty in nursery crop production – to what is arguably a centuries old art form.
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About the Author
With a strong history of large scale farming dating generations, French graduated with a degree in Agriculture specializing in Nursery Crop Production and Botany from Auburn University. Upon graduation, French managed some of the largest commercial growers in the country. He is now a consultant for a large home improvement retailer and travels globally in search of new plants. In this role, French can claim credit as an integral part of bringing some of the most popular plants to market, such as the Knockout Rose, Encore Azaleas and SunPatiens.
