Cigar Tobacco Growing
The following process is specifically for Havana cigars, but the process is broadly speaking similar elsewhere.
Cigars are a natural product, often compared to wine, and the quality of a cigar is directly related to the type and quality of leaves used in its construction, just as the quality of wine depends on the type and quality of grapes used.
Tobacco seedbeds have to be in flat fields, so that the seeds aren't washed away. After being planted, the seeds are covered with colth or straw to shade them from the sun. This covering is gradually removed as they begun to germinate, and after around 35 days they are transplanted--usually in the second half of October--into the tobacco fields proper. The leaves are watered both by rain and the morning dew, and irrigated from below.
The tobacco plant is considered in three parts: the top or corona, the middle and the bottom. As the leaves develop, buds appear. These have to be removed by hand to prevent them from stunting leaf and plant growth. The quality of wrapper leaf is crucial in any cigar. Plants called Corojos, specifically designated to provide wrapper leaves for the very best cigars, are always grown under guaze sheets held up by tall wooden poles. They prevent the leaves from becomming too thick in a protective response to sunlight. The technique, called tapado (covering), also helps them to remain smooth.
When harvesting time arrives, leaves are removed by hand, using a single movement. Those selected as wrappers are put in bundles of five, a manojo, or hand. The leaves are picked in six phases: libra de pie (at the base), uno y medio (one-and-a-half), centro ligero (light cente), centro fino (thin center), centro gordo (thich center) and corona (crown). The libra de pie section isn't used for the wrappers. A week passes between each phase. The finest leaves found in the middle of the plant; the top leaves (corona) are usually to oily to be used as binder leaves. The whole cycle, from transplanted seedlings to the end of harvesting takes some 120 days, with each plant being visite an average of 170 times--making it a very labor-intensive process.
Wrapper leaves grown under cover are classified by color as ligero (light), sec0 (dry), viso (glossy), amarillo (yellow), medio tiempo (half texture), and quebrado (broken), while those grown under the sun are divided into volado, seco, ligero and medio tiempo. The ligero leaves from the topof the plant have a very strong flavor, the seco from the middle are much lighter, and the volado leaves from the bottom are used to add bulk and for their burning qualities. The art of making a good cigar is to blend these, along with a suitable wrapper leaf, in such proportions as to give the eventual cigar a mild, medium, or full flavor, and to ensure that it burns well, The leaves are also classified by size (lagre, average, small) and by physical condition (unhealthy or broken leaves are used for cigarettes or machine-made cigars). If all the leaves are good, each wrapper plant can wrap 32 cigars. The condition and quality of the wrapper leaf is crucial to the attractive appearance of a cigar, as well as its aroma.
The bundles of leaves are then taken to a tobacco barn on the vega, or plantation, to be cured. The barn faces west so that the sun heats one end in the morning, and the other in the late afternoon. The temperature in the barns is carefully controlled, if neccessary by opening and closing the doors at both ends (usually kept shut) to tkae account of changes of temperature or rainfall.
Once the leaves reach the barn, they are strung up on poles, or cujes, using needlte and thread. The poles, each holding around 100 leaves, are hoisted up horizontally and the leaves left to dry for between 45 and 60 days, depending on the weather. During this time, the green chlorophyll in the leaves turns to brown carotene, giving them their characteristic color. The poles are then taken down, the threads cut, and the leaves stacked into bundles according to type.
The bundles are then taken to the fermentation houses and placed in piles about three feet high, covered with jute. Enough moisture remains in the leaves to spark the first fermentation, a process like composting. Heat develops, but the temperature must be watched carefully so that it does not exceed 92 F during the 35 to 40 days that the piles are left intact. The leaves assume a uniform color.
The piles are then broken up and the leaves cooled. The next stop in their journey is at the escogida, or sorting house, where they will be graded according to color, size, and texture and where the fillers will have part of their stems stripped out. In preparation for handling, they are moistened either under a spray of pure water for wrappers or a mixture of water and the juices from tobacco stems for fillers.
Flattened onto boards (planchas), the leaves return to the fermentation area. In dark rooms, they are built into stacks called burros up to 6 feet high. The second, more poewerful fermentation begins within the damp leaves. A perforated wooden casing has been buried in the burro, into which a sword-like thermometer is thrust. The temperature inside must not exceed 110 F for around 60 days, longer for some leaf types, shorter for others. If it does, the bulk is broken down and the leaves cooled before it is rebuilt. (Because of the fermentaqtion process, cigar tobacco is much lower in acidity, tar and nicotine than cigarette tobacco, making it much more palatable).
It is now time for the leaves to be sent to the factories or warehouses in tercios,square bales wrapped with palm bark, which helps to keep the tobacco at a constant humidity, and slowly mature until it is needed--sometimes for as long as four years.
Most tobacco plants should be grown them in partial shade for best results. Commercial shade-grown plants are actually grown in full bright sun, but under "cheesecloth" screens to diffuse the light. This produces more consistent leaf quality, top to bottom.
Soil should be rich and drain well. (Ph of about 6.7). Fertilize soon after germination to encourage root growth, and very frequently as the plant grows. Lower leaves may be picked to cure when they reach suitable size (Fuente claims 5 X 14" for a good leaf). Curing (for cigar tobacco) should be done for 6 to 18 months in a relatively controlled, humid climate (Uh, perhaps your local tobacconist would allow you to hang them from the ceiling in the back of his walk-in humidor - away from the lights?) Use large, paper bags if necessary to slow drying and keep light out. The trick to curing is to not let the leaves ever dry out.
Your plants will mature in 12-15 weeks (depending on climate) Nipping off the buds of any flowers that form will extend the life of the plants and allow multiple harvests from the same plant.
The US federal government recognizes various "types" of tobacco for regulatory purposes. One of these types is burley tobacco, which is primarily grown in Kentucky, Tennessee, and adjoining states. Burley is the form of tobacco that I grew up with, and have fond memories of. The burley tobacco season begins in late February, when the soil is prepared for the seed beds, which are planted in early March. Because the average temperature in Kentucky in early March is too cold for the seeds to germinate and grow, the seeds are sown broadcast in large rectangular beds, which are then covered by a thin protective cloth covering to create a greenhouse effect, holding the warmth from the sun in, and warming the soil.
Traditionally the form of cloth used was a very thin gauzelike cotton; today, synthetic types of cloth which are lighter and stronger than natural cotton are used. A sheet of this cloth in the size and shape to cover one tobacco bed is still referred to as a "tobacco cotton," because of the old tradition.
After the plants grow to a height of about a foot or foot and a half (when the weather warms up, and as the plants grow, the covering is removed), they are transplanted from the small seedbeds into the large tobacco fields, or patches. This process is known as "setting" the tobacco, and commercial transplanters pulled by tractors used in other regions for transplanting tomato and other vegetable plants are universally known here as "tobacco setters."
Burley tobacco is sun grown tobacco as opposed to some of the shade grown cigar leaf tobaccos. After the plants grow to a height of three to four feet, and leaf out fully, the buds that form at the top of the plants are removed, so that all of the plant's energies will be focused into the leaves, rather than into producing blooms and seeds. This is called "topping" the tobacco.
Most tobacco is air cured; no artificial heat from fires or gas heaters is applied. The leaves of burley tobacco are air dried for six to eight weeks in the barns - some cigar tobaccos are dried and cured for up to 10 years! And let me add from personal experience that there is no smell in the world more heavenly than that of a barn full of tobacco slowly curing.
Baling tobacco is a new phenomenon; traditionally the leaves were tied together in "hands;" the baling makes large quantities of tobacco easier to handle and process, but in my opinion tends to reduce the quality of it, because individual leaves cannot be seen or inspected, and removes much of the farmers' incentive to grow good quality tobacco.
The tobacco is sold in large warehouses by auction, though the prices tend to vary little from farmer to farmer in any particular year. The only role of the governmental association in the actual sale of the tobacco [other than regulating the amount which may be sold] is to purchase, with the funds raised through the membership fees, all tobacco grown by its members within their quotas, which is not purchased by commercial entities, at a low price.
The soil's consistency, ignoring the nutrients it contains, determines the quality of the plant and whether it will even grow. Tobacco likes a loose, porous soil like sandy loam. It dislikes having wet feet as much as you or I, so heavy clays that hold water discourage its growth. The sand particles should be predominately fine or very fine; coarse sand doesn't hold water long enough to suit the plants, and harvests will be sparse. Limey soils will produce leaves like crazy, but they'll be tasteless.
Both the soil of the germinating beds where the seeds spend their first six weeks of life, and the permanent fields where they mature, require preparatory treatment. Burning leaves, brush and some light wood over these plots kills fungi spores and weed seeds; it also adds potash and potassium acid to the soil. This is touchy business . . . too hot a fire will damage the soil structure, which retards the seedlings' growth. American tobacco growers sometimes sterilize soil by laying large metal pans on the it and pumping steam through attached tubes, or by sprinkling a formaldehyde solution into the soil.
Now, the soil is ready for the seeds. They are so fine (250,000 per ounce) that planters usually mix them in with wood ash so they can see the trail of seed/ash as they lay it in the furrows. The seed is covered with a critically thin layer of dirt, only about 1/8" or so; otherwise, they can't make it through the cover.
Tobacco can be grown for several years on the same soil without depleting it. Overworked, nutrient-starved soil can be rejuvenated with stable manure. Cow doo-doo is a no no: it's loaded with weed seeds. Commercial fertilizer is beyond the economic grasp of most Caribbean growers,, so they rely primarily on composted vegetable matter. This is fine, as long as it isn't too fresh and moist; otherwise, fungi can develop. Also, fresh compost is usually dark, which causes another problem: it absorbs too much heat from the sun and cooks the seedlings.
Like us, tobacco is what it eats. An average acre yields
about 1,800 pounds of cured wrapper leaf. During its growth, it gobbles up about 67 pounds
of nitrogen, which must be available in large quantities during the growth period prior to
the ripening phaseFarmers avoid fish, blood, or slaughterhouse fertilizer because they
yield their nutrients too slowly. The nitrogen from fish or animals is still working as
the crop is reaching maturity, which causes the leaves to be undesirably dark and coarse.
One exception is dried fish, which gives up its nitrogen quickly, and which produces a
finer finished leaf at season's end. Cottonseed meal gives leaves more body and substance,
desirable traits in wrapper leaf, but only if the weather is not unseasonably cool or wet.
If these conditions prevail, the nitrogen once again powers plant growth too late . . .
when it should be ripening, not growing. This results in plenty of leaves . . . low
quality ones. Quality, not quantity, is the goal of the farmer.
Tobacco loves potash, which greatly influences leaf-burning properties favorably, and that acre of leaf will eat 138 pounds of it. But, like a kid eating too much ice cream and cotton candy at Disneyland, too much alkaline potash upsets its tummy. Unlike your kid, however, it doesn't barf on your car seat . . . it gets root rot. Changing to acid potash for a while cures the problem.
The tobacco will also nibble 16 pounds of phosphoric acid and 91 pounds of lime from that acre of dirt. Lime is necessary to provide the proper alkaline balance of the soil for growth of friendly bacteria. Too much, though, and the ash on your cigar will be soft and flake off. Resist the temptation to become an ash diagnostician, incidentally . . . too many factors affect the color and consistency of ash to make any definitive analysis.
Tobacco stems and midribs that have been stripped from the leaves at the factories, are often used as fertilizer. They release large quantities of the nutrients above, with the added advantage that the tobacco juice in them discourages insects, especially cutworms, which are tobacco's nemesis.
Almost all tropical, lowland soils contain chlorine. This tends to grow a dark, rich leaf that won't burn on its own. That's why your Caribbean cigar goes out unless you puff on it regularly. Puerto Rican leaf is the exception. Grown at higher altitudes in soil devoid of chlorine, it's mild, aromatic, and free-burning. Its high quality won it the nickname of "mild Havana." Mixed with other, slower-burning Caribbean tobaccos, it improves their burning evenness and lightens up their heavy taste. In the 1930's, as much as 30 megapounds of Puerto Rican tobacco was exported for cigars annually. Thanks to the US government artificially propping up its price with supports, it became non-competitive; today, it has virtually disappeared from the world market.
Tobacco production is one field of agriculture that
doesn't lend itself to chemical or laboratory analysis. The best soils and additives for
lush, tasty leaf are determined by art, not science. The opinion of one experienced
farmer, sifting the dirt through his fingers, are infinitely more profound than those of
all the USDA agronomists you can line up end to end. That's the beauty of tobacco...it's a
gift, a blessing, and a mystery from Providence