Grow Your Own Fronto / Grabba Tobacco From Seed
Fronto / Grabba Tobacco seeds require a warm temperature to germinate. 75-80 degrees is ideal. Before planting outside, you should start the seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your last frost date. Lightly sprinkle the seeds on the surface of a seed starting mix soil (one that is finely textured) and lightly water. DO NOT cover the seeds with soil, because they need the light to germinate. Seeds will usually begin to germinate within 7-10 days, but some varieties can take up to 2 weeks. Keep the soil moist and water from the bottom, as to not uproot the fragile seedlings.
Tobacco plants are self-pollinating, which means they have the ability to fertilize their own flowers. Please keep this in mind when purchasing different varieties. Do not plant them close to one another. Technically, you want around 1 mile of space between each variety that is planted. This isn’t always possible for the home gardener, so keep the seedlings about 3 feet apart.
Tobacco seeds have the ability to germinate and grow in just about any state. If you have the ability to grow a vegetable garden, then you have the ability to grow a tobacco plant. Tobacco seeds are surprisingly durable and will do well in any area!
Fronto / Grabba Tobacco Seeds
This variety originated in Kentucky. It has relatively large leaves of medium body that cures out a deep, rich brown color. Can be fire cured or air cured depending on application.
Medium, smooth leaf that cures to a dark brown. Can be used as a chew, binder, filler or wrapper or even in cigarette/pipe blends. It grows 5' to 6' tall with blooming occurring at 55-65 days. It produces 16-18 harvestable leaves averaging 14"-16" wide and 24" long which ripen 2-3 weeks after booming begins. Can be fire cured or air cured depending on application.
A fast growing, high yielding tobacco with large leaves that cure to a deep red color, excellent cigarette and pipe blend, but suitable for other applications as well.
The Connecticut Valley is a major source of some of the world's finest wrapper leaves. This golden colored wrapper tobacco is highly regarded and praised by many cigar makers and connoisseurs. Connecticut Shade originated from a strain of Cuban seed, is shade-grown under huge tents of cheesecloth or greenhouse shade netting to protect the delicate leaf.
Besides shade leaf, Connecticut offers wonderful dark cigar leaves as well. CT broadleaf makes for wonderful wrapper, binder, and filler, and produces a soft chocolatey brown leaf after curing.
Native to East Java, Indonesia, Besuki (or Bezuki) tobacco is revered in a class of its own in the premium cigar market. This mild yet flavorful cigar tobacco produces both wrapper and filler, and is used in many premium cigar blends. This plant matures in about 65 days.