Narrowing down my Turkish seed choice - opinions?

[6BQ5]

I have decided to try growing some Turkish tobacco. As per a recommendation from @fimbrew in his post here I looked through the long list of available seeds on the Northwood Seeds website. From that very long list I picked out :

Balikesir - http://nwtseeds.com/balikesir.htm
Bursa - http://nwtseeds.com/Bursa.htm
Izmir - http://nwtseeds.com/izmir_lebanese.htm
Japan 8 - http://nwtseeds.com/Japan 8.htm
Prilep P66-9/7 - http://nwtseeds.com/Prilep.htm
Tasova - http://nwtseeds.skychasers.net/Tasova.htm
Vavilov - http://nwtseeds.com/Vavilov.htm
Sherazi - http://nwtseeds.com/Sherazi.htm

I will admit I picked those because they all mentioned sun curing in their description.

While it would be fun to order all of them and plant all of them I fully understand that would not be practical. I need to pick one or two.

Which one or two would you pick?

Thanks!

-=- Boris

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Don't grow Japan 8. It may be an oriental like every source says, but it doesn't taste like one. It's kinda neat and has a unique taste, but it isn't what you're looking for.

I really like Izmir. I like Prilep. I am indifferent to Bursa. I haven't tried the others.

 

[deluxestogie]

Prilep P66-9/7 would be (and is) my choice. Delicious, highly productive, can be spaced at 12" intervals, sun-cures well (even on the stalk), and even flue-cures to a lovely, sweet leaf.

Shirazi is an Iranian leaf type that is Oriental in name only, and tends to be harsher than most of the two dozen or so Oriental varieties I've grown.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I grew 17 or 18 oriental varieties in 2014 for seed grow outs and my favorites are still Izmir and Prilep. I smoke cigarettes with the occasional pipe blend. Those two are far and away the most popular. When just growing Orientals for myself, from now on it will be Izmir or Prilep.

 

[tullius]

Another vote for prilep. I don't grow tobacco yet, but prilep sure does taste great.

 

[fimbrew]

I have grown Bursa, Sherazi and Celikhan. Bursa and Sherazi grew ok but were inconsistent. They had an Oriental flavor but not that strong. The Celikhan Grew like an oriental and had that flavor I like but it was hard to cure. The leaves wouldn't ripen so it was hard to get them to color cure. I haven't grown prilep but the one Don has doesn't have a strong enough flavor for me. I hope the Red izmir cures easier (I have a kiln now) and it tastes like the Izmir I've had. I would grow them all again but I want to try different kinds. The Red Izmir isn't on the site but is supposed grow like Izmir obzas.

 

[Alpine]

Same here with Celikhan: it obstinately refused to ripen but tasted good once cured. Prilep is one of my favorite regarding taste and it’s easy to cure, be sure to try it.

pier

 

[MadFarmer]

Don't grow Japan 8. It may be an oriental like every source says, but it doesn't taste like one. It's kinda neat and has a unique taste, but it isn't what you're looking for.

I really like Izmir. I like Prilep. I am indifferent to Bursa. I haven't tried the others.

China,
Would you recommend Japan 8 for cigars?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

China,
Would you recommend Japan 8 for cigars?

Yeah. In small amounts or in cigarillos. I'm warning you though. It's strange. I wouldn't grow more than 10, unless you totally loved it.

 

[deluxestogie]

Çelikhan 2013

Flue-cured lowest priming:

Flue-cured top leaf:

Bob

 

[6BQ5]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

It looks like Prilep won here. I sent an email to Northwood (Northwest?) seed company asking if I can buy a packet of seeds from them.

-=- Boris

 

[Knucklehead]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

It looks like Prilep won here. I sent an email to Northwood (Northwest?) seed company asking if I can buy a packet of seeds from them.

-=- Boris

Good choice! Start a grow blog and keep us updated with plenty o‘ photos!