Ok, so I should grow my wrapper in the shade... but what kind should I grow in the sh

[Bix]

What are the best varieties to grow in the shade for wrappers?

 

[deluxestogie]

Any tobacco grown in shade will produce thinner, milder and larger leaves. The plants also grow taller (unless the shade is from nearby trees, which suck the water and nutrients out of the soil as far out as the tips of their branches). The leaf of shade grown plants tends to be more fragile.

CT Shade plants (under shade) grow to 8+ feet, and are unable to support themselves. These require a scaffold and a support wire for each stalk. The scaffold is also used to support the 40% shade cloth, which must cover the top and all four sides of the growing area. Ditto for Dixie Shade.

For a first time grow, I would just go with sun-grown wrapper (which is all I grow). If it's mild, blond wrappers that you want, then sun-grown / air-cured Kelly Burley kilns to lovely, huge, thin, stretchy, slightly nutty-flavored wrappers. The lower leaves of any wrapper variety will kiln to lighter leaf than the higher leaves, with the tips producing very dark wrapper.

Bob

 

[Bigdog]

I just got wondering. What would happen if you plant your rows east/west and do a second row close behind a few weeks after the first so the first plant gives shade to the second plants?

 

[indianjoe]

I planted corn in rows a couple of years ago and left space for some tobacco plants inside the skipped rows to create a shade. It worked ok, with some difficulties. The corn has to grow quick to provide that shade and round here, that means the tobacco will be planted later than I usually do, for priming in July and August to get my summer sweat. The type of corn plant needs to be a field variety to get and gain the height needed to create the shading.
So to answer your question, no that would not work out for me to use just tobacco plants, due to priming.

 

[Knucklehead]

Shade grown typically means the plants are grown in full sun under 40% shade cloth. I tried growing wrapper varieties under the shade of trees last year and ended up with the whole patch going to waste. It's hard to duplicate the shade cloth by guessing at how much shade/sun a shaded area will provide. If I ever do it again, I'll try to emulate the professionals, they've been doing it for a hundred years.

 

[Ben Brand]

Planted my wrapper under trees and netting, if the tree decided to break again, more like a safety net. Not to happy with the progress, think to much shade, stalks very thin, but will get some wrappers. The 2 varieties that`s performing hte best is Pen Broadleaf and Black stalk Mammoth. The others Pen Red and Con Broadleaf not doing so well. I will move my wrapper production to full sun and 40% shade net.



My wrappers at 9 weeks