Tobacco Harvest Time Robertson County Tennessee

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Swede

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I thought the BoB's might enjoy seeing where some of their pipe tobacco might come from. I'm a little uncertain of what many blends call "dark fired", as they usually say it is burley. This tobacco in the pictures is dark fired as I've known and grown and seen grown for over 50 years. It is quite different than burley and the seeds are referred to as dark fired. After the tobacco is cut and spiked by hand onto tobacco sticks, it is hung on these scaffold wagons, taken to a barn and housed (hung in the barn) on tier poles. Later bundles of wood slabs cut from the outer parts of logs at sawmills are laid in rows under the tobacco. Then, these are covered with sawdust and one end lit on fire to smoulder until the tobacco is a dark oily almost black brown. Of course, it smells really smoky in a very unique way. Hope you enjoy! Swede
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I thought the BoB's might enjoy seeing where some of their pipe tobacco might come from. I'm a little uncertain of what many blends call "dark fired", as they usually say it is burley. This tobacco in the pictures is dark fired as I've known and grown and seen grown for over 50 years. It is quite different than burley and the seeds are referred to as dark fired. After the tobacco is cut and spiked by hand onto tobacco sticks, it is hung on these scaffold wagons, taken to a barn and housed (hung in the barn) on tier poles. Later bundles of wood slabs cut from the outer parts of logs at sawmills are laid in rows under the tobacco. Then, these are covered with sawdust and one end lit on fire to smoulder until the tobacco is a dark oily almost black brown. Of course, it smells really smoky in a very unique way. Hope you enjoy! Swede View attachment 5779View attachment 5780
Thanks for the pictures Swede. Looks like a great harvest for the farmers! I’d like to go to one of the tobacco auctions.
 
Thanks Swede!!! The pics bring back a lot of good memories from my younger days planting, "priming," & hanging in the tobacco barn. I loved going to "market" with all those great tobacco smells in the warehouses!! FTRPLT
 
Thanks Swede!!! The pics bring back a lot of good memories from my younger days planting, "priming," & hanging in the tobacco barn. I loved going to "market" with all those great tobacco smells in the warehouses!! FTRPLT
FTRPLT,

Glad that brought back the memories. Raising tobacco is hard work. I know what you mean about those great tobacco smells. Even around here now, with the right wind, you can smell the tobacco in the warehouses. What state did you raise tobacco in? Swede
 
Those tobacco barns smell amazing. There used to several of those here in west Tennessee and west Kentucky. Planting, topping, cutting cutting, and staking tobacco is a hard job
 
FTRPLT,

Glad that brought back the memories. Raising tobacco is hard work. I know what you mean about those great tobacco smells. Even around here now, with the right wind, you can smell the tobacco in the warehouses. What state did you raise tobacco in? Swede
Our family's land was outside Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was in downtown W-S. We always knew we were nearing downtown by that wonderful tobacco smell/aroma!! FTRPLT
 
Good to see these pictures. Tobacco is in full harvest here now in Kentucky.

I raised tobacco when I was young many years ago. Bought my first car with the proceeds from a tobacco crop. Some years ago I posted an ongoing thread on another pipe forum on the process we followed.
 
Cool, the old burley in the field. If that stuff stays out their till it cures, as I've seen, no wonder it gives earthy tastes to blends :) .
Nice Harley-dig that color! If you ride down into Robertson county area of TN, you'll get the smoky barns experience. It makes a great smell.
 
Hey BoB's, here's a picture of a smoky barn showing the firing process. In the blurred, foreground you can see the cut tobacco plant stobs putting out growth we call suckers. There's probably some decent leaf that could be gotten off these. I may try air curing a little. I am thankful for tobacco farmers!
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Thought I'd add another picture, and this time green just cut tobacco waiting to be fired. Harvest goes until frost around here with some people filling, firing,and emptying barns for stripping, then filling back up for another go around. Wonderful smells from green and firing tobacco, and once sold and stored in warehouses, you can actually ride through town and smell the finished tobacco aromas.
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