we grew some & do it next year if can get seed. I didnt know how to cure then. there are several ways to cure it according to which way it will be used pipe cigar cigarette chawing anon. doa google lotsa info.

Here is a link that might be useful: tobacco

At one time I considered growing and curing my own, but the process looked like more than I wanted to deal with. This site has a lot of info and seeds (I was really surprised that it's still around). Hope this helps :)

Here is a link that might be useful: seedman

I've grown it as an ornamental and not cured it, but the company I bought seed from has info and photos that you might find useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Victory Seeds on curing tobacco

Thanks for the info.
I definitely will grow some tobacco next year.
With tobacco prices going out of the roof. The government and the tobacco companies are ripping off the general smokers public with high taxes and prices. They call it "sin tax". Who is to set the morality standards here?
It is none of anybody's business what an individual make choices for his own life. It is just like alcohol consumption. But alcoholic beverages are much more reasonable than tobacco. Even then, I make some wine and beer myself. Next step is to plant my own grapes and make wine.
I am glad that this information has been available here.
I thank the starter and others for their input.

James,
How long ago did you harvest your plant? I'm not sure about Oregon, but here in Connecticut, the tobacco farmers harvest in August and hang the plants in tobacco sheds to cure. Something to do with it needing the warm days and cold nights of late summer....

If you're handy, here's plans for building a wooden kiln for curing tobacco. It looks pretty simple. I seem to remember something about making a cut in the main rib of the leaf to allow it to drain. I'll have to look that one up and get back to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: plans for kiln

Here's a site from the UK on curing tobacco, with instructions on building a curing chamber (this guy doesn't recommend wood because he says the tobacco leaves absorb the wood smell).

Here is a link that might be useful: coffinnails

vwtx, Thank you, I've seen both and have the British site bookmarked. So far the steam has kept it from drying out to much but very unevenly. Some leaves have dried almost completely.

I checked the British Gentlemans instructions and I got the principle idea of "Curing Tobacco": The idea is to keep the leave both moist and warm (up to 130F max). This is the fermantation process and color change from green to brown.
In this process, probably most of the unpleasant smell will come out.
The next procecess is to extract the moisture and the remaining strong smell out that is to dry it.

I think, if you have a vegetable dehydrator, you can use it in reverse order, i.e. instead of removing the moisture quickly, add moisture to it. To do this you can place a pan full of water at the air intak so the intak air will flow over it and pick up mpisture. In this process, the air flow quantity should be as littl as possible. Futhermore, you can incorporate a heating elemen into your ddyhydrator to heat the tobacco leaves and speed up curing/coloration process(a 100W light bulb should be enough). But if you do not already have a food dehydrator, go ahead and buil a tobacco curing chamber.

As long as your smoker gets warm enough and has a vent on top, I don't see why it shouldn't work. It sounds very similar to the chamber described in vwtx's link.

This is my first time growing tobacco. A week ago(late May) I took off a few bottom leaves that had turned yellow and a couple green leaves. As I just wanted to see what would happen I put them in a dehydrator. After about 4 hours they were crisp. The yellow leaves were a yelow-brown and the green leaves were still green. I took them out and sprayed distilled water(NOT tap water with minerals and chlorine). I cut them with a paper cutter and then with scissors. I then let the tobacco dry for a few more hours in a room with a fan.

It worked. The smell was a little harsh, but the taste was great. So if you don't want to go through all of the hassle of a professional curing, a dehydrator will work.

When I harvest in August, I will try a few methods of curing to see what, if any, differences there are.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pool to pond conversion