tobacco seed

It is the time of year to harvest the tobacco seed pods. We typically leave just one or two plants to flower and make seed for the next year. It is said that the seed from one tobacco plant is enough to plant about an acre worth of land. I like to always have plenty so we save two plants. This year, however, I saved three so that I can try and naturalize some next season.

Once the tobacco flowers the plant will develop seed pods up where the flowers were. Some people like to bag the seed pods so that they will not break open and sow themselves but we have never had that problem so I don't. Once the pods turn brown they are ready to harvest. I put the seed in a bowl so that I don't lose them all over the place and just break each pod apart and then sift the seed though a small sieve. Make sure they are dry and package them up for next year. It's as simple as that. The photo of the seeds above is just one plant and is about a tablespoon of seed. Though it does not seem like much, tobacco seed is about the size of a toothpick head.