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OUR FARM
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Behind every cigar is a long history
that begins by selecting a seed that is "true to type." The
tobacco plant is a product of both its genetic constitution and
the environment in which it grows. The genetic aspect has an
established limit that fixes the seed's potential for maximum
production under a given environment. |
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It is a fallacy to say that what
matters in creating the Cuban flavor and bouquet, is that the
tobacco be grown in Cuban soil. By skillful agronomical
"engineering," Cuban seeds with the proper genetic blueprint can
duplicate the performance of the same seed grown on the island.
Not every seed strain is suited to every growing area ... not
even in Cuba, where the best wrapper tobacco is grown in the
Vuelta Abajo, while filler and binder leaf is found growing in
other provinces. What is crucial is the matching of seed strains
to the soil (and, of course, to the climate). This is as
important as the seed itself, in order to optimize flavor,
aroma, burning properties, crop productivity, good leaf size and
shape, pest- and disease-resistance, and more. Many think the
abundance of nutrients in the soil determines plant success.
This is only partially true ...what matters is a specific
strain's ability to utilize those nutrients. Different strains
require different nutrients, and in different proportions. Only
by laboratory comparison of the nutrients "taken up" by the
plant into the leaves, expressed as a percentage of the
nutrients available in the soil, can one determine whether a
particular strain is ideally matched to the soil. |
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Potent red soil, our
tobacco
origin in
Cuba’s legendary
Vuelta Abajo, combines with daylight-
limiting mountains and climate, perfect
for growing the world’s finest
tobacco
We genetically engineered this rare Cola
de Gallo (rooster tail)
tobacco from pre-Castro
Cuban
seeds, to have an oily sheen, uniform
vein spacing, and even a rectangular
shape, which maximizes usable tobacco
for large-cigar wrappers
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When asked to direct all operations
at
Tabacos de la Cordillera™
in 2002, the first thing I did was test the soil. Though Costa
Rica is volcanic, this soil was not of the typical black
basaltic makeup. It has the same rust-red color you find in
Cuba's prime growing regions, like the Vuelta Abajo. It is
extraordinarily rich in the nutrients and minerals tobacco
needs, and allows us to grow two crops a year with the proper
rotation of soil. Tobacco does not like to have wet feet, and
the soil is loose enough for proper drainage. |
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The mountains on both sides of the
farm provide just the right amount of daylight, from mid-morning
to mid-afternoon. Days in the 80s and nights in the 60s favor
tobacco cultivation, and the rain cycles are ideal. |
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Decades of work in tobacco cultivation told me to follow the
tobacco-farming methods of the indigenous Central American
people. These methods span thousands of years, working in
harmony with Nature, not trying to dominate it. The reason? To
bring you
cigars with the flavor and aroma of only pure tobacco,
untainted by the taste of chemicals. Chemical fertilizers and
pesticides persist in the soil and ground water for decades,
another reason we avoid them as much as possible. We do add
minerals and natural organic fertilizers. We tailor nutrients
and minerals to each specific type of tobacco we grow. This not
only satisfies their different needs for stalk growth and leaf
size, but also for less obvious reasons, like leaf elasticity
and burning properties. |
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The work load for semi-organic
natural farming is about twice that for regular methods,
beginning before the seeds go into the soil medium (greenhouse
trays). During the season prior to transplanting the tobacco, we
plant native grasses, which enrich the soil with
nitrogen-bearing organic matter. Nitrogen is critical in the
tobacco's early growing stage, creating rapid growth and a
strong stalk structure. |
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A major natural fertilization factor
uses the naturally-occurring earthworm population to convert the
soil into nutrient-laden humus. We work with a topsoil depth of
about 12", and the earthworms leave their castings behind as
they eat their way through the topsoil. |
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We use virtually no farm equipment,
and the hand implements and containers we use must be
contaminant-free. 35 days after planting the seeds in the
germination hothouse, we transplant the seedlings into the soil.
A healthy plant is a requirement for a good cigar. |
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Once the soil has been readied, the
seeds have germinated, and the tobacco plants are climbing
toward the sun, it's time for pest control. The first line of
defense is proper sanitary methods, complemented with the
appropriate organic pesticides for effective insect and disease
control. |
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An efficient integrated system of
control of insect plagues implies minimizing negative impact to
the environment, and guaranteeing the smoker a quality product
with a minimum of agro-toxins. It is important to not just apply
one or another measure, but to stimulate the synergistic effects
on one hand, and only stimulating the antagonistic ones when
necessary. The elements of our integrated program to control the
main plagues include:
- The use of resistant varieties
- Use of trap plants
- Rotation of cultivations
- General measures to increase biodiversity
- Application of traps
- Sowing of vegetable species repellent to insects
- Application of chemical products of natural origin
- Use of biological control
- Use of the masculine sterility; and Application of
chemical products not harmful to the environment.
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A specialist walks the rows of
tobacco regularly, watchful for outbreaks of pests or disease.
The traditional method of picking leaf-eating caterpillars by
hand still occupies much of the field workers' efforts. A
new-technology defense is also quite effective ... the
introduction of parasitic organic pesticides. Sprayed on the
leaves, they attack the digestive systems of larvae. We also use
biological agents to attack fungus that infests tobacco. We
extract the juice from plants that are showing susceptibility to
tobacco mosaic virus, and inoculate plants prior to individual
selection. After the incubation period, we select only the
plants showing resistance and good agronomic characteristics.
(Tobacco juice is also a pesticide, as many
environmentally-aware home gardeners know.) |
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Another tactic is to introduce a
beneficial predatory insect that injects its eggs into the
bodies of the larval stage of the hawk moth, one of tobacco's
worst enemies.. A virus bacillus dust so we apply to the plants
also infects the moth's larvae. Whenever possible, we use
natural plant-derived, pyrethrin-based spray for pest control.
Rather than "shooting from the hip;" upon discovering the onset
of an infestation, we analyze the pest and apply a natural
pesticide tailored specifically to combat that insect. |
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After being harvested, the curing
and fermentation runs much the same course as regular tobacco.
Post-harvest infestations of tobacco beetles are the main
problem. If testing dictates beetle eradication is necessary, we
move the leaf into the hothouse environment. This toasts errant
beetles in any of the four stages from egg to adult. Through to
the finished cigars, all other steps are ordinary. To eradicate
them, we use a pesticide that is approved by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration for foodstuffs in warehouses and
restaurants. It is gaseous, so it evaporates upon completion,
rather than leaving a residue like sprayed or dusted pesticides.
We then age three months at the
factory. |
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Director John Vogel (at right), surveys his
latest crop of tobacco ... Habano Corojo from
1951 |
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In summary, we take the pains we do
to grow and process our tobacco as chemical-free as possible. We
know we'll be smoking it, too! |
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"Ancestral
Cuban seeds grow the world's finest cigars™" |
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