Plant of The Week: Tobacco

Plants that bring man beauty and food get the most attention. Probably the most revered and reviled plant is Tobacco. North American Indians for Centuries grew and used this plant for many reasons.

My Scottish ancestors grew it along the Connecticut River for over 300 years.
Their average life span was just under 90. 

The wars on Tobacco and Carbon Dioxide, Sugar and Private Property Rights &
Weapons have a lot of similarities. Over use and abuse shorten lives and cost
dearly. Government being the only solution is another example Disinformation Era.

Over use of good intentions and mining ignorance for money and power is the
norm.

Homegrown Tobacco should start from seed, they are super tiny but when mixed with pH friendly sawdust can be disturbed soil surface sown. Crest of swale in full sun to partial shade is the ideal venue. Raised Garden Perimeters and fencing areas are good too. Harvesting leaves, drying them and using them for pesticide can be accomplished in many ways.

Nicotiana rustica is my favorite Nicotine family member, native toSouthwest North America fast growth and strong character can easily produce garden protection just by shredding and or burning occasionally. Connecticut River Valley in Northeast North America thrived on the success of Shade Tobacco. That industry has suffered from incredible storms in the 1920’s and 2000’s brown spot virus. Unique to the concept was the subspecies grows in high shade situations.

Sow Rustica in the sun, Shade in the shade !

Using data publicly available to assist in setting up a Tobacco Patch for natural pest deterrents and occasional indulgence should be based on data not interpretation. Natives thought of tobacco as a cure all and a mental relief tool. They were not into mass marketing, science manipulation and rewarding overuse but the near worship of it edged my Puritan ancestors to ban it in Connecticut in 1650. Mass hysteria has occurred throughout the history of Man. Usually it was for good reason, including plagues and widespread infestation. A strategy then for many was to use tobacco as a pest deterrent, do the best and then sit back and relax with a cigar whose smoke would keep many of those dusk active flying pests
away. Now we can add in escape from the fear selling solution robot calls at same time of day.

Earth Day may have become a disgrace to those of us who started it but it can be a good time to reflect on our special spot. Worldwide appreciation of the complexity of human world is fun to witness. With the spread of industrialism and the subsequent dramatic increase in longevity and personal wealth and knowledge populations grew and are blessed with previously unimaginable benefits.

Basic cleansing of the air and water has always been the goal for true “environmentalists” starting in the 19th & 20th Centuries. Queen Victoria started it all and she gets some credit, US impetus came from people dropping dead in
Pittsburgh one warm Summer day just after World War II. Clean Air & Water
Act as originally written was used as a model throughout the world starting
with their creation late 1960’s. Unfortunately it still is. Now some 50 years
later simply by breathing for a day in my hometown we all absorb all of the
ingredients labeled as dangerous from smoking a pack of cigarettes, but without
the Nicotine.  None of the rivers and streams are more swimmable than they were at the time of enactment. As the “activists & fund raisers” scream and holler at industry they stay silent on failure of government. By moving the size and scope of the regulations on an unpredictable political schedule needed to expand the myriad of commissions and well-staffed non-profits industry is left with no choice but to avoid. If the original regulations and findings based initiatives had been enforced the air would be cleaner and the water swimmable.

A good place to start is mine the data available near you. NOAA is presently reliable . Look up by State or zip code in the US, elsewhere NOAA still provides data with country links. Sea Level and Temperature readings are examples.

Influence peddling plays a major role in deterring our original goal of clean water and air, take for instance:  Over the past three years, the Tides
Foundation and Tides Center alone poured $335 million into environmentalist climate campaigns, and $1 billion into green lobbies at large, notes Undue Influence author Ron Arnold. Major US donors gave $199 million to
Canadian environmental groups just for anti-oil sands and Keystone pipeline battles during the last twelve years, analysts Vivian Krause and Brian Seasholes estimate; the Tides Foundation poured $10 million into these battles during 2009-2012. All told, US foundations alone have “invested” over $797 million in environmentalist climate campaigns since 2000! And over $19.3 billion in “environmental” efforts since 1995. So when you look to placing your Tobacco Garden near a stream or saltwater body know that neither you nor it will notice drama Hollywood style in the environment.

What if the same amount of money had been used to help ease asthma caused by burning recycled trash?

Or the same amount to lobby for single standard with retrofit reimbursements for places such as coal fired power plants?

Using Connecticut as an example, could the average breather only take in 50% of apack of cigarettes dialy ? Could the dirtiest river in the country, the Thames River
been a least moved to second or third place? Would all the money and grants
used to help the government take property rights away to cover up the
uselessness of regulations such as evidenced by Sandy aftermath been used for
coastal revitalization secure a safer coast for a couple hundred more years ?

Lets clear the air for a smokier future, or not.