Be cautious not to use any form of systemic insecticide that will penetrate the leaf. Remember, you may be chewing or smoking this plant and you do not want to be ingesting chemical residues. Harvesting Harvesting may consist of removing most mature leaves by hand at about weekly intervals or cutting the whole stem. The former method is more generally used as it gives higher leaf yield and better quality. Curing and drying your tobacco is the tricky part.
Commercial growers have special drying barns that maintain the correct humidity for curing.
Backyard gardeners usually hang dry the whole plant upside down. To increase humidity for a slow dry you can hang the plant in a large plastic bag. You can hang each leaf seperately on a hanging poles or rack. Spraying your leaves with water will slow drying for a better cure. Drying and curing is dependent on your areas moisture content, so is very much trial and error.