Florida Sun Grown

 FSG Farm Update

The farm team is burning some serious calories… In January and February we start doing some major field prep as we get ready to plant our FSG tobacco crop, the first week of March. We have had two nice freezes this winter which helps kill off some of the winter weeds and also knocks out some of the pests that like to nosh on our cigar tobacco. We should start off the season with a few less grasshoppers, but as soon as it gets warm, these guys will be bouncing around the fields that surround our farm. To help keep these pests out we have a natural protective barrier of sugar cane that helps keep our farm somewhat isolated. However, each winter we need to trim the sugar cane, replant in a few spots and do some maintenance to the irrigation.

Last month, we spread lime and magnesium to sweeten and enrich the soil. And just last week, we had two semi trucks deliver about 140,000 pounds composted horse manure from the finest thoroughbred horse farms, in nearby Ocala. This will give us some natural, organic material and nitrogen that helps maintain a healthy soil.

Today we moved some equipment used over the winter at the FSG cattle ranch back to the FSG tobacco farm, as we gear up for the busy weeks ahead.

Our FSG Corojo ‘99 tobacco seedlings are about a month old now and are growing nicely in the greenhouse.

We appreciate all the support from cigar enthusiasts and cigar retailers across America as we keep the heritage of premium, Florida-grown, American cigar tobacco a sustainable farming operation.