Frugal and Energy Efficient Living

it was the original american tobacco. dont remember the species name. arugosa?
but it was a gift from the guy who runs the urban ag program at loyola here.
he grew it from 20 year old seeds. they were from the seed collection of john swenson, iirc, who was the granddaddy of the seed saving revolution.
he gifted his entire seed bank to the seed savers exchange. that's how the guy got them.

the historic nature of the gift just flat out humbled me. they did fine, and i have a big stock of seeds for next year.
i was told this stuff is so strong it takes 3 yrs to cure. i didnt get around to harvesting any leaf. but i think that it could be made into a tincture. which i would love, since i have lung issues and am stupid to smoke.
i dedicated a new hugelpile to it. it doesnt like full sun, so i am building an understory for it. i used to have a hoop house on that spot, and i had just taken the sheeting off.
i planted some vines up the sides, but it's been hella hot and dry and they didnt do that well.
i will plant a couple of olive trees on the south end before it gets any colder. there is a wild grape and an old mulberry that refuses to die. so, they didnt get completely baked. looking forward to next year.