TwistedTripper

Great pics I returned about a month ago from a 6 week trip to Finland, Sweden and a brief visit to Norway so your photos made me want to go back. I was chasing salmon up in Pajala, Sweden in the river Torne and at Korkeakoski in Finland but no luck. I got a few pike, redfin and something new, a fish called Ide or Säyne in Kolho, Finland. I hadn't caught Ide on previous trips to Finland, a bit boney but okay to eat. I saw plenty mushrooms in the forests but I have no idea which are edible except for kantarelli. Bumper season for blueberries and lingonberries, forests were full of them. Mozzies were in full force as usual haha Thanks again for posting the pics.

There's seed on eBay from Tas. Don't know if what he's selling is accurate but the seeds germinate readily. Form OS nwtseeds have a large variety if you care about getting correct strains. They ship discreetly. If waterboy can't help, PM your shipping details and I can post out something to get you started also.

G'day I'm also growing some damiana and was thinking of harvesting in a couple months time by pruning branches off and drying it that way also. Seems to be the way it's done http://mountainroseblog.com/growing-damiana-farm/ Cheers

ISTP Introvert(81%) Sensing(9%) Thinking(28%) Perceiving(16%) You have strong preference of Introversion over Extraversion (81%) You have slight preference of Sensing over Intuition (9%) You have moderate preference of Thinking over Feeling (28%) You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (16%) I did a similar test years ago with the same outcome and am still an ISTP.

Hey Pat Uri Thanks for the info. I failed to consider that tobacco was also a type of currency and assumed that it was used immediately after curing. My ignorance and prejudice got in the way of seeing that perhaps we learnt a great deal from the natives about how to process tobacco. I think flueing tobacco has some advantages in the curing process though. It locks in the sugars and and gives it a bright colour. Maybe commercial cigarette tobacco has a lot to be desired but I think quality cigars and pipe tobacco do at least try to maintain a genuine tobacco experience without pulping floor sweepings. @hebrew Thanks for the book suggestion. I found a second hand hard copy and ordered it. Cheers Twist Edit: Spelling

G'day I found these two snippets in a book I have called "The Heirloom Tobacco Garden" by Timothy A James. I thought they might be relevant to the discussion. "...., the Camayura natives in South America harvests tobacco leaves and hang them on cleft sticks to air dry in the shade. When semi dry, they cut the leaves into narrow strips and cure the tobacco in small baskets. (Wilbert 1987:106)" "The Caraja Indians along the middle course of the Araguaia River in South America harvest their tobacco when the leaves start drooping. The leaves are hung up in the house to dry. When the leaves are 'half-dry' they are rubbed between the hands until they turn black and are then hung on a pole or a special sloping rack until almost dry. The tobacco cures in oblong baskets and then is twisted or braided into ropes for use." Like the OP suggested I reckon fermenting and aging tobacco is fairly modern method developed for the western palate. Not sure the Native Americans stored great quantities of tobacco to age for years like modern practices. Cheers Twist