TOBACCO - One of the Best Barter Items
TOBACCO - One of the Best Barter Items
Tobacco is a common item that you’ll see in almost every blog about the “Top 10 SHTF Barter Item.” Unfortunately, most of these articles fail to truly illuminate the multitude of valuable survival uses of this underrated barter item. Tobacco isn’t just for smoking. Tobacco can be used medicinally, it can improve food production, and can be a sustainable currency.
The fact is that approximately 50 million people in the US smoke cigarettes, and many millions more smoke pipes, chew tobacco, etc. So, anyone who has tobacco to trade under conditions of chaos is going to find many people ready to make a deal. I’d also wager that even non-smokers would be prone to start using tobacco to relieve their new-found stress created by all the chaos.
HISTORY OF TOBACCO AS A BARTER ITEM
Cigarettes have a long history of being used as currency. During the Long period of economic hardship known as the Great Depression, large numbers of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their savings. Still, tobacco companies’ sales remained steady. Then, as now, people addicted to nicotine found it difficult to give up cigarette smoking, no matter how little money they possessed. To maintain demand, the government subsidized farmers’ land to ensure there was no over-production of tobacco. Similarly, when Germany’s currency, the Reichsmark, was weakened after World War II, cigarettes were commonly used in black market barters between Allied soldiers and Germans.
ENDLESS SUPPLY OF TOBACCO FOR BARTER
So, am I recommending to start stockpiling cartons and cartons of expensive cigarettes that will quickly go stale? No way, I’m talking about learning how to grow the real thing, Nicotiana Tabacum! Tobacco grows easily throughout the United States. And contrary to popular belief, growing tobacco is not some specialized skill set that takes years to master! It is actually surprisingly simple. If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow tobacco! Tomatoes and Tobacco are even in the same plant family.
Be assured that anyone can grow their own tobacco anywhere, even in a container on a balcony in an urban environment. Think about it, if you have the ability to constantly produce this addictive commodity, you'd be very rich (by apocalyptic standards.…) and barter it for whatever you wish
.
LEARN TO GROW YOUR OWN
One of the smartest things you can do this upcoming summer is to experiment by planting your own Nicotiana Tabacum plant. They are surprisingly attractive plants with beautiful pink flowers! Additionally, tobacco plants naturally deter garden pests away from your edible crops. The variety I always recommend, Kentucky Brown, is one of the best for making fine smoking cigarette tobacco, it can grow to 8 feet with massive leaves to 3 feet long and 1-1/2 feet wide or better. Make sure the heirloom seeds you buy are grown in the USA and that no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers of any kind were used.
I always start our plants indoors in flats about 6 to 8 weeks prior to when we plan on setting the plants out. The seeds are very small and the newly sprouted plant is actually hard to see! (it takes about 300,000 seeds just to add up to an ounce!!) The real trick to a great germination is to sow the seed on top of the growing medium (never bury them) as tobacco seeds are light sensitive and require light to germinate, as well as being kept constantly moist.