How Many Tobacco Plants Do You Need to Grow?

OK, You've decided to Grow Your Own Tobacco. And you know that in Canada it is legal to grow up to 15kg of processed tobacco per year per person. 

You need to calculate how many plants you are allowed to grow. We take as example Canadian Virginia tobacco. But similar computing you can apply to other tall grown tobacco varieties (Virginia Gold, Monte Calme Brun, Burley). Aztec tobacco is a bit different, as the plant grows much shorter in height.

Here’s a simple calculation to help you plan:

  • One mature tobacco plant = ~100 g of dried tobacco leaves.

  • To estimate your needs:

    1. Calculate how much tobacco you buy each month (in grams).

    2. Multiply that by 12 (months).

    3. Divide by 100 (yield per plant).

    4. add about 10% for contingency


Example:

  • If you buy a 100g jar every 2 weeks → that’s 200g per month.

  • 200 g × 12 = 2,400 g (2.4 kg) per year.

  • 2,400 ÷ 100 = 24. 

  • 24 + 3 (~10%) = 27 plants needed.

To reach the legal maximum of 15 kg per year, you would need roughly 150–200 plants.