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Mud leaves: remove them or leave them?

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Jack in NB

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I've tried removing 4 or 5 of the bottom leaves at times, and left them other years.

Haven't noticed much difference myself (no controlled tests for leaf weights or quality), but I'm curious about other folks' opinions and experience.
 

FmGrowit

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I never mess with them until they color cure on the stalk...then I smoke 'em...sometimes right in the field after I pick 'em. YTB mud leaves was one of the most pleasant cigars I ever smoked.
 

deluxestogie

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One study that I've seen (forgotten the source) of discarding the bottom leaves of burley showed a slight increase in the dollar value of the entire crop, with a marginal increase in total weight yield. Discarding more than 4 leaves tended to reduce the total yield.

Once the bottom leaves begin to yellow, they are really not drawing on the remainder of the plant, but simply dieing slowly in place. I think for the home grower, who can take the time to handle these bottom leaves, they are usually worth the effort to harvest and cure, or simply collect and smoke them, as Don suggests. I do both.

Bob
 

BigBonner

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On Burley plants we leave the bottom leaves . These leaves are what big tobacco wants and buys all of them they can get . Last year they sold better than the mid and top stalk positions .
They do make a milder smoke . They just look bad and trashy .
From what I have found out is the bottom leaves makes tobacco a little more smoother and is fluffyier which fills the cigarette more firmly .
 

Michibacy

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Jack, if you don't have a lot of plants (like myself) might as well pick them before they get sun worn or torn up. Like BigBonner said they are a good mellower for smoking, might as well use everything you can get.
 

Boboro

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Man I been chunk'in them in the thrash and I like a mild smoke I'll make a box to keep them for blending.
 

Knucklehead

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Should they be separated from the rest of the Burley until after shredding and then blended evenly with the Burley? What about the Virginia mud lugs? Same thing? Almost treated as a different strain then used for blending?
 

Michibacy

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You could, I used to, but I didn't notice enough difference in taste/smoke to justify the extra effort, I just combine everything into the harvested thirds, and then my "blend" (scrap leaves, stubby leaves, damaged leaves, sucker crop etc)
 

Knucklehead

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Keep it simple, right. Just keep all Burley, Virginia and Oriental separate from each other.
 

Michibacy

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You will....should....ok...could notice differences in separating the 3 different sections of the plant (when priming it's practice to prime in 3 steps)

According to Deluxstogie (Bob) the sections are as follows:


My own categorization for all varieties is simply:

  1. mud lugs (I don't have sand) ~bottom 1/6 of stalk
  2. lugs ~next 1/3 of stalk
  3. leaf ~next 1/3 of stalk
  4. tips ~top 1/6 of stalk

I would suggest keeping them separate because their intensities do vary depending on where you are on the plant, and taste can change as well. Maybe keep them in different labeled boxes or hands etc.

I looked at my pictures on my phone and it seems I either smoked my mud lugs already or threw them in the box with the Blend.
 

BarG

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I saved all mine and gave most of the fliers and less desirable leaves away in a big bag to a needy person. I like the lower leaves they are much milder and smoke great in cigs or cigars. I also agree to start letting the first couple -3 leaves cure on the plant to save time stringing or hanging. If they are big semi cured leaves and it is wet I will prime to keep from rotting in the mud.
 

Michibacy

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up to you Boboro, you can mix it, have a surprise when ever you grab some leaf, or separate it when you pluck it off
 

SmokesAhoy

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i dont bother boboro, not trying for that level of uniformity. sometimes i get good smokes, sometimes i get great. sometimes i get crap (tried smoking 1 from the attic today, not sure which it was but.. wow how blah in comparison to what i've been smoking) i wish i'd marked that plant cause while it was still better than a cheap cigar, it was totally not up to the standards of the current stuff.
 

Boboro

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Its the last of this years crop and it hang'in in the house so I have time to play around with it.
 

BarG

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I have some stalk cure hang'in should I separate the leaf by stalk position?

Its nice to know since different sections of the plant have different levels of nicotine. Its not that hard to strip levels of the plant into separate piles for storage and labeling accordingly. In case you prefer the lower,middle or upper, for certain smokes. I separated all mine this year into three levels, lugs, middles and tops. some tips.
 

johnlee1933

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Its nice to know since different sections of the plant have different levels of nicotine. Its not that hard to strip levels of the plant into separate piles for storage and labeling accordingly. In case you prefer the lower,middle or upper, for certain smokes. I separated all mine this year into three levels, lugs, middles and tops. some tips.
Me too.

J
 

Boboro

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I think I'll give it a try to see if its something I mite want to do with the whole crop next year.
 
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