Hi - From NZ

[vesta]

Just joined - Very amateurishly growing Tobacco but having plenty of laughs and learning along the way. Starting to get to the more serious end of the Tobacco growing process now. Ive managed to nurse my plants to maturity and now entering the science of getting it right, which is why I'm here. Some earlier tobacco has been hanging for 6 or so weeks it's dried and gone crispy as we're having very hot dry weather.
Friends and family are watching with intense interest and fascination so this is crucial i get it right. I'm going to go for a boutique type flavoring by experimenting and curing small amounts at a time. I've guttered an old fridge and ready to install a thermostat controller, vents and hydrometer gauge. I'm not entirely convinced a crock-pot is what i need to cure the tobacco but hey that's why I'm here to find out what others are doing..

 

[Knucklehead]

Hey vesta, welcome to the forum. We've been having a blast watching you NZ guys grow tobacco in the middle of winter. If you haven't already found them, go to Grow Blogs and check out the grows of your fellow NZlanders COLIN, SEANZ and Kaneo. Good stuff. When you get time, check out the Tobacco Growing FAQ's at the top of the page. Glad to have you here.

The crock pots not really for curing tobacco, it's for quick aging it after curing. You can naturally age it for a year or longer, or kiln age it in about a month. Check out the kiln threads under curing.

 

[FmGrowit]

Welcome to the site.

Using a crock pot in a curing chamber is the most popular because of the success people have in using one. There is no book on how to do it (yet), so all innovations are welcome.

If you find a better solution to creating proper heat and moisture, please share your discoveries.

 

[johnlee1933]

Hi Vesta, Welcome to the Merry Band of brigands at FTT. I believe you'll find lots of willing helpers here and a little teasing. I use a crock pot and temp controller in a gutted freezer with great sucess -·- John

 

[squeezyjohn]

Hi Vesta & welcome.

For my first attempt - what I learnt here in the UK last summer was ... For the initial colour curing you have to have some humidity where you're hanging the leaf ... If they go crispy dry while still green - then they won't turn yellow or brown - and the taste will be all wrong. On the flip side - when the weather turns cold and wet in the autumn ... chances are that your hanging place will now be too humid and mould will start forming on the leaves.

I understand there's quite a lot of similarity between our climate in the UK and NZ and I watch the NZlanders closely.

 

[Seanz]

Welcome Vesta this is a good place to answer most if not all tobacco growing questions. Cant wait to hear how it all goes.

 

[leverhead]

Hello vesta! I'm liking this stuff about somebody here is growing tobacco any time of year.

 

[Kaneo]

Hey Vesta,

Welcome to the site.

I grow in the Hawkes bay and we are having a hot summer for sure - I found I was having to run a crock pot in my colour curing room to lift the humidity, this is a bit out of the norm as the crock pot usually comes into play when you want to kiln your leaves
One other thing I do is bunch the leaves together with a rubber band - this has helped to maintain some moisture but as others say be carefull as to much moisture means leaves that start to smell like compost.

Enjoy the site and its patrons.


kaneo

 

[vesta]

Hey Vesta,

Welcome to the site.

I grow in the Hawkes bay and we are having a hot summer for sure - I found I was having to run a crock pot in my colour curing room to lift the humidity, this is a bit out of the norm as the crock pot usually comes into play when you want to kiln your leaves
One other thing I do is bunch the leaves together with a rubber band - this has helped to maintain some moisture but as others say be carefull as to much moisture means leaves that start to smell like compost.

Enjoy the site and its patrons.


kaneo

Today has been the first day in the past week that we've had some significant humidity 70%. My tobacco is feeling like it supposed to for a change..I'm a bit disorganised and wasn't ready for the 30c / 20% days we've been experencing which was virtually frying my tobacco.. im not into growing large amounts at this stage so i'm flat out setting up an old fridge. The crockpot will be an over kill so i'm going to use a light bulb (with dim control) and small baking tray with water sitting somewhere close enough to cause a small amount of evaporation.. The fridge is starting to look like business, temperature control switch, hydrometer, vents, drying racks etc can't wait to crank her into life and start experimenting..

 

[Knucklehead]

vesta - I started a thread for you concerning your curing. You can find it here: http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?1954-vesta-curing-questions