2nd year of growing: @Johnboy123

[Johnboy123]

Hi Folks
I am from the lower South island of New Zealand where the summer temperatures range from 17-30C and winter is 1-10C.
Last year I grew about 10 plants to experiment with and had some success, I found out the longer I stored them the better tasting they became, the best tasting being 12 months.

I would grow the plants and wait till they flowered then I would pluck all the leaves off and hang them on string one leaf a time, which took up a lot of space so I hung them in various spots.
I found that when I hung them outside under cover most of them remained green, but if I hang them in my sun room curtains closed they browned up nicely within 2-3 weeks. So I am guessing the warmer it is the quicker they brown.

Once my leaves were all brown I packed them reasonably tightly into brown paper bags and left them outside in a covered area so they could soak up moisture when it was cold and wet and dryout when it was sunny and warm.
This method managed to get rid of the amonia hay flavour and produce a fairly nice smooth smoke.

Do you have any tips to improve my procedure without using a kiln as I dont have one. I do have a small crockpot.
I am not really interested of putting flavours such as rum etc as i prefer straight tobacco.

I also discovered that if I collected the green leaves that dried and stayed green would go brown if I put them in a warm sunny place, are they OK to smoke?

Thank you for any advice and tips, it is much appreciated.

 

[GreenDragon]

I like to “kiln” my color cured tobacco in my attic over the summer in plastic bags and/or bins. Just check every so often to add moisture as needed. Free heat, no construction required.

I have toyed with the idea of making a kiln out of a crock pot, some large Amazon boxes, and duct tape this year….

 

[Johnboy123]

I like to “kiln” my color cured tobacco in my attic over the summer in plastic bags and/or bins. Just check every so often to add moisture as needed. Free heat, no construction required.

I have toyed with the idea of making a kiln out of a crock pot, some large Amazon boxes, and duct tape this year….

View attachment 50409

Thanks for the tip GreenDragon but wouldn't putting tobacco in plastic bags retain any moisture and create mold.
As I am a confirmed batchelor I can store my tobacco anywhere in the house I want including the nice warm loungeroom.
Does warmth help? if it does do my idea of paper bags outside which can get pretty cold be a no no? Even though I have had some success so far?

 

[GreenDragon]

Excellent questions. Where I live the attic temp is between 135 and 150F in the summer which is too high for mold. Moisture is needed for the enzymatic activity to occur which mellows the tobacco. I add only enough to make the leaf slightly pliable. If it gets dry enough that it cracks when bent I mist it. I should have added that the ziploc bags I use (for small quantities of leaf) are not fully sealed to allow some air movement. The bins I use for larger quantities are not airtight either which is why I periodically have to add water. I only add small amounts as, unlike a kiln, the temps fall at night which could allow condensation if too moist.

 

[Johnboy123]

That's good to know, thank you Green Dragon. I did wonder if it dried out if it was ok to add water.


Cheers ;=)

 

[MadFarmer]

I'll second what @GreenDragon says about using the attic as a kiln. I do the same. One difference, I soaked a disposable diaper with distilled water to maintain humidity in the plastic tub. I check it once a week or so to keep it from drying out.
I'll be switching to puppy pads this year as we're way out of diapers in our house.