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What is the best way to cure Rustica ?

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garryricketson

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I have read a lot of the threads in the Curing category, air cure,sun cure, flue cure, etc,..ok well I have started getting some leaves and suckers, and have tried to "cure" them, but they do not turn brown, some I kept in a container, for several weeks so that they would not dry to fast, but they still do not change color. How long do I need to keep them from drying ?
Most of the stuff I have read, talks about keeping the humidity exactly 80 %, or 90 %, and etc. I do not have the means of checking or measuring the humidity and temperature exactly, nor even approximately. Is there any simple , non technical, scientific way to do this ?
The conditions here are extremely dry, left out in the open air the leaves would dry in about 24 hours, or less to a crisp. I can keep them in a closed container, and by venting it, control how fast or slow they dry, so the main thing is to know more or less how much time it should take for them to change color ? Thanks, from Garry
 

deluxestogie

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I have a string of Sacred Cornplanter rustica that reached a dull gray after hanging in the shed for 2 years. My next step will be to try some as Perique, and some Cavendish processed.

Bob
 

garryricketson

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Let the leaves turn brown on the plant.
Thanks, I will see, then I guess, .... should I stop watering them ? or will they start "dieing" anyway ?
The plants are almost 4 months old. The wind is all but destroying what few leaves they have.
If I do not water the plants, in 2 days, they are dead, but still green, dried to a crisp, in shreads from the wind.
 

DonH

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Thanks, I will see, then I guess, .... should I stop watering them ? or will they start "dieing" anyway ?
The plants are almost 4 months old. The wind is all but destroying what few leaves they have.
If I do not water the plants, in 2 days, they are dead, but still green, dried to a crisp, in shreads from the wind.
You can keep watering them. The lower leaves should dry out on their own. I think in your climate if you stop watering them they might dry green.

When I tried hanging rustica leaves they dried green and the leaves were too small to be able to pile them to yellow them before hanging. Then I noticed ones turning brown on the plant. I ended up collecting them and kilning them and they came out pretty good. Basically a sun cure.
 

garryricketson

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Then I noticed ones turning brown on the plant. I ended up collecting them and kilning them and they came out pretty good. Basically a sun cure.

Do you know if this is also dependent on the weather getting colder, and days shorter,...here the days do get shorter, but no real cold weather, if it does freeze, it is just barely..IE: 30 degrees, one or two nights, .....in December or January....
Maybe it will be better to not top the plants, ? I am thinking once they produce flowers and seeds, that may trigger the "dieing",and changing of colour.
 

DonH

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Do you know if this is also dependent on the weather getting colder, and days shorter,...here the days do get shorter, but no real cold weather, if it does freeze, it is just barely..IE: 30 degrees, one or two nights, .....in December or January....
Maybe it will be better to not top the plants, ? I am thinking once they produce flowers and seeds, that may trigger the "dieing",and changing of colour. [/COLOR]
It might have to do with the weather. When I did it here up north the nights get cool and the leaves got wet with dew. I didn't too because Rusticas flower like crazy and i wasn't around enough to continually top. I did notice that the few leaves I hung which dried kind of green got more of a brown color after curing.
 

garryricketson

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One of the guys here at work, that has also worked in tobacco fields, in South Carolina, said (just today), that they should,or will start turning after the flowers,seeds etc. The other that were topped too, I just need to be more patient I guess,..he seems to think probably August, but also his experience is with other tobaccos, not Rustica,...
I did notice that the few leaves I hung which dried kind of green got more of a brown color after curing.

I had some that had dried too, but still green, I threw in more fresher tops,and suckers, the ones that were dry, of course got moist again, and they are turning more brown, very dark,.. I am using a big stone container, with a lid, but it is not air tight, but it does hold enough moister in, that the first ones took about 2 weeks to dry, ...... this may work, but it will be a while before I know for sure,...
 

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I hung my leaves for a yr. they slowly turned brown. I think stalk harvesting is the way to go with them.
Too small to mess with.
BT
 

garryricketson

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Earlier this week, I read somewhere else, from a google search I did, unfortunately I did not save the link, but anyway, they said "hang the plant ,or leaves, outdoors, under a eve",..then it would go in and out of "case", drying in the day but getting moist at night, something to that extent,...and it would cure natural,.. well we do not usually have "eves" on the buildings here, but I interpreted that to mean a shady area,.. so the one plant , that had all ready produced flowers, and had one seed pod, I should have waited longer, but anyway, I cut the plant off, at ground level, leaving the roots and a couple of suckers, I am also wanting to see if it will grow again,and how much,...any way the entire top part, leaves,buds,seed pod,etc. I have hung under the tree, in the same area it was growing but more in the shadiest area,..it seems to be working pretty good, it was starting to dry to fast, so I started lightly spraying it with water, every morning and evening, when I water the other plants, ... sometimes late in the day, even though it is in the shade it gets all shriveled up, at first , just like the ones in the ground, on a hot day, they get real droopy, at first this scared me , I thought they were going to die,...but always in the evening, and when I water them, they "stand" back up, in the mornings they look nice,...anyway the one that I hung under the tree, for several days, it almost looked like it was still "living", but then it started getting more "droopy" and wrinkled, but still very green, when I touched the edges of the leaves, I could tell it was getting "crispy" on the edges, but still green, so that is when I decided to also very lightly spray it, it has only been a week now, but it is very definitely changing colour, dark brown, not much yellow, but almost a very dark red, (wine colour), it looks like in another 2 or 3 days it will be ready to let dry complete, it will probably be pretty close to black,and dark brown,..then I can store it in a jar, or plastic bag, to cure, on another forum, a guy said he lets his cure for a year, before he smokes it.
Hoping this makes sense, I had a hard time explaining it. The point in the article I read, was that at night,even in a "desert" like area, the moisture in the air comes up, (rises), and by leaving the plant or leaves out side, it continues to get dry,and moist, naturally, the same as it had been when it was growing,..thus it goes through a natural curing process. Where I read this, said that is the way the Hopi, indians do it,...I will look for the link again, so I can share it here, ..

Edited:, I had also read , or heard some people say they put it in a glass jar, to cure, or ferment, and I suppose that might work, if it (the jar) is vented, and kept at exactly the right temperatures, I tried it, but I guess it got to hot,and was not vented enough, so all the moisture was held in, anyway, at first it looked like it would work, the leaves started getting darker, and darker, when I opened the jar, it really had a "strong" smell, not to long later, it turned into a black ooze,and rotten leaves,and smelled horrible, did not work out very well, I threw it all away.
 

garryricketson

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After all said and done, for most of the plants, I am going to try to be patient, wait , and hopefully they do start changing colour, and "curing" naturally , in the ground, a natural "death" so to speak, that sound like the best way. However, with my "pruning" , I am going to keep experimenting, with the cuttings, buds,sucker leaves,leaves the wind tore off (if I find them)etc ,..cause I hate to just throw them away,..
 

garryricketson

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Can you tell us the quantity of plants your trying to cure?
I didn't see this at first, in fact I think you posted while I was typing,...I have about 32 plants, some of them pretty small, "scraggly", but this past week, most have been getting some real good growth, some big leaves, and shooting "suckers" out faster then I can keep up with them.
 

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If you are in an extremely arid climate you may need a dedicated enclosed area to run a humidifier, to maintain a nominal amount of humidity. Just a suggestion. I never have to deal with the problem of curing in central Texas.
 

BarG

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After all said and done, for most of the plants, I am going to try to be patient, wait , and hopefully they do start changing colour, and "curing" naturally , in the ground, a natural "death" so to speak, that sound like the best way. However, with my "pruning" , I am going to keep experimenting, with the cuttings, buds,sucker leaves,leaves the wind tore off (if I find them)etc ,..cause I hate to just throw them away,..
Don't waste your time except for the good leaves on the plant. The plant will mature and you will harvest the mature leaves.
 

garryricketson

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Ok , thanks, That is some good help, I worked/lived in Waco, Tx. for a while, and also am familiar with Houston, Brazos Valley, area, that gives me a good idea of the kind of humidity,temp I need,.. I do have a "shower room", that will work great, it is plenty big enough, and can be kept closed up if I want, all I will need to do is turn the shower on and let it run for a while,..If I keep the door shut, and window shut, it should stay humid enough all day, then when I shower in the evening, ...I am the only one that uses it, so there will be no problem with people going in and out,etc.
 

BarG

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Ok , thanks, That is some good help, I worked/lived in Waco, Tx. for a while, and also am familiar with Houston, Brazos Valley, area, that gives me a good idea of the kind of humidity,temp I need,.. .
I grew up here. I know people in houston who swear there is no valley in brazos.
 
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