Professor Pangloss' 2016 Saga of Folly

[deluxestogie]

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Very functional hand-tying. Thanks for posting.

In the days of tobacco auctions, the aesthetics of the hand was believed by growers to have an influence on the ultimate price paid. So hand-tying developed as an art form. For real beauty, BigBonner demonstrates his technique in this youtube video:

I believe his narrative (elsewhere that I can't locate) described making sure the tops of every leaf stem were perfectly aligned, and the wrap starts at the very top.

I'm not sure what it is about hand-tying my own tobacco that is so satisfying. But it is. I suppose it's a callback to a time when pride in such basic tasks made a tobacco farmer stand a bit taller.

Bob

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

Right you are, and I can't believe I was doing it wrong, especially since I've seen photos of that before. Here's a new one. This *is* satisfying.

 

[deluxestogie]

Wow. That one looks better than the hands I have hanging in my back porch. Very tidy.

Bob

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

Submitted for your disapproval, 5 hands in my kiln. The 2 front ones are beautiful and not moldy after 2 weeks. The back 3, not so much. One may have some salvageable leaf. I planned to swap out the orientals and run for 2 more weeks, and I can still do that with the PA Red that's fine...

I suspect I need to add another fan and some grating along the back to keep the leaf from sticking to the back wall. The temp was set at 125 Fahrenheit.

 

[BigBonner]

Right you are, and I can't believe I was doing it wrong, especially since I've seen photos of that before. Here's a new one. This *is* satisfying.
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I can't really tell . But this may be a tip for tying .
Make sure the mid rib is pointed up . Fold the leaf its natural way of folding and the mid rib will look like a little rope as it winds down the hand

 

[deluxestogie]

ProfPg, The first image clearly shows mold, I would just rip away the moldy portion of each leaf, and keep the rest. The second image appears to show the effect of high moisture (very dark), but I don't see mold. So that one might have remained at an adequate kilning temp, while collecting condensation from elsewhere.

A fan, together with less dense kiln packing, should improve heat distribution. Condensation on one surface may also be an indication of the need for more insulation there. Also, reassess your temp probe location.

With my kiln, located on my enclosed and passively heated back porch, mid-winter runs are most likely to have heat distribution issues. These go away during the warmer months. I generally put in less tobacco per batch during the coldest months.

Bob

 

[BigBonner]

Hand tied the old fashion way and the press that we used . I am getting old . Remember when ???
First picture is before being pressed , second one is after being pressed

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

Larry, that is a cool contraption. I've always wondered how that was done. Question about hand tying related to above: are you saying you fold the leaves in half as you bunch them into your hand? The one above I did by purposely flattening them out because I was enjoying the smooth color of the leaf, but in the future I could easily fold them the normal way instead.

Bob, you hit the nail on the head. My kiln is in the greenhouse, and the spoiled leaf was touching the back wall. I do have a fan, but it's closer to the front. The temp probe is hanging through the center of the roof, several inches down into the space. I think I will add another wire rack to keep leaf 1/2" off the back wall and maybe another PC fan stuck to the top rack to move air down the sides.

At any rate, last night I trimmed the bad out of the affected hand of Herzogovinia Flor, shredded some and smoked a corncob. It was really good after two weeks in the kiln!

I think I have to toss the super moldy hand of Virginia Bright Leaf, and I might be able to trim the other one (sadly it represents the best of my flue curing run) and throw it back in for 2 more weeks.

 

[BigBonner]

Just the tie leaf is all you need fold over making sure the Stem is out and pointing up .
Your hands look great .

 

[Traveling Piper]

Here's a picture of a massive Herzegovina Flor, just for the hell of it. I finally started priming this plant and hanging the leaves in the sun, now that the bloom is 8' off the ground. The leaves on this plant rival Virginia Bright Leaf for size, and the fragrance is pure perfume.

In other news, the air-cured leaf in the shed is basically perfect - it's all the color of an old penny and quite dry. I'll give the stems a few more days to dry, then strip it into bins, leaving room to hang the very ripe burley in my raised beds (40 plants). It's good that I have so much leaf this year, since I've now lost the use of the vacant lot (but there is another lot around the corner I've had my eye on).

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New to the forum, so hello.
What a massive plant. How did the Herzegovina turn out? Did it produce a high quality leaf? Would you recommend I grow it?
Thanks,
Clark

 

[Alpine]

Traveling P we’ve not heard from the Prof in more than a year... IIRC he was very happy with the Herzegovina and Catterton (a Maryland type). I’ll grow Herzegovina flor this year and report my observations on the forum.

Pier

 

[Traveling Piper]

Traveling P we’ve not heard from the Prof in more than a year... IIRC he was very happy with the Herzegovina and Catterton (a Maryland type). I’ll grow Herzegovina flor this year and report my observations on the forum.

Pier

Ah, maybe we’ll hear from him. I’m interested in the variety and am sure I’ll try it this year myself. If nothing else, being able to assess Stalin’s baccy over a bowl with a friend seems like a reasonable way to spend any given evening.

Anyone who’s tried this tobacco feel free to chime in.

Thanks and Cheers!

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I can confirm with Alpine. The professor was very happy with it. I'm pretty sure he stalk cured it.