ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
There is anecdotal evidence that unpicked tobacco cures fully over the winter in northern areas where winter is characterized by temperatures around -30C/F, dry, and sunny to springs and autumns which experience extended periods of daily freezing and thawing. Essentially, north of the jetstream.
First, eight years ago, I grew a couple generic bright tobacco plants for ornamental reasons and did not pick them. The following spring, from what I recall, they were dark brown, fully cured, elastic and strong. I did not smoke them because I had quit smoking at the time.
Second, this spring a friend smoked a bowl consisting of upper leaves from Frog Eye Orinoco and Kumanovo that were unpicked and left in the garden over the winter. He reported that it was sublime. The leaves were green when winter first hit, as the rest of the tobacco was picked the evening before a freeze to -5C, or 23F.
Research by the university of Kentucky on reducing damage from frost recommends leaving the tobacco in the ground unpicked to allow the sun to break down the chlorophyll which leaks in between frost ruptured cells. This ruptured chlorophyll is the primary reason for drying green after freezing as the ordinary leaf vasculature does not function properly for natural leaf senescence to occur.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sour...h1F1_XYXKah6digQQ&sig2=K6IdjboyhGzouGaac2NZEw
I theorize that the combination of multiple freeze thaws and long sun exposure allows unpicked tobacco to cure. So let's lay this to rest by testing it.
SmokesAhoy in Vermont will also be testing this method out.
Here are the plants I've set aside. None of them are the best, but are healthy enough to be considered typical.
Costello Negro
Ternopolski 7, left, next to a Helena, right near a fence.
A suckered out Canik plant that wasn't topped until just last week. It is just outside the rain shadow of a spruce tree and was the least ripe of the patch. It was grown with 1' spacing and minimal intervention.
I will be updating photos as weather changes.
First, eight years ago, I grew a couple generic bright tobacco plants for ornamental reasons and did not pick them. The following spring, from what I recall, they were dark brown, fully cured, elastic and strong. I did not smoke them because I had quit smoking at the time.
Second, this spring a friend smoked a bowl consisting of upper leaves from Frog Eye Orinoco and Kumanovo that were unpicked and left in the garden over the winter. He reported that it was sublime. The leaves were green when winter first hit, as the rest of the tobacco was picked the evening before a freeze to -5C, or 23F.
Research by the university of Kentucky on reducing damage from frost recommends leaving the tobacco in the ground unpicked to allow the sun to break down the chlorophyll which leaks in between frost ruptured cells. This ruptured chlorophyll is the primary reason for drying green after freezing as the ordinary leaf vasculature does not function properly for natural leaf senescence to occur.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sour...h1F1_XYXKah6digQQ&sig2=K6IdjboyhGzouGaac2NZEw
I theorize that the combination of multiple freeze thaws and long sun exposure allows unpicked tobacco to cure. So let's lay this to rest by testing it.
SmokesAhoy in Vermont will also be testing this method out.
Here are the plants I've set aside. None of them are the best, but are healthy enough to be considered typical.
Costello Negro
Ternopolski 7, left, next to a Helena, right near a fence.
A suckered out Canik plant that wasn't topped until just last week. It is just outside the rain shadow of a spruce tree and was the least ripe of the patch. It was grown with 1' spacing and minimal intervention.
I will be updating photos as weather changes.