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easy Ohio Fermentation ?

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KNEWBLOOD

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Say I have maybe ten tobacco plants 15- 20 leaves each in ohio , do you think I could ferment them after they dried by throwing the leafs all on top of each other onto a wood pallet in my small shed and cover them with burlap and just maybe once a week spritz them with distilled water for 6 weeks and then roll them and age them by keeping them in my humidor or is this pretty wishful thinking / over simplification ?
 

ChinaVoodoo

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First, I would be sure the wood of the pallet isn't treated in any way.
I wouldn't consider this fermentation, but so long as the tobacco doesn't get too dry (very little aging), or too moist (mold), it should age naturally like this. It sounds like a lot of work for only a little gain. There's two paths that make sense to me: natural aging which is long term, and hopefully not too much work-kind of set, and forget-or a kiln which would require you to hold the tobacco in medium to high case at around 120F for a month.
 

Jitterbugdude

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You do not have enough mass to ferment your leaves with the method you described. Considering it would be probably October when you do this the temperature would be rather low compared to the summer time. Your best best, since you have a year to prepare is to make a small kiln. Your imagination is the limit when it comes to designing one.
 

Ben Brand

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This is not a Ohio fermentation plan but a South African fermentation plan, well a plan I have. I want to purchase a 200lt ( think its a 40 gallon) food grade plastic drum. Fill it with compressed tobacco ( I plant 300 filler plants, 100 wrappers) put this drum in a insulated wooden crate and heat it up to 55 deg C. I currently do my fermentation in a fridge, but its getting way to small, taking ages to ferment all my tobacco.
 

SmokesAhoy

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For something that small, you may be able to wrap all the leaf into a ball and put in a yogurt maker. Not sure if it wouldn't just mold though, but I think they keep temp around 110.

Not sure though.
 

KNEWBLOOD

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Well , ive been searching google and I cant seem to find an answer to this but how did Ohio tobacco growers ferment leaf about one hundred years back when they were making cigars , or was fermentation just a happy accident that happened during import export on boats then ?

I will probably just make a kiln either out of the empty aquarium I have or something similar .
 

deluxestogie

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My experience has been that a small (Crockpot-powered) kiln is relatively easy to improvise. BUT...as my grow increased in size, my first kiln was just way too small to keep up. While educational, it's a waste of effort. I would suggest constructing a larger, purpose-built kiln that can accommodate more than your first crop will require.

Check out the "fermentation" section of the Index of Key Forum Threads: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3868-Key-threads-in-the-FTT-forum for various ideas, just to get a sense of the possibilities. My newish endoskeletal kiln (linked in that listing) is already too small. Think for the future.

Historically, cigar leaf in Ohio was simply aged for several years (packed into 1000 pound wooden hogsheads), prior to use. That works.

Color-curing in a shed (a few weeks) will get the leaf to properly color, but only time (lots of it) or a kiln (~125°F x 1 month) or a giant pile of leaf (like 5' high) will allow the colored leaf to complete the needed chemical changes. For most home growers, the answer is a decent size kiln.

With a kiln, you can grow your own cigars, and be proud of them.

Bob
 

KNEWBLOOD

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Sounds good , my ideas so far derived from others ive seen on here are to build a box with a heatlamp connected to an internal thermostat.
 

Smokin Harley

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Well , ive been searching google and I cant seem to find an answer to this but how did Ohio tobacco growers ferment leaf about one hundred years back when they were making cigars , or was fermentation just a happy accident that happened during import export on boats then ?

I will probably just make a kiln either out of the empty aquarium I have or something similar .

This was my question early on in this forum as well. Way back when tobacco was grown throughout the land ...how was it fermented ,aged or whatever before technology and mechanization came along? My guess is they packed it in barrels(hogs heads) and while it was on its way somewhere else (on a ship for months no doubt) it aged naturally . Otherwise it probably hung up in barns and aged slowly but naturally...like whiskey or wine. Can't hurry some things.
 

KNEWBLOOD

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Alright ive got a big plastic tub and a double tariuim light ballast , should i use the red thermal bulbs or would the color matter to the leaf ?
 

Jitterbugdude

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Color does not matter. I used to used a ceramic bulb, thinking the light of an incandescent bulb would effect the ferment. When the ceramic bulb died I switched to a regular light bulb. Works fine. You'll need a thermostat to control your temp. If you have a big tub it might be easier to pack all your tobacco into mason jars, place in your tub with light bulb and have at it.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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The most efficient scenario would be to have the bulb, of any type, in something that doesn't let any light through. That ensures nearly 100% of the visible light energy is converted into infrared, (in addition to the heat the bulb normally produces).
 

KNEWBLOOD

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The most efficient scenario would be to have the bulb, of any type, in something that doesn't let any light through. That ensures nearly 100% of the visible light energy is converted into infrared, (in addition to the heat the bulb normally produces).

These answears lead me to another question , what if i dont use anylight and just have a heat pad and thermostat doing the job ?
 

ChinaVoodoo

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These answears lead me to another question , what if i dont use anylight and just have a heat pad and thermostat doing the job ?

That works too, for sure. Either way, you need to stay aware of hot and cold spots. Some folks swear by crock pots because, they circulate the heat well. Of course everyone has fans in their kiln. Bulbs radiate heat and it can cause problems crock pots don't cause if the tobacco is being radiated directly by the bulb. Heating pads I'm guessing are somewhat in between. Just be sure you have good air circulation past the heating pad and that it's not touching the tobacco. I put my bulbs inside a steel pipe and have an inline fan constantly pulling air through the pipe. I like it because you have very fine control. Bulbs get hot and cool off much faster than a crock pot or heating pad. I considered using my seedling heat mat as a heat source, but it's much larger than a few bulbs, and more expensive. I'd prefer to save wear and tear on it for it's intended use. I have an old car battery heater I could have used too, but with that, I feel it is more of a fire hazard than a lightbulb. I did at one time use a magnetic engine block heater. I stuck it inside the steel pipe with the inline fan just like with the bulbs.

To each his own, right. Be creative and have fun with it. You might find up with something that works perfect fit you.
 

Jitterbugdude

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My original kiln was 3x4x4ft. It was big enough that the heat was pretty evenly distributed. Now that I've downsized I put everything into mason jars. The jars maintain the moisture and the light bulb supplies the heat.

Come to think of it I used to use a humidifier so probably the steam rising created a small air current.
 

Smokin Harley

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My original kiln was 3x4x4ft. It was big enough that the heat was pretty evenly distributed. Now that I've downsized I put everything into mason jars. The jars maintain the moisture and the light bulb supplies the heat.

Come to think of it I used to use a humidifier so probably the steam rising created a small air current.

I think I'm slowly going towards your method . Sealed containers (gasketed storage tubs)of the leaf with the moisture inside that and the regulated heat source(crockpot/roaster). I tried just open top tubs of leaf last year but neither the heat nor the moisture was even and I had mold on the bottom . Lost a bit of leaf because of that. thinking of putting some sort of rack or wood slats in the bottom of the tub (under the leaf) so that if any moisture at all settles on the bottom, the leaf won't be sitting in it.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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While we're on the topic of kilns. My new curing shed had cedar fence boards on the floor, and the aroma absorbed into the tobacco a little bit, which was still slightly detectable even after being in the kiln. This current run in the kiln, I have a mesh bag of charcoal hanging up, and after 4 days I couldn't smell any cedar in the tobacco, so that's good.
 
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