hello everyone from Texas.... ready to harvest

[vipertwo2]

i have a old refg. should i hang it or stake it or bags it......

 

[deluxestogie]

...does adding green leafs to the bunker effect the ones already in there couple weeks...

In an ideal world, you don't add green leaf to a shed with partially color-cured leaf. Having a single "state" of the hanging tobacco makes it much easier to regulate the ambient conditions.

For home growers, you pretty much have to use the space you have, regardless of mixing green with yellow or brown. I've done it that way for years, and never give it a second thought.

Bob

EDIT: I don't understand your question about an old refrigerator.

 

[vipertwo2]

is it better to hang the dyed leaf from a rack... or put it in a bag.. or just stack the leafs on each other and rotate the leafs ever 24 hours,,, your tobacco in your first kiln is in bags.... im going to clean it up put a old crock pot i have in bottom with screen over top and add water as needed... (does it need to be in bags) or just stack or hang from the rack.....i understand i need about 125 and 70% for about 30 days ...............................what are your thoughts on the 4 week oren.. harvesting the whole stalk now and dry , does it have to be dried in sun (putting the yellow to brown leaf in sun is that to dry the stems ) ......................here is some oren. leafs i dried in the bunker...maybe i did it wrong i pulled leafs like it was vig. gold and brite leaf a few leafs at a time as the matured...is the orental suppose to be harvested at 1 time ........ instead of every week as leafs start to yellow...(like brite leaf and gold)..................................................................................burley should it be harvested at 1 time or ever week as leafs turning yellow....here is some burly harvested at 1 week between harvest few leafs at a time. leafs on left are dry except the stems...( should the be put in sun to dry stems)........all my tobacco was planted at same time oren.. has seeded. gold has budded but i keep them cut off. brite leaf is budding..... .but burly has not showed sign of budding..... thanks for help ... begining to wounder if im doing it right tim t.

 

[deluxestogie]

My first kiln was extremely small. I can't determine the scale (size) of your proposed kiln from the photo. It there is sufficient vertical space above the Crockpot, then hanging the leaf is far less work than stacking and rotating. Bagging also requires bringing the leaf into case, in order to get it into a bag. Some members have placed pre-moistened leaf into sealed bags or sealed totes, and kilned them that way.

During color-curing, the stems are always the last part of the leaf to dry. I usually just wait for the stems to dry in the shed. If you discover that the stems are beginning to mold, then I would dry them in the sun, or stacked on a seedling heat mat. For stalk-harvested plants, I just hang them in the shed, and wait until winter to begin stripping them from the stalks.

Burley varieties are usually stalk-harvested. For bright leaf, you have to prime individual leaves if you are actually flue-curing it. Otherwise, depending on the variety, if the upper leaves are maturing nearly as fast as the lower leaves, then you can stalk-harvest it. If the lower leaves are beginning to deteriorate on the stalk, before the upper leaves are approaching maturity, then you have to prime individual leaves to avoid losing the lower leaf.

Bob

 

[vipertwo2]

thanks bob.... do u think oriental is ready to stalk harvest as stated 4 weeks after budding.. still green..?

 

[vipertwo2]

does the oren. and burly need to be kiln .

 

[Alpine]

Except flue cured leaves, all baccy benefits from kilning. An alternative would be to let it age for a year or so. Since I sun cure and air cure only, I throw everything in the kiln.

pier

 

[deluxestogie]

do u think oriental is ready to stalk harvest as stated 4 weeks after budding.. still green..?

A few photos might help.

Bob

 

[vipertwo2]

thanks

 

[vipertwo2]

sunday will be 4 weeks i have been topping all others except these 2 no more flowers and some brown and green seed pods.....tim

 

[deluxestogie]

The topped plants in this photo exhibit leaf texture maturity. The two un-topped plants are not there yet. Topping accelerates maturation. So, if you want to stalk harvest them, do all but the budding ones, and get those when the upper leaf texture looks less flat and more rumpled. (maybe another week)

Bob

 

[vipertwo2]

thanks bob....i was thinking of letting them go all the way for the seed bank... if thats ok i posted in there some vig. gold and these if anyonee wants some... the gold i grew thru the winter and let go to seed harv. the seed in march this yr.... how does the seed bank work ? just post what seeds u have or send them in to someone... tim

 

[vipertwo2]

the rumpled leafs, ( mature )
is that true for all kinds,, ( burly . gold. etc. )