Orson Carte
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping that someone who really knows can point me in the right direction;
When flue-curing, do all the leaves have to begin the process, in the kiln, green, straight off the plant?
In other words, could primed leaves just be hung, as if to be air-cured, for a period of a week or two before going into the kiln? This would mean that the batch would be at slightly different stages of hydration when the first artificial heat was applied.
I ask this question because, with a relatively small crop (300 plants) my first priming alone would not constitute a great enough quantity to make the process economic.
(The curing 'barn' I have built is approximately a 10 foot cube and my heat-source is an electric griddle. As it's likely to be quite demanding on electricity I'd prefer to run the process as few times as possible).
So, I'm thinking it would be an advantage to treat, say, three or four consecutive primings as a single batch in the kiln. Would this work?
The other thing that I am pondering is if, say, three or four primings, at an 'average' ripeness can be taken off the plant all at the same time - and then, straight into the kiln.
Thanks.
When flue-curing, do all the leaves have to begin the process, in the kiln, green, straight off the plant?
In other words, could primed leaves just be hung, as if to be air-cured, for a period of a week or two before going into the kiln? This would mean that the batch would be at slightly different stages of hydration when the first artificial heat was applied.
I ask this question because, with a relatively small crop (300 plants) my first priming alone would not constitute a great enough quantity to make the process economic.
(The curing 'barn' I have built is approximately a 10 foot cube and my heat-source is an electric griddle. As it's likely to be quite demanding on electricity I'd prefer to run the process as few times as possible).
So, I'm thinking it would be an advantage to treat, say, three or four consecutive primings as a single batch in the kiln. Would this work?
The other thing that I am pondering is if, say, three or four primings, at an 'average' ripeness can be taken off the plant all at the same time - and then, straight into the kiln.
Thanks.