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Colour cure going well but unsure about fermenting process.

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More by luck than skill on my part my first attempt at growing tobacco has so far been successful. A few weeks ago I started to hang some of the smaller scraggy bottom leaves to colour cure. So far so good I think as can be seen in the picture below. My stalk cure plants have much darker leaves.

WP_20180401_004.jpg


Now on to the fermenting process which I'm unsure about. What I did notice the other day, when entering the room where some of the colour curing is taking place I could smell tobacco for the first time. This got me wondering as to whether I need to go to the bother of building a kiln....it's not something I wish to do to be honest. I'm in no rush to smoke the tobacco as apart from imported pipe brands cigarette and pipe tobacco here in Argentina is relatively cheap and of decent quality.
I suppose what I'm saying is was the tobacco smell an indication that fermenting is taking place and as long as I'm prepared to wait there's no real need for a kiln? The weather here has been unusually warm for the start of autumn....it was 32c yesterday however today it has only been 22c which is more the norm. For a Scotsman like me winter in this part of the world doesn't really exist and is more like the weather southern Spain gets in winter. Don't get me wrong June/July does have chilly days but the max daytime temperature rarely falls below 15c and only drops below zero at night maybe a handful of times. Will just leaving them hanging for months be okay?

Look forward to reading your thoughts.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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It all depends on the relative humidity. I choose to kiln because it is so dry here, that I would be putting in far more effort to naturally age than to kiln. If it were ~60 % to 70%, I would just naturally age it, (watching for signs of mold, of course.)
 
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It all depends on the relative humidity. I choose to kiln because it is so dry here, that I would be putting in far more effort to naturally age than to kiln. If it were ~60 % to 70%, I would just naturally age it, (watching for signs of mold, of course.)

Good point about the relative humidity, that's something I've never paid much attention to. Shall need to now though.
 
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Sorry it's taken so long to update. The leaf I grew did eventually ferment and turn a lovely dark brown colour. Sadly even now, well over a year and a half later although it smells almost cigar like once lit it tastes horrible...at least it does to me. I can only assume the seed I was given wasn't a variety used for smoking. My non smoking mate who gave me the seed has said he just grows it to use as a pesticide after steeping the leaves in water.

I'm not too disappointed though. A bit late for this season but I plan on getting some Virginia seed to give it another go as I really enjoyed the whole process.
 

davek14

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Sorry it's taken so long to update. The leaf I grew did eventually ferment and turn a lovely dark brown colour. Sadly even now, well over a year and a half later although it smells almost cigar like once lit it tastes horrible...at least it does to me. I can only assume the seed I was given wasn't a variety used for smoking. My non smoking mate who gave me the seed has said he just grows it to use as a pesticide after steeping the leaves in water.

I'm not too disappointed though. A bit late for this season but I plan on getting some Virginia seed to give it another go as I really enjoyed the whole process.
Buy some whole leaf already aged/fermented online to see if that's a taste you enjoy and then rate your homegrown compared to that. You haven't flue cured, so don't get something flue cured.

It does take a couple years for aging, burley anyway, and it could likely benefit from more.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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You haven't flue cured, so don't get something flue cured.

I have to disagree. First, I think sticking to burley is awfully limiting.

Even air cured bright tobacco adds to the variety of tobacco in one's pantry. My second year growing, I had a very successful crop of air-cured Frog Eye Orinoco (normally a flue cured tobacco). I'm still using it in pipe blends and it makes really good black cavendish.

Also, there are other methods such as sun curing and rajangan which can be used to process tobacco which is normally flue cured.

Plus flue curing isn't that difficult and @A Scotsman in Argentina may want to eventually go that way. I personally think it's worth it.
 
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Thanks for the feedback guys. Must admit I didn't assist the fermentation process in any way. I just assumed with it going in and out of case over the many months since I harvested it would have done it naturally as we had hotter weather than usual last spring/summer/autumn. I still have all the leaf in boxes and never had a problem with mould forming.
I'm a smoker of the pipe,cigaretttes and the odd cigar. So I thought I would give growing Virginia a try as most of the pipe tobacco I smoke is Virginia based.
Still lots to learn.
 

davek14

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I have to disagree. First, I think sticking to burley is awfully limiting.

I probably didn't put that well. I was meaning that he should see if he likes tobacco without additives at all. Maybe try to buy something online which would approximate what he might end up with.

He has either not aged long enough, or he just doesn't like "non-commercial" tobacco. (or he doesn't like the variety he has)

Definitely not trying to tell him to grow Burley. Just saying that even Burley mellows, but that it can take 2 years plus.
 
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