What flue cured to grow?

[CT Tobaccoman]

I am asking for your kind indulgence here. With the great variety and choice of Virginia type seed available, I am trying to narrow down my efforts. Looking for seed that is now or has recently been grown commercially (since it should have good resistance to various maladies.) Prefer faster maturity for New England growing season (set plants out late May.) Resistance to especially target spot, frog eye, TMV, blue mold, black root rot. Prefer thinner leaves, minimal suckers and aphids after topping. Setting to first priming in about 6 weeks. Cures light, even if air cured after leaf is yellow on the plant. Virginia, Carolina, Soviet types. Which flue cured seed do you like best? I am already going to use K326 and Del Gold but I want to try a couple others, but not heirlooms. Thanks in advance to all you generous folks.
Charlie

 

[Muggs]

Has any one just air cured Golden Leaf.
I have.what I did was just let the GL hang on a clothesline until it was dark brown.took about two weeks.i was wanting a cig bad.so I crumbled some up,an man that was a good smoke
Didn't ferment it at all.
Why did that work,yet fermenting it makes the GL have a bitter after taste?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Has any one just air cured Golden Leaf.
I have.what I did was just let the GL hang on a clothesline until it was dark brown.took about two weeks.i was wanting a cig bad.so I crumbled some up,an man that was a good smoke
Didn't ferment it at all.
Why did that work,yet fermenting it makes the GL have a bitter after taste?

Hey Muggs,
I haven't grown that particular tobacco. The air cured bright tobaccos that I have tend to be not so good until I've had them in the kiln, but I smoke a pipe. I've only ever had good reports regarding cigarettes, though. And nobody has complained about whether they are kilned or not, so I can't really answer your question. I have never noticed a tobacco becoming bitter from kilning. It's always the opposite.

The only thing that makes sense to me is that the unkilned stuff was a lower leaf position than the kilned bitter stuff.

 

[Muggs]

Thank I figure out why this tobacco is bitter.
I have a cooler I rigged up with a 100 watt light bulb.i place that Gold leaf in a zip lock bag, the tobacco is completely color cured.I mist the tobacco when it needs it,
Now what think is happening is the tobacco is releasing the Ammonia,but
Because it's in a seal bag there's no place for those gases to exscape,
So I'm think the tobacco is Reasorbing the Ammonia.which I think is one reason it bitter

 

[fimbrew]

Hopefully it will dissipate when you let it air out. I know a few members kiln in bags and haven't heard any complaints. It is possible that ammonia plus heat could cause reactions in proteins etc but nobody has complained about it. Leave the bags open for a few days and try again.

 

[burge]

I have unopen bags of Dons lemon with a strong Ammonia smell its a process in aging. After it airs out its some good

 

[Muggs]

Hopefully it will dissipate when you let it air out. I know a few members kiln in bags and haven't heard any complaints. It is possible that ammonia plus heat could cause reactions in proteins etc but nobody has complained about it. Leave the bags open for a few days and try again.

Thanks

 

[burge]

I am more apt to let it get dry then remoisten it.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

To respond to your original question. I grew Costello Negro and Helena in the same year. They are both excellent when flue cured, and so so when air cured. However, some Costello plants showed signs of a disease. I didn't bother diagnosing it. It looked like it was TMV. Anyways, the Helena was unaffected. It also had a higher yield. I do recommend it. Available from Northwest Seeds.

 

[Muggs]

That's I'll give that a try,
I'm working on building a kiln,an a curing barn.so I can do this right.