Struggling Beginner Air Curing --Essex UK

[maxlevy]

Hi folks,
I've probably searched and red though 50 plus old threads on here and each one gives me slightly different answers so I've joined up and hoping someone can give me some advice. It's my first time growing this year and I've only done a couple of plants to experiment with. I've grown Yellow Twist bud which appears to be an easy to cure heirloom burley variety. The leaves I've hung in my bathroom as its the only room with high humidity. The rest of the house flash dried leaves green. The leaves I've processed so far have gone yellow to brown. There was a some slug damage on the ends of the leaves and these bits flash dried green so I was planning on cutting these areas off. Once the leaves turned fully brown I've hung them in my bedroom and the drop in humidity has really dried them out and made them more brittle.
I'm not sure if the fermentation process is essential or I can just age them dry? If ageing them dry, do they need to be somewhere more humid? I'm in a super small flat without any equipment so really just relying on spaces I have which are a very humid bathroom or a very dry other rooms. I've seen some people place in plastic bags, others chop into jars, one person suggested just storing them in a cloth bag for a year. I'm really at a loss as to where to go next. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!
Max

 

[Knucklehead]

When the tobacco is completely dry the aging process stops. Just spritz with a tiny amount of water and the aging begins again. Just a little moisture is needed. Too much and you are susceptible to mold or rot. Being dry doesn’t hurt the tobacco, it only stops the aging process and the dry tobacco can crumble and get crushed to powder. You can store in plastic bags or glass jars or really anything that keeps the tobacco from quickly drying out. This is just to prevent you from having to add moisture so frequently. I use the poly nylon bags that www.wholeleaftobacco.com uses to ship its tobacco and place the bags in cardboard boxes for protection. Don’t store in a container that can impart a smell or taste to the tobacco. Some plastics are fine, others not. Plastics used for food storage are fine.

 

[deluxestogie]

Welcome to the forum. Do read the New Growers' FAQ, and scan through the topics of the Index of Key Forum Threads (both linked in the menu bar).

Bob

 

[maxlevy]

When the tobacco is completely dry the aging process stops. Just spritz with a tiny amount of water and the aging begins again. Just a little moisture is needed. Too much and you are susceptible to mold or rot. Being dry doesn’t hurt the tobacco, it only stops the aging process and the dry tobacco can crumble and get crushed to powder. You can store in plastic bags or glass jars or really anything that keeps the tobacco from quickly drying out. This is just to prevent you from having to add moisture so frequently. I use the poly nylon bags that www.wholeleaftobacco.com uses to ship its tobacco and place the bags in cardboard boxes for protection. Don’t store in a container that can impart a smell or taste to the tobacco. Some plastics are fine, others not. Plastics used for food storage are fine.

Thanks for your help. I can get a Bovida humidty pouch 72% on amazon for £3 odd. Do you think if I dry them and place in a tupperware with one of these pouches that would be ok to age them?
I really appreciate your help!

 

[POGreen]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for joining us !

 

[Alpine]

Welcome to FTT
Be sure to keep the tobacco at 52/53 deg C if you store it in high case in a sealed container, or mold will set in. To ferment your tobacco, I suggest you to build a kiln. With the little baccy you have, something super simple (a cardboard box with some makeshift insulation and a bulb light) can be put together in a couple hours.

pier

 

[burge]

I k now the aging process works well in the vapour proof bags. Virginia leaves age and ferment by laying them on top of each other jus a little pressure ferments a leaf. I know the leaves will dry out in the bags but every time I open a bag the ammonia smell is strong. Even when dry there is still a process going on cause the leaves taste different. If you think you like the taste and the way it looks vacuum seal it or a air tight mason jar.

 

[maxlevy]

Welcome to FTT
Be sure to keep the tobacco at 52/53 deg C if you store it in high case in a sealed container, or mold will set in. To ferment your tobacco, I suggest you to build a kiln. With the little baccy you have, something super simple (a cardboard box with some makeshift insulation and a bulb light) can be put together in a couple hours.

pier

How can you tell the difference between high, medium and low case? I was hopping just to be able to age them without the need for fermenting. Im really worried about mould with the small amount I have!

 

[Knucklehead]

How can you tell the difference between high, medium and low case? I was hopping just to be able to age them without the need for fermenting. Im really worried about mould with the small amount I have!

Storing shredded tobacco

Hi ! What is the best way to store shredded tobacco ? Is mason jars an option ?

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[deluxestogie]

How can you tell the difference between high, medium and low case?

Use your ears and your fingertips.

• out of case: like rustling, autumn leaves; crumbles to dust when handled
• low case: noisy like dry leaves; may crack when creased
• medium case: sounds like handling thick vinyl upholstery; flexible and stretchy
• high case: silent; limp and stretchy. May feel damp.

Bob

 

[Darkthirty]

Hi folks,
I've probably searched and red though 50 plus old threads on here and each one gives me slightly different answers so I've joined up and hoping someone can give me some advice. It's my first time growing this year and I've only done a couple of plants to experiment with. I've grown Yellow Twist bud which appears to be an easy to cure heirloom burley variety. The leaves I've hung in my bathroom as its the only room with high humidity. The rest of the house flash dried leaves green. The leaves I've processed so far have gone yellow to brown. There was a some slug damage on the ends of the leaves and these bits flash dried green so I was planning on cutting these areas off. Once the leaves turned fully brown I've hung them in my bedroom and the drop in humidity has really dried them out and made them more brittle.
I'm not sure if the fermentation process is essential or I can just age them dry? If ageing them dry, do they need to be somewhere more humid? I'm in a super small flat without any equipment so really just relying on spaces I have which are a very humid bathroom or a very dry other rooms. I've seen some people place in plastic bags, others chop into jars, one person suggested just storing them in a cloth bag for a year. I'm really at a loss as to where to go next. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!
Max

Way too much work in bringing the crop to maturity for me to lose it at the whim of the weather. Ran 300+ plants prime harvesting and box color curing. Spent about 2 hours a day on picking, boxing and sorting the leaves, you HAVE to watch for caterpillars as you box them. I used 2'X2' X18" cardboard boxes. When I had full yellow leaves, they were hung to dry on baling wire with paperclips that were unfolded into an S shape. Like anything else speed comes with experience and if you attack the job you'll get finished quicker. I'm a roofer, so harvest is also an extremely busy time of the year for me.

 

[Charly]

Welcome to FTT.

 

[MarcL]

Welcome to Fair Trade Tobacco.

 

[paintercote]

Hi folks,
I've probably searched and red though 50 plus old threads on here and each one gives me slightly different answers so I've joined up and hoping someone can give me some advice. It's my first time growing this year and I've only done a couple of plants to experiment with. I've grown Yellow Twist bud which appears to be an easy to cure heirloom burley variety. The leaves I've hung in my bathroom as its the only room with high humidity. The rest of the house flash dried leaves green. The leaves I've processed so far have gone yellow to brown. There was a some slug damage on the ends of the leaves and these bits flash dried green so I was planning on cutting these areas off. Once the leaves turned fully brown I've hung them in my bedroom and the drop in humidity has really dried them out and made them more brittle.
I'm not sure if the fermentation process is essential or I can just age them dry? If ageing them dry, do they need to be somewhere more humid? I'm in a super small flat without any equipment so really just relying on spaces I have which are a very humid bathroom or a very dry other rooms. I've seen some people place in plastic bags, others chop into jars, one person suggested just storing them in a cloth bag for a year. I'm really at a loss as to where to go next. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!
Max

I also have the same problem and cannot get an answer to it. I get lots of articles on how to cure tobacco but not answer to my simple question. "is there anything I can do about the leaves that have dried green, or do I throw them out" One post says you can restart the yellowing process with moister and I was glad to see that. Im still open for suggestions as I haven't seen results. I did scoot them closer together and upped the moister content.

 

[3437]

I also have the same problem and cannot get an answer to it. I get lots of articles on how to cure tobacco but not answer to my simple question. "is there anything I can do about the leaves that have dried green, or do I throw them out" One post says you can restart the yellowing process with moister and I was glad to see that. Im still open for suggestions as I haven't seen results. I did scoot them closer together and upped the moister content.

I don't think you can restart the yellowing once the leaf is dead,yellowing as in "curing".
The yellowing/browning (curing) is a chemical reaction happening when the leaf is alive,once the leaf is dead,that won't happen anymore.
If you leave a dried greened leaf out in the sun long enough it will lose its colour (like leaving a shirt out too long in the sun,fade) but it probably wouldn't taste right because it wasn't yellowed by curing.

The dried green leaves could be used as a smokeless type or pesticide.

 

[deluxestogie]

cannot get an answer to it

It's trash or candela cigar wrapper. As @3437 points out, once you have killed the leaf, it's dead. Dead. Bleaching is cosmetic.

Bob

 

[maxlevy]

It's trash or candela cigar wrapper. As @3437 points out, once you have killed the leaf, it's dead. Dead. Bleaching is cosmetic.

Bob

If a leaf is 80% brown with partial green flash drying, can you just remove the green parts I assume?

 

[deluxestogie]

Yes.

 

[paintercote]

I don't think you can restart the yellowing once the leaf is dead,yellowing as in "curing".
The yellowing/browning (curing) is a chemical reaction happening when the leaf is alive,once the leaf is dead,that won't happen anymore.
If you leave a dried greened leaf out in the sun long enough it will lose its colour (like leaving a shirt out too long in the sun,fade) but it probably wouldn't taste right because it wasn't yellowed by curing.

The dried green leaves could be used as a smokeless type or pesticide.

Thanku Thanku Thanku. I have had a hell of a time getting an answer to this. Your answer is as I suspected to be true. Now I have confirmation. I can make room in my curing are now. Thanks again.

 

[paintercote]

It's trash or candela cigar wrapper. As @3437 points out, once you have killed the leaf, it's dead. Dead. Bleaching is cosmetic.

Bob

Thanku Bob, I now have solid confirmation of what I suspected ( through study/reading ) to be true. I can now move forward and once again, your advice on towel covering to yellow the leaves worked excellently. thanks again.