chillardbee
Well-Known Member
Thanks bob, I wasn't sure. the leaf on the TI 751 and 712 are diffenatly different on mine too.
Any tips on curing Rustica leaves?
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POGreen
Well-Known Member
I was left with just Rustica this year , since I was stupid enough to plant all my plants over easter.
We had 20-25 C over that weekend , next we were hit by 0 degs then rain an last snails/slugs.
They had my tabacums for a buffet those dang creatures.
I'm goin stalkhang all the way or as Smokes says all in.
We had 20-25 C over that weekend , next we were hit by 0 degs then rain an last snails/slugs.
They had my tabacums for a buffet those dang creatures.
I'm goin stalkhang all the way or as Smokes says all in.
squeezyjohn
Well-Known Member
My experience with growing and curing Rustica over the last 3 years has shown me that they will always cure eventually provided it is not too dry ... with stalk hanging they take a little longer (as the plant is still feeding the leaves a little bit) ... but they will not go through a yellowing stage ... just straight to mid-dark brown with the secondary veins staying green until the very end of the colour cure. If they are too dry and hot then they will stay with big patches of green and fix the green colour and taste nasty. This can also happen if they are next to a wind or draught in a hole in the curing shed as the wind takes the moisture from the leaf.
During curing - the leaves will curl inward on themselves - making it tricky to check for mould issues. And rustica is just as susceptible to mould as normal tobacco ... but the crucial thing is to check them in the right place! Whereas N.Tabacum normally starts to go mouldy at the edge of the midrib where it has not fully dried out ... Rustica leaves have very thin midribs that will probably be dry by that point ... the mould will attack at the pores on the back of the leaf ... every year this has happened to me ... as soon as you see tiny black dots on the backs of the leaves take action ... if you leave them for a couple of days the smell of mould will be so strong that the leaf is impossible to rescue (at least for chewing tobacco)
The only rescue I know is to spray the leaves with spirit alcohol or vinegar and bring them indoors. The best thing is to cure the leaf before that happens of course.
During curing - the leaves will curl inward on themselves - making it tricky to check for mould issues. And rustica is just as susceptible to mould as normal tobacco ... but the crucial thing is to check them in the right place! Whereas N.Tabacum normally starts to go mouldy at the edge of the midrib where it has not fully dried out ... Rustica leaves have very thin midribs that will probably be dry by that point ... the mould will attack at the pores on the back of the leaf ... every year this has happened to me ... as soon as you see tiny black dots on the backs of the leaves take action ... if you leave them for a couple of days the smell of mould will be so strong that the leaf is impossible to rescue (at least for chewing tobacco)
The only rescue I know is to spray the leaves with spirit alcohol or vinegar and bring them indoors. The best thing is to cure the leaf before that happens of course.
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