does anyone build small fires in their curing barn?

[deluxestogie]

...Eucalyptus plantations in Bahia...any Eucalyptus to be found in Virginia.

Eucalyptus does not tolerate freezing, so none around here. Eucalyptus lumber is not terribly expensive. But then you need a dedicated smoker. My trash can smoker would probably do the job for a small grow, but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort.

Bob

 

[BigBonner]

I remember back when we used coke to heat / dry the tobacco out after we put it in the barns . I believe it was called coal coke . It was like charcoal . It has not been used for years now .

I have used a anti strut to bring tobacco to yellow wilt in my barns . Coke was mainly used if barns was filled too quickly .
Ideal barn filling was , fill shed full then next week or so fill centers of the barns , Burley Tobacco .

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

I remember back when we used coke to heat / dry the tobacco out after we put it in the barns . I believe it was called coal coke . It was like charcoal . It has not been used for years now .

I have used a anti strut to bring tobacco to yellow wilt in my barns . Coke was mainly used if barns was filled too quickly .
Ideal barn filling was , fill shed full then next week or so fill centers of the barns , Burley Tobacco .

Larry,

Do you start from top at one end and then fill each tier, proceeding down vertically til bottom, or do you go across the barn one tier at a time (ie just the center or center, then sides, then next level down, etc)?

 

[Tutu]

In Indonesia they often use empty corn cobs. I've also seen them use wood from rambutan (lychee related) trees. Probably they use a lot of others too that I haven't seen. But the corn cobs are a favourite

 

[BigBonner]

Larry,

Do you start from top at one end and then fill each tier, proceeding down vertically til bottom, or do you go across the barn one tier at a time (ie just the center or center, then sides, then next level down, etc)?

On whole stalk tobacco . We hang with two people in the barn . One hangs the top two rails and the other is bottom two rails . That is four rails deep top to bottom . Top rail does not mean the hanger person stands on the top rail . He actually stands on the third run up from bottom and the bottom hanger stands on the bottom rails .
Top man hangs the top rail that is just about your chest . Then the bottom man hangs his top rail . It is just about chest high . Then the top man hangs his bottom rail . That is the rail his feet are on and then the bottom man hangs his bottom rail , his feet are on those .
This is kept up until you hit a window ( A window is a wooden door on the outside of the barn , usually 16 inches wide on hinges that open up to let air flow through ) We leave out one stick wide ( 1 FT ) of air space for a window . Then continue on until the rail is full . Then hang the next set of rail same way . Four rails are hung and is the same as a shingle roof .

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

BigBonner, stalk curing, the parallel rails on a given level are 1ft apart?

Anyone else, when stringing individual leaf, how far apart are your rails?

 

[ProfessorPangloss]

BigBonner, stalk curing, the parallel rails on a given level are 1ft apart?

Anyone else, when stringing individual leaf, how far apart are your rails?

the "rail" is a piece of structural lumber in the barn ideally positioned to put sticks over. They're run in parallel and spaced so that the stick overlaps and sits on them. The sticks themselves (rough cut with points on each end, like 4-5' long and a fat inch thick) have six plants speared through. I've heard some people put them as close as 6" between sticks, but my colleague, who did it for years, said the wider the better, so he'd go like 10" or a foot between sticks. I think this is als affected by the weather and how much you have to hang. I'd be interested in hearing more from Larry how one decides how far apart to place sticks in the barn.

i just hung a single rail down the middle of my shed, and there's a chain down the side where I hung whole stalks last year. I plan on cutting on Saturday and hope to be able to get 12-14 sticks in a 10' run.

heres a picture where you can kind of see the arrangement. I'm not sure why it looks like the sticks are super close together on the right. The rails are the 4x4 the sticks are hanging over. Here, they've left the center empty to get the wagon inside.

 

[BigBonner]

the "rail" is a piece of structural lumber in the barn ideally positioned to put sticks over. They're run in parallel and spaced so that the stick overlaps and sits on them. The sticks themselves (rough cut with points on each end, like 4-5' long and a fat inch thick) have six plants speared through. I've heard some people put them as close as 6" between sticks, but my colleague, who did it for years, said the wider the better, so he'd go like 10" or a foot between sticks. I think this is als affected by the weather and how much you have to hang. I'd be interested in hearing more from Larry how one decides how far apart to place sticks in the barn.

i just hung a single rail down the middle of my shed, and there's a chain down the side where I hung whole stalks last year. I plan on cutting on Saturday and hope to be able to get 12-14 sticks in a 10' run.

heres a picture where you can kind of see the arrangement. I'm not sure why it looks like the sticks are super close together on the right. The rails are the 4x4 the sticks are hanging over. Here, they've left the center empty to get the wagon inside.

View attachment 18687

Hanging is more to size of the tobacco . For me hanging sticks close 6 to 8 inches apart for medium to large sticks of tobacco . Small tobacco can go closer .
Hanging burley too wide will cure quickly , BUT the leaf will be lighter in color . Hanging tight ( Closer ) will produce darker tobacco . May even have some house burn leaves . BUT dark tobacco is what big tobacco was wanting . My tobacco always sold good because of the dark color . Closing up barn doors at the right time also helped make the tobacco dark in color . My opinion is that dark Burley produce stronger nicotine .

I get around 20 sticks ( Burley ) on each rail in a 12 run ( Bent ) . Less sticks if it is big tobacco . Too wide and it will flash cure . To light on the rails can produce uneven colors .

MY PA Wrapper , Maryland , CT Broadleaf . Silver river , Florida Sumatra , dark air , dark fire . I put around 16 sticks per 12 rail according to size .

Commercial tobacco is about gone here . I have no burley contracts now as big tobacco is buying heaper tobacco from other countries .

Last week our KY State fair was held , My niece won top tobacco again this year . It is mainly because of knowing the color of tobacco grades . I may post a picture as soon as I get one fro her of her trophy .

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

So by my estimation, you are placing sticks about 8" apart. 16 sticks per 12 foot rail. The reason I ask is because I have built my curing shed so I can vary the height of each stick within a column to anything I want it to be, but the columns are a set distance apart. I haven't installed the columns yet because I'm not sure how far apart I'd like them to be. I feel at the old house they could have been closer but i can't remember how far apart they were. Here is a photo of the old curing room if that description is unclear.

 

[deluxestogie]

Eight inches between columns would be plenty for wilted leaf, and 16" (every other column) would work well for unwilted leaf. Sounds like an useful design.

Bob

 

[Tanko]