Green spotting in air curing tobacco

[Nik Vee]

Just curious if this is normal when air curing tobacco. I have it in my basement. I have a rotating fan on pretty much 24/7 I shut it off one night a week so it doesn’t blow up or anything (I’m parionoid)

notice the green spots on the first one and the green around the stems ( I realize around the stems might just be normal drying) I’m just afraid of causing mold

 

[deluxestogie]

It's mildew. What is the relative humidity in your basement? All that the fan does is help to equalize the average RH for the space.

Bob

 

[Nik Vee]

It's mildew. What is the relative humidity in your basement?

Bob

70%

 

[deluxestogie]

It should be okay at 70%. All you can do with the affected leaf is to allow it to fully color-cure, and see how it looks.

Bob

 

[Nik Vee]

I keep the two small windows in my basement open and the fan going. After reading your response I just went and shut them. We’ve had the ACs on about 24/7 the last couple weeks due to a heat wave in CT. The humidity in the rest of the house is about at 40%

 

[Nik Vee]

Is there anything else I could do to stop this from happening. This is only my first harvest I have about three more to do this year and don’t really want to lose all of it to mildew/mold.

 

[skychaser]

Very weird to see mildew like that on green leaf. Very common to see on browned leaf if the humidity is too high.

Your temps and RH look pretty good for color curing. Is the green leaf still soft and supple, like after is was picked and had wilted down? It should be. Or is it getting crispy on the edges and feeling dry? Green leaf should still be moist and very out of case until coloring is done. If it dried green, it is now a dead leaf, and then mildew could grow on it at 70% rh.

What type of tobacco is it?

 

[Plöjarn]

I have the same problem on my first harvest of Little Dutch leaves. I am a beginner at this, but In my case I believe I might have harvested too early, the more mature leafs turn yellow faster and can be dried before the mildew appears. The immature leaves stay green longer, even after they have died and wilted.

 

[Nik Vee]

Sky chaser they are Havana leaves. Thy are still very pliable and do not crumble. I was trying to open them up more thinking it wasn’t getting enough air flow because some of the leaves were folding in half when hanging. Plojarn I feel as those I may have been a little pre mature with my harvesting too. I will wait until my leaves are predominately yellow and hopefully no mildew will occur.

 

[Alpine]

Yep, the riper the leaf, the easier the cure. I never harvest until I see at least a little yellow on the tip of the leaf, or the “alligator skin” is very evident.

pier

 

[skychaser]

Yep, the riper the leaf, the easier the cure. I never harvest until I see at least a little yellow on the tip of the leaf, or the “alligator skin” is very evident.

pier

Yes, let them get ripe and don't pick until you see some yellowing. There is still plenty of season left so no need to rush to pick them. Unripe leaf can be very difficult to cure. You might also try pile curing to color it. You have to watch your leaf carefully with pile curing, but it works well.

 

[Nik Vee]

Yes, let them get ripe and don't pick until you see some yellowing. There is still plenty of season left so no need to rush to pick them. Unripe leaf can be very difficult to cure. You might also try pile curing to color it. You have to watch your leaf carefully with pile curing, but it works well.

and pile curing is literally just piling them together and reshuffling the pile everyday? Do you do this for the same as air curing (4-6 weeks)?

Do you pile cure cure then air cure too?

 

[deluxestogie]

As with bananas, pears and tomatoes, ethylene gas accelerates ripening in tobacco leaf, and is emitted by the leaf itself. The earliest one to begin yellowing helps to bring the others along for the ride by generating ethylene. It's not the pile, so much as the close confinement that speeds leaf yellowing when you pile it. Once each leaf is mostly yellowed, it should be hung to complete color-curing (all the way to brown, including the stem).

Bob

 

[barongan]

Indeed, very interesting thread