Stringing Tobacco

[Jitterbugdude]

I was able to take some pics of the stringing horse I made. It is 5 feet wide and holds about 81 leaves per stick. My only concern is the tight spacing of the leaves. I hope it is not an invitation to mold growth. It is made from rough sawn Cyprus and took about 20 minutes to make.





I put a 3 inch screw on the side to hold a ball of string, works real nice because with the string I am able to feed the string from the side which allows me to keep a lot of tension on it thus preventing the leaves from falling out. I also took a hand saw and cut a little kurf ( or is it curf?) on each end. With the kurf cut I don't have to tie the string, I just jamb it in.

 

[johnlee1933]

Nice job -- quick, clean, effective and cheap!

J

 

[BarG]

I was able to take some pics of the stringing horse I made. It is 5 feet wide and holds about 81 leaves per stick. My only concern is the tight spacing of the leaves. I hope it is not an invitation to mold growth. It is made from rough sawn Cyprus and took about 20 minutes to make.

View attachment 1405

View attachment 1406

I put a 3 inch screw on the side to hold a ball of string, works real nice because with the string I am able to feed the string from the side which allows me to keep a lot of tension on it thus preventing the leaves from falling out. I also took a hand saw and cut a little kurf ( or is it curf?) on each end. With the kurf cut I don't have to tie the string, I just jamb it in.

Very nice JBD, now a nice walnut table next to your stringing stand to keep from having to bend over. I know all to well about works in progress.

I revised from string back to wire and using a wire on each side strung at a slant thru the back of stem to front of stem. It added about 1/3 amount of leaves per stick with every bit as much of space between leaves, Each leaf over laps during stringing and spin around and do the other side. I'm using 4' sticks.

There is absolutely no damage to my havanas and sumatras this way.

 

[Chicken]

i was looking at my strung baccy today,,,

and im very pleased with the results,

but im with j-bug on this,

im concerned with mold.

my area, is a high humidity area,

by bunching the leaves, up. im asking for trouble,

but we will see how it does,

 

[FmGrowit]

JBD, I think you might want to space those leaves out a little...they still need to get air around them. All of the stringing that I've seen is done with only 2 or 3 leaves at a time. In Cuba, they put two leaves back to back and then string them.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

FmGrowit. I've seen the Cuban stringing using 2 leaves but I went with the 3 leaf set up because of the recently published videos showing how to string via a stringing horse. I wonder though, do they string so tightly because they are going to flue cure and mold would not be an issue? I guess me and Chicken will know something within a month's time. I looked at my strung leaves last night and they kind of resembled the tightness of what a stalk cured set up looks like, so maybe I'm worrying too much about the mold... or maybe not enough!

Randy B

 

[Chicken]

depending on the leaf size, i strung 2,,3 6 leaves,,,, at a time,

 

[workhorse_01]

Nice horse Dude that is more of a flue cure set up. The main thing is keeping the humidity just rite at or below 70% and moving air.

 

[BarG]

FmGrowit. I've seen the Cuban stringing using 2 leaves but I went with the 3 leaf set up because of the recently published videos showing how to string via a stringing horse. I wonder though, do they string so tightly because they are going to flue cure and mold would not be an issue? I guess me and Chicken will know something within a month's time. I looked at my strung leaves last night and they kind of resembled the tightness of what a stalk cured set up looks like, so maybe I'm worrying too much about the mold... or maybe not enough!

Randy B

I was wonering the same thing if that was a flue cure variety, I' m going to keep a close eye on my stuff as soon as it starts turning brown , any mold usualy starts at the tips or along the stem it seems.[I could very well be wrong but that is where I have noticed the first signs appear during an extremely high humidity for a few days with my earliest hangings no matter the spacing]]

 

[wazzappenning]

Both of those varieties can be stalk cured. You just have to find a place high enough to hang them so the tops of the plants don't rest on the ground.

im wondering if my basra should be primed or stalked?

 

[BarG]

What variety is Basra, Wazz.

 

[Lakota]

BarG I think I might have mislabeled the bag of seed that I sent Wazz, it should have read Bafra. My mistake. Russ

 

[BarG]

BarG I think I might have mislabeled the bag of seed that I sent Wazz, it should have read Bafra. My mistake. Russ

Either that or he has a lisp. Just kidding Wazz Were both gonna learn something here.

Lakota, what variety is Bafra?

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Another advantage to stringing is when you are ready to tie them into hands it only takes about a minute or so to take all the leaves off and tie them.

 

[BarG]

I've been slowly but surely closing in my new drying area.The wind is my concern and any blowing rain. The string tied tobacco has done every bit as well as any other . Maybe in another 10 years I could tell you better.

 

[johnlee1933]

BarG I think I might have mislabeled the bag of seed that I sent Wazz, it should have read Bafra. My mistake. Russ

I guessed it was a mislabel but I was thinking Bursa. Ah Well, what do I know.

John

 

[deluxestogie]

Bafra, Basra and Bursa are all distinct varieties of Turkish tobacco. Bafra tobacco resembles Samsun in appearance and growth habit (and is native to a village just a stonesthrow away from the town of Samsun), but is slightly more delicate and smoother in taste and aroma.

Bob

 

[leverhead]

Maybe the goats don't eat as well.

 

[BaccaChew]

I am stringing tween two wood posts in the barn with a dozen feet of masons nylon twine. Only other thing I had to get was a super sized darning needle to thread the string through each green stem. Works real good, I can move them left and right and no leaves fall off. Got around 10 pounds of leaves hanging right now. When I want to make a batch of chew I look for the brownest ones and just pull them off the string. It is simple and I love it.

Edit: darning needle was part of a 6 pack of huge needles from a variety store. They were made in Czechoslovakia I think. Thanks NAFTA, I think.

 

[wazzappenning]

bafra...got it. i dont remember the labeling on the bag other than turkish. it was a typo in a pm when you told me what you sent. oops.