Tobacco strain selection guide for minimal processing

[DrBob]

You got it right Knucklehead. curing is a way to speed up aging, I have the luxury now of having a lot of tobacco that is over 1 year old. I just hang the tobacco in the barn and just let it hang for a year before I even try it. I have found that the virginia does need a little curing after a year but not too much, 2 weeks is all it takes to mellow it out. I have found newton n-126 to be a very mild burley after a year hanging, Tn-90 seems to be very similar it also needs very little suckering after topping.

 

[DonH]

I just smoked another cigarette from my 2012 crop and it could really be smoked now. No doubt it will be better with more aging, but it tastes fine now. I grew Virginia Bright Leaf, Smyrna #9, and TN90 Burley. Even the Burley tastes mild, so I think the big thing if you want to avoid long aging is to prime early. I did it out of necessity because I got my plants in kind of late but I also wanted mild cigarette tobacco. I do wish the flavor was a bit stronger, so next year I may prime a little later.

 

[DrBob]

the father of the modern curing chamber is coffin nails. His original curing chamber was built with styrofoam and it was heated with an electric space heater and had a humidifier to control the humidity. I improved the design, but followed the original concept.
Dr.Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

For quality cigar leaf, plan on natural aging for about 3 years, which is typical for the makers of premium cigars. It's a lifestyle decision!

Bob

 

[Michibacy]

I agree with Don, the YTB was a fantastic no-kiln tobacco. (Mine is close to being gone now), Silk leaf NEEDS to be kilned, Havana 142 wasn't bad air cured but had a better over all flavor being kilned, the Green Brior was very very very mild tasting not being kilned...but it sure did pack a punch. Made a cigg out of only that and I was left hurtin

 

[Chris A]

Can I age in my garage in Illinois, where the winters are quite cold?

 

[DrBob]

Can I age in my garage in Illinois, where the winters are quite cold?

It works for me. my tobacco hangs out in the barn all winter in northern wisconsin. As long as it is colored up I have had no problems.

 

[Chris A]

By colored up you mean changed from green to brown?

 

[DrBob]

yes, all green is gone just brown tan or yellow left. A little green is ok. it will be froze in the garage and it will age when it gets a little warmer.

 

[Michibacy]

Can I age in my garage in Illinois, where the winters are quite cold?

I live in central MI. I have aged in the garage, but choose not to any more. (prying eyes, small garage, curious K9 who has a kennel in there as well as I want it to continue to age since it tends to be 6 months below freezing). I have taken what I don't plan to sell, deribbed it and put it in a food-safe plastic tub* in the basement, off the ground.

*From what I understand, food safe (for plastic) is the Recyclable Sign with a number 4 or lower. The material may depend though. I'm using a HDPE container with a rating of 3.

 

[Chris A]

Do you dry it out before putting in the tub? Does it continue to age in the tub?

Sorry for so many questions. Sounds like I can plant in early May, harvest when ready (July?), hang in garage indefinitely or put in plastic tub indoors. Correct?

My goal is to have leaf to add to my blends in the fall 2013.

Chris

 

[Knucklehead]

Start here: http://fairtradetobacco.com/links.php?ab_s=1
Here: http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthr...-Date-When-Is-It-Really&highlight=frost+dates
Here: http://fairtradetobacco.com/forumdisplay.php?17-How-To-Grow-Tobacco

Turn in your report no later than Fri. Jan 11 to receive your new assignment. Each day late will dock you down one letter grade and no new green dots under your name.

I'm joking alot here but those are good places to start. Bob (deluxestogie, our resident egg head) (sorry Bob) spent alot of time and effort on the first two. The average frost date will help you determine when to start your seed indoors. You want to start them inside 4-6 weeks before transplanting outdoors. Just use your zip code and it will pull up average dates for your area. A week or two after your last frost date is transplant time. The tobacco FAQ will answer most but not all newbie questions. And I'm not getting on your ass I was just as eager when I joined. These links are where the old timers sent me before the actual hazing began. Oh yeah, did I mention the hazing? I hope you have thick skin brother these guys are rough!!

 

[Boboro]

Hillbillys chach a lot of hell.

 

[Chris A]

I will choose my words carefully from now on !!! Seriously, thanks for the info. I'm used to starting seeds in cells indoors for spring planting so I understand that drill. More questions are sure to follow.

Chris

 

[BigCasino]

I thought perique was a style of fermentation not a strain Toby? Of is it the preferred stain to make perique?

I accidentally posted this on a wrong thread using my phone Sorry!

 

[oceansgreen]

does anyone know of varieties that are good for drying in drier air or less RH with decent results?
i can salvage places to create high humidity areas, but theyre rare and in high demand for me, dry air is almost a guarentee in my area of the world and what places are consistently humid already i would personally prefer to grow some mushrooms rather than dry tobacco, as i dont have the option (currently anyway) of doing both unless i do extremely tiny quantities of each
i suppose i can rig something up upon the necessity of it but a variety that drys well with lower RH is a great plus in my eyes

 

[Jitterbugdude]

The thicker the leaf the better. Burleys would be better than flue cured tobaccos.

 

[Knucklehead]

Hanging your leaf closer together helps in lower humidity areas as does wetting the floor or suspending a towel from a bucket of water. If humidity gets too high during periods of rain, you may need to introduce some air flow. You should have a humidistat. If it gets dry during the day but more humid at night you're okay. An average of 70% humidity is a good number to shoot for, it doesn,t have to stay 70 at all times. Too dry and it will dry green and become garden mulch, too wet and it will mold and become garden mulch. It's interesting how people in different parts of the country or of the world deal with this problem. Some folks have to try to introduce moisture, and other folks have to introduce heat and /or airflow.

 

[Aaron]

I hung a bunch of plastic sheeting in a spare room and made a small enclosure to try to cure my primed leaf. I ran a humidifier inside the bubble and still had some problems with drying green. Out of all the varieties I grew, I noticed that the lighter colored plants seemed to give the least problems with drying out before colored. I also stalk cured several plants and that seemed to be a lot easier to keep from drying out too fast. I mostly just left them hanging in the room with no added humidity. It seemed that even if the tips had colored and dried out that the rest of the leaf still retained enough moisture to color properly before becoming too dry. Remember.... these are just my first-year rookie observations. I think this coming year I'm going to stalk cure most of my leaf and continue to experiment with the primed leaf in small numbers until I come up with a good system that works for me.

 

[johnlee1933]

I hung a bunch of plastic sheeting in a spare room and made a small enclosure to try to cure my primed leaf. I ran a humidifier inside the bubble and still had some problems with drying green. Out of all the varieties I grew, I noticed that the lighter colored plants seemed to give the least problems with drying out before colored. I also stalk cured several plants and that seemed to be a lot easier to keep from drying out too fast. I mostly just left them hanging in the room with no added humidity. It seemed that even if the tips had colored and dried out that the rest of the leaf still retained enough moisture to color properly before becoming too dry. Remember.... these are just my first-year rookie observations. I think this coming year I'm going to stalk cure most of my leaf and continue to experiment with the primed leaf in small numbers until I come up with a good system that works for me.

Aaron, You might consider priming lower leaves. This will be earlier in the season so you might have higher humidity. If not you'll need a smaller space to try and humidity control. Plus the stalks you'll be cutting will be shorter and easier to handle and hang. -- John