Tobacco strain selection guide for minimal processing

[dR_wH0]

Yeah great input guys. I wonder if I can order whole leafs without paying some sort of import fees...hmmmmmm

 

[Knucklehead]

Yeah great input guys. I wonder if I can order whole leafs without paying some sort of import fees...hmmmmmm

PM FmGrowit. He owns www.wholeleaftobacco.com and ships worldwide. Best leaf in three solar systems.

 

[janetta007]

I've been saying this for a long time, but I'll say it again. Some people disagree, but I think it's because they are trying to maximize harvest weight therefore sacrificing quality.

Yellow Twist Bud is one of my favorite field cured smokes. The lugs can be smoked right of the stalk. Priming YTB before it is ripe will yield one of the best cigarette tobaccos money can buy. The higher stalk positions are stronger, but can be blended or kilned for cigar filler.

Bursa is another no aging required tobacco. It's an Oriental that can be stalk cured. Once it's cured and dried, it can be smoked.

I've noticed the same thing with Ottoman, but it has much less "Oriental" flavor characteristics than Bursa. In my opinion, Ottoman can be a stand alone cigarette tobacco.

White Flower is a great tobacco that can satisfy the cheap cigar smokers. Field cured lugs proved to be smooth, full flavored strong tobacco taste with a touch of sweetness without aging.

Would you say these types of tobacco are easy to grow for beginners? I like the thought of ripping the leaf right off the plant and smoke. I really don't want to dump a lot of $$ into curing. I have been reading almost all the grow blogs and curing, I just say WOW

 

[DonH]

Bursa and Yellow Twist Bud are easy to grow. Silver River and African Red also taste great with no aging and are easy to grow. You won't be able to rip them off the plant and smoke them, though, you still need to hang them until they dry naturally. Depending on the weather and the thickness of the stems that could be a week or three.

 

[DonH]

And you don't want to dry them in an oven either, they need to yellow first and dry slowly. But it's a lot easier than aging for a year or setting up a kiln. It doesn't have to be so complicated. It's just that some of us (me included) can't help complicating things. Even strains that need aging can be aged by putting the dried tobacco in boxes and forgetting about them for a year. But good luck actually forgetting about them.

 

[DGBAMA]

Rose, a curing chamber does not have to be a big expense. I have less than 200$ in mine. The plus is leaf can be cured/dried within a week or so without risk of mold even with a short growing season. I am not even done harvesting and am enjoying a really nice smoke from leaf just a few weeks off the plant.

Bursa, YTB, and Silver River all cured easily.

 

[Aaron]

Anyone here tried Chilean? I only grew 5 plants this year but I sampled 3 leaves of varying color from my first prime and they were all very smooth. Even at the bottom of the bowl still now noticeable funk. I'm guessing it's been about 6 weeks since I primed them. I guess I should try some of my second and third primings to see if they are smokable too.

 

[leverhead]

Anyone here tried Chilean? I only grew 5 plants this year but I sampled 3 leaves of varying color from my first prime and they were all very smooth....

Is it classed as an Oriental? I've been thinking about trying it next year.

 

[grgfinney]

I have chilean seed going to try next year instead of black sea samson

 

[Aaron]

Is it classed as an Oriental? I've been thinking about trying it next year.

Yes, it's an oriental. I got my original seed from sustainableseed. I bagged a couple plants and have plenty if you'd like some.

I just finished trying some of the second priming and it was good too.

 

[leverhead]

Yes, it's an oriental. I got my original seed from sustainableseed. I bagged a couple plants and have plenty if you'd like some.

I just finished trying some of the second priming and it was good too.

For some reason I've had this variety on the brain today and you bring it up. Does it have a flavor of it's own or is it more neutral? I think the seed swap thread will be interesting by the holidays.

 

[workhorse_01]

Knucks said it best. There's gonna be little seed packets criss crossing the globe by Christmas.

For some reason I've had this variety on the brain today and you bring it up. Does it have a flavor of it's own or is it more neutral? I think the seed swap thread will be interesting by the holidays.

 

[Aaron]

For some reason I've had this variety on the brain today and you bring it up. Does it have a flavor of it's own or is it more neutral? I think the seed swap thread will be interesting by the holidays.

To me the 1st prime was very neutral. I couldn't discern any flavors really. In the second prime there was maybe just a hint of flavor but nothing to make me say yummy.

The plants actually grew very nice for me. I don't think I had any suckers off the main stalk but two of the plants did put out a ground sucker after topped. My plants grew to maybe 4ft tall at the top of the seed heads, but I'm sure they are capable of getting bigger. I planted most of my stuff this year right in my ground cover and weeds so they were forced to compete for all their nutrients. No fertilizer of any kind.

 

[leverhead]

It sounds like a nice sized plant. I grew most of my Orientals this year with the traditional row and plant spacing, no fertilizer and I kept it weeded. I'm happy enough with results, I just need more space between the rows. I think the restricted diet for the Orientals is a good thing, it is more work per pound, but I think it's worth it. I only topped the Shiraz, the rest I left the flower head on. Suckers came late and weren't too much of a problem.

 

[greenmonster714]

This may be an old thread but its full of great information. I had to order a few varieties I didn't have like Bursa, and Yellow Twist Bud.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

What a nice trip down memory lane.

I know I appreciate updates when I'm reading something like this, so I'll post one here.

My climate modifies my needs so I went down this road looking for types that were easy to cure and didn't need much aging as most of my year has weather that in some way is incompatible with the enzymes ability to work. So a year hanging for me might be a fraction of the aging a leaf elsewhere might obtain. I still look for types that expedite color curing, but ultimately assembling a kiln was the best decision for me to make. A kiln is nothing more than a source of heat with a temp controller in an insulated enclosure. See Brent's thread on it in the subforum Tobacco Science.

It costs about 7 bucks a month to run and less than a hundred to put together, only regret was not doing it the first year.

 

[mwaller]

Are there any Virginia types that air cure well and require minimal processing?

 

[deluxestogie]

Some folks have been happy with Costello (a bright leaf type), especially when it is sun-cured, but also simply air-cured.

http://nwtseeds.com/Costello.htm

Bob

 

[LeftyRighty]

I agree, Bob. The Costello that I grew last year air-cured easily, and is a mellow, nicely flavored smoke after a year of natural aging.

 

[greenmonster714]

I'm pretty sure I've got some of that on my list for next year. Sounds like a good leaf to have.