BarG 2014

[Brown Thumb]

That leaf is drying real nice. I like the rack setup. How much leaf will it hold?
Are You shure you don't have a flue cure chamber the bottom leaf looks better than mine.

 

[deluxestogie]

Are You shure you don't have a flue cure chamber the bottom leaf looks better than mine.

The beauty of flue-curing is that your yellow leaf will still look yellow in a few weeks. By that time, the leaf on BarG's bottom rack will look just like the leaf on his top rack.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Looking good Tex. Git 'er done!

 

[Brown Thumb]

The beauty of flue-curing is that your yellow leaf will still look yellow in a few weeks. By that time, the leaf on BarG's bottom rack will look just like the leaf on his top rack.

Bob

I was referencing to the leaf from the greenhouse, bottom pic.
Do you think that will brown up more. He might have locked the color in?

 

[deluxestogie]

I was referencing to the leaf from the greenhouse, bottom pic.
Do you think that will brown up more. He might have locked the color in?

It will continue to brown so long as the temperature did not exceed 149ºF at any point. That's the temp at which the major oxidase enzyme gets cooked. (And why flue-curing locks in the color.)

Bob

 

[BarG]

By the time the stem is practicly dry it maintains the same color. At least I haven't noticed any change. Some leaves had a lot of brown, some were spotty and some were almost comepletly yellow to orangish. The yellow and orangish leaves are more elastic and flexible.
Next year I think I can improve on the initial temp control. I will redesign the interior to accomidate seedlings and hanging rods for the leaf instead of piling so I don't have to flip them around .I will try to keep the first few days in the low to mid 90's with the louvre and then use the heater if needed on damp cloudy days which I had to do on this last batch to prevent mildew and increase temp if sun does not shine or to low temps. I may also open the louvre on some nights to allow some humidity in. I will try to prevent any leaf burn [very dark brown and brittle] which is what some parts of leaves did. The temp inside never reached over 116 or 17 degrees on the hottest days.

 

[Knucklehead]

With that greenhouse you end up with an almost flue/air/sun cure. Really neat.

 

[Mad Oshea]

You Guys make Me sick on harvest! Mine are far from home now! I'v got 7 or 8 mud lugs now! I just can't waight till harvest here( DEAD-SERT) Long years grow and over lap on grows.LOL Going to post on My grow of the Cigar types soon. LOL The Green house set up. Kiln set up and a good roll as well as snuss,cigs., pipe and snuff. LOL LOL Next comp. please?

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm just confused. I assumed air-cured. I'm not sure how stable the yellow color is in fully sun-cured leaf. My guess is that it will slowly head toward brown, but I really don't know.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

I'm just confused. I assumed air-cured. I'm not sure how stable the yellow color is in fully sun-cured leaf. My guess is that it will slowly head toward brown, but I really don't know.

Bob

Last year the yellow color was never set in my sun cured flue cure varieties. They cured to a combination yellow, orange, red, brown. Each leaf had these colors and they are still that color almost a year later. Gorgeous leaf, but not bright. Since BarG's leaf was sun cured in his glass greenhouse of relatively modest dimensions, it is possible that flue cure temps were reached. I guess only time will tell. His leaf and my last years outside sun cured leaf look totally different.

This is a typical picture of my sun cured flue cure varieties right after cure. There was a tad more yellow, orange and red than is showing up in the picture, but you get the idea. They still have these colors.

 

[Brown Thumb]

He covered the greenhouse with tarps and Pile cured, Maybe the temps went way up in the pile.

 

[Knucklehead]

He covered the greenhouse with tarps and Pile cured, Maybe the temps went way up in the pile.

I forgot the tarp. Good point.

 

[BarG]

I saved a couple leaves dated to see if the yellow is realy fixed. I hope so . I have shredded my whole crop of virginiees and mixed them with some bursa from last year. I am adding marylands and some kilned burley from Bonner. And some perique and some big gem and some silver river and some son and so on...............

 

[BarG]

He covered the greenhouse with tarps and Pile cured, Maybe the temps went way up in the pile.

I think instead of tarps maybe use 6 mil clear plastic. It would actualy let a higher temp instead of shading. I thought the covering would raise the temps. I doubt that was the case. I would use the filtered sun in to raise higher temps.

 

[POGreen]

View attachment 12342
Here is how my drying is coming along this year. The top pic is my drying rack.
The lower pick is my second batch of virginias dryed in my greenhouse.

View attachment 12341

Nice rack and very fine cloured leaves BarG !
The upper one's look like a real treat.
The Midis Touch.

 

[BarG]

I live and learn from all my mistakes I make when I do something new. I lost some good half leaves this year due to packing to tight in an unusual year weather wise.
[ growing tobacco creates wierd weather]
I still came out smelling like a rose though due to the quantity. I learn every year and every variety has certain needs for curing.
During an unusualy wet year this year my wrapper variety Bezuki was during certain periods sucseptable to mildew if not enough air space between leaves. Even if a leaf was folded on itself it could be sucseptable. A fan could of probably prevented this. If was to grow this variety again I would not double up my stringers or rods. I used a 2x2 with a wire running both sides strung with leaves and have not had a problem till now. I intentionaly set my hanging rack in a more sheltered area this year to avoid wind damage, yeah.

 

[POGreen]

Did you place that rack of yours out in the open under some trees or somethin ?
Just like u say BG one learns one or a few new things every year , I got a brand new idea for next year.
I plant my seedlings in a 4-5'' depression to make it easier on myself to water the plants , the idea is to dress ( in a moderate amount ) the walls of the depression with Calcium Nitrate.
You might ask yourself why and I'll tell you.Snails/slugs don't like that stuff , think they just melt away to in principle nothing if they step on it , secondly one gives the plants a nice little kick in the butt to get started on the right foot.
If I'd done that this year I would have saved all my tabacums , now I gotta be content with the different varieties of Rustica I have.
The area where I have my plot 10x10 meters has a pretty much open spaces where the grass has to be cut by the association every 2 weeks or so , that grass is just dynamite to have in waterbarrels since it contains a lot of N.

 

[BarG]

PO, what do yo do saturate the grass and for how long. I spent 6 hrs. yesterday cutting waiste high Bahia since being out of town and rebuilding mower continually this summer. I need a hay baler over here. or maybe a fence and a calf or 2, I have an empty plastic barrel or 2. The last time I raised a calf for slaughter I had 2 horses also and the feed bill got pretty high. I am about ready to raise a couple calves though just to save some mowing on 2-3 acres.

 

[BarG]

I live and learn from all my mistakes I make when I do something new. I lost some good half leaves this year due to packing to tight in an unusual year weather wise.
[ growing tobacco creates wierd weather]
.

the first year I grew tobacco I caused a drought.

 

[ArizonaDave]

the first year I grew tobacco I caused a drought.

I think I caused rain in AZ. It rained yesterday and today AGAIN. Freaky weather!