Rhodesiaboy
New Member
Hi. I grew up in Rhodesia in the 60' amongst the tobacco farms and we used to help ourselves to cured leaves and roll our own cigars throughout childhood. Tobacco was the primary revenue for the country and so was considered extremely important and we all grew up tobaccophiles.
Ive just started growing again but recently watched a youtube video of Americas most advanced tobacco production farm.
Because of the vast volumes now required automation and machinery have been used to replace the labor intensive methods and handling of yesteryear.
This includes harvesting which strips the leaves at once producing great volumes of leaves being tipped into great big open topped steel containers (almost the size of a shipping container INSTEAD of any hanging to dry. HANGING IS GONE.
The container once full of green leaves has its top put on and then - (through hundreds of holes driiled into the top) - steel rods are rammed down through the tobacco - creating heat transfer rods throughout the tobacco.
The container is then put inside a kiln shed and heated across 3 temp levels over 3 - 5 weeks and then the kiln has moisture pumped in when brittle dry to re moisten the tobacco. THATS IT.
The containers full of tobacco leaves are not openned for redistribution thru this process.
When done the bright leaf yellow cured tobacco is tipped out onto conveyor s and put through a massive circulating wind tunnel to knock out weeds dirt etc.
Any leaves not quite cured enough are extracted to turn over until cured. (Small %)
Leaf is damaged using these methods en mass - so only good for cigarette and pipe and chewing but not cigar. (At home we would handle leaves indivually not with machines and front end loaders
so damage wouldnt happen)
SO - Here is the answer to home preparing of tobacco without hanging as an alternative?
Put green leaves in a container with steel peggs running through it then put box in home made kiln . i will do this at end of our season this year. If anyone else has done this - let us know please. Tks watch the video -
View: https://youtu.be/HTG-Ljv67c4
Ive just started growing again but recently watched a youtube video of Americas most advanced tobacco production farm.
Because of the vast volumes now required automation and machinery have been used to replace the labor intensive methods and handling of yesteryear.
This includes harvesting which strips the leaves at once producing great volumes of leaves being tipped into great big open topped steel containers (almost the size of a shipping container INSTEAD of any hanging to dry. HANGING IS GONE.
The container once full of green leaves has its top put on and then - (through hundreds of holes driiled into the top) - steel rods are rammed down through the tobacco - creating heat transfer rods throughout the tobacco.
The container is then put inside a kiln shed and heated across 3 temp levels over 3 - 5 weeks and then the kiln has moisture pumped in when brittle dry to re moisten the tobacco. THATS IT.
The containers full of tobacco leaves are not openned for redistribution thru this process.
When done the bright leaf yellow cured tobacco is tipped out onto conveyor s and put through a massive circulating wind tunnel to knock out weeds dirt etc.
Any leaves not quite cured enough are extracted to turn over until cured. (Small %)
Leaf is damaged using these methods en mass - so only good for cigarette and pipe and chewing but not cigar. (At home we would handle leaves indivually not with machines and front end loaders
so damage wouldnt happen)SO - Here is the answer to home preparing of tobacco without hanging as an alternative?
Put green leaves in a container with steel peggs running through it then put box in home made kiln . i will do this at end of our season this year. If anyone else has done this - let us know please. Tks watch the video -
