Yug's 2021 crop

[Yug]

Hello everyone
That's it, everything is "air cured" (I don't have an kiln yet). I had planted 90 feet of tobacco (virginia, havana, burley, orient). I don't know exactly the varieties. I had bought the seeds on ebay without more precision on the exact origin of these varieties.With 90 plants in total, I harvested 1900 leaves. These leaves gave 9 pounds of dry tobacco.
I stored this tobacco in crates (one crate for each variety) by wrapping it in burlap and keeping a light pressure on it (I was inspired by the heap aging used in Cuba). The crates are in a room where the temperature is about 62° F and the humidity is 65 to 70%. It only remains to see what will happen with the passing of time...

 

[Knucklehead]

Hello everyone
That's it, everything is "air cured" (I don't have an kiln yet). I had planted 90 feet of tobacco (virginia, havana, burley, orient). I don't know exactly the varieties. I had bought the seeds on ebay without more precision on the exact origin of these varieties.With 90 plants in total, I harvested 1900 leaves. These leaves gave 9 pounds of dry tobacco.
I stored this tobacco in crates (one crate for each variety) by wrapping it in burlap and keeping a light pressure on it (I was inspired by the heap aging used in Cuba). The crates are in a room where the temperature is about 62° F and the humidity is 65 to 70%. It only remains to see what will happen with the passing of time...
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Your leaf is beautiful.
Not knowing your weather and conditions I have to ask.
What are the chances your humidity could increase to 80% for a few days?
How high does the humidity get after a rain or several days of rain?
Plastic bags could give you several days to remember and respond to a change in conditions. Mold on leaf that beautiful is a heart breaking experience.

 

[Yug]

Thanks Knucklehead for the compliment on the leaf on top of the havana pile and for the tips. I live in southwest France, in a relatively humid area in winter and spring and the humidity often exceeds 80% in the air outside.
But I keep my tobacco in a room inside the house where the humidity is almost constant throughout the year, from 65 to 70%.
For last year's small crop (2020), I did have the heartbreaking experience of mold on beautiful leaves. I wanted to ferment the Havana by moistening it, thinking I was doing the right thing: I sprayed a little water on the pile of leaves from time to time and had to throw away 3/4 of it because of the mold. On the other hand, the leaves that I kept dry in a pile with light pressure in the burlap are still beautiful. They stayed under light pressure in the burlap for a year and are now under plastic (thanks FTT)

They are not excellent but they are part of my mixtures. I know that my method is not the best, I will be strongly inspired by everything I read here hoping to improve. I notice that the aging of my tobacco is very slow, but I keep the hope that it will improve with time.

 

[deluxestogie]

Your leaf does look nice. Home tobacco growers never have a kiln, until they spend one weekend building one. A kiln does not necessarily produce better leaf than simple aging, but the kiln dramatically accelerates the process.

Bob

 

[Yug]

Home tobacco growers never have a kiln, until they spend one weekend building one.

Yes Bob, it seems to me that you see things well. Here's a question: I understand that for virginia, the "flue cured" allows for a smoother, sweeter tobacco (I'm not talking about the acidity that is specific to it). Did I understand correctly?

 

[deluxestogie]

That is correct. A kiln can be used as a kiln for aging (fermenting) by running it for 1 to 2 months at 123 to 128°F and high humidity. The same kiln (if structurally capable of sustaining the heat) can also be used as a flue-curing chamber, following the standard flue-curing chart of temperature ramping up to 165°F over 5 to 7 days. The process of flue-curing preserves the sugars within the leaf (suitable only for flue-cure varieties--"Virginia" varieties--and Orientals), and this results in a more acidic smoke.

During growing seasons in which I grow flue-cure varieties, my kiln is occupied from early-to-mid July for about 6 weeks, exclusively performing batches of flue-curing. Once that is done, then I return the kiln to service as a kiln.

Bob

 

[Yug]

Another question Bob. Can I expect, after flue cured virginia (165° F/5to 7 days) a good quality with a long aging (6 months) in my room (65°F humidity 65%)?
I have noted the diagram you gave for flue curing.

 

[deluxestogie]

Flue-cured tobacco is ready to smoke immediately. (Go from a primed, green leaf to shredding and lighting it to smoke it--a week later!) So subsequent concerns are entirely about appropriate storage to avoid physical damage or mold. It needs no further aging.

Bob

 

[Yug]

A kiln can be used as a kiln for aging (fermenting) by running it for 1 to 2 months at 123 to 128°F and high humidity.

Sorry for the beginner's questions. I understood that the flue curing is reserved for virginias and orientals. It is bad for other tobacco. With what you said, I understand that you can age all tobaccos (burley, havana etc) with the oven. Did I understand correctly?

 

[deluxestogie]

Once you flue-cure a leaf, the primary enzyme that allows aging has been destroyed. So flue-curing will prevent non-flue-cure varieties of tobacco from adequately aging. For that reason, it is bad for other tobacco varieties. With tobacco varieties other than Virginias and Orientals, use the kiln just for aging (fermenting)--not for flue-curing.

Bob

 

[Yug]

Thank you very much Bob. Today I have understood many things. A lot of doubts have been removed thanks to your good advice.