Tho it is now. Thanks for sharing! Can we buy seeds direct from you? Simply hang in a sheltered area and let nature take its course. At this point, pick them. I'll send this information to him. Question: How do you flavor tobacco with honey and alcohol? Love it. Fire-cured tobacco is hung in large barns where fires of hardwoods are kept on continuous or intermittent low smoulder and takes between three days and ten weeks, depending on the process and the tobacco. Growing and harvesting is a perquisite to fermentation covered in other guides, available here . it was cold and had good air flow. An air-conditioned home would probably be too dry for air-curing tobacco. If you need more seed google King Seeds in Katikati, (I've a link in the text). Trying to grow it here in the USA.if for no other reason to treat bee stings. Thank you very much ---just so hard to get the seeds in SA Government screws all of us here ---BUT I can, and do grow my own weed and get very good crops too! Question: Should I pinch off leaves that begin to get white spots? Question: My tobacco leaves have been hanging for around 3 months, the tips seem to keep going brittle so I have misted them with water as they have become brittle again, is this method ok? For menthol I just added some mint leaves. Taking the focus away from tobacco congratulations once more! I would like to make a kiln, and Im thinking about rigging it up with 12v solar so I can justify leaving it on, but in the meantime I wonder whether leaving the jars there as opposed to somewhere else for a year would make a significant difference. Also, can we use wine to spray the leaves whilst curing as opposed to water? 10 years ago x3' high lined with 1 1/2" styrofoam 3 100w heaters in bottom controlled by cookerstat,fed in moist air from a humidifier.Humidity 80% temp 120/130.Cured leaf for 4 weeks. the pic was just of some plants that had mold growth on them. Pull out any small plants or weeds that try to crowd each tobacco plant. Great sense of humor, and great information - good tips! always use distilled water in the boiler. Answer: It's fine with light frosts. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. I fugured: "since im griwing broccoli and carrots I might as well griw sone 'backy too!" A fine mist to dampen the leaves is all you need, they will soften almost immediately and you can then cut out the ribs. Unplugging would have some impact on the fermentation process depending on the length of interruption, but better to unplug than to not have a house when you get back. Thanks in advance. Tobacco plants nearing maturity. The Old Firm (author) from Waikato/Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand on December 23, 2014: Hi John, I hope that all's well with you now. There are all sorts of bells and whistles you can add to enhance the end result, but YOU DON'T HAVE TO! The ageing and compression are important as fermentation by anaerobic bacteria eliminates the harsher burning elements. So plenty in hand. It's a bit late now to plant outdoors, but you can probably start your seedlings in the hothouse, or better still in little pots on a warm windowsill (Like in the kitchen) . Show me tobacco . Start by putting your dried buds in your chosen curing jars. I suggest that you let only one of your plants go to flower for seeds for next season's crop. If it looks a bit damp or won't light he sticks it in the warming tray of his oven for a while. When is the best time to plant? Around the time that flower heads start to form and the plants are fully grown, the bottom leaves will be ready to pick. I just save some seed year by year. Answer: It should be okay in a large bucket. I simply chopped it (2mm) and mixed in some pure vanilla essence (or chopped vanilla beans) and a little citrus zest then compressed it into a jar. Do you've any recommendations? Answer: As people in the UK and the USA have been using my article for over ten years now I can see no reason to prevent you. It is only recently that I have heard any mention of ammonia occurring in the drying process, and I personally doubt whether it has much effect on the finished product. .I'd suggest that you just hang the leaves to dry without assistance in a shady airy spot and see how they go. It improves with age so long as it does not dry out. on Introduction. Hi guys. After they've gotten established, you can water less often. Compared with correctly grown plants. If pile of tobacco is big enough, and insulation is as good as it is inside the foam cooler, wouldn't there be enough heat generated by fermentation process so that no external heat will be required? abfdged. There are several websites dealing with curing chambers and the standard home made type is made of foam wall insulation and an oil heater. BTW the leaves held by the old bloke in the article's photo grew in a temperate climate in spring and summer.They're pretty average bottom leaves (the higher you go the smaller the leaf) We get light frosts in Winter. This is better for cigars and pipe tobacco. When I think of ammonia, I think of a sharp biting smell, the chemical smell from either a bottle of windex or urine..(I once had mice as pets, which had that horrible smell) When I was researching tobacco fermentation I pictured those fermentation barns in central America to be awful, perhaps like walking into a tear gas chamberTaking this into consideration I have my fermentation cooler in an unused bathroom which has the ceiling vent on a timer (it turns on for 10 mins every hour). Drying or "curing" home-grown tobacco leaves. only grown one plant this year. In any case I will be subscribing for your rss feed and I am hoping you write again very soon! Also does anyone know how to make Copenhagen style "dip"? Curing is basically the drying of tobacco in a moderately controlled environment. Growth will stop until the weather warms up, then continue, but the plants will be smaller. Live in California. Or can I plant them right away in areas with a long growing season? Or is it better to harvest the whole plant once it has flowered? Just thought i'ld let you know the 'head start' theory appeared to work. If you hit 71% or greater, you will have to take the bud out to dry more. Email Us | (888)366-0345 Account Login Create Account. Instead of a timer you could also use an eight dollar dimmer cord found at any hardware store, it will adjust the power and heat output of any bulb. The Old Firm (author) from Waikato/Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand on September 21, 2014: Here's some info that i copied and pasted from this hub a couple of years ago. The same rules apply: pinch out or otherwise remove them. Cigar tobacco producers ferment tobacco naturally by creating huge piles of air cured leaves. It is cured/air dried in a carport. Answer: Dissolve a little honey in alcohol, (Rum, Vodka, Port through preference.) Answer: From seedling to mature plant (in a temperate climate) in about three months if planted in late Spring - early Summer; longer if planted later. Allow 2 meters headroom if you keep them inside and remember to pick out the sideshoots growing in the leaf joins (just like tomatoes do) they can be planted too for a later crop. Wear sterile disposable gloves and fill each jar about of the way full with your dried and trimmed buds. It won't taste like much but it won't kill you. Every council and government department has a proliferation of the swine at their lower levels trying to screw up the doers. This was our first year planting and. Will they taste better? Put tobacco in jar. I joined the hub just to thank you.). I have smoked ciggies, small cigars and a pipe since I was about 14. The site loading pace is amazing. The grow fast so don't start them too early, time it for the optimum outdoor transplant date. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 141,782 times. and spray it finely on the dried leaves with a garden mister. This process is all done quickly. Also, in the images above you can see the vent holes I cut in the top and bottom of the coolerI have since plugged them up to hold in the humiditythere was too much ventilation going on. That being said, so can drinking, singing off-key, eating too much (or not enough) meat, and so on. 3 years ago. Tobacco leaves are ready for smoking or storage when theyre brown and pliable, but not too brittle. Im growing in ohio, where the difference betwixt winter and summer is almost nonexistent. on Step 5. sounds like the uneven curing is due to inconsistent humidity and too dry of an environment. Question: Is it possible to grow tobacco plants in a pot rather than a garden? Just to clarify Im not trying to cheat my way out of setting up a kiln. The Old Firm (author) from Waikato/Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand on September 16, 2014: Hi tobacco enthusiast, glad to know that I was of help. I hang dry my buds in a tent for at least 10 days, preferably longer with controlled humidity at around 60%. This will always depend on how much you grow and how big your boiler is. Keep their soil moist but not soggy when they're young. Start the tobacco seedlings no sooner than 4 weeks before the spring night time temps are 50 degrees or so. I actually think I am on about or coming up to my 6th year smoking my homegrown bakky. Here in New Zealand, nothing much seems to bug tobacco, either from above or below ground. At which temperature fermentation stops? Im thinking about purchasing and would like to hear some opinions. Many thanks. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. This is a brilliant step-by-step on how to get to the end product I'm looking for so thanks so much mate! I've been toying with the idea of growing my own tobacco for a year now and just found your site by looking for how to cure tobacco. Treat it as you would tomatoes. Cheers, Hi John, Nicotiana Sylvestris, Kimgs catalogue number SKU 0950, $3.75 a packet (it's listed as a flower, which of course it is), Brilliant hub most helpful I've seen on the net thus far. It kind of feels that you are doing any distinctive trick. Make sure kiln has good air circulation and that jars aren't touching walls to prevent condensation in jars. The ribs are easy to remove at that point. You too can join the ranks of tobacco plant enthusiasts and with some luck and planning, your efforts may be rewarded with a homegrown cigar! Is that safe to smoke? Would also be interested to read the article you mentioned on distilling but can't find it? So how do you raise the delicate little darlings? Curing can last anywhere from two weeks minimum, to up to six months for some strains. proberly down to the paper.. the best way i found was hung up in a garrage. Monitor the leaves periodically to make sure they dont turn moldy, and remove any leaves that do. It will grow in pretty much any type of soil you have. Just let the plants grow as shown in my hub, don't fuss over them as they're hardy, just make sure that they have at least a 2 ft spacing from each other or other plants, they'll transplant OK at this size if you have to, but better if you don't as it checks their growth, not a great worry. Do you ferment leaves for smoking tobacco? Yes I agree that there was too much moisture. You get the picture. on Introduction. I suggest that you Google "HubPages" and check them out. Answer: You keep them, yellowing means that they're partly cured. I assume that you're in the northern hemisphere, which means that you are in late Autumn, so I suggest that you pick the leaves and hang them to dry. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Was going to make a wooden box but this was easier as I had the bits. You may need to stand on something to do it! Mary Wickison from USA on March 23, 2014: After years of nagging (I mean politely requesting) my husband to stop, now I find your page. Pinch them out as well. Let them dry out on the plant. Bottom leaves have been harvested from the rear plants. Have you tried this method? When the leaves are brown and the edges have curled slightly, the process is complete. How does humidity affect the rate of fermenting? on Introduction, https://www.cigarworld.com/education/tobacco-411/curing-and-fermentation/. Answer: It's fine, (If you want to speed drying put some leaves in a VERY low oven for an hour or more until they are dry enough to suit). Answer: The leaves normally dry from the bottom of the plant up. My tobacco does not smell like tobacco at all. . How do you know your tobacco will be ok for cigarettes, but not for cigars or vice versa? Question: When the bottom leaves go yellow before flowering starts, do I cut off the yellowing leaves and dispose of them or keep them? I have been using this for flavouring, this is a half strength as found the full strength to strong. He then filled about 1/6 of the cylinder with water and propped the leaves up on another piece of aluminium with a small vent hole in it. Just wanted to see how it's done. Answer: I know people that have done both, so it's really up to you which is handiest, I don't think that it makes much difference to the end product. Put tobacco in jar. Really its just a foam cooler with a $5 light from Home Depot now Oct. 26, 2011 UPDATE: In the final version of this fermenter, a (I simply used a cooler with no air holes, just one hole punched at the top for the light fixture). They were small plants, about 2 ft (60 cm) high when winter hit. This is an excellent time to test whether you have dried your nugs properly. I also ground some into a powder snuff, I added a cotton ball dipped in scented oil for a week or so to add flavor and scent then removed the cotton ball later. The biggest difference is that the plastic box did too good of a job sealing in the moisture, and perhaps there was too much to begin with. 11 years ago Easy to follow and a good laugh along the way. Note: I'll continue this in feet and inches only, for the sake of our American cousins. James' book The Heirloom Tobacco Garden and i've been excited to try his method using jars. 12.5% cure for between 5 and 10 days. By using our site, you agree to our. I know people who smoke tobacco at every shade, as the whim and their approach to curing takes them, and they seem no worse off than off the shelf smokers. First time grower. Mine are not as tall as yours - max about 4 foot. No oil heaters required! The best temperatures for growing tobacco is 68 to 86 F (20 to 30 C). tobacco enthusiast on September 16, 2014: Luther 2 the b8g ribs can be Removed! I have grown some and do not want to ferment it. Water them thoroughly and then keep watering to prevent the dirt from drying out. Leaves that dry too fast may remain green. Thanks heaps for your all your good work and effort.. As you are aware, we are being raped by our jackboot government, overtaxing and discriminating against smokers.. Prices are going through the roof. 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Tobacco plant, singing off-key, eating too much moisture tobacco seedlings no sooner than 4 before. Away in areas with a garden a little honey in curing tobacco in jars, ( I a... The bottom of the way: I 'll continue this in feet and inches only for.