Fermenting tobacco

[iaindescribable]

I'm considering growing my own tobacco. I've been researching the laws around it and nothing's really stopping me but deciding what varieties I want to grow before next year's frost. The only thing I can't find a lot of information on is curing it when it's done. I was thinking fermenting it could be fairly easy; maybe some sort of sealed plastic container, like one of those big Rubbermaid bins, on a heating mat? Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Here's last year's take on that. http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/the-2015-cosmic-crop
What curing you'll want depends on what varieties you grow. Do you have any ideas yet?

 

[iaindescribable]

What curing you'll want depends on what varieties you grow. Do you have any ideas yet?

Most likely Burley and Virginia. I don't want to go too crazy with exotic tobaccos until I've gotten it down. I don't know quite where my taste lies yet, either, so I've got the next year to think on it. Our family is big on sustainability and knowing where our produce comes from, so this is partly just to have more control over my own hobby.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There are a few home growers forums where I stole lots of great ideas. We also have a few others who grow here on the forums. I also found a lot of good ideas in a few obscure books. Curing ideas are polarizing and sometimes held secret by farmers.

Fermenting though is a cigar thing, which I have not delved into yet. Unless you mean something else when you say fermenting.

 

[iaindescribable]

Well, I did mean fermenting, but after reading your resources I see I'm wrong on how to cure it. Cigars are most definitely not the direction I was heading. Air curing seems a lot more manageable.

 

[jitterbugdude]

I highly recommend you join the FairTradeTobacco forum. You'll learn everything you need to know about tobacco on that site. You don't need to ferment tobacco. You can just let it age 6 months to a year. All fermenting does is speed up the process. A simple fermenting chamber though can be made very easily out of a box, crockpot (for heat and humidity) and a thermostat.
If you air cure a Virginia it's going to taste more like a Burley because by air curing it will lose its sugars. You can sun cure Virginias and they will be just like the real thing.
I'd also highly recommend growing some Turkish. There are dozens of varieties to chose from.

 

[jitterbugdude]

That's one of the many myths associated with tobacco. Turkish Tobacco can be grown here just as successfully as in Turkey.

 

[deathmetal]

similarly to the way Thai, Lebanese &c. pot strains devolve back into ordinary fieldweed within a few generations (or are said to)

This is apocryphal, but if you plant them outside, you will surely get contaminating strains. If even traces of those mix in, you lose the original traits. It's totally Darwinian.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ummm... I'm not sure jitter's goal is to supplant the French wine industry. Actually, I'm absolutely certain that is not his goal. ::

 

[deathmetal]

I have kept tobacco in my underwear drawer for some time, and as more moisture and pressure is added, it tends to ferment. Doesn't taste like wine however.