First Attempt at Growing and Processing

[mso489]

That was some labor and expense, but you know more about tobacco than most of us ever will. Pretty crop I must say; looks robust and healthy. I'd age it at least a year or two, to give it every opportunity. I bet it will be delicious.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Thanks for the great photo essay. Hope it smokes well for you!

 

[jvnshr]

Impressive indeed. Thanks for sharing.

 

[brightleaf]

How many plants did you harvest, what was the weight of your final product?

Looks good, I think I'd smoke a bowl-full right away. Then you will have a better idea of what changes during aging. I'd also be curious if you can taste your casing, and what changes you would consider for next year.

 

[phallbass]

There were about 2 dozen plants between my brother and I. The yield was small because as we started stripping the leaves we got very picky as to which leaves made the cut. So there could have been a bigger but not better yield. All together with some that is still pressing I'm going to guess 3-4 pounds maybe? Not really sure. Going to try some soon and will have a couple of small control jars to break into as time moves along. I'm curious about the casing as well. Also at this point I wouldn't do anything differently​ next year , but that may change once I smoke some. But mso is probably correct. A year or 2.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Awesome! Looks like you had a successful first year. Let us know how it smokes.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Add some heat! Take some and put it back into your kiln for a few weeks.

The Burley will take at least a year to mellow out naturally. If the Virginias were kilned instead of flue cured you lost all the naturals sugars. Hopefully the casing will make up the difference.

 

[phallbass]

Thanks for the info jitterbugdude. Any help is appreciated. There were so little Va's at the end I really wondered if it mattered. It all in all was a very fun project. A fun addition to our usual gardening/processing season.

 

[oldmansmoking]

Let us know what it tastes like.

You mentioned you cased it, what with?

 

[paddypiper]

Looks very good. I wish mine had turned out half that well. But the learning experience is half the fun.

 

[crashthegrey]

Thank you for sharing the pictures. What a cool process. I'd really like to give this a shot soon.

 

[deathmetal]

Looks wonderful. Interesting to see the many stages.

 

[saltedplug]

I am very, very impressed by your work. Looking at the plug before jarring makes me want to eat one. Kinda nifty and pocket-sized, like a Snickers. Will you have any for sale? What was the blend?

 

[woodsroad]

Jitterbug opined:

"If the Virginias were kilned instead of flue cured you lost all the naturals sugars."

I'm assuming this has to do with the treatment temperature. Could you elaborate?

 

[hawky454]

Looks amazing! One day I’d like to try my hand at growing some myself.

 

[crusader]

Looks like a good job for a first timer. ITs much tougher than one would expect, huh.
It looked like you harvested too soon (too green) but the results look great!

 

[txpiper07]

Very impressive!! Hope it’s the best smoke you have.

 

[nevadablue]

Wow, I am impressed! Thank you for showing us the process. Please do keep us posted with any progress. VERY interesting.

 

[mikethompson]

Incredible!
That's commitment right there!

 

[965fan]

So neat!