Awesome job. I didn't grow any at all this year. Last year, I bit off more than I could chew, but I did get quite a bit... but, mine is still in the barn. I haven't started rolling twists yet.
NZ Homegrown
- Thread starter Ahi Ka
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Looks great! I blend whole leaf at home but have yet to grow. It's at the top of my list to add some to my crops next year
Awesome. I’m curious to hear how your Virginias age differently due to the enzymes which may or may not have been destroyed in the different curing processes. Next year I want to only grow Virginia and sun cure them.
i vacuum seal all of my stuff, but that’s more to do with storage space, and having made plugs out of them. I’ve had whole leaf sitting in jars for 3 years now and only one went mouldy. Low case and a stable environment is enough.
my mate has even experimented with wiping mould of leaf with vinegar and jarring. None has grown back.
best advice I got from a seasoned grower was to weigh your leaf in low case before processing, and then dry down until it reaches that weight again. I’ve heard of plugs/twists moulding from the inside out
I ended up with about 700-800g of tobacco for smoking. Most has gone into the cellar, but I left a couple of Oz out of each variety and have been smoking and blending it already.
Ernie Q on casing, pressing, and blending
(moderator note: copied from the home tobacco press thread.) Okie dokie. I’ve left the ‘that there terbaccy Elves in charge of guarding your orders at the shop and have a bit more time to talk about pressing etc. First things first...and I CANNOT stress this enough. Every tobacco you buy...
pipesmokersdens.com
Ah yes I remember reading this a couple of years ago when I started growing. I clearly have the tastes buds of a dumpster rat then.Ernie Q on casing, pressing, and blending
(moderator note: copied from the home tobacco press thread.) Okie dokie. I’ve left the ‘that there terbaccy Elves in charge of guarding your orders at the shop and have a bit more time to talk about pressing etc. First things first...and I CANNOT stress this enough. Every tobacco you buy...
So far...I think so good? I tried a few things, but have landed on pulling the leaves as they yellow and hanging them in my shed for 3-7 days. Once they've lost most of their green except for the stems, I put them in a reclaimed beverage fridge to sweat them for 4-8 weeks. The fridge has a crock pot that I fill twice per day and keeps the box between 75%-80% humidity at 121-124 degrees F on low. The leaves get wilted and very sticky after hanging for the first 3-7 days, then they go into the box. The aroma after a month in the box has been very pleasant.
Once the leaves are well browned and stems dry, I've started to de-stem and let them dry out a little more in the air before putting in a jar. They look, feel and smell good but giving it some more rest time before trying. I'm wondering if vacuum sealing might be better than just loose in a jar as raw.
That's a good suggestion about weighing! It makes sense and I will keep that in mind when I look at doing a little processing.
This year I experimented with the leaves which weren’t ready to be picked when I did my main harvest. I piled them in a cardboard box, checked and rotated them every few days and as individual leaves yellowed I then hung them inside a shed window which got full sun. Sort of a semi-sun cure to try and lock a few of the sugars into the leaf while curing. I then put them in my converted fridge for kilning/sweating for a few weeks too
Also I’m the first to admit that vacuum sealing my be unnecessary. One reason I do it is to maintain the pressure of the plugs. I also am starting to grow leaf which I don’t intend on smoking for a decade or two. I’ve found a system which works for me currently. I’ll adapt as needed. A lot of people have no issues with jars, some even put their jars of leaf in the slow cooker on high for the night as a heat treatment for mould
If you heat treat, does that kill off enzymes that assist in aging as well?
I don't think it's hot enough. I could be wrong but I'm almost positive
Interesting method of weighing it multiple times to dry down properly. I'm nervous about some of my bricks. Some are very lightly topped, all are low case and pressed tightly then vacuum sealed. I'm nervous cause I don't plan on pulling them out to try for years. Molding from the inside is pretty intimidating.
I'll be using this method of weighing it twice in the future.
If they are vacuum sealed, in theory they should be ok
in regards to the heat treatment and the ageing enzymes, it would definitely kill the one with the lower temperature point (as does flue curing), but it would depend on how hot you slow cooker goes I guess as to whether the second one is killed.
@cosmicfolklore you heat treat your ropes in jars don’t you?
I do, and use a crock pot to heat the jars.
I hear this about heat killing enzymes occasionally, but most tobaccos have been through a heating process, and all Virginias have been heated, so I don’t think there is anything to it.
@Ahi Ka Looks like you're getting round NZ tobacco taxes
Good crop of baccy - I bet it would smoke well in a clay pipe
I'd like to try some but it would cost more in shipping...
Good crop of baccy - I bet it would smoke well in a clay pipe
I'd like to try some but it would cost more in shipping...