That might be too quick of a dry. Bob wrote somewhere that certai. Processes of the leaf drying need to take place before drying. I think he said that this is true of white stem varieties because they have less chlorophyll when they first turn yellow those processes haven't completed.
Are you referring to the stem drying or the sun curing?
Sun Curing - I am letting them fully yellow in the shop before I move them out to the sun. During the yellow stage, they are staying pliable and moist. After browning, the lamina will dry crispy brown in the sun. I leave them out about two more days after drying and they alternate between crispy brown in the afternoons to moist and pliable at night. I'm just leaving them outside the whole time and they get dewed on at night and the days are getting shorter so the stems aren't drying. I'm bringing them inside to dry the stems. I was drying them naturally in the basement at around 70F, 53% humidity with a dehumidifier running and a ceiling fan going 24/7. It's taking about a week to ten days to fully dry the stem.
Stem Drying with heat mat - I decided to try to speed the stem drying with the heat mat. There is no thermostat but the instructions said they will heat about 10F over ambient. The instructions didn't say if this meant the mat, the air, the soil or what. The leaf at this point is moist because I bring them in at night for handling and preparation for stem drying. I think at this point all I'm really drying is the stem. The leaf should be cured. The lamina has already been through 2-3 cycles of crispy dry then brought back into case at night by the dew and higher humidity.
My earlier description left out a lot of detail. I was more interested in relating my heat mat experience. I sure don't want to damage the leaf in any way. Look over my whole process and let me know if this is a possibility.
