Curing Arrangements for Cigarette Tobacco in a Dry Climate
- Thread starter Dazza1967
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You could possibly build an air curing chamber to maintain proper temps in a controlled environment. Like a kiln but lower temps for air curing. Then you could use the box for kilning which is speed aging the cured tobacco. If you are growing Virginia flue cure varieties your box could be used to flue cure those varieties which takes green leaf to final product in a few days. Let it rest a few days then kiln it.
Air curing box:
fairtradetobacco.com
Simple inexpensive curing box for air curing, kilning, or flue cure:
fairtradetobacco.com
flue curing chart:
Air curing box:
DGBAMA Redneck Curing Chamber Build
To preface, my intent this year as a first time grower was simply to have smokable at minimal cost. Grow, hang, dry, smoke..............Weather in the S.E. has been something of a "B#$%^" this year. Our August weather should be great for air curing......mid-upper 90s w/ good...
Simple inexpensive curing box for air curing, kilning, or flue cure:
China Voodoo's Invertebrate Kiln
I'm using a temperature controller. Temperature is produced by two 40W incandescent bulbs which hang inside an aluminum tube, with forced air provided full time by a 110V fan purchased at princess auto. The tube is bent so it blows air from the bottom to the top. Tobacco is in...
flue curing chart:
I will be growing Virginia gold and burley, I have a box that I can control the temperature and humidity please tell me exactly what to do after I pick the leaves, do I hang them in my box at that temperature and humidity??? And for how long or until it gets to what colour??? I am new to this and I need exact instructions.You could possibly build an air curing chamber to maintain proper temps in a controlled environment. Like a kiln but lower temps for air curing. Then you could use the box for kilning which is speed aging the cured tobacco. If you are growing Virginia flue cure varieties your box could be used to flue cure those varieties which takes green leaf to final product in a few days. Let it rest a few days then kiln it.
Air curing box:
DGBAMA Redneck Curing Chamber Build
To preface, my intent this year as a first time grower was simply to have smokable at minimal cost. Grow, hang, dry, smoke..............Weather in the S.E. has been something of a "B#$%^" this year. Our August weather should be great for air curing......mid-upper 90s w/ good...
Simple inexpensive curing box for air curing, kilning, or flue cure:
China Voodoo's Invertebrate Kiln
I'm using a temperature controller. Temperature is produced by two 40W incandescent bulbs which hang inside an aluminum tube, with forced air provided full time by a 110V fan purchased at princess auto. The tube is bent so it blows air from the bottom to the top. Tobacco is in...
flue curing chart:
View attachment 36867
If you are air curing keep the temps below 104F until yellow. You will need a vent as 80% of the weight of the leaf will come off as water. Keep the humidity below 70% to prevent mold. Use a circulating fan to prevent dead spots and maintain even temps and humidity.
Prime the leaf when ripe, rather than mature and the leaf will be easier to cure. Rugose, alligatory texture, alot to mostly yellow at harvest.
Prime the leaf when ripe, rather than mature and the leaf will be easier to cure. Rugose, alligatory texture, alot to mostly yellow at harvest.
Ripe tobacco leaf:
fairtradetobacco.com
Ripe tobacco leaf
Probably the best available example of a "Ripe" tobacco leaf. This picture is all over the internet and I can't find who to give credit to. This is a Bright Leaf plant which is a Flue cured type. The leaf is allowed to get what I call "ripe ripe" due to the manner in which it is cured. For...
So I hang the leaves in my box when they are green or just starting to yellow and I keep the temp at say 100F and the humidity about 65% and have a small fan in the box to move the air around and maybe slightly move the leaves a bit and I also have a vent with with a small fan on it that sucks the air out of the box I should have that turned on. Have I got that right?
Define dry. I think Arizona and New Mexico. What will your ambient temps and humidity be at curing time? Are they steady and stable or do they swing up and down with a rainy season?
What is your current box setup and what are you using for a controller, what’s your humidity source?
35 to 65% humidity
Welcome to the forum. Feel free to introduce yourself in the Introduce Yourself forum. Do read our New Growers' FAQ, and scan through the topics that might be of intrest to you in our Index of Key Forum Threads. Both are linked in the menu bar.
Bob
Bob
Do you have a small shed? The reason I’m asking is because it could be possible to stalk cure your burley, hang it in the shed and possibly raise the humidity inside the shed by hanging towels as a wick from buckets of water. By stalk curing, the leaves share their moisture and dry more slowly. You could then simultaneously flue cure your Virginia flue cure varieties in your box while the burley is air curing. Flue curing the Virginia’s will result in a more sweet flavor and result in a leaf comparable to commercial flue cured Virginia’s. Another option would be to wilt/yellow the flue cure varieties in the shop, then move them to full sun for sun curing. This will result in sweetness profile that will fall between air cured and flue cured. I don’t really care for air cured Virginia’s, I prefer sun cured or flue cured. It’s not a one fit all proposition. The more info we have, the better we can help you tailor a solution that fits your current situation.
edit: burleys should be air cured, the results of sun curing or flue curing burley are yucky.
edit: burleys should be air cured, the results of sun curing or flue curing burley are yucky.
I believe you will need more insulation and better sealing to maintain the 125F temp for kilning for 6-8 weeks and 165F temp for flue curing for about a week.
I can do what ever has to be do just please explain to me what I have to do
When does your growing season start?
Do you have a shed, garage, shop, or room you could curtain off with plastic for air curing?
How many plants do you intend to grow?
Will you be growing outdoors?
Do you have a shed, garage, shop, or room you could curtain off with plastic for air curing?
How many plants do you intend to grow?
Will you be growing outdoors?
Oldfella
Well-Known Member
Welcome from me in NZ. Where are you located in Australia? The climate varies a lot over there, from very dry to very wet. If you take the time to look around the forum most of your questions will be answered. The FAQ as Bob says is good start. Ask around your area maybe there's someone else who is growing Tobacco and could help. There are quite a few members of this forum from Aus as well, use the introduce yourself section as most members check it from time to time.
Oldfella
Oldfella
Where I live it is winter now and spring starts in the beginning of September, I am planning to grow burly and Virginia gold around 20 to 30 plants in 20lt buckets where I can put them is in part shade for a bit of the day. I plan to plant my seeds around mid Aug in the box that I have built where I can control the temperature and humidity and light which I am hoping that can double as a drying box for my leaves. Last mid to late summer I planted a few plants to play around with as this is my first time at this to see how things go. The box that I built works very well to raise the seeds and seedlings. In the next couple of weeks I plan to build one that is about 3 times the size that will be insulated. At the moment I only have seed heat mats in it which I can only get around a maximum of 27C inside the box which is more then enough for seedlings but I can work out another heat source to get it hotter if necessary. I also have a reptile humidifer going into the box so I can control the humidity to what ever it needs to be there is also a small fan inside to move that air around to try and keep the temperature and humidity as even as possible throughout the box, I also have a vent with a fan on it to suck any hot air out of there as needed it is controlled by a controller or I can have it running all the time if needed. The 2 plants that I had to play around with I hung the leaves in there when they were green and some when they were just starting to turn yellow at 25C and 70% humidity and they dryed green and arnt much good. I don't have anywhere else really that I can hang leaves to dry and cure. I need guidance on how I can use the new box that I will build to do my leaves in I need exact instructions on what to do and how to do it.
Myself and many others here use a crock pot for both heat and humidity. ChinaVoodoo uses shielded incandescent light bulbs for his heat source. Following are the plans for three of those. The ChinaVoodoo build is elegant in its simplicity, low cost, and ease of build. There are several others on the forum, the LeftyRighty build is from an old upright fridge or freezer. Already insulated with a nice door seal. You can find that one with the search function.
deluxestogie’s build includes instructions for flue curing, the method, temps, humidity and how to read the flue curing chart I posted earlier.
fairtradetobacco.com
fairtradetobacco.com
fairtradetobacco.com
DGBAMA’s thread is about air curing in his box. We were in an extremely dry, hot year in Alabama and air curing in his box was the best way to prevent drying green. Very similar to your situation. In his thread you will find ideal air curing conditions and the methods he used to achieve them.
fairtradetobacco.com
You could air cure the Burley in your current box as the temps won’t have to reach kilning or flue curing temperatures. You will just need to duplicate ideal air curing conditions, easily accomplished with what you currently have. Instructions in the DGBAMA thread.
You could use the flue cure method for your flue cure Virginia varieties with your new insulated box. Instructions in the Deluxestogie thread. Holler if you need us.
deluxestogie’s build includes instructions for flue curing, the method, temps, humidity and how to read the flue curing chart I posted earlier.
China Voodoo's Invertebrate Kiln
I'm using a temperature controller. Temperature is produced by two 40W incandescent bulbs which hang inside an aluminum tube, with forced air provided full time by a 110V fan purchased at princess auto. The tube is bent so it blows air from the bottom to the top. Tobacco is in...
Deluxestogie's Endoskeletal Wood Tobacco Kiln / Flue-cure chamber
PART 1 of 4 Endoskeleton. The foam board goes on the outside. Caveat The wood-built kiln discussed here has several advantages over using a dead, upright freezer for a kiln, but will require more work to complete, and will certainly cost more. it weighs significantly less it can be sized to...
Knuckleheads Wooden Box Kiln Build
I've been meaning to build a kiln for the past two seasons but have just gotten off my sorry ass and decided to do something about it. (Bob's thread kicked off my thinking seriously about it) First, let me say that the cheapest kiln build is one from a free freezer, as the box itself is the most...
DGBAMA’s thread is about air curing in his box. We were in an extremely dry, hot year in Alabama and air curing in his box was the best way to prevent drying green. Very similar to your situation. In his thread you will find ideal air curing conditions and the methods he used to achieve them.
DGBAMA Redneck Curing Chamber Build
To preface, my intent this year as a first time grower was simply to have smokable at minimal cost. Grow, hang, dry, smoke..............Weather in the S.E. has been something of a "B#$%^" this year. Our August weather should be great for air curing......mid-upper 90s w/ good...
You could air cure the Burley in your current box as the temps won’t have to reach kilning or flue curing temperatures. You will just need to duplicate ideal air curing conditions, easily accomplished with what you currently have. Instructions in the DGBAMA thread.
You could use the flue cure method for your flue cure Virginia varieties with your new insulated box. Instructions in the Deluxestogie thread. Holler if you need us.
Last edited:
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Option 2 - Sun Curing
Prime leaves at appropriate times.
If there is still green on them, pile them in the garage under a tarp or put them in a closed cardboard box.
Every day, go through the pile and pull out leaves that are almost totally yellow. String these leaves and hang them in the sun in the hottest place possible, where they're generally sheltered from the wind.
When the ribs are dry, it's done. But, if only the lamina is dry, you can take them out of the sun for that to occur.
Prime leaves at appropriate times.
If there is still green on them, pile them in the garage under a tarp or put them in a closed cardboard box.
Every day, go through the pile and pull out leaves that are almost totally yellow. String these leaves and hang them in the sun in the hottest place possible, where they're generally sheltered from the wind.
When the ribs are dry, it's done. But, if only the lamina is dry, you can take them out of the sun for that to occur.
Option 2 is for Orientals and flue-cure varieties. Burley generally comes out much better when air-cured than sun-cured.
Bob
Bob
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