Freezer flue questions

[Kaylakaylakayla11]

Hi! My name is Kayla. I’m in Canada. Been rolling my own cigarettes for a few years from WLT because taxes.. but really to control quality and avoid the chemicals.

I grew two plants in a pot outside over the summer for fun, but had no idea what I was doing and let it go to seed. I harvested those and started seedlings a few weeks ago. Don’t ask why, winter blues.

So here I am with 20 Virginia tobacco plants 5 gallon buckets under LED lights in the spare bedroom because there is still 5 ft of snow here. I honestly didn’t think the seeds would work, oops.

I’ve got essentially 3 months to figure out what I’m going to do once they are ripe.

The easier method (I think): Can I stalk harvest Virginia? Hang it upside down to air cure and then let it sit forever… or until I figure out a kilning method that won’t burn down my house?

Or what I would prefer to do: I would LOVE to flu-cure this stuff and even have a broken freezer but I’m hesitant to ask my husband for help because he’s still shell shocked that the house is turning into a grow-op.

I have an induction hot plate I could use but I’m not sure if sticking it in there will fry the electronics. I do have a crock pot too…. But I don’t understand how to get the right temperature with it since it’s only got “high” and “low” settings. For air circulation, I was going to use my mini desk fan. As for humidity… I’ll have to wing it. Feeding the power cords into the freezer, the freezer wasn’t well sealed the begin with so we installed a latch. I was just going to jump on the door until I can close it with the wires sticking out. Not sure if that’s dangerous?

I’m NOT electronically inclined so this will be a huge learning curve.

Thoughts, comments, tips, insults?

 

[deluxestogie]

I'll make one suggestion regarding the Virginia. Stalk-harvest it, and hang the stalks in sunlight, to sun-cure them. That requires about 3 weeks. The character of sun-cured Virginia is between that of air-cured and flue-cured.

Bob

 

[Kaylakaylakayla11]

I'll make one suggestion regarding the Virginia. Stalk-harvest it, and hang the stalks in sunlight, to sun-cure them. That requires about 3 weeks. The character of sun-cured Virginia is between that of air-cured and flue-cured.

Bob

Didn’t even consider that option! Not finding much infor on sun-drying. Should I bring the stocks in at night or when the weatherman anticipates rain? Can the leaves handle that kind of movement?

I'll make one suggestion regarding the Virginia. Stalk-harvest it, and hang the stalks in sunlight, to sun-cure them. That requires about 3 weeks. The character of sun-cured Virginia is between that of air-cured and flue-cured.

Bob

Harvest time will be around May. Will sun curing work if it’s only about 67F high during the day?

I could also hang them under LEDs near a window indoor. We keep the house closer to 69.

 

[deluxestogie]

I hang the stalks upside down on a clothesline. I bring them into the shed if rain is expected. The leaves color-cure from the base of the stalk (now closest to the top) first, and progress toward the tip of the stalk. Once they begin to cure, I daily remove any leaves that have cured. While they are still green, rain is not a problem. The temp is not a problem, so long as there is sun. Even cloudy days work. Your days will be longer than mine.

I know nothing about LEDs.

Bob

 

[Controlled Chaos]

How did your harvest turn out? I'm using an old freezer to flue cure and have gotten some pretty good results, but the last two days require a bit of attention. The yellowing stage you can set and forget until the leaves are yellow.



Here's all you'll need to be well on your way:

Just plug your crock pot into the outlet that says "Heating" and dangle the probe inside of the freezer. The only downside to this unit is you'll have to manually raise the temperate a couple degrees every few hours during the drying stages.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HXM5UAC

If you check my grow blog you'll see screenshots using this digital thermometer/hygrometer. The app is free. You may have to crack the lid of the freezer to get a reading, sometimes it won't refresh even though it says it's current.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R586J37

A fan from a computer tower would be good for keeping air circulating, they're safe to use beyond the 160F you'll need to cure and don't produce much heat. I'm using a shower exhaust fan and it's been holding temp without the crock pot so far