Highgrave's 2024 Grow Blog

[highgrave]

Thanks for the kind words Olmstead, I'm glad you are benefitting from reading my grow blog!

Thanks Old Gasman for the advice as well, and your mid rib removal seems like a good strategy.

I think I am still not 100% clear on what the deal is with mid rib hydration, so hopefully you guys can clarify...

The goal of color curing is to slowly turn the leaf from green to brown, all the while never allowing it to dry out, until it is brown, at which point it is desirable to dry the mid rib completely; why?

The next step is either kilning, or just straight ageing, and it is necessary/beneficial for the leaf to be in medium case (correct?) in order for the aging to take place. So why am I drying it out of case at the end of color curing, only to rehydrate it for the next step? Could I not keep it in a low case condition from color curing on? It there something about drying it completey that helps to prevent mold later, when back in case?

My curing space is 70 to 80% humidity, and 85F. If I want to completely dry the mid ribs then I will lower the humidity once the leaf is completely brown. I don’t think I can get a crispy midrib at my current humidity.

So why crispy?

 

[wruk53]

I think I am still not 100% clear on what the deal is with mid rib hydration, so hopefully you guys can clarify...

The goal of color curing is to slowly turn the leaf from green to brown, all the while never allowing it to dry out, until it is brown, at which point it is desirable to dry the mid rib completely; why?

I was hoping that someone else would tackle this one, but I'll give it a try. The midrib and leaf are full of juices and vegetative matter when first picked and will rot\mold if not dried out, just the same as a piece of celery would if left out on the counter for days at a time. Once the midrib has shrunken and dried the danger of molding is lessened considerably and it becomes like a hard dry stick. When it is brought back into case, it does not swell back up to its original size, it just becomes pliable. You still don't want to store the tobacco in too high of case or it can still rot.

The statement about color curing is not correct. The goal is to color cure as rapidly as you can from green to yellow and then dry it completely. Once it has turned yellow and the drying has begun, that is when it turns tan, brown, red or whatever final color it assumes. I think maybe you are confusing color curing with aging. Aging begins after the leaf has been color cured, completely dried and then brought back into case.

BTW, color curing is a breeze if you let the leaf at least begin to change color on the plant before harvest and maintain proper humidity levels.

 

[Knucklehead]

My curing space is 70 to 80% humidity, and 85F. If I want to completely dry the mid ribs then I will lower the humidity once the leaf is completely brown. I don’t think I can get a crispy midrib at my current humidity.

My humidity swings up and down. If my humidity is too high at the time for stem drying, I stack leaf on a propagation heat mat for stem drying, shuffling the leaf in the stack until stems are dry. Then I mist with water to low case for handling to go to kiln or storage.

 

[highgrave]

Ok, the lesson has finally been absorbed. Thanks Wruck53 and Knucklehead once again for your guidance.

Although my Orientals got pretty dry after the sun curing, the mid ribs were not crispy. I bagged have them already, so I have moved the now opened bags back into the curing room. Temp is still 85, but I have reduced the humidity to 50%. I will let all midribs go crispy dry, and then bring the humidity back up to bring the leaf back into case. The dark airs and burleys also have no green left in the mid ribs.

 

[highgrave]

I decided after the first day of reduced humidity in my curing bathroom to turn the humidier off completely, seeing as the goal was to completely dry out the mid ribs at this stage. The passive humidity in my house at the moment is about 38%. Tobacco is dry now, but I will leave them another week undisturbed before bringing the humidity back up to get the leaf into case, to be sure.

Meanwhile, I've built my kiln box, which I am calling "the tobacco sauna."

I wanted to try my hand at resawing wood on my bandsaw, which I mostly use for metal. I thought this would be good practice.

I took some cedar 2x4"s and made panel for the inside of an old bar fridge. By the end, I was managing to cut them evenly.

For heat, I have a heat lamp inside a piece of ducting, with a fan blowing through the ducting. Temperature is controlled by an old Johnson Controls A419 I had laying around. I plan to hang sealed bags of leaf off the hook in the top centre. Hopefully the constantly running fan will maintain an even temperature. Seems stable while empty. Smells good, even empty!

 

[deluxestogie]

Definitely a handsome kiln.

Bob

 

[Anders A]

Wow, looks great, now I have to start planning for something similar

 

[highgrave]

The very base of the leaf stems of some of my One Sucker are still a bit spongy, so I am continuing to dry them down, along with my Little Yellow and Harrow Velvet.

I will bring the Harrow Velvet back into case next and let it rest, in low case, in bags for a few weeks before moving into the kiln.

I will rehydrate and move the Dark Airs into the kiln as soon as they have reached maximum crispyness, probably after a couple more weeks.

The Orientals were bone dry for well over 10 days, so I decided to bring them back into case and move into my kiln, set to 125F.

Seperating the Orientals, I raised the room humidity to about 80%, at 80 degrees F for about 24 hours, shuffling the leaves in the rolled down bags I have them sorted in. Now I think the leaf is in about medium case; slightly floppy but still some noise

They are bagged according to stalk location in sealed ziplocks, and then re-bagged in bulk into 3 mil fancy ziplocks that I overpaid for on Amazon. I also misted the inside of the 3 mil outer bags, in anticipation of some moisture loss in the dry kiln enclosure. Not sure that was necessary, I will evaluate as I progress. Maybe I'll put a moisture source inside the kiln enclosure.




Getting some whole leaf from WLT was very educational; seeing and feeling what the tobacco was like when I opened the bags, and using that as a reference point for low case. Based on my reading here, particularly @AmaxB's thread, I expect to learn a great deal about the relationship between hydration and kiln fermentation. Hopefully I am in the ballpark.


I plan to only kiln this for a week, as I don't want to chase away the varietal qualities too much.

Looking forward to doing more combustive sensory analysis of this leaf after that.

 

[highgrave]

Little Yellow Puro. Kilned two months. Was a bit tricky as wrapper, being so thick, but I managed.

 

[deluxestogie]

Little Yellow Puro.

You're a courageous soul.

Bob

 

[MadFarmer]

Little Yellow Puro. Kilned two months. Was a bit tricky as wrapper, being so thick, but I managed.

View attachment 54138

How did it taste? Would you have it again?

 

[highgrave]

Currently enjoying. Smoking it is very different than snus, which I have also made from this crop. Molasses in the snus is strong, but is more restrained and dry as a smoke. Bitter chicolate. Stout nicotine. Hint of cork. I smoke my cigars with a high proportion of ligero when using WLT leaf, so I am finding this nicotine managable. Burning nicely. Feeling quite pleased with myself. I will roll this again, and can see this making it's way into blends.