Mold

[Moshe Kassirer]

Hello guys,

After a month+ I have some of the leaves full cured. and Im going to try to frement them.
But I noticed that on some of them I have mold, like this in the picture.
(The humid here is around 40-50% at day time and 80-90% at night)

What should I do with the mold leaves?

Thank you!

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Deluxe Bob has used a dilute vinegar solution to spray on leaf then hang them to dry.

 

[FmGrowit]

Moshe,

Good to here from you my friend. I trust, God willing, you and your family are safe.

Unfortunately, you have mildew growing on you leaf. Mildew is "Black mold" and from what I understand, it is the only harmful mold that grows on tobacco. I'd suggest doing a search for "black mold" or "mildew" on the forum and review the results.

This condition usually occurs when the leaf is being color cured in an area with improper ventilation or air circulation.

I wish you the best my friend

Don

 

[Jitterbugdude]

You could also spray Hydrogen Peroxide. It kills the mold, leaves no odd taste to the leaf and it biodegrades quickly.

 

[deluxestogie]

That looks pretty moldy. I would be inclined to use a pair of scissors to remove the moldy parts, and discard them. Black mold may be Aspergillus niger, which produces a hepatotoxin. The toxin is not a problem when the leaf is burned, but if you hold it in your mouth, it may be a problem.

Bob

 

[ne3go]

What about the white mold? I found some in few leaves that i cured. Is it ok if i cleaned them with Hydrogen Peroxide? This mold is not so harmful for the leaf, am i right?

 

[squeezyjohn]

I use all my tobacco orally ... and I would never use any tobacco that I knew had moulded for consumption - just in case it's "the wrong kind of mould!". If I still smoked regularly then I would be far more likely to rescue and use it though.

If I see tiny signs of fuzzy mould on the midrib - I try to rub it off and then dry as much as I possibly can ... using vinegar or pure ethanol to try and kill it off if it proves more stubborn. If it spreads beyond the midrib then I tend to strip the lamina away and continue curing without the midrib in some fashion.

Crushing the midribs - or creating multiple breaks along their length can speed up the drying time a great deal.

Curing - especially at this stage - requires a keen eye to be cast over your baccy on a very frequent basis! Especially once the whole thing is browned - but not yet completely dry in the middle. That is the time mould loves to strike!

 

[BarG]

Don't bother saving the black mold. It is usualy caused from too high humidity and like stated previously can be toxic. I have seen it in tops left out too long too cure and it does not go away. I throw affected leaves away. I had an unusualy wet drying season here in Texas and my thinnist cigar leaves have been sucseptable to a green type mold, I can catch it quick and stop by bringinging in a dry=ier environment , but it is my first time to experience this. The strange aspect of having this appear is directly related to when leaves were primed and the weather related.

 

[Moshe Kassirer]

Hello, sorry for the late answer...
Hi Don, we are ok here, thank you my friend.

i didn't know that this black mold is so bad, but when I took the leaves from the cure bundle and arrange them into packages and all my hands become black I understand I'm in troubles. There is a lot of leaves like that, like 40%.
Sucks!

The cure was (and still going on) outdoor under a roof without sun, and we have winds here, so it's got air circulation I believe. The problem I think, is the bundles I made, maybe it was too much leaves in a dense bundle. And in nights the humid was very high here (I was sure its good, like in Cuba ... )

Well, I think I'll give up. I'll stay with buying real leave. They are wonderfully.

Ill try to save what I can just for taste it, Im really curious.

Thanks!

 

[deluxestogie]

Moshe,
Leaves should not be tied into bundles until after they have color-cured and dried.

Bob

 

[rustycase]

+1

Hands, or bundles, are no good for color curing, IME. Just doesn't work for me.

However much you do grow, do your best!
BIG tobacco has enough to disguise poor quality in what the sell.
just break off the part that has molded and allow it to drop to the floor... sweep it out. Use for compost pile.

Keep good stuff so you can enjoy it!
rc

 

[Brown Thumb]

Anything with mold goes to the compost pile.
Sun Curing experiment did not go so well. It got rained on twice.

 

[Moshe Kassirer]

Moshe,
Leaves should not be tied into bundles until after they have color-cured and dried.

Bob

So how should I hang them?
This is how I did it just with more leaves in each bundle.
http://youtu.be/Bvv0QQXYaEE

 

[deluxestogie]

In that video, he bundles too many leaves together. This works only if the humidity tends to remain dry. Tying 3 leaves together like that will usually work without mold. My preference is to string leaves individually back to back, front to front, using aluminum fence wire, with 0.5 to 1 inch between each pair. For small Orientals, that I will be sun-curing, I leave no space between pairs of leaves. Some use string with a large needle. The spacing of leaves for color-curing depends entirely on your specific curing conditions.

Bob

 

[Moshe Kassirer]

Thank you Bob!
Lovely leaves you have (if its you in the picture)

 

[deluxestogie]

That's me when I was young (2013). I'm holding Bolivia Criollo Black. Hanging behind me are several different Orientals attempting to sun-cure.

Bob

 

[Moshe Kassirer]

 

[Mad Oshea]

Use a 2 ft. Black lite.

 

[Moshe Kassirer]

Use a 2 ft. Black lite.

What is a Black lite?

 

[ArizonaDave]

That's me when I was young (2013). I'm holding Bolivia Criollo Black. Hanging behind me are several different Orientals attempting to sun-cure.

Bob

That's some Huge leaf!!!