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Growing Tobacco
- Thread starter Rod
- Start date
1
104-1017113828
Guest
what did you do with the leaves
Harvested them 
The rest I had to plow out and make room for other plants. I'm going to start growing them again this year, but not as many. I need to figure out how to properly cure them so I can actually smoke 'em and see how they taste.
There must be someway to cure these leaves without the use of a big old refrigerator. Do you know anything about that Henry?
The rest I had to plow out and make room for other plants. I'm going to start growing them again this year, but not as many. I need to figure out how to properly cure them so I can actually smoke 'em and see how they taste.
There must be someway to cure these leaves without the use of a big old refrigerator. Do you know anything about that Henry?
1
104-1017113828
Guest
I would bring them to an expierenced roller to have made for you
I would love to know how it works out
I would love to know how it works out
Rod, I don't/haven't grown any plants, though I thought about it. I did some research once and you might look at http://www.datasync.com/sbe/kiln.htm
They sell a kiln to cure tobacco, but they also have plans to build your own kiln, if you are so inclined.
Michael
They sell a kiln to cure tobacco, but they also have plans to build your own kiln, if you are so inclined.
Michael
I was just thinking about this, the other day -- sounds like a lot of fun.
The URL posted a few posts above mine (Puro?) is 404. Anyone got any good references for home-made cigars?
Yeah, yeah, a pro-roller would be cool, but so would a totally ratty looking home-rolled cigar -- your first. Maybe your 10th one would look a little better. Maybe not. It's sort-a like your 1st batch of beer -- it wasn't anything to share with friends but, in a weird, awful way, it was The Best(tm)
The URL posted a few posts above mine (Puro?) is 404. Anyone got any good references for home-made cigars?
Yeah, yeah, a pro-roller would be cool, but so would a totally ratty looking home-rolled cigar -- your first. Maybe your 10th one would look a little better. Maybe not. It's sort-a like your 1st batch of beer -- it wasn't anything to share with friends but, in a weird, awful way, it was The Best(tm)
I grew up on a 63 acre farm in North Carolina (it seems like 100 years ago now) where the predominate cash crop was flue cured tobacco for cigarettes. We always planted a tobacco crop of at least 5 to 6 acres. Tobacco grown for cigarattes is produced in substantially the same method as that which is grown for cigar production. From seed bed preparation, planting, tending, priming (harvesting), - right up through the curing process the steps are identical. Cigar tobacco is given more meticulous care than cigarette tobacco.
The type/variety of tobacco that is grown is what determines the leaf's final application. Cuban cigar tobacco would never thrive in North Carolina, since it needs a tropical climate and a particular type soil to be at its best. That's why Cuba produces the best cigars...the temperate climate and rich soil is perfectly suited for the ultimate cigar tobacco.
Curing tobacco properly is an art. Why? The heat in the tobacco barn has to be raised incrementally, not too quickly or not too slowly, from "ambient temperature" up to 140 degrees or higher to dry out the leaf. If this is not done correctly the leaf will be discolored. If everything is done properly the leaf will cure to a state of perfection. For cigarette tobacco that color is a bright golden yellow. A perfectly grown/cured leaf will be large, free from imperfections (holes/discoloration) and it will be heavier than an immature leaf. Weight and top appearance = top dollar at the auctions. The only diffence is that a cigar wrapper will be a beautiful brown shade, but similar in that both top quality leaves will have an smooth unblemished appearance and a satiny texture.
I always relate the top quality tobacco that we grew for cigarettes (in good years) to the cigar wrapper production grown in Cuba and the Caribbean. Wrappers are much sought after and bring a higher price. My father always used to brag that we grew wrapper quality tobacco on our flue cured tobacco farm.
Growing tobacco was hard work, but it was fun - even at the time. It was a family affair - aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters all helped each other to supply the necessary labor - almost a family reunion at times. Our en mass break for lunch always entailed about as much food as a family reunion!
I look back on the whole thing with fond memories...even though there is absolutely no way that a person could make a living on such a small family farm today. The farmers that are left, and there are only a scant few, farm hundreds of acres and employee the most modern labor saving equipment. It's now either big business or no business!
I would, one day, LOVE to visit the Vuelta Abajo in Cuba and look at the tobacco fields and barns that the Cubans use to produce their legendary cigar tobacco - maybe one day. Until then, I'll just be satisfied with occasionally admiring their results.
Sam
The type/variety of tobacco that is grown is what determines the leaf's final application. Cuban cigar tobacco would never thrive in North Carolina, since it needs a tropical climate and a particular type soil to be at its best. That's why Cuba produces the best cigars...the temperate climate and rich soil is perfectly suited for the ultimate cigar tobacco.
Curing tobacco properly is an art. Why? The heat in the tobacco barn has to be raised incrementally, not too quickly or not too slowly, from "ambient temperature" up to 140 degrees or higher to dry out the leaf. If this is not done correctly the leaf will be discolored. If everything is done properly the leaf will cure to a state of perfection. For cigarette tobacco that color is a bright golden yellow. A perfectly grown/cured leaf will be large, free from imperfections (holes/discoloration) and it will be heavier than an immature leaf. Weight and top appearance = top dollar at the auctions. The only diffence is that a cigar wrapper will be a beautiful brown shade, but similar in that both top quality leaves will have an smooth unblemished appearance and a satiny texture.
I always relate the top quality tobacco that we grew for cigarettes (in good years) to the cigar wrapper production grown in Cuba and the Caribbean. Wrappers are much sought after and bring a higher price. My father always used to brag that we grew wrapper quality tobacco on our flue cured tobacco farm.
Growing tobacco was hard work, but it was fun - even at the time. It was a family affair - aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, and sisters all helped each other to supply the necessary labor - almost a family reunion at times. Our en mass break for lunch always entailed about as much food as a family reunion!
I look back on the whole thing with fond memories...even though there is absolutely no way that a person could make a living on such a small family farm today. The farmers that are left, and there are only a scant few, farm hundreds of acres and employee the most modern labor saving equipment. It's now either big business or no business!
I would, one day, LOVE to visit the Vuelta Abajo in Cuba and look at the tobacco fields and barns that the Cubans use to produce their legendary cigar tobacco - maybe one day. Until then, I'll just be satisfied with occasionally admiring their results.
Sam
