Air Curing Question

[Davo]

So how do I dry leaves?

I have been hanging my first season’s harvest in our shed as pictured:



The stalled plants are Colour curing to a nice brown, and the leaves that have been strung up in hands are now bright bright yellow. Even a sample of leaves that I picked way too green as an experiment are starting to lighten, and get yellow tips.

Ideally i wanted to let everything hang for a year to mellow. My fear however, is that with rainy season beginning, the case of all of the leaves is quite a lot higher than I expected, and that Mold will set it as it is not dry enough.

any suggestions as to what o could do? Store the coloured cured leaves elsewhere?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

If there is no green left, you can dry them quickly. You could use a heated box. For burley, the slower the better, simply heated to 100°F would be sufficient. For bright tobacco, or oriental, you could go up as high as 165°.

However without building something...
If it's above 75%, there is significant risk of mold for the brown leaves. If it's below around 68%, you can hang forever, so if it's around that 60-70% mark, I would leave it until the midribs are completely dried. If it's higher than 70%, I would consider putting them in the sunniest, warmest, driest place you can to dry them out faster, and probably use a fan. Don't package until the mid ribs are dry. If you can't wait, you can remove the mid ribs. If it's above 75%, I would for sure have an oscillating fan blowing on them. For the stalk curing ones, you can remove dried leaves and leave the rest. Hope that helps.

 

[deluxestogie]

Air circulation is helpful in equalizing the temperature and humidity within the curing area. If the 3-day average relative humidity within the shed remains high continuously, then the risk of mold on cured leaf (brown leaf) may become a problem. A source of heat within the area can be used to either continuously or episodically drop the relative humidity, if needed. Do try to obtain an inexpensive, remote temp/humidity gauge for the shed, so you can look at it from within the house.

Thick, upper-stalk leaf tends to hold moisture more easily than lower-stalk leaf, and is where mold may first appear on leaf lamina -- after it has color-cured. Stalk-hung plants tend to cure from the lower-stalk leaf first, while the upper-stalk leaf remains green and alive for longer. So there is a built-in delay in when you should start to worry. Ignore mold that is exclusively on the stalk itself. The stalks can get pretty cruddy, without affecting the leaf.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Additionally, if your humidity is in the upper reaches of the sweet spot or higher, I would caution you against curing tied hands of green or yellow tobacco. No air circulation through the stems and the possibility of rot is higher. Normally hands are tied after cured and stems are dry. I have strung leaves spaced tightly in groups of three and the groups of three hung closely with the other bunches, but that was during periods of low humidity and I was trying to prevent the leaves from drying too quickly which would cause them to dry green. In periods of high humidity, space your leaves further apart and use a fan if possible, when humidity is low, space them closer so the leaves share the moisture and do not expire the moisture quite as quickly. If the humidity fluctuates throughout the day/night you can monitor what is happening and try to trap that sweet spot inside by opening and closing your doors. If rain is coming, close the doors to keep the humidity from shooting up inside. If humidity is higher at night, close the doors at night and open them during the day. Also if the lamina are dry but stems are taking too long to dry, I have put stacks of leaf on a seedling heat mat to dry out the stems. The idea is to keep the leaf alive while it turns yellow, then once it is fully yellow it can be dried on down without damage.
In terms of storage, just keep them below 70%RH. Stored in low case the tobacco will continue to age and will not mold. Stored above 70% your leaf will mold. I don’t worry too much about dry, dry stored leaf as it is not causing damage, it just stops aging. Moisture is needed for aging. Spritz it with some moisture occasionally and the aging starts back up. I store in poly nylon bags inside a cardboard box inside a basement with dehumidifiers running as my climate sees humidity swings at different times of the year and local conditions such as rain. Some members have a perfect climate and can store their leaf hung in the rafters of their outside shed, whereas mine would mold if I tried that here. Due to climate and weather there is no one fit all answer in terms of how and where you store, it depends on where you live. Mainly just do what you have to do to avoid high humidity and mold. Keep the leaf just moist enough for aging to do its job.

 

[Nathan Esq]

I dont mean to piggy back, but my leaves go yellow fairly quick but the center vein stays green. I'm wondering if that matters? Cigar variety, air curing in 90s + and over 80RH with a fan outside on porch in FL. My garage is hot with lower humidity 60-70 RH.

 

[deluxestogie]

The central vein doesn't matter. Just make sure it's totally dry prior to storing the leaf.

Bob

 

[Davo]

The central vein doesn't matter. Just make sure it's totally dry prior to storing the leaf.

Bob

Just to clarify - I can either cut the cured leaf off the stem for storage, or wait until the the stem/vein is dried thoroughly (regardless of colour as it will be removed anyway)?

also is there any flavour advantage to leaving leaves to age by hanging, storing whole, or processing/pressing into plugs?

thanks to all the other comments so far. I will get a device to read humidity level. The situation may not be as bad as I first thought.

 

[deluxestogie]

The stem is waste. I personally prefer to handle leaf with the stem intact, instead of a sheaf of floppy leaf strips.

I can't offer any advice regarding plugs.

Bob

 

[Davo]

I haven’t been able to grab a device for reading the humidity of the shed yet but everything feels ‘right’ to touch (at least to me...which could be way off as a first year grower). Nothing is brittle, nothing feels damp, the stuff which has cured brown still feels pliable. The yellower leaves still have a bit of stickiness to them. I have tried a pinch of both in my clay pipe. The brown has no bite/burn and only the slightest ‘un-aged’ flavour, the yellow is slightly rawer in taste but yet again without the burning sensation I got when trying leaf fresh.

judging from these pics, at what stage could I start to cut stems and press leaf for storage? Or bag them up?

appreciate advice is difficult from a distance.

 

[Knucklehead]

I haven’t been able to grab a device for reading the humidity of the shed yet but everything feels ‘right’ to touch (at least to me...which could be way off as a first year grower). Nothing is brittle, nothing feels damp, the stuff which has cured brown still feels pliable. The yellower leaves still have a bit of stickiness to them. I have tried a pinch of both in my clay pipe. The brown has no bite/burn and only the slightest ‘un-aged’ flavour, the yellow is slightly rawer in taste but yet again without the burning sensation I got when trying leaf fresh.

judging from these pics, at what stage could I start to cut stems and press leaf for storage? Or bag them up?

appreciate advice is difficult from a distance. View attachment 30945View attachment 30946View attachment 30947

Personally, I dry the leaf until the midrib is crunchy dry, then bring it back into low case for storage.

 

[Charly]

I agree, some of your stems look not dry yet.
Wait for the stem to be completely dry before storing/aging/kilning.

From the picture, there also seem to be some mold on some spots of your leaves.

 

[Davo]

yeah I need to figure out a better way to take pics as last time it made it look like mould too. It’s just the angle of the light and dirt/debris. That’s actually another question though, how do you guys get your leaf so clean? Ours appears to have a lot of dust etc stuck in all of the crevices and along stems

 

[stic]

Mine dried a mid gold/brown, and I stored them in a very large cardboard box in a back room for a year; but, they still taste harsh and 'green'...

Also, the warehouse have a weather station that I use. Remote sensor sits out in the back room off the garage, main station/reader is in the dining room in the house...

Works well, gives temp and humidity with indicators for if humidity is going up or down, and relatively inexpensive...

 

[Davo]

@stic cheers for the heads up. Looks like I’m heading to the big red in the morning

 

[stic]

Also one in Bunnings...if you can't find the one in 't Warehouse...

weather station

 

[myboysarge]

Hey @Davo , to make it a bit easier for myself, I picked up something similar to this to keep an eye on the humidity in the shed.

{productName}

Find {productName} at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.

www.bunnings.co.nz

Works up to 30-50 metres away which saves me a trip to the shed. I just leave the main display unit on the kitchen table, quick check in the morning while I make a coffee etc. Also if I’m out of town I just get my wife to msg me the humidity reading.
Now my leaf is ready for storage, I leave the sensor unit in my storage tub with the leaf. Saves me having to open and close the tub to check

 

[stic]

This is the one I have:

My weather station

 

[Knucklehead]

That’s actually another question though, how do you guys get your leaf so clean? Ours appears to have a lot of dust etc stuck in all of the crevices and along stems

I don’t see any aphids on your leaf which is good. I am one guy that hates aphids on my leaf. The majority of the dirt and debris will just fall off once the leaf is brown and dry. Give it a shake. If it’s for chew and the debris bothers you a light brush with horsehair or similar light bristles should get it off. If it’s for smoke the remaining dust and shaking won’t hurt you. As far as cleaning off living and dead aphids I have, in the past, washed the green leaf with a water hose and my hands. I would do this immediately after priming, let it dry and then string it for hanging. I would be leery of trying that with cured leaf as you will be washing off nicotine and possibly flavor. My feeling in regards to immediately washing primed green leaf is that the leaf is still living and may live long enough to replace the sticky stuff on the leaf. I’ve had stalk hung plants continue to bud and flower while hanging upside down in the shed so the processes are still going until dead. Cured leaf can’t do that. I could be way wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time. But I have done it and saw no loss of strength or flavor.

 

[deluxestogie]

If you plan to wash off aphids or plain old dirt, consider hosing the leaves (upper and lower surfaces) while still on the plant, then priming or stalk-harvesting as soon as it has dried. Avoid using so much water pressure that it bruises the leaf.

Bob

 

[Davo]

It is interesting as I have some leaf which I washed directly after Priming (ground lugs etc), some which was washed by some rain and others that were just picked and hung. The plants that have been stalked are probably the dirtiest, due to the location of their bed, and I had originally thought about washing these after they had cured. But after this feedback I will just give a gentle shake/brush. The tobacco will almost exclusively be used for pipe smoking and there has been no sign of any pests this year so a bit of dirt will just help the earthy flavour profile

thanks for chiming in everyone