Fall 2023: N. tabacum cv. ‘Havana 263’ Indoor @poplarshepherd

[poplarshepherd]

Hey everyone. I wanted to make a 2023 grow log for my first crop. Since I joined this forum after lurking for a few months, I will retroactively post the pictures that I took of my grow. I will also update this post with my progress of color-curing and aging.

Background
I am currently color-curing some primings of my first tobacco grow. I grew two Nicotiana tabacum cv. ‘Havana 263’ plants from seed acquired from TheTobaccoGuy on Etsy. Seeds were started about mid-September. Seeds were sown in flats atop Fox Farm Happy Frog potting mix under a 65W AgroRAW LED 4000K spectrum grow light, and placed on an AgroMax seedling heat mat to improve germination and enhance root growth. The light was kept approximately 24” above the seedlings under a 16 hour photoperiod for about 40 days before transplanting into 3 gallon plastic air-pot containers filled with Fox Farm Happy Frog potting mix amended with Roots Organic Uprising ‘Grow 6-1-2’ and ‘Foundation 2-1-1’ as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Plants were then grown under a GrowBright 320W Full-Spectrum Dimmable LED at 50% intensity at a distance of approximately 36” above the canopy using a 16 hour photoperiod at 70-82F and an average relative humidity of 70%. Plants were then grown for approximately 45 days until anthesis, at which plants were primed.

Seedling Phase

October 12, 2023 (approximately 30 days old). I also grew seeds of ‘Samsun’, ‘Long Red’, ‘Virginia Brightleaf’, and ‘Burley’. Only ‘Havana 263’ was grown to maturity this round.


October 19, 2023

Vegetative Phase

October 21, 2023


November 2, 2023 (third pot is Nicotiana benthamiana, an Australian indigenous species of Nicotiana.)


November 4, 2023


November 10, 2023


November 17, 2023


November 23, 2023


December 18, 2023 (Inflorescence of ‘Havana 263’)

 

[poplarshepherd]

Air curing: Hanging
Seco leaves are primed in pairs by tying leaves together with a sewing needle and nylon fishing line such that the adaxial surface of the laminae make contact with one another.

December 18, 2023


December 18, 2023

 

[poplarshepherd]

Air curing: Piling
Because I was busy finishing up my final semester for my undergraduate studies, I simply did not have the time to continue tying pairs of some 35 leaves. I wanted to experiment with pile curing, so I have been curing these leaves in a pile that I have set inside of a plastic container. The pile is currently air curing inside of my dark grow tent at an average relative humidity of 68%. I have the bin set atop a seedling heat mat to speed up the color curing process. I have been rebuilding the pile once each day, ensuring the adaxial side of the laminae face each other, with the same configuration for the abaxial side.

I have been noticing the appearance of dark blemishes which I presume to be water spots, so I have placed a single sheet of white computer paper between each leaf this evening. I have also placed a ventilated sheet of aluminum foil over the box to raise the temperature more evenly. My goal is to make a small heated environment of about 90F to speed up the curing process, while maintaining humidity to prevent excessive moisture loss.


December 18, 2023 (My pile box)


December 18, 2023 (approximately 12 days of being pile-cured)

 

[poplarshepherd]

Here are some early primings I successfully color-cured. I have been fermenting these on my seedling heat mat (~90F) in a Ziploc bag with a 69% Boveda to maintain a proper case.

 

[poplarshepherd]

Update on the pile cured leaves. I am getting some gorgeous browning!

 

[SlamFire]

Update on the pile cured leaves. I am getting some gorgeous browning!

Nice! I grew some of this myself, but it dried green. I'd be very interested to hear your description of its flavor profile!

 

[poplarshepherd]

Nice! I grew some of this myself, but it dried green. I'd be very interested to hear your description of its flavor profile!

I will surely report back once I have fermented the leaf more! I am trying to come up with a way to maintain proper case for aging color-cured leaves without having to buy tons of Boveda packs, but I am terrified of mold.

I think I just need to go for it and lightly mist the leaves with distilled water, let them come up to a medium case, and then put them back on the heat mat.

Chase

 

[SlamFire]

I will surely report back once I have fermented the leaf more! I am trying to come up with a way to maintain proper case for aging color-cured leaves without having to buy tons of Boveda packs, but I am terrified of mold.

I think I just need to go for it and lightly mist the leaves with distilled water, let them come up to a medium case, and then put them back on the heat mat.

Chase

Your vigilance during the curing process is the best defense against mold.

 

[poplarshepherd]

I have just returned from vacation. My air-cured leaves are turning a very lovely brown and are changing color quite uniformly. My pile-cured leaves are also color-curing very well.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to rebuild my pile daily due to being away and two of my nicest leaves in the pile are beginning to grow mold. I am going to prepare a solution of hydrogen peroxide and spray these leaves to hopefully kill the growing mycelia. One of the leaves looks to be growing Botrytis.

Air-cured



Pile-cured Mold Issue

Leaf #1 - Likely growing Botrytis sp.


Leaf #2

Since the fungi appear to be localized, would it be more effective to just tear off the moldy areas of the leaf?

Happy New Years, everyone!

Chase

 

[poplarshepherd]

Okay, I just decided to spritz the leaves down with 3% hydrogen peroxide, blot them dry with paper towel, and then cut out the area of the leaf with visible fungus. Let’s hope with daily rebuilding I can prevent any more mold from developing.


Leaf #1



Leaf #2

 

[poplarshepherd]

It has been a crazy few couple of weeks with finishing up school and moving to Indiana. As a result, I have moved all of my tobacco curing operations to pile curing.

I won’t have a grow tent setup for a while, so I have lost the strict control of my curing environment. For now, daily rebuilds, a 69% Boveda pack, and a bit of luck will have to do.

Unfortunately, some mold has continued to develop on some of my leaves—humidity inside of my box has been above 70% lately. I am continuing to cut these pieces off and readjust my humidity. I am keeping a close on each leaf to ensure mold doesn’t spread and/or get out of hand.

Color-curing Updates:
Air-cured leaves moved to Pile-curing








Overall, not too bad for a first-timer!

Chase

 

[poplarshepherd]

Conditions seem to be under control today. The temp could be higher, but it is what it is.

 

[poplarshepherd]

Some more mold spots have developed on a few more leaves, so the Boveda pack has to go for now. I think some of my leaves are in too high of a case to necessitate using a Boveda pack right now, which may be causing the erratic blooms of mold to appear. In any case, I have discarded the leaves that keep growing mold, and have lowered the humidity inside of the box to around 45% for now. Most of the leaves are color-cured, so I am not worried about the occasional yellow flash-cured bits. As a first-timer, I am really beginning to develop an intuitive "feel" for the tobacco.

This summer I plan to rent a communal garden plot and grow a few tobacco plants outside. I also plan to try my first kilning operation as well; I am considering the crockpot/styrofoam board insulation technique. Soon, I will have another grow tent set up, and so will begin my 2024 grow log. I plan to start some more cigar leaf varieties, nameley 'Criollo 98', 'Connecticut Broadleaf', and maybe 'Long Red' and 'Corojo 99'.

Chase

 

[johnny108]

Some more mold spots have developed on a few more leaves, so the Boveda pack has to go for now. I think some of my leaves are in too high of a case to necessitate using a Boveda pack right now, which may be causing the erratic blooms of mold to appear. In any case, I have discarded the leaves that keep growing mold, and have lowered the humidity inside of the box to around 45% for now. Most of the leaves are color-cured, so I am not worried about the occasional yellow flash-cured bits. As a first-timer, I am really beginning to develop an intuitive "feel" for the tobacco.

This summer I plan to rent a communal garden plot and grow a few tobacco plants outside. I also plan to try my first kilning operation as well; I am considering the crockpot/styrofoam board insulation technique. Soon, I will have another grow tent set up, and so will begin my 2024 grow log. I plan to start some more cigar leaf varieties, nameley 'Criollo 98', 'Connecticut Broadleaf', and maybe 'Long Red' and 'Corojo 99'.

Chase

If it’s color cured- dry it.
It will darken more when kilned.

 

[poplarshepherd]

If it’s color cured- dry it.
It will darken more when kilned.

Here is what I have managed to color cure (albeit, a bit crude):



Here is what I am trying to finish up (hence why I have been reluctant to start drying):



For the leaves that are finished, I will go ahead and begin drying them. As for the ones that still have some yellow, should I try to cure those last bits? Or would you just dry the leaf and discard those uncured regions?

Thanks,
Chase

 

[johnny108]

If it’s yellow- the chlorophyll is gone- you shouldn’t need to discard it.
Dry it, then decide later if you want to cut out the lighter patches.

 

[poplarshepherd]

If it’s yellow- the chlorophyll is gone- you shouldn’t need to discard it.
Dry it, then decide later if you want to cut out the lighter patches.

Thanks for your advice. I plan to use most of these leaves as filler for cigars, anyways.

Chase

 

[Knucklehead]

The leaf needs to be kept alive long enough to turn from green to yellow. This avoids drying green. Once the green is gone you can allow the yellow leaf to die and turn brown. If you have control over your environment you can reduce the humidity or raise the temp to avoid mold or rot and help the leaf to die and brown. When the stem is crispy crunchy dry, rehydrate to low case for storage. Attempting to keep the leaf alive beyond the yellowing phase is flirting with rot or mold.

 

[poplarshepherd]

Attempting to keep the leaf alive beyond the yellowing phase is flirting with rot or mold.

Ahh, thank you for clarifying this for me. I was under the impression that you want to allow the leaf to slowly die much beyond the point of yellowing. I understand chlorophyll is responsible for the green grass/hay taste, but I thought drying while the leaf was yellow would trap carotenoids and other pigments, causing the tobacco to smoke harsh.

Chase

 

[Knucklehead]

I don't mean put them in an oven, but you can reduce humidity and raise temp to avoid risk of rot or mold once the fear of flashing green is gone.