First grow / color curing attempt inside

[4mac]

First crack at growing/curing tobacco so don’t hesitate to swing - no glass jaw here Didn’t germinate seed until July so I’m late. Daytime temps now in the 60sF night 40sF. Havana 608, Cuban Cirillo 98, CT Broad Leaf & Virgina. Not understanding yet what varieties yellow/don’t yellow/kinda yellow when ripe, I waited and chased suckers for appx 4 weeks after topping to harvest CT, 98 & 608. The Virginia first priming/hung about two weeks prior. Thick leaves with sticky undersides that easily snapped off stalks. Hot water heater closet doing double duty with crock pot & box fan to color cure. Running appx 75-80’F and 70-75% humidity. The yellow Virginia can be seen upper right hand corner and still has green mid rib. Thanks in advance for comments!

 

[Charly]

For a first try, this is pretty good.
Take good care not to let the green leaves dry green (by maintaining a good humidity until they become yellow).
Once they are yellow, lower the humidity to avoid mold

 

[4mac]

For a first try, this is pretty good.
Take good care not to let the green leaves dry green (by maintaining a good humidity until they become yellow).
Once they are yellow, lower the humidity to avoid mold

Will do - thanks!

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

CT Broadleaf is usually stalk cut. In general, if your leaves turn yellow they will turn brown. The biggest danger curing inside a house is dryness that could cause the tobacco to dry green. Good luck, looks like so far so good

 

[4mac]

Thank you

 

[4mac]

Provided more space between leaves by moving some of them to another “rack”. The few leaves hung off of the ceiling have dried green for the most part. The single crock pot wasn’t cutting it: a ten gallon pot w/water & hot plate added. Dish towels hung as wicks. Temp 80’F and humidity 80%.

 

[4mac]

Update on the hot water heater closet color cure

 

[deluxestogie]

Those are progressing well.

Bob

 

[4mac]

Those are progressing well.

Bob

Whew! The best news I've heard all day

 

[CT Tobaccoman]

Whew! The best news I've heard all day

Yep. You are getting some good leaves there

 

[CobGuy]

Agreed ... very nice!

~Darin

 

[4mac]

Need some advice please - the Virginia is mostly brown but is still showing green in the mid-rib/veins. At what stage would it be “safe” to transfer those leaves outside to the covered patio (current temps 40’F night, 60’F day w/ 50-70% humidity)? Adjusting the humidity down to avoid having them mold will effect the rest of the leaves curing.

The closet is maintaining a fairly consistent 71% humidity with temps in the mid 80’s. I understand the risk of mold growth and don't want to shoot myself in the foot. I figure it's similar to when I kept honey bees: knowing *what* to do is important. Knowing *when* to do it is as important.

The 608, 98 and CT seem to be basically on the same time-line pertaining to yellowing/browning.

Thank you for your help!


Virginia


CT


Cirillo 98

 

[deluxestogie]

The Virginia (? variety) and the Criollo 98 both seem to be on course. I would continue as you have.

What variety is "CT"?

Bob

 

[4mac]

The Virginia (? variety) and the Criollo 98 both seem to be on course. I would continue as you have.

What variety is "CT"?

Bob

Unknown "Virginia" variety unfortunately.

CT = Connecticut Broad Leaf

 

[deluxestogie]

CTBL = Connecticut Broadleaf

CTBL has a pronounced tendency to flash dry green, which is one of the reasons it is stalk-harvested commercially. Even then, it can be tricky. I would suggest keeping it in the higher humidity environment.

Bob

 

[4mac]

CTBL = Connecticut Broadleaf

CTBL has a pronounced tendency to flash dry green, which is one of the reasons it is stalk-harvested commercially. Even then, it can be tricky. I would suggest keeping it in the higher humidity environment.

Bob

Excellent information thank you!

 

[deluxestogie]

My fuss over the abbreviation is because CT Shade is also a favorite of some home growers. It is a quite different plant, with no shared heritage, other than the name of the state in which they were both developed. Their management is quite different.

There really is no standardized abbreviation for tobaccos, but "CTBL" seems unambiguous.

DLXSTG

 

[4mac]

My fuss over the abbreviation is because CT Shade is also a favorite of some home growers. It is a quite different plant, with no shared heritage, other than the name of the state in which they were both developed. Their management is quite different.

There really is no standardized abbreviation for tobaccos, but "CTBL" seems unambiguous.

DLXSTG

Understood and thank you for your taking the time to get me tuned up.

I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing so any guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[4mac]

Update: the Connecticut Broad Leaf getting close with just a little green up top

 

[4mac]

No one said it was going to be pretty To review, what little “knowledge” I have I’ve gleaned here from this forum. I’m grateful for that. Temp control set at 130’F. Leaves soft and supple. Appx 6’F temp swing on the upside and appx 8’F temp swing on the downside. No crock pot. Hot plate, a pot of water with screen over the top and a computer fan. My choice of crock pot may have been a poor one - it just wasn’t making s*uff happen. Spent some time to figure out how many vent holes were most advantageous. Feel free to poke me in the eye if someone sees something wonky. Thanks!