Flush with Virginias - Regarding Flakes

[eekay]

Long story short I have a lot of air cured VA. This summer I will have even more. I failed to order seeds in time so I'm just growing what I have. (I'm growing Cherry Red, Del Gold and VA Bright Leaf all from NWT)

Flue curing may not be a possibility due to short growing season. Getting the leaves uniformly ripe is a big issue.

I do need to build a kiln and ferment everything I have.

I am a pipe smoker.

Can I make a VA Flake with just air cured? Or is it going to be a waste of time? I'm all for just doing it anyway for the sake of experimentation. I fully expect it to turn out to be fairly one dimensional flavor wise.

Ive made Cavendish and it turned out ok. I've made a Carrotte but lost it to mold after slicing.

I also plan to just cellar these leaves until I can grow something else to blend it with.

Any thoughts?

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Do it! It will be a great way to keep your tobacco stored. I would suggest that kilning may not even be necessary in this case. I would recommend a vacuum seal. These could be ignored for years and the longer the better. When you do finally get around to some of it you will still have all the processing options available including kilning if needed (excluding flue curing of coarse).

 

[Alpine]

Remember that bright leaf strains can be also sun cured (sun cure is the poor man’s flue cure) and the flavor is usually sweeter than air cured leaves (though not as sweet as flue cured ones)

pier

 

[johnny108]

Early topping of Virginia tobacco has been tested in commercial production and found to be pretty helpful:
Effect of Topping Height and Timing on Quantity and Quality Influe-Cured Tobacco

https://www.ijabbr.com/article_12981_1cde0c9adb1ee6ad8f93e924a353a290.pdf

Yield and quality of Virginia tobacco as influenced by genotype and agricultural practices​

Yield and quality of Virginia tobacco as influenced by genotype and agricultural practices | Bulgarian Journal of Soil Science, Agrochemistry and Ecology

agriacad.eu

Searching for “early topping flue cured tobacco” online will give a lot of articles like this. Early topping might help you to get a crop in a short season.