Haroon's grow log 2026

[Wombat_smokes]

I vote sucker crop. You know the 8 original leaves will have "desirable breed characteristics." The plant will spend as much energy into a new stalk as the original stalk. You'll also get the seeds - sucker seeds are seeds nonetheless and have all the genetics of the original plant stem.

 

[The Haroo ln]

First batch of CB cured and fully dried went into the kiln last night. Its not the best curing and most of the leaves have cured lighy compared to what i expected, but thats because of the stupid 30°c + temps we've had here in the uk making the RH rapidly drop towards the low 40s -high 30s. Hoping the kiln will darken them up a little. I know the usual temps for kilns are 122f - 128f but i am experimenting this year and have dialled down mine to 110f-115f and the RH sitting perfectly between 64-68% this should keep the mold away. I do also have a little fan on low speed just to stop any humid spots.

Hopefully my settings are in the green enough to prevent any mold fron occuring. And my rh is low enough this year (last year was 90%+) to stop all the leaf oils and 'punch' from fermenting out completely. I will be doing daily checks for the first 2 weeks to check the tobacco, water levels and airing out any ammonia.

 

[deluxestogie]

We know that 64% RH is safe for storing cigars in a room temperature humidor. A question I cannot answer is whether or not 64-68% RH will allow vegetative mold growth at 110-115°F.

Bob

 

[The Haroo ln]

These are my current readings for the last 6 hrs or so. RH is quite stable averaging about 67%. The temp is flunctuating a little but thats expected as the controller is set to turn the crockpot on at 110f and off at 115f. The ambient temp is affecting it too as the temp today was 29°c and the kiln is in a crappy makeshift shed so it does heat up quite a bit. I'm expecting bigger flunctuations for the next 2 days as the weather is suppposed to be 33 - 34°c!!

I'll just take it as it comes...

 

[The Haroo ln]

Most of my piloto leaves dried so, shoved them into the kiln tonight.

 

[The Haroo ln]

I harvested the bottom 4-5 volado/seco leaves from my 3 sungrown criollo 98. They snapped away cleanly. They are currently strung up in the grow tent with a crockpot covered in a foil lid with a few holes to control the RH. There is also a small computer fan at the bottom of the tent to keep the air moving. The top ventilation sleeves/holes have also been left open to allow for air passage.

The shade grown habano 2000 - 2 out of 4 have been topped, 1 is going to seed for next year and the other was snapped by next doors cat a few weeks ago. Apart from that one which has around 8 leaves the other 2 have a healthy 17 leaves per plant after topping. The one thats going to seed may have anywhere between 19-22 usable leaves.

I will post a pic of the curing/grow tent when i get a chance.

 

[The Haroo ln]

As promised here is the pics of the grow tent. The temp and RH seem to be stable and in the perfect curing range

 

[The Haroo ln]

I opened the kiln for the last 2 days to air it out and oh my god! The ammonia that was gassing off was insane. My eyes were burning. I've done a little mold inspection and didnt see any. I believe this means the temps and RH are good enough and the process is doing what it should be. I dont remember smelling the ammonia this much last year, this was probably down to the high (90+) RH.