Problem with my curing setup...

[Milwaukeeace]

My setup is a tarped over gazebo on my deck. Im curing Havana 142, Habano 2k, and Corojo 99.

The C99 seems easier to cure than the others. You can see the different stages of curing going on. The Habano is a pain and seems to really want to dry green.

Anyhow, I just picked some giant C99 leaves last night and by this evening I have many that have turned rather soft and started to fall apart. Some others just seem bruised and have a hole or two that wasnt in them before.

Any thoughts on whats going on here? Is it the leaf? The weather? Its been low 60s at night and upper 80s in the day. 50% humidity or so.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

My setup is a tarped over gazebo on my deck. Im curing Havana 142, Habano 2k, and Corojo 99.

The C99 seems easier to cure than the others. You can see the different stages of curing going on. The Habano is a pain and seems to really want to dry green.

Anyhow, I just picked some giant C99 leaves last night and by this evening I have many that have turned rather soft and started to fall apart. Some others just seem bruised and have a hole or two that wasnt in them before.

Any thoughts on whats going on here? Is it the leaf? The weather? Its been low 60s at night and upper 80s in the day. 50% humidity or so.

 

[deluxestogie]

The green leaf with the square hole appears wilted. The square hole seems to be a physical tear. Beyond that, I can't tell much from the photos.

Bob

 

[Milwaukeeace]

The green leaf with the square hole appears wilted. The square hole seems to be a physical tear. Beyond that, I can't tell much from the photos.

Bob

Thanks. I picked and hung up a few more leaves tonight to see what happens to them. Funny thing is my smaller leaves are all just fine.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I think you need to monitor the temperature inside the gazebo during the day. Even my greenhouse with the doors open gets hot enough to wilt a living tomato plant. The fact that it's 80 outside is of little relevance when you've tarped it over.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

I think you need to monitor the temperature inside the gazebo during the day. Even my greenhouse with the doors open gets hot enough to wilt a living tomato plant. The fact that it's 80 outside is of little relevance when you've tarped it over.

Thanks, but its totally open air. The tarp just acts as a waterproof roof... its more like an arbor. Sorry, chose the wrong word

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Thanks, but its totally open air. The tarp just acts as a waterproof roof... its more like an arbor. Sorry, chose the wrong word

Oh, I see. Yeah. That shouldn't be problematic.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

Oh, I see. Yeah. That shouldn't be problematic.

Heres a better pic showing what Ive got for a curing setup

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

You say 50% humidity. What time of day is that? Humidity fluctuates with temperature. For example, here, it's currently 80° and 44%, but at 6am tomorrow, the forecast says 61° and 84%.
Without doing major changes, in my weather, with your gazebo, I would put the strings closer together, so that they are just touching, positioning the ones that are most ripe on the outside. I would put a cheap oscillating fan on a timer so it would come on from 3 to 7am.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Completely, no sun on them, ever. Maybe some damp towels above them or very near them. Spray the towels with a hose once it starts to warm up. 50% is too low at 80° unless the leaves are nearly all yellow.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Either that or take them and put the leaves in a cardboard box inside and only hang them up when they are yellow.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

You say 50% humidity. What time of day is that? Humidity fluctuates with temperature. For example, here, it's currently 80° and 44%, but at 6am tomorrow, the forecast says 61° and 84%.
Without doing major changes, in my weather, with your gazebo, I would put the strings closer together, so that they are just touching, positioning the ones that are most ripe on the outside. I would put a cheap oscillating fan on a timer so it would come on from 3 to 7am.

yes, the humidity certainly fluctuates. 70% mornings, and 40 or 50 mid day. I physically mist the leaves 2 or 3 times a day when hot and dry. No mold issues lr anything.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

Either that or take them and put the leaves in a cardboard box inside and only hang them up when they are yellow.

This wont create a mold issue? I tried wrapping some Habano 2k in a towel to try out a method a read and I got the same wilty, soft, waxy, weak and tearing leaves that I got from these leaves Im complaining about in my original post.

 

[GreenDragon]

Curing is always a dance between leaf maturity, priming position, temperature, and humidity. Sounds to me like your lower leaves are,by nature, fairly thin and are more susceptible to drying out than higher priming’s. If your leaf drys out before fully color curing they will not be usable and will usually fall apart. I’m Austin I had to figure out what worked for my climate, which would be 70% humidity in the mornings, but would drop to 30% during the (100F) days. I had the best luck with curing primed leaf in cardboard boxes that I kept in the shade. You need to take them out every day and “shuffle” them like a deck of cards to prevent mold. I also had good luck with some varieties cutting the whole stalk and letting it cure in my garage.

With so many environmental variables the first year or so is always trial and error. I’m sure by experimenting you will find what works well for your area. Don’t get discouraged, and many well wishes for success.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

This wont create a mold issue? I tried wrapping some Habano 2k in a towel to try out a method a read and I got the same wilty, soft, waxy, weak and tearing leaves that I got from these leaves Im complaining about in my original post.

Mold will generally only grow on dead tissue, so if it's an undamaged green leaf, there's no concern. Mold shows up first where it's dried out, maybe from spots, tears, or an edge that is beginning to dry.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

Completely, no sun on them, ever. Maybe some damp towels above them or very near them. Spray the towels with a hose once it starts to warm up. 50% is too low at 80° unless the leaves are nearly all yellow.

Like I said in another reply, I do mist a few times a day when its dry. I would have thought the problem with the scenario tour describing would be leaves drying too fast and staying green. My problem is this wiltiness I just experience with a few leaves I just picked and hung individualy.

I must be missing some variable somewhere

My setup is a tarped over gazebo on my deck. Im curing Havana 142, Habano 2k, and Corojo 99.

The C99 seems easier to cure than the others. You can see the different stages of curing going on. The Habano is a pain and seems to really want to dry green.

Anyhow, I just picked some giant C99 leaves last night and by this evening I have many that have turned rather soft and started to fall apart. Some others just seem bruised and have a hole or two that wasnt in them before.

Any thoughts on whats going on here? Is it the leaf? The weather? Its been low 60s at night and upper 80s in the day. 50% humidity or so.

So one last question please ...

Since I have a full sized upright freezer converted into a kiln setup, could I use that to color cure my leaf? I have 100% control of temperature and humidity in there. Im thinking then like 90 degrees at 70% humidity?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Since I have a full sized upright freezer converted into a kiln setup, could I use that to color cure my leaf? I have 100% control of temperature and humidity in there. Im thinking then like 90 degrees at 70% humidity?

Absolutely! With a little bit of gentle air circulation.

 

[Milwaukeeace]

Absolutely!

Thats what Ill do then. Thanks guys!