Stem removal and storage

[Copenhagen Forever]

I spent time going thru 2 pounds or so of my cigar tobacco taking out the stem and stacking flat. Now I'm not sure what to do with them. I have more to go thru and I'm going to run out of room quick. I pretty much got everything in high case so I could spread flat.
The havana inside an old art folder. Should I take the plastic away and let it dry? I'm worried about mold.

After laying out this long leaf I rolled it up. Is that O.K.
How do you store your leaf? Can this stuff be stored out in the cold. It'll be 0 deg. f soon.
I still got about 3 lbs. to go. HELP!

 

[SmokesAhoy]

It'll mold like that, it needs to be dried down.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

What Smokes said..

I'd take them out the bag and let them dry a bit. It's hard to define how dry is dry but dry them until they are almost crispy but still have a slight limpness to them. It's better to be safe (too dry) than sorry (too moist).

 

[Copenhagen Forever]

I took them out of the bags. I'll have to make some more art folders. Can the tobacco be froze outside in the shed.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Once dry it doesn't matter. All my tobacco is frozen right now just about.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

Oh man I just checked your profile, I'm looking at moving to Maine right now! Somewhere near d-f.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I took them out of the bags. I'll have to make some more art folders. Can the tobacco be froze outside in the shed.

Yes. If it's already cured, there won't be any damage.

 

[Copenhagen Forever]

Oh man I just checked your profile, I'm looking at moving to Maine right now! Somewhere near d-f.

It's some pretty over there. Good hunting and fishing. You might take exception to our governor, I do.

Thanks for getting me straight guy's. I feel better now that I got a handle on it. I opened up the folders to let them dry and I'll put most of it in the shed. Tomorrow I'll go thru the Silver river and sumatra. I did good stripping the center stem after watching Rainmax's video. By the end of the lot I did today, I was almost a pro.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I never store tobacco in high case longer than like morning to afternoon or overnight , it will mold very quickly. If you're casing it up to work with it , a little mist goes a long way . As long as it (filler) is not crispy it is workable. If it shatters when you try to roll it , give it a light mist and seal the bag for an hour . Filler needs to be as dry as possible without it falling apart. Binder can be a bit like leathery and wrapper can be damp like a wrung out paper towel but I only do that early in the morning when I'm bunching and binding. By the time I get them out of the cigar mold ,the wrapper is workable and stretchy.

 

[Raodwarior]

Only remove stems in as much as you can roll in a couple days. Your bundles look great , but put them in zip-locks and into the fridge that will buy you about 5 days. As long as your using it every day from there I can give you tips. If not lay flat and let dry, but be very careful will be like fall leaves at that point.

 

[Copenhagen Forever]

Only remove stems in as much as you can roll in a couple days. Your bundles look great , but put them in zip-locks and into the fridge that will buy you about 5 days. As long as you're using it every day from there I can give you tips. If not lay flat and let dry, but be very careful will be like fall leaves at that point.

Sorry that I missed your post. I read Smokin's post and and then just settled in with what I had going on. Laid out the way I have the tobacco is alright. It's bone dry in the art folders. I can take a leaf off without breaking it and carefully get a case back. I over spray the fill and have to let the cigars dry for a couple of days. If I have to do it again, I would have picked the leaf that was hole free, keep them flat and keep the fill in case but just bulk in a bag like Deluxestogie shows in another thread going.

Thanks for your comment. I'll try putting some bagged fill in the fridge.