When to prime cigar tobacco?

[Koedman]

New to growing cigar tobacco but not pipe tobacco. My question is priming the cigar tobacco the same as pipe tobacco? Should I wait for the leaves to turn yellow/ alligator skin in color?

A lot of YouTube videos show the cigar leaves being pulled when they are green

Thanks

 

[deluxestogie]

For cigar wrapper, a common practice is to prime leaf that is mature (still green), but not ripe (yellow). A signal that I use is when the very tip of the leaf begins to show yellow. For filler, where the cosmetics are not an issue, then waiting for a riper leaf tends to make color-curing quicker.

Bob

 

[Koedman]

For cigar wrapper, a common practice is to prime leaf that is mature (still green), but not ripe (yellow). A signal that I use is when the very tip of the leaf begins to show yellow. For filler, where the cosmetics are not an issue, then waiting for a riper leaf tends to make color-curing quicker.

Bob

Bob another question for you, has anyone ever incorporated more traditional pipe tobacco leaves into cigars and how do they taste? I am currently fermenting a few different types of burley and some Virginia. Is it worth trying or a waste of time?
Thanks

 

[Sergey Ukraine]

Bob another question for you, has anyone ever incorporated more traditional pipe tobacco leaves into cigars and how do they taste? I am currently fermenting a few different types of burley and some Virginia. Is it worth trying or a waste of time?
Thanks

I think you can use whatever varieties you like... Why do we make things ourselves? In most cases, it's because we don't like what's on offer. You wouldn't smoke a cigar made from a variety you don't like, would you? Although very often, a mixture of unpalatable/neutral varieties can produce very interesting results.

 

[deluxestogie]

incorporated more traditional pipe tobacco

It just tastes and smells like smoking a pipe.

Bob