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pakidaho · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 13

Well we have had a couple of mild freezes but it looks like the hard one is enroute.
Shed is full to running over, I figure I have a bit over a thousand leaf in various stages of curing.
My chamber only holds two hundred leaf, which I am hanging twenty hands of ten.
The rest is put up in hands of ten hanging inside large garbage bags to keep the moisture in. The way I have them there are four hands to a bag. The leaf is touching but thus far very little to no mold. Just need to watch em closer as they are browning up nicely, seems that is the time when the center veins tend to get mushy.
I have been using rubber bands for the hands which seem to work well, I do not wrap them tight around the leaf. I also like the rubber bands so that I am able to color code the types of tobacco I have harvested. This year I grew #9, #16 and I am not sure what number it is wife says it is#19 all I know is it is a Havana. Most of those grew to be over eight foot tall. The leaf size is not near as large as the other types and I was wondering if I were to top them at say five foot would the leaf grow larger in size. I really like the way those cure as they dry a nice gold. haven't had the opportunity to smoke any yet.
I have lots of photos of my "process" and once she has them loaded to the comp. I will post them here.
Amazes me at how complicated one can make curing as I think back on the first year I grew. Seems I spent more time whining about my troubles than thinking in simple terms. Thanks to Dan the use of a simple garbage bag has turned curing from a night mare to an enjoyable process.

bob_kemp · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:10 pm Post subject:

Hi -

I'm glad to hear you are getting your whole crop in before the hard freeze. I've talked to several people surprised by a bad freeze and who are barely salvaging their crops.

My experience tying tobacco in hands to dry was a bad one. They almost all molded at the tie. Now I am using fishing line and sewing the individual leaves leaving about 1/8 - 1/4 inch between them in 3 foot long stringers and haven't had one mold, bacteria or green drying trouble. Of course, I'm in N. Central Texas near Dallas and our weather is certainly different than yours.

Please look at the new Forum Index and make a gallery in the Pictures area so we can find them all collected in one place. You can find it here --

http://tobaccotalk.myfastforum.or...=bd6ee4382af63735e1891e992acf665c

Just make a new topic with your name or Member ID on it and reply to it with your pictures included. I found that 4 pictures less than 200K in size per post worked good and loaded fast. If you have 1 MB pictures, you might put only 2 pics per post there instead, then do a new reply for more.

I hope the new Members Picture Gallery works out for everyone.

Bob

Dan · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:26 pm Post subject:

Hello pakidaho, that #19 is Connecticut wrapper.

pakidaho · Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 13

Hi Dan,

Thanks, I wondered if it was the Connecticut wrapper , reminds me of some I received around a year ago. It was more or less a gift, I actually saved enough over to this year for a special occasion and I gotta tell you it was great. Not sure if the number 19 is the same but it sure looks to be. I have some cured now and plan to roll a couple tomorrow.

Bob, I have found several of your photos and have followed your "process" over the past few months. It is amazing just how much climates vary, and how they affect each persons "process". I recall reading where you had used rubber bands and your experience with them. I had an oh crap moment but decided to give it a chance and as said so far has worked out well for me. The year before last I strung mine on fish line leaf by leaf and didn't have much luck but then I didn't have much room and hung the strung leaf vertically rather than horizontal; talk about mold, I tossed more than I was able to keep.

You both are doing a great job with this site...keep up the great work as it is appreciated.