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tanglelegs · Joined: 26 Jul 2009 Posts: 26

Would someone explain about using garbage bags and how it's done. Also i have 60 virginia gold plants that have been hanging for a month now. They are pretty dry but i plan on letting them hang for at least 3 months.
This is my first try at this and i was wondering what i do next to get the tobacco ready for smoking. Thank you anyone who can help me.

Dan · Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:51 am Post subject:

Tanglelegs,
Here is part of a post I made. I hope it helps:

This is the way I handle my tobacco. That is: hang it till it goes brown if it starts drying out crisp before it turns brown give it some humidity or spray it, mist it. Keep it alive. If it dries green use it for mulch.
If you pick it when it is mottled with a lot of yellow it will get brown. A little yellow, it will still get brown unless the air is very arid.
So now you have brown leaf. Strip it off the stalk while it’s supple. If it is crispy dry then wait till a humid day and it gets supple then strip it. Or mist it to get it workable. (able to be handled without crunching all up)
As bob said, fermenting will get the ammonia and other harsh chemicals out of the leaf fast. A month of curing does the same thing it’s only a little slower but a lot cheaper.
If you can get your leaf when it’s almost completely dry - just able to be handled without crisping up but not wet then you can start curing it. This is tricky because if it’s too moist it will mold. I use a big trash bag for this. Put it in the bag loose and close it. Check it a couple times a week smell it and toss it around. Get a little fresh air in the bag. If you detect mold then it’s too moist. Take it out of the bag and spread it out. Let it air out. Check the leaf for mold. Wash it off in the sink or with a hose if you see any. If it’s getting too dry and it starts to hear crinkling (crispiness) mist it a little. Keep it just pliable and leathery. If you check it every couple of days it won’t mold beyond recovery. And don’t even look at the mold on the center vein/stem of the leaf. That’s natural. You’re going to get rid of that part of the leaf when you smoke it anyhow. The moisture in the vein will help keep the leaf from drying out so fast.
Okay, now assuming you are doing everything right in around a month you’ve got good tobacco ready to smoke. What I do then is pack it in a big plastic trash bag set in a large cardboard box then I leave the bag and box open till the leaf dries out and I close the bag over the leaf and gently close the box. When I want to use some I open the box and bag and gently take it out. I mist it and put it in a smaller plastic shopping bag to soften it up. In 4 to 5 hours it’s good to go.
Understand though that once it dries out completely it won’t age. You’ve got to keep it a certain humidity and temperature to keep it aging. Too much trouble for me. I just cure it for a month or more then pack it away.
So there you have it. You can do it the easy inexpensive way or you can go more sophisticated. It’s up to you.
As for plastic buckets you can look around any new home or commercial construction site. I used to finish drywall so I have stacks of them. But every big job I ever worked on would have loads of 5 gallon paint buckets and mud buckets in the dumpster. Drill some ½ holes around the outside at the bottom and put a few flat rocks in before you add the soil. It’ll help with the drainage.

tanglelegs · Joined: 26 Jul 2009 Posts: 26

Thanks alot thats a big help