Answer: I've never bothered fermenting, and nor have any of my friends. Let them dry out on the plant. A fine mist to dampen the leaves is all you need, they will soften almost immediately and you can then cut out the ribs. Also, in the images above you can see the vent holes I cut in the top and bottom of the coolerI have since plugged them up to hold in the humiditythere was too much ventilation going on. Once sealed, age for about two months at room temperature or slightly above. Fairly certain he's going to have a good read. Will have to look into this further but this has certainly been of great help to start-off. and spray it finely on the dried leaves with a garden mister. The following is a helpful "Q and A" following this project. Well, short of dynamiting them, running them over with a ten-ton digger, searing them with a flamethrower, or soaking the stuff in weed-killer, tobacco pretty much looks after itself. It is only recently that I have heard any mention of ammonia occurring in the drying process, and I personally doubt whether it has much effect on the finished product. Oh yeah, adding flavor.any ideas on flavoring the bacco? http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/agr/agr14/agr14.htm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nygIskWSgw, https://www.leafonly.com/tobacco-harvesting-curing-fermenting.php, https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/how-to-grow-and-cure-your-own-tobacco-for-ceremonial-use-Ok_7A46VfUqfDuXac7SoOQ/, https://www.coffinails.com/curing_tobacco.html, http://www.victoryseeds.com/tobacco/backer_cultivation.html, https://www.cigarworld.com/education/tobacco-411/curing-and-fermentation/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKduAMF-lWk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2EpXsM0m4o. This article could not be written any better! If you get problems then sort them out with humidifiers or what have you. The host saw me wandering around puffing on my pipe and he kindly gave me a tobacco plant in a pot. Don't pick the whole plant at once, since they will become ready over a period of weeks. Also how do you keep the humidity. Add the parts, tools needed to create the lids so they're air tight, medical grade silicone lines, manifolds, check valves, RH hygrometer, the grommets alone cost $50 for 10 (with a minimum . From new and estate tobacco pipes to tin pipe tobacco and bulk pipe tobacco, we have everything you need. After all, cigarette butts soaked in a bucket of water was an old way of making insect spray that my parents and grandparents used. Answer: If it works for you, keep doing it. Well heres hoping! (I could spare the bullfrogs.). Question: What do you think of using a humidifier to keep some moisture in the air while curing? Awesome article!!! You are so right, they do adapt to the area. I am thinking about trying this year for the first time. Make sure kiln has good air circulation and that jars aren't touching walls to prevent condensation in jars. After drying the leaf, should it be re-hydrated or something. If it's just for the fun of growing the stuff and possibly to use the leaves to make a bug spray, a couple of plants will do fine. What I can find worryingly little information on is how long you need to ferment it for, depending on what you want to do with it. The end result looked like nice moist almost store bought tobacco. If it's too rainy or it gets too much water, the tobacco gets weak and thin. :). Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters. Do you've any recommendations? All I can think of is fire hazard!! Question Ricci Feat Waaka from Tauranga, New Zealand on June 07, 2014: Hi can you please give me some advice on how to grow tobacco under lights,such as how many plants to a 1000 watt or 600 grow light in what size room,am really keen to give it a go. Ive not got the Virginia one Ive got has some random Peruvian ones that has loads of nicotine on the leaves its oily. Anyine got pointers on aging? (It should reach full size without problems.). Pick up a few small hygrometers made for tobacco humidors. Monitor the leaves periodically to make sure they dont turn moldy, and remove any leaves that do. Thoughts ? A neighbour hangs his leaves in a carport to dry, then presses them in a shallow wooden box with a bit of plank on top and a weight (gallon drum full of water) rolls up the end product and slices thin with a sharp knife. Mine are not as tall as yours - max about 4 foot. I could not tho do that on a dozen or so plants. BTW the leaves held by the old bloke in the article's photo grew in a temperate climate in spring and summer.They're pretty average bottom leaves (the higher you go the smaller the leaf) We get light frosts in Winter. Questions by inquiring hobbist , answers by me, (Surf Monkey Coconut)!.Q: Cool setup- never seen it done like that before. When the flowers die off each will form a green pod which will slowly turn dark brown. Not to mention the moaning at the forever price hikes in Tobacco. In the next batch I think I will see if placing the leaves in a large plastic bag will work better. Go figure. 50% of these commercial growers cure for between 7 and 14 days. Just thought i'ld let you know the 'head start' theory appeared to work. At which temperature fermentation stops? I simply chopped it (2mm) and mixed in some pure vanilla essence (or chopped vanilla beans) and a little citrus zest then compressed it into a jar. !, i want to ask you why? I'm planning on air curing the Tennessee, as it suggests in the name of it, and the. It's half a keg with a bin lid and a light globe for heat. This is just 3 hands of tobacco and it does have quite the aroma associated with it! The process can take up to 8 weeks, and the longer you wait, the better it may taste. If I think the tobacco is drying to quickly I give it a light misting with the distilled water. Also without an insulator, there would be a lot of heat loss, you would need higher temps than a psudo greenhouse.The cooler method traps in heat, but because the seals are not air tight there seems to be a lot of air exchange going on. I joined the hub just to thank you.). As you said, I leave the "Best/Biggest" plant to flower and take the seeds from it for the next season- tho of course you only need one seed pod to get 1000's of tiny seeds for next year's crop. They stopped growing until spring, but the leaves stayed healthyno wilting or browningand around the end of September, they took off again. If youve moistened brittle leaves for storage, be sure to pat them down with a paper towel so there arent any water droplets on them. As for the number of plants to be self-sufficient in Baccy for my pipe? Using the ones made for smoking, bleached, or with added chemicals is not ideal, to say the very least. First time grower. An attic or garage rafters are great, provided you still have headroom. Question: I bought some homegrown tobacco but it has a dark greenish look to it. I've settled on 1 week in the press for this experiment bracket, so unless I get an additional press, it'll take me 3 months to get all the 1 oz pressed samples underway. Don't humidify kiln to prevent rusty lids. Put tobacco in jar. Sun curing can be done by setting the leaves in the sun for a week until dry. Answer: Spray it with a fine mist of water (or water and alcohol - port, vodka, rum; or water and something sweet) You can get a cheap mister in most garden supply shops and a lot of discount places. The ultra dry leaves sucked up the alcohol (not too much or u get a soggy mess) and became pliable again. this methored did not work the tobacco turned to compost in a few weeks.. to much humidity.. the way i would change it is having the inside tray highter and only puting a cloth over the top so air can escape.. i only put a small hole in the top and this was not enough. Just let the plants grow as shown in my hub, don't fuss over them as they're hardy, just make sure that they have at least a 2 ft spacing from each other or other plants, they'll transplant OK at this size if you have to, but better if you don't as it checks their growth, not a great worry. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The product was a gentler and more aromatic smoke when it landed in Europe than when it left the "New World". i hope this works because all my tobacco is in there.. iv got a brewing heat pad about 30 watts put a storage box on top will 2 lt of water. One dampens and presses the leaves for a few days (in a shallow tray with a board and a weight on top) then rolls up the leaves like a newspaper roll, and slices thin rings off it which are then cut cross-ways for cigarette tobacco. I realize the leaves are moist at first but after the moisture evaporates do you have to have any humidification device in there?A: yeah, as you can imagine, lamp is very similar to an oven, where the dry heat generated constantly takes away the humidity. I got tired of fighting past the damn things to get to my garden shed and pulled them out last May, still healthy and hardy, with a root system the size of a football. So plenty in hand. I suggest that you air-dry some leaves and then compare. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Curing is a 3 part process:1) Drying (color curing): to take out majority of the moisture. Or can I plant them right away in areas with a long growing season? You know what to look for.) It seems dry but just doesnt want to stay lit when Ive rolled cigarettes. To smoke it! You might try planting cabbage amongst the 'backy to deter the cabbage butterfly; I intend to this year. The tobacco color should also change to a much darker hue of brown. , is there a any missing thing about process ? If it's too rainy or it gets too much water, the tobacco gets weak and thin. I even leave the bathroom door open. Answer: I don't know, it's been many years since I was in Australia, but I would guess a tobacco plant would take around three months or less to grow there. Question: I have been hanging first tobacco leaves for two weeks in the green house and they going brown already. What is the next step after the fermentation is ready ? I have grown some and do not want to ferment it. Every council and government department has a proliferation of the swine at their lower levels trying to screw up the doers. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Keep in a cool, dry place out of direct light. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/b\/b2\/Dry-Tobacco-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Dry-Tobacco-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/b\/b2\/Dry-Tobacco-Step-1.jpg\/aid10190610-v4-728px-Dry-Tobacco-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"