My curing chamber

Once you've grown and harvested your tobacco, what do you do with it? Talk about it here.
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kbadkar
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My curing chamber

Post by kbadkar »

Well, almost 1 year after harvesting, I now have some smokeable tobacco. You'll notice that I have used bamboo skewers for hanging the leaves. This worked out well for me. They are cheap and don't rust. And since I harvested 3-4 leaves from each plant at a time, I could keep these leaves together and label them. I know tobacco variety, plant position (top leaves vs. bottom), whether grown in pots or ground, a prized plant or sickly one, and 1st or 2nd harvest (since some plants grew again after 1st harvest). For example " O, g, 2nd, primo, top" means Orinoco, grown in ground, 2nd harvest, great plant, top leaves; while just an "O" would mean Orinoco, grown in pot, 1st harvest, normal plant, bottom leaves. The skewer system also made moving and hanging them really easy. Just poke the sharp end of the skewer into strips of the foam sheets.



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This was my first 3 week trial run in the new chamber. For drying/color curing, I constructed the chamber horizontally. I posted pictures of this in another post. For curing, I reconstructed it vertically. It's 4' x 4' x 8' and holds about 30 plants worth of leaves.


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After some experimentation, I found the best way to get the right temperature (130 F) and the right humidity (70% rh) was to use an oil filled radiator and a hot plate with a pot of water. I didn't need a thermostat, since I believe the heater settings are determined by watt output, not some built in thermostat. A humidifier only holds enough water for 6 hours and doesn't have enough output. The pots only need re-filling every 2 days and can get the humidity up to 80% without effort.



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A good heat and humidity sensor is invaluable. I got a base unit with multiple transmitters, so I know what the numbers are without having to open the chamber... it also saves temp and humidity highs and lows, so I know the range when I'm away. I didn't vent the top, since I have enough "leaks" and any further ventilation would require a greater energy input to keep it at the right levels.


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The cedar plank flooring really gives the chamber a nice scent. It's helpful that I can remove it for loading and unloading of tobacco.

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I took tobacco samples after each week in the chamber. After the 3 weeks, most of the tobacco I tested (rolled cigarettes) tasted great - mild, smooth, and even a tad sweet compared to commercial tobacco. Some still tasted a bit green, like grass, but not the good stuff. I put some of the cured or semi-cured tobacco back into the chamber to see if a longer curing time improves flavor. Most of the cured tobacco is now in boxes under the house to age further. I'll try those again in six months or so.

It's pretty exciting at this point to smoke some good homegrown. But there are still so many variables and so many ways to process further that I'm a bit intimidated. Now what?
FredS
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Post by FredS »

Some still tasted a bit green, like grass, but not the good stuff.
Now THAT'S funny.

That's some truely impressive stuff you've got going.
"Cut your own wood and you warm yourself twice." - Henry Ford
pierredekat

Post by pierredekat »

Wow, that's awesome!

Dang, I wish I could have grown some tobacco this year, but Adriana and I moved into a new place in February, and getting my shop set up and my family settled-in had to take a little higher priority.

Next year, though, I've got a good sized plot staked out and ready to go. And I've got a pretty nice compost pile going that I'll turn into the soil this Fall/Winter.

As far as "now what" is concerned, try a little experimenting and let us know what you come up with.

The best thing I managed to come up with was mixing half homegrown with half Lane BCA.

But that was before we got whacked by Hurricane Ike, which blew just enough rain into my storage shed to get nearly all of last year's crop nice and moldy. :cry:

Not complaining, though. Aside from a few minor mishaps and spending three weeks without electricity, we were damn lucky, I must say. Could have been a lot worse. :wink:
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kbadkar
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Post by kbadkar »

Well, you got me into this whole time-sucking growing mess Robert! (and the wife curses you still)

I didn't really start any tobacco this year, knowing how much work it was, and I've been travelling too much for the commitment. But two bonus plants just appeared in old tobacco planters, so I stuck'em in the ground with the squash, peppers, and melons. Also, tons of little tobacco seedings have sprouted up where I planted last year. It's nice to have tobacco plants without any effort or care really.

I'm thinking I'll experiment with some of the lesser quality leaves. The 2nd harvest Burley leaves for example, are pretty unremarkable. Since I have the curing chamber going, I'm thinking I could add some hardwood smoke. I have tons of wild growing sage and rosemary that I could throw in the smoke mix. Maybe I can get something Latakia like.

Also, I'll wash and strip some leaves and press them in a hardwood "brick" mold to age. Maybe I can get something Perique like.
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AlfaDog
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Re: My curing chamber

Post by AlfaDog »

What we've come up with on a kiln is to use a crock pot to produce heat and humidity. You can use the lower thermostat from a hot water heater to turn the crock pot off and on at about 120 degrees. You control humidity with vents or in a chamber as large as yours you may use a couple computer fans. If you have a jug set up outside the chamber with a siphon hose run to the crock pot you can replenish your water in the crock pot without having to open the door.Nice chamber. You can quick age tobacco in about one month instead of one year of natural air cure. This is done after color curing and drying.
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