If it looks a bit damp or won't light he sticks it in the warming tray of his oven for a while. Spread the leaves out so they're at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart to give them plenty of space to dry. I will be 76 next month and live in the UK. Mine are not as tall as yours - max about 4 foot. or should i ferment tobacco leaves for good taste?, thanks a lot. It says it can be used for fermentation. Great read. You do need LARGE pots, it grows a huge root ball. Allow 2 meters headroom if you keep them inside and remember to pick out the sideshoots growing in the leaf joins (just like tomatoes do) they can be planted too for a later crop. Fire curing produces a tobacco low in sugar and high in nicotine. The results were unbelievable, menthol is one the hardest flavours to crack, no more menthol crysrals and chemistry sets, the e-juice is mostly vegetable glycerine, with no nicotine, and can be added to suit the strength desirable, you can add it to your own liking, strong, medium, weak, doing it this way means the menthol strength hasn't already been decided for you and you don't have to hunt around for a commercial brand to suit your particular tastes. Very educational. So, fermentation, do it if you want to, you may like the flavour better, you may not, I don't think that it matters a damn' for health and safety. After fermentation (kilning), tobacco aroma and taste may change significantly over a few days, with noticeable change becoming more subtle after that. Question: I am following your method of growing tobacco at home, though I am getting my brown leaves within a few weeks or less. Within two to three months of picking a healthy green leaf, it would dry to a complete dark brown, and if even touched it would crumble into a million shards. You don't mention this stage, what are your thoughts on fermentation? on Step 6. The Old Firm (author) from Waikato/Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand on September 11, 2014: Great stuff John, (We're in for a long summer, my banana plant set its first bunch a month ago, although the stalks are still all brown with dead and wind battered leaves; and the raspberry canes are budding) Please keep us posted on how you're going. We have seeds. In the next batch I think I will see if placing the leaves in a large plastic bag will work better. I wanted to just bury my nose in the leaves during the raisin stage, but for purposes sterility, i resisted!Q: I wouldn't imagine such a small batch would give off an overwhelming smell of ammonia.A: Very true! In the cooler situation, I am fighting to keep things moist enoughin your case it looked like it was the opposite effect! For tips on how to separate the tobacco from the stem when the leaves are dry, read on! I have smoked ciggies, small cigars and a pipe since I was about 14. Perhaps it is a distraction from daily stresses and allows an escape to simpler times. Doing so removes excess plant material from your nugs, making drying much faster. I planted a few seedlings in February one year as an experiment. I did see a fermenter made of ply-wood, and i can tell ya, that one would most definitely off gas formaldehyde and other such chemicals found in the adhesives.Q: So you haven't noticed any sort of ammonia smell coming from the tobacco?A: I really haven't! If you're jarring tobacco, make sure the jars you're using create a seal. Commercially it used to have saltpeter (potassium nitrate) added to keep it going, although I don't know what's used now. Hang the leaves somewhere dry and warm, like a garage or attic. Whether its for smoking, for ceremonial use, or for an insect repellent solution, there are many reasons to dry, or air-cure, your own tobacco leaves. WISH ME LUCK FOLKS THE GOVT DAMN SURE DOESN'T ASTHEY WATCH THERE TAX DOLLARS EVAPORATE. Love it. Answer: Curing tobacco is pretty much just letting it dry until it turns goldish. After drying the leaves then adding flavour such as vodka and then slicing/cutting would I store the tobacco in a air tight container? Turned out that he was given the plant by his pal who had been Chief Blender with British American Tobacco (BAT) so the guy knew what he was doing. Here in New Zealand, you can buy tobacco seed, grow the stuff, and, if you want to, smoke it quite lawfully. Some years ago I stumbled upon tobacco seeds (for the first time) in a Richters plant/seed catalogue out of Canada ( I live in the U.S). Last Updated: January 20, 2021 It realy increase my knowledge about the topic. Give them a dose of general garden fertiliser now and again. It's only a few. I'll send this information to him. Once your bud is in the jar drop in the hygrometer and cap it. I personally didn't run into any problems, but this set up is risky and definitely not UL rated . You are using an out of date browser. He can smoke to his lung's are content. Information I will be collecting: 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 process can take up to 8 weeks, and the longer you wait, the better it may taste. Trying to grow it here in the USA.if for no other reason to treat bee stings. Tinned tobacco will too, but not to the extent that it would in the tin. From your pictures, your plants were very immature, their growth stunted mostly due to the small pot size. Im experiencing some small security troubles with my latest weblog and Id like to locate something more safeguarded. If it's warmer, that's even better. Reply It may not display this or other websites correctly. Drying tobacco is a kind of curing process that takes between 3 and 8 weeks to properly prepare the tobacco for use. Do you've any recommendations? 12.5% cure for between 5 and 10 days. Keep in a cool, dry place out of direct light. If they taste well enough without them fermenting do I still have to ferment them? -Week 4 the tobacco chamber should have the sweet smell of a walk in humidor. I would think that using a spray bottle or just wiping the leaves with a sponge-full of the mix would also work OK. Hang these sticks (or string the lines) somewhere dry, out of the way, and preferably warm. Do you ferment leaves for smoking tobacco? The primary tobacco curing methods consist of air curing, sun curing, fire curing, and flue curing. I suggest that you let only one of your plants go to flower for seeds for next season's crop. Question: When the bottom leaves go yellow before flowering starts, do I cut off the yellowing leaves and dispose of them or keep them? Don't humidify kiln to prevent rusty lids. Question: Can you soak tobacco in rum and wine? Simply hang in a sheltered area and let nature take its course. I live in Kansas and they are growing like crazy. you have done a excellent activity on this matter! Thanks. See what your first try is like, you can always tart it up as you go along. Subtract the one-time cost of the seed ($2.50 buys about 1,000 seeds at the shop down the road from me) and the price of the couple of cups of seed-raising mix and fertiliser you may have purchased. Thanks a lot, Yes i have read your article and gave very good things ty but one question is pesticides can i use them on the plant's and will i get sick from it. Otherwise, just bite the bullet and buy an extra box of matches. -Week 3 smells very strongly like raisins. I have dried and cut one leaf for a try. If you want plant them elsewhere, they'll grow for a later crop. The Old Firm (author) from Waikato/Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand on September 16, 2014: Hi tobacco enthusiast, glad to know that I was of help. But really, there are no unpleasant smells to be vented. I am going to scour around and see if I can find some seeds. The end result looked like nice moist almost store bought tobacco. To smoke it! Free Shipping on orders over $95! Question: Dont you have to ferment or sweat the leaves after drying tabacco, to remove excess ammonia? Hanging Tobacco Leaves for Drying 1 Dry tobacco in the fall for the best results. Drying or "curing" home-grown tobacco leaves. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. If you live elsewhere, check your local legislation to ensure that you're operating within the law. Buuut, it is still good to note the same surgeon general warning that "smoking is bad for your health", etc. You know what to look for.) The shortest cure was 5 days and the longest cure was an initial 3 weeks followed by 6 - 8 more weeks in jars. Question: How long are you supposed to cure tobacco for? Great victory by the AllBlacks! What is the next step after the fermentation is ready ? Share it with us! We were told this by an old DSIR nerd, a friend tried it reconds it better than brought menthols. Grow your own tobacco while you can, - and your own carrots, - and your own cabbages, soon legislation will stop us from doing all that too because we'd be taking the living from the maws poor supermarket empires. Trying to beat the election and all the false promises. Also worked very well last year on fully dried tobacco. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Remember to save your seed for the next crop. Answer: I remove the stems because they're woody and would produce lumpy tobacco. Answer: Home grown tobacco doesn't naturally stay burning. The dried leaves will be slightly sticky, and theyll have the feeling of very thin leather. You need to leave some free space for airflow, so err on the side of under versus over-filling the jars. What you describe looks like a quick way to cure, nothing wrong with that. Easy to follow and a good laugh along the way. 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. Best of luck with your research. Every council and government department has a proliferation of the swine at their lower levels trying to screw up the doers. The essential pieces for fermentation is 120 degree heat and humidity. I suppose most guys go 1 to 2 months, but my philosophy is, if it's not on fire in my pipe, why bother taking it out of the kiln. Little green capsules about 1/4 in long will be left behind. The ribs are easy to remove at that point. For tips on how to separate the tobacco from the stem when the leaves are dry, read on! Once sealed, age for about two months at room temperature or slightly above. Fred Hanna has a method of quickly aging tobacco. (You probably know this already!). A friend hangs his tobacco for about three months, by which time it has both a nice colour and texture. Reactions: Oldfella, Charly, Knucklehead and 1 other person S Smileysmile66 Active Member Joined Apr 5, 2019 Messages 25 Points 3 Location Stockholm, Sweden Here are a couple things to be on the lookout for as your tobacco is curing: The trick for curing is time. When you cure [organic] Cannabis buds, youre breaking down compounds in the resin into new compounds. As you know i don't smoke anymore, but gotta thank John Keye for the taxes, and the opportunity for extra income ( wink wink ), just follow the advice given here Jen, you cant go wrong, I gathered some seeds from a garden not knowing it was tobacco.They have grown amazingly.Thanks to your practical info I'm setting about drying the leaves .Might find a use for my grandads pipes in a rack yet .Thanks. Thanks in advance. Now, any ideas on how I could take this to the next level & make it into clove cigarettes? They are about 20 inches now. on Introduction. Answer: It should be okay in a large bucket. Question: Is planting tobacco summer (start of January) ok? Tobacco isn't picky. When the plant is mature, harvest the leaves as normal and check google on making cigars, - I haven't made them but I know that there are some good sites with common sense instructions around. Thanks for the nice comments. 3 years ago Question: How can I get the right smell and taste for my homegrown tobacco? Answer: You can spray the leaves with a mister using rum, port, dissolved honey or whatever takes your fancy to both flavour the tobacco and help it burn. Spray water, port, rum, honey dissolved in any of the aforementioned, or pretty well any consumable liquid. Awesome article!!! Question: I have been hanging first tobacco leaves for two weeks in the green house and they going brown already. on Step 5, when air curing has happened with my plants there are vast diffrents in colour between the diffrent leafs some are dark brown - light brown but some are a very dark green.. they are cured they just seem to hold there colour..? This article is not about health issues; it's about growing tobacco and curing it. Some are undoubtedly better, but I don't think many would be easier or cheaper than the method I've described, and I know what I've written about works because I've done it. When ordering tobacco seeds online, be sure to check importing restrictions. When is the best time to plant? on Step 6, Do you ferment all leaves that you want to use as in the cigar or just the outer leaf of the cigar. Cut a thin slit through the center of the stem on each leaf using a utility knife. I want to try it. I watched a YouTube video and this guy dries his leaves in a aluminium cylinder with an element placed on the bottom. x3' high lined with 1 1/2" styrofoam 3 100w heaters in bottom controlled by cookerstat,fed in moist air from a humidifier.Humidity 80% temp 120/130.Cured leaf for 4 weeks. 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. Put tobacco in jar. Adding moisture to cure is not a good idea, the bud should be dried properly first. Was going to make a wooden box but this was easier as I had the bits. It has been most helpful. Also I wanted to add that the post is great and very easy to follow ..I am in Aus and have been growing now for a while and am getting some extremely good results but I am still waiting to have my first taste..I think the hardest part for me is going to be the cutting as I like a very fine cut and if anyone can suggest something that is not to expensive I will be very happy, anyway thanks for reading and hope to hear from some of you out there even in Qld..Cheers. Thanks again for this information. Wonderful hub. I'd also suggest that you let the plants flower and save the seed, you'll get enough to plant half of Kansas and be very popular with your smoking friends! Then he fed the leaves through a grinder. Oh yeah, adding flavor.any ideas on flavoring the bacco? If you want cheap alcohol dissolve a kilo of sugar in 4 liters of warm water, dump in some yeast, or a handful of raisins/sultanas, cover the container with a tea-towel or similar to keep out the bugs and wild yeasts( or you'll end up with vinegar), leave it until it stops bubbling (probably 2-3 weeks) and you'll end up with alcohol at about 10%. Thanks heaps for your all your good work and effort.. As you are aware, we are being raped by our jackboot government, overtaxing and discriminating against smokers.. Prices are going through the roof. Secondly, don't break the law. Not to mention the moaning at the forever price hikes in Tobacco. Answer: I know people that have done both, so it's really up to you which is handiest, I don't think that it makes much difference to the end product. 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. Using a solution of honey or something sweet may help also. Smokingpipes is your one stop shop for Tobacco Jars Pipe Accessories and all your tobacco smoking needs. The Old Firm (author) from Waikato/Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand on November 12, 2015: I love this website - its so usefull and helpfull. It depends on the tobacco, I guess. Question: What strain of tobacco do you grow? Isn't it possible to sterilize the pile of tobacco and stop all the fermentation by having temperature too high? abfdged. Growing and harvesting is a perquisite to fermentation covered in other guides, available here . and still have some tobacco from afew years ago. It depends on what you want the tobacco for. Gently shake the sieve. Taking the focus away from tobacco congratulations once more! {"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":"