When to Harvest Tobacco Leaves?

[lxskllr]

One vBulletin forum I frequent allows attachments to posts. I'm not sure why it isn't more widespread.

[NorSnuser]

Re: When to Harvest Tobacco Leaves?

That's not necessary, or even desirable, if one is to make snus.

Actually, if you set up a curing chamber and don't drive the temperatures over 90 degrees you will have the equivalent of air cured tobacco with low TSNA's.

I ended up hanging individual leaves, instead of the entire plants and this after washing the leaves.

I always wash the whole plant or the leaves, good move.

This is an issue. There is no room for them to cure for the required 90 days except in the attic. Given we have already turned the heat on, I am sure it will be dry as the Sahara in the house and attic. I am not sure what to do, because there is nothing I can do, given the situation.

You need to get some humidity in the attic or they will dry green. Attic temperatures could easily go over 90 degrees depending on idiosyncratic conditions. You could try spraying them several times a day with distilled water, but it is time intensive and may lower the quality of the finished product. Plus, it may not be enough and may not work. You could try enclosing a smaller space in the attic with plastic and adding a humidifier.

[snupy]

If any would like to see the pictures, please PM the moderators and ask them why these forums are not user friendly, since they do not allow the attachment of pictures to posts. Please ask them to FIX the website to make it usable.

[lxskllr]

If you email them to z1mbert AT yahoo.com I can post them up :^)

[sagedil]

FWIW, I have always used photobucket to post pictures here and every other forum use.

[snupy]

See if this will work. That's my size 12 shoe in the photo;

[JPono]

Nice! Thanks for the picture!

[snupy]

You are welcome. I LOVE this shit! I want to grow baccy every year for the rest of my life.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Anyone that is growing there own is my hero right now. I'm gonna try it this spring!

[snupy]

I just want to get to the point where whatever tobacco nonsense the government next concocts, will have no bearing whatsoever on my tobacco usage. Higher tobacco taxes? Bring it on! PACT? Bring it on!

(Although, I do fear what my next step will be, if my GYO/MYO snus should end up tasting like Level or Camel SNUS. I do not presently have a Plan B!)

[justintempler]

I just want to get to the point where whatever tobacco nonsense the government next concocts, will have no bearing whatsoever on my tobacco usage. Higher tobacco taxes? Bring it on! PACT? Bring it on!

(Although, I do fear what my next step will be, if my GYO/MYO snus should end up tasting like Level or Camel SNUS. I do not presently have a Plan B!)

I'm going to grow my own but you never know what you'll end up with ahead of time. I'm not going to risk everything on the success or failure of a future tobacco crop that could be wiped out by bugs or bad weather. I also don't want to get impatient and rush the curing after I've spent months growing a crop.

I'm going to start with some Stokers tobacco and there's always pipe and cigar tobacco to play with too. I'll be ready to start grinding and cooking within a month.

[sagedil]

I don't know. Go back and read the misadventures of the Swedish immigrants who tried to make snus 110+ years ago. They failed. But of course, they didn't have the benefit of the internet then. :wink:

Still, some of the snus makers in Sweden been doing this a long, long, LONG time. Somehow I don't think anything I could do would manage to be nearly as good as they can do.

Right now, I just want good snus. The world really does get crappy, time enough for me to reconsider. But I see just no reason to worry about it now.

But happy some are, y'all can be the gurus for the rest of us should that time come, But I just don't expect it to.

[snupy]

I'm going to grow my own but you never know what you'll end up with ahead of time.

This is very true and well I learned it this past year in my first attempt. The only consolation is the lessons I carry forward into the next season.

I'm not going to risk everything on the success or failure of a future tobacco crop that could be wiped out by bugs or bad weather.

That has been a concern of mine as well. I am planning on planting double the amount I have estimated I will use in one year. That way, if I have a bad year, I will (hopefully) have some back up supplies.

I also don't want to get impatient and rush the curing after I've spent months growing a crop.

You know, I am still confused about that. This one guy on another forum, who is my guru of sorts in this and whose photos of his 2007 crop were my inspiration, just posted today that I need to color cure the leaves by stacking, so that they will yellow, and only then air-curing them by hanging. (But then, he smokes his crop.) I was under the impression they needed to hang dry only.

I'm going to start with some Stokers tobacco and there's always pipe and cigar tobacco to play with too. I'll be ready to start grinding and cooking within a month.

I saw your posts about that.

Also, I hope there are no bad feelings from the other discussion on this we had a few months back. I did not mean to be a jerk to you, but I fear I may have come across as doing exactly that. I DO get what you were saying about the correct reaction one is looking for in the pastuerization process. I am just so overwhelmed in the learning of the growing, and will also be in the making of the snus, that it really is best for me to do this in the simplest way I possibly can, which will provide as little maintenance on my part as possible.

I just want you to know I am well aware you know what you are talking about in this. I can tell you have done your research THOROUGHLY and I have a great amount of respect for you for that. And should my methods of cutting corners to simplify things for me not work, I will be searching these forums for those posts you made, so I can do it exactly as you said from the beginning.

[justintempler]

No need to apologize for anything snupy :roll: I don't have any problem with anybody on the internets. I say what's on my mind and expect others will do the same with me.

Different tobacco is cured different ways. I can't even begin to give you any advice on leaf curing. I haven't even started studying that end of it. I won't see my first homegrown tobacco leaves until July or August of next year.

[snupy]

I won't see my first homegrown tobacco leaves until July or August of next year.

I am planning on starting my seeds on time next year, somewhere between 3/1-3/15. It's hard to know when you can't predict the last frost.