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Humboldt

Drying and curing N.rustica

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Hi, first time growing Mopacho and it has been great.  Now its time to dry and cure.  

Was hoping someone could chime in with some knowledge on the matter.  Ive been drying on this hanging mesh thing in low temps.  Should i be using heat (wood heater)?  

Have noticed some green blue spots on some at first i though mould but i dont think so.  Ammonia??

Do I devain?

What should i be doing to get a nice cure 

Peace

 

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Edited by Humbolt
Bloody sideways pics!!
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Pat Uri has a few posts about tobacco curing ,interesting read. (He was/is a very amusing character, missing his presence ) 

 

He’s also made posts in this thread... 

 

 

I think there’s more but my device and time restraints  limits my search.  

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bro, you have 2 heap ferment.

single leaf dry out is,

not recom….

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Chances are you may have already gone past the point where curing is possible. You want to retain enough moisture in the leaves for the process to start.

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5 hours ago, withdrawl clinic said:

bro, you have 2 heap ferment.

 

Under what conditions WC?

Looks like i need to start again, or just leave it alone.

Great read thanks @Amazonian  Im a terrible search.

Edited by Humbolt

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A few years back, I hung mine to 'airdry' for 2 nights but kept them misted and checked them daily. Once they started to lose their colour but were still pliable/stretchy, I laid them in an airtight container, one over the other in a decent pile, and kept it raised above my HPS ballast, airing/burping daily for 2-3 months and rearranging leaves every week or so. I also kept those 64% humidipack things in there. After 3 months they smelt so incredibly sweet, I just had to dry and crush one up and pull a huge cone through my 1footer...OUCH!! Now I love my whiteox and baccy bongs, but that was something different. I learnt not to abuse Rustica again after that. I add mere chips of it now to changa mixes or occasionally use a leaf as a wrap for a big joint. Also snuffed it once, and the nostril was so incredibly clear for days. 

 

Keep in mind, this all happened 3 years ago, and it was only 3 ounces dry (though the taste has improved greatly with time). It's just not something I like to use very much of. I'm germinating some n. Tabacum seeds now to see if I can manage a more palatable smoke...

 

Best of luck Humbolt! Your plants look healthy. Did you let the flower heads grow to collect seed? Because if not, if you pinch them and the 'suckers' off, the main leaves grow a fair bit larger and flatter. The colouring on your dried leaf is normal though; hopefully someone can tell me why it happens (part of the fermentation process?), but it's happened everytime I grow tobacco. 

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18 hours ago, Humbolt said:

Under what conditions WC?

Looks like i need to start again, or just leave it alone.

Great read thanks @Amazonian  Im a terrible search.

no, u just re hydrate (add water, just tiny mist, too herb and seal)watch...:)

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28 minutes ago, withdrawl clinic said:

no, u just re hydrate (add water, just tiny mist, too herb and seal)watch...:)

If you've passed the point of dryness already, adding more water won't restart the curing process. 

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4 hours ago, Glaukus said:

If you've passed the point of dryness already, adding more water won't restart the curing process. 

Have aborted that lot.  Will burn and spread ashes in the garden and start again.  Should i be waiting for leaves to yellow on the plant? 

Many thanks @LowHP for the great advice.  I would like to collect seed but i let them flower because i wasnt aware not too, have got some nice dinner plates nontheless.  Seemed to enjoy the shelter of the corn next to it (and maybe the dead quail beneath).

 

We will get frosts in a month or so.

Kindness

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You'll need to keep the humidity around 60-65%. I can't comment on the yellowing, they may be yellow and crispy dry or yellow and soft/supple. 

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On 07/05/2019 at 9:11 PM, Humbolt said:

Have aborted that lot.  Will burn and spread ashes in the garden and start again.  Should i be waiting for leaves to yellow on the plant? 

Many thanks @LowHP for the great advice.  I would like to collect seed but i let them flower because i wasnt aware not too, have got some nice dinner plates nontheless.  Seemed to enjoy the shelter of the corn next to it (and maybe the dead quail beneath).

 

We will get frosts in a month or so.

Kindness

I hope u take the "lot" and either do what I said,

or "seal lot"

and sprikle ov next "lot's fermentation"

what you might want to burn,

could have been an activator!!

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On 09/05/2019 at 2:55 PM, withdrawl clinic said:

 sprikle ov next "lot's fermentation"

what you might want to burn,

could have been an activator!!

Sorry WC but im confused as to what is meant by'activator' and what sprinkling will do.  Havent burnt or done anything with the poorly dried material yet.  Will have to harvest the lot soon (regardless of colour) as temps are dropping for Tassie winter.  Thanks for the input everybody.

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After Colour curing, it really depends on what the intended end use is and how much time you plan for.... Stuff up the Colour cure and you will battle with subpar material. 

 

Although I have read of dry green rustica being used in a traditional  snuff mixture. I'd imagine that's pretty rough... Lol... I'd still presume it's aged though. 

 

You need to keep the humidity up whilst Colour curing, if it dries it will kill off the process and it'll hold green. Its lost from the cells, you can't get that back in. You can let it dry after Colour curing. 

 

Ideally you want them "primed" at least which is starting into yellowing /browning before twisting free of the stem. If you can't get them primed, then a quick stack ferment helps set them off. 

 

Rustica tends to cure straight to brown, skipping yellow, often holding green vein in for a while. A few months hang is not unusual, and an alternating day/night humidity helps a lot.

 

If heap curing need to be vigilant with Rustica due to the nature of the leaf or it'll run to basically compost if neglected. It does speed up the process, but note it will have a higher sugar content than air dry. If you were to flue cure with heat, more sugars retained again.  Sugars are worth noting but no need to dive into it here. 

 

Several ways to skin the cat....each to their own. 

 

I've been an air and sun cure man on occasion when deemed the go, with long aging  myself. Aging is your friend... 12 months plus, the longer it goes the better the outcome. Every year brings out flavour and odor in most baccy varieties. It gets better with age pretty much with most methodologies though, part of its mystery. 

 

Cardboard box and a lower humidity than out in the shed once Colour cured.. :wink: spray a little moisture on when you need to work with it to make pliable again. It's a fascinating thing to see at work... Something that could be crushed to dust become like a thin pliable leather quite quickly. 

 

Fermenting basically is sped up aging..... Although some subtle flavour/odor can develop with some techniques like "perique" method. 

 

Aging is important.... That's the part that's similar to bud curing. 

 

Rustica is more frost resistant BTW as well, so it should tick over a bit longer than you think Humbolt. 

 

Lol... Topping rustica I've found just makes it really angry and it'll make you work hard keeping up:lol:but it can produce a few larger leaves.

 

There's no single way though... And that's worth noting. 

 

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Thanks for chiming in WB.  By colour cured do you mean no green at all left in major veins? 

What methods do i employ to stop "composting" my heap ferm.

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Curing is colour cured to end point  In case of tobac.  Yep you want to get it brown in presuming, that can take a month + hang, but if the humidity got to low during  it will hold green. 

 

Heat with low/no  humidity is not desirable at all whilst chasing colour. 

 

Month + hang is typical, and a fluctuation in day/night humidity is really beneficial. Even after its not unusual for extended hanging, 

 

Stage 1 get it to final colour (air, sun, flue, heap ferment ect) , step 2 age (natural, kiln, ferment). 

 

Rust will hold green into the veins hard to the  last point ,  but if the humidity gets to low it will stop curing and hold green. No fix once it dries off, it's dead as such and the processes stopped. 

 

When heat gets used such as flue curing  for commercial baccy it's a high heat and humidity operation with a decent air exchange.  Used to speed up and provide a uniform product that can be planned for In production. 

 

Regularly pull it apart and turn it/restack :wink:it needs daily, sometimes twice attention . It can cure it in a much quicker time.  Molds love the higher heat and humidity.... Typically you can first spot on the end of the leaf stem for most, but a few prefer the leaf surface. 

 

Keep a spray bottle handy, it's unlikely down here but may need a little mist if heat producing advances fast. It's a warm/moist process, the heat as such internal driven. 

 

If exploring a pile cure/ferment after getting it to Colour, hang and age a bit whilst bringing the moisture content back a little (reduce mold risk) , then age on in storage which should be at a lower humidity than at least Tassie ambient. 

 

Hope that's of some assist bro:wink:

Time for an early pharma breakky.... Lol

 

Note - this is for getting the most out of your personal organic pesticide production:wink:

 

 

Edited by waterboy 2.0

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You're the font of all knowledge WB, got a bit of a handle on it now, i think, cheers. 

One day those nasty little critters will get there commupance.

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Herbal Jedi in this video

tells all

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