Grow you own tobacco.

Well Steve is smoking it just dried as it was in the shoebox. He has a gadget for reducing it to the right size for smoking and he is happy with it so I guess that is all that is needed. Are you a smoker and if so why not try some of your dried leaves. Steve is still mixing it with shop bought tobacco. Half and half I believe.

 

Im a bit nervous of trying them moyra not sure of ammonia content in them plus i havnt that many that have turned a dark brown shade yet,hopefully old hag might pop back on and give me some reassurance on when they should be ready
I will go check the shed shortly..wish id of hung them in the loft now prob of been warmer up there x

 

Well I suppose if you think they will dry more readily in the loft and it wont be too onerous a job to put them up there give it a go. I am leaving the four out in the greenhouse until the lot I have put in the airing cupboard is dry. Let us know how you get on.

 

Joolz, I asked Steve about the amonia and he said no he hadn't noticed any just a good smoke.........give it a try!

 

I will try a leaf later il have to use scissors to shred it up thou il let you know how i get on xx

 

All that work it will be a shame if you don't like it.

 

hi moyra,i tried it this morning cant be sure if its virginia of burley thou but it seemed ok,the leaf was a bit dryer than i think it should of been.
I gave up using the scissors and put it in my spice grinder next time i will press once instead of twice x

 

Yes, that's likely try rubbing it with ordinary tobacco and see how you go.

 

Hi Joolz have you harvested all of your tobacco now. I cut the last three plants this morning as I lost one to a sort of blight and I didn't want it to spread. So that is the lot. I put the last leaves into a tub and placed them in the airing cupboard. There are three tubs in there now! Steve was going to sort the dried lot in his shoe box. I don't know if he has will go and see how he got on. Take care.

 

Yes,i hung it in the shed about a month back,ive put the leaves that have gone darkish brown in a shoe box,i think whats left in the shed might go mouldy soon if i dont cut it down,i have thrown some leaves away that were mixed colourings away just in case i think i willl wait till next yr to smoke it thou xx

 

Well I suppose it should keep indefinitely if it is dried thoroughly! The last leaves I have just put down in the airing cupboard were so sticky, couldn't get it off my hands. Had to wash them twice to remove it. I have just been through them and shredded them like you do cabbage before cooking it taking the main stem out as steve is complaining that he wont be able to smoke the stem when it is dried as it wont roll. By the time he takes that out and the dust I reckon there wont be much left at all. I have about 2oz of seed though if anybody wants some for next year. All Golden Virginia. Must be millions of seeds in there as it is so tiny! Threw a lot away with the heads to be honest. You can only save so much.

 

Any one wanting Golden Virginia seed for next year should pm me with your name and address and I will pop some in the post to you!

 

I'm glad you've managed to get some smokes done. Some of mine is still out in the cold and wet. I'm waiting for the seed heads to ripen. I've not had a problem with it drying, the slower the better anyway. I've stored most of it (pillow cases are good) but plenty still hanging! Don't worry about different colours, just check that the centre leaf stem is dried. It'll be brown or black when ready.

Curing is too much kerfuffle for me. All it does is speed up the maturing process. It needs twelve months storage to reach it's best, but is fine after three months.

If you've got a fair bit to chop I've started using a FlyMo leaf shredder/vacuum. It's great and even chops the leaf stem. I finish it off in my kitchen blender if necessary.

I'm not sure about the drying in bunches. I only like to have two leaves touching, back to back. I'd be worried about mould without a clear air flow.

 

Hi,ive left plants in for seed but burley hampton dont seed according to the tabacco seed company? i hung mine for a month in shed with door open in the day(still some in there)and they are now in boxes in the house (brown leaves)i will leave them in boxes for 12mnth and hope they dont get mould in that time ive enjoyed doing it but its worrying when your unsure on what to do and whether your finished product is smokable my leaves smell sweet so thats give me confidence a little
I thought it was fermenting that sped the curing up thou ???
I do have leaves that are brittle dry and then some are dry but i can slighty stretch them?its a science
After the weather we have had i cant complain at least i got some next yr i think il do some in buckets(burley original) in the greenhouse as i wont have a large patch to plant them in x

 

The leaves off the last plants Steve asked me to strip them the way you do cabbage before cooking them, i.e. no stems just strips of the leaf alone. This I did and they dried very quickly in the airing cupboard. I kept turning and tossing them every so often during the course of the days and they soon dried enough to bring them out into his shoe box for the final drying off. I have absolutely loads of seed from the dried flowers. These mainly dried off out in the garden before I cut them down. I gave about an ounce of seed to one friend today. He said he would never be able to use them all. I guess he wont but I still have stacks of the original '100' seeds I bought. That's a joke. There is so many of them as they are so tiny. Not sure, I suppose I might have another go next year!