Cigar Birthing

[homeless_texan]

Excellent information with fantastic photos. Thanks for shareing.

[Cheeto]

tzaddi thank you so much for this thread, it's informative and very interesting.

[krash]

Thank you for sharing all your hard work. It's a fascinating topic and the pictures are extraordinary. Just from your thread alone, I've been all over the internet and looked at different fields. Your pictures put into perspective how much goes into making a perfect cigar. Best of luck in turning your fruits into the finished product.

[tzaddi]

[SIZE="6"]October 10-14th, the New Moon - Big Harvest[/SIZE]

First off I want to thank all of you that have contributed to this thread by posting, RG, and just plain old views, over 3,387 to date. Just knowing that there where others interested in this process outside of myself kept me going and learning.

Wednesday the 10th was the last big push for this growing season. I harvested pretty much all of the leaves except for a few ligero.

With all of the leaf picked I was ready to put the plan that I had been hatching into action.
I was going to take over one of the upstairs bathrooms.

I started by taking some of the willow branches that my friend had left for me for crafting.
Based on a video I had watched where they where hanging freshly harvested tobacco in a huge barn I used wax thread & needle to string the tobacco, piercing the big central vein close to the top.
Securing it with a knot I evenly spacing paired leaves on the thread. I then tied the ends of the string to the cut willow.
I used the lip of the tile on one side and the shower door frame for suspend them.
To ensure that they wouldn't slip I locked them in place with clothes pins.





Looking Up!

I then placed a heater and humidfier in the bottom of the tub and set the thermo/humidi-stat.
By keeping the RH & temp adjusted along with the airflow I could accelerate the transformation from green-yellow-brown while not drying it too quickly or allowing mold to set.

The 3 following photos illustrate leaves progess over the next few days.


October 10

October 12





October 14




It looks like the plan might work as long as I can keep the proper airflow to prevent mold.




Back on the plants...plenty of seeds setting for next year.

—Richard

[CeeGar]

Incredible! I wanna try one of the smokes!! Seriously, what a valiant endeavor.

[neoflex]

Man, what a great wife you must have! Seriously. I think I would be forced to hanging the leaves in the garage. If I pulled that bathroom stunt I think I would be forced to hanging the leaves in the trunk of my car and living in the rest.
Great write-ups and great photos. I think you have inspired me to grow my own crop next spring. You looking to sell any seeds???? Seriously?

[Bob]

WTG dude...a BATHROOM BACCY SHED...CURING BARN!!!

[rx2010]

seriously, this is the coolest thread I've ever seen. I hope these leaves turn out for you and make some fine smokes

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by neoflex

Man, what a great wife you must have! Seriously. I think I would be forced to hanging the leaves in the garage. If I pulled that bathroom stunt I think I would be forced to hanging the leaves in the trunk of my car and living in the rest.
Great write-ups and great photos. I think you have inspired me to grow my own crop next spring. You looking to sell any seeds???? Seriously?

Free Seeds!! Just PM me your address.

Thanks to all of you for the encouragement & compliments.


You are correct I have a great wife and family

[volum]

I love this thread. The pics are awesome! I always get excited when I see a new post by you tzaddi!

[Moosecakes]

Amazing Richard. I hope your idea works, my bag idea fell apart, too much pressure and heat = mold.... so I guess I'll come up with another idea. Mine are still growing so we'll see how that goes.

- Tyler

[earnold25]

thanks so much for the amazing thread Richard. The seeds you gave me are now fairly large plants, not nearly as large as yours, but not bad for my urban tobacco experiment.

I'd love to be able to cure and ferment mine as you are doing, but I don't have nearly enough space to do so. Question for you though, what should I do with the plant after it flowers / drops seed pods. I'd like to replant next year, but do I juts let nature take course, or should i remove and replant in the spring?

[GrtndpwrflOZ]

[SIZE=7]WOW[/SIZE]
B

[Bob]

Originally Posted by earnold25

thanks so much for the amazing thread Richard. The seeds you gave me are now fairly large plants, not nearly as large as yours, but not bad for my urban tobacco experiment.

I'd love to be able to cure and ferment mine as you are doing, but I don't have nearly enough space to do so. Question for you though, what should I do with the plant after it flowers / drops seed pods. I'd like to replant next year, but do I juts let nature take course, or should i remove and replant in the spring?

I would say collect the seed pods and put them in a brown paper bag and set them in a dry cabinet for the winter and start over again using those seeds to replant in the spring.

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by earnold25

thanks so much for the amazing thread Richard. The seeds you gave me are now fairly large plants, not nearly as large as yours, but not bad for my urban tobacco experiment.

I'd love to be able to cure and ferment mine as you are doing, but I don't have nearly enough space to do so. Question for you though, what should I do with the plant after it flowers / drops seed pods. I'd like to replant next year, but do I juts let nature take course, or should i remove and replant in the spring?

Frankly, it's all just one big experiment...all about having fun and learning. Talking about drying, curing or even fermenting (maduro) and having enough space...one year I put a pile of leaf in a cardboard box and set it on top of one of the floor heater vents. I had to check it almost daily for mold but it worked sorta. As many know the real work starts after the leaf is picked. It's a real hands on, checking all the time kind of deal.

As far as the plant goes, once you see that the seed pods are maturing (start turning brown and the majority of flowers have fallen) cut the bunch from the main stem and place them in a brown paper bag in a dry place. They will need to dry and finish maturing, check them occasionally to ensure that mold does not set in. As you know one seed pod is enough for a large garden. So once the seeds pods are dry you can pluck them from the cut stem and store them in a mason jar for next year.

The plant will not survive a freeze and if it does it will not be vital the next year. It is best to pull them. If there are leaves still on the plant, just hang the entire plant & see what happens.

When I get back from this road trip I will try and post photos of the seed harvest.

Hope that gives a little direction, if not let me know.


I just saw Bob's post after I did mine... Bob's got it right and he is much more thrifty with words... I'm all yada, yada, yada