Cigar Birthing

[nismo350z]

Richard-
Thanks for following up on this thread I'm still so intrigued by the process. Awesome to have huge wildlife also in your backyard. The biggest wildlife i get is a possum. Thanks

Kyle

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by nismo350z

Richard-
Thanks for following up on this thread I'm still so intrigued by the process. Awesome to have huge wildlife also in your backyard. The biggest wildlife i get is a possum. Thanks

Kyle

Yeah it still amazes me. I saw my first cougar cub (adolescent) crossing the road not to far from the house the other day. It took a few seconds for my mind to process the information. We looked at each other for a moment and then off to the brush it ran. I can only assume it's mom was not far. It is literally a heads up situation. A few years back I removed a couple of diamondback rattlesnakes from the yard. Thanks for checking in.

—Richard

[eriksson20]

hey Richard!

Beautiful pictures! Beautiful Animals! Beautiful Tobacco!

all the wildlife i have been seeing around my home are couple of rabbits and a fox...

Take Care,

Mikko

[tzaddi]

[SIZE="4"]September 11th update, including the 9/10/07 New Moon Harvest
...Featuring photos of the highly experimental drying/curing chamber. [/SIZE]

Let me just start out by saying that the plants are in full bloom and after pinching back the buds a few times over the past month there is no more fighting it.

In this first photo we find Sparky the cat on guard duty.



This next one shows the tale of the tape, over 90 inches. Also note the results (lower leaves are gone) of harvesting the first 2 primings.
I must admit that the fence has been a bit of a nuisance. The blowing wind causes some of the leaves to impact the wire and posts resulting in damaged goods
...still good for pipe tobacco blend



A couple of "artsy fartsy" shots of the flowers and buds.

[tzaddi]

Amazing, we have almost completed a full cycle, from seed to leaf to blossom.
With the help of the birds & the bees we will soon have matured seeds and our life cycle will be complete as will be this thread...or will it

So what about those tobacco plants in the large pot you ask?
Although the leaves are smaller they are producing some very sticky product.

[tzaddi]

[SIZE="5"]New Moon Harvest V.2[/SIZE]

So much tobacco goodness in each of those leaves.
Check out these oily/sticky fingers from harvesting.
It can be kinda rough on the camera if I'm not careful.

Ready for the drying chamber!



As seen on TV(), the highly experimental, with off the shelf components drying chamber. Complete with silica beads, Oust fan, & racks.
Still making modifications as we move into the harvest.

Here is a photo of another drying/curing chamber. The 2 open boxes on the bottom show some dried 2007 early harvest leaf ready to get their aging on.
The boxes at the top of the photo with the cut leaf contain some 2006 tobacco. High heat is acceptable as well as high humdity.

A little up close and personal with some of this years early harvest. Smells great!!

That concludes todays broadcast, thanks for tuning in.

—Richard

[jockolarity]

[SIZE=3]Nicotiana, Flowering Tobacco. an annual. It is not commonly deployed, and defiantly will strike up a conversation from others. [/SIZE]<O</O




http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/e...Nicotiana.html

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by jockolarity

[SIZE=3]Nicotiana, Flowering Tobacco. an annual. It is not commonly deployed, and defiantly will strike up a conversation from others. [/SIZE]<O</O
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/e...Nicotiana.html

Yes, I have read and viewed pictures of large gardens made up entirely of "ornamental" tobacco such as the Nicotiana alata, Nicotiana sylvestris that you mention. Full of fragrance and color, inviting to many creatures from birds to bees an human alike.

[volum]

This thread continues to amaze me. Nice work!

[worr lord]

Amazing, Richard! That drying chamber is quite the contraption, do you keep it on the porch, or inside?

[tzaddi]

Originally Posted by worr lord

Amazing, Richard! That drying chamber is quite the contraption, do you keep it on the porch, or inside?

Here in Redding the temps are staying pretty much in the 90°-100° range outside. The resulting temps inside the "chambers" would cook the fresh leaf so I keep them in the house. The drying chambers can get in the hi 80°s even in the house. As fall and winter approach I have plans to modify the "respiration" of the chamber to include a more active fan and an inline mild heat source to continue the aging. (Think 4" dryer ducting with the heat/humidity inline.) The goal is to have control over the heat and humidity and then determine through experimentation what combinations bring out the flavor in the leaf. Who knows how many seasons it will take...I think it goes on and on as long as the passion is there.

Contraption indeed Maybe I can get some maduro going this winter.

Thanks guys.

[schnell987]

Richard,
Outstanding posts! Thanks for the update. This has to be the most interesting thread in CS (IMHO). You pictures are brilliant. I can't wait to try growing the seeds that you gifted to me and am very interested in reading about your continual development of aging techniques. Looking forward to reading your next posts.
Thank you again, Richard for your contributions to the jungle!!!

[jcruse64]

I worked in tobacco for 7 or 8 years as I worked my way through college (the ole' 10-year plan), and did everything from prep plant beds to working the auction sales and going to to buyers factories to pick up the bale baskets. This was mostly Dark Fired, Air-cured Dark Fired, and a little Burley. I've seen a lot of flowers in my time, but I still think the flower of the tobacco plant is one of the most beautiful in the plant kingdom.


As a new guy here, I've really enjoyed catching up on a lot of good info and threads here, but this is one of my favorites. Thank you for posting your project in detail here for us, it's very fascinating and brings back some good (and not so good) memories. I may have to try this at home myself.

[DBall]

Incredible thread, Richard... absolutely brilliant.

[Irons]

wow! This wonderfulness of this thread just doesn't stop. Thank you again Richard!