Drying Tobacco / Sun-Curing Tobacco in FOUR Days
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- Learning this easy way to cure tobacco in the sun made my day.
Learn to grow your own tobacco in my simple booklet: amzn.to/2kR5tOg
Drying tobacco in the sun was something I always wanted to learn right from a tobacco farmer, rather than from second-hand sources online. Sun-curing tobacco is an old, traditional method of curing tobacco. Though I tried drying leaves in my car, they dried too fast and tasted harsh. What was I missing? Turns out I just needed to fly half-way around the world and meet a tobacco farmer to find out. With this tobacco curing method, you don't need a fire or a sweatbox or a tobacco barn. All you need is four days of sun and some ingenious drying mats. As I learned from the farmer, curing tobacco in the sun like this requires a few steps.
1. Harvest and shred your tobacco.
2. Spread it out about 1" thick on mats in full sun
3. Flip the tobacco twice per day
4. After four days, the tobacco is finished and can be brought indoors
The tobacco tastes sweet and good after this curing process. Looks like I'll need to cure tobacco this way in the future. Sun-drying tobacco is common in Turkey and Asia but is not as well-known in the US. When I was writing my booklet on how to grow tobacco, it was hard to get good info on sun-drying and my own experiments weren't great. I had much more luck hanging tobacco up to dry for months and months. Now I can cure tobacco fast - with solar power! A big thanks to this Indonesian farmer who taught me how to cure tobacco! I hope you find this video helpful - I certainly learned a lot while filming it.
This is my new favorite method for curing tobacco. Anyone else seen it done this way before?
I worked ALOT of tobacco during my youth in the 90s. Never seen sun dried before, we always used a barn and it took several weeks to dry.
DtG, Although I've not seen tobacco processed like this before, as you know, absent the shredding step, this is the same as the most popular process for snowbird curing!
I've seen these mats being used to dry anything in Indonesia. Also fish, herbs and cocao. (don't use the fish mat for tobacco!)
@@topsecretbear9918 Yeah, I would string and hang them up in my barn back home.
I've got some tobacco drying now. What consistency or condition is ideal? I checked on my stuff yesterday and it is feeling considerably more "crunchy". Is that bad?
Isn't it great when people LOVE what they do and want to share to ANYONE who will ask! This was an awesome day.
Yes, definitely.
I grow native tobacco in the Sonora Desert and this is a god send of a technique, not only am I super impatient and don't have an easy way to maintain good hanging curing conditions but it pairs perfectly with how mild and strong the desert type is.
My only problem is dealing with the incessant wind in my area always trying to blow it away so I've taken to using baked goods cooling racks face to face to make a sort of grill basket for whole leaves while they dry.
I have so much respect for this man and his business and how kind he is. We need more hard workers like him in the US.
I dry lots of herbs and teas from my garden, this method would definitely work for that! Thanks for sharing, your channel is so good!
Thank you.
Good farming like this for commercial agriculture purposes is probably illegal in the US. Everything has to be a big expensive process anymore because of regulations
At least you guys in the US can easily start up small businesses. Just try what this guy does in a Western European country. EU hates small timers, they will demand licences for this and that, you will have to adhere to all sorts of autistic standards requiring expensive analysis certificates, you will have to account for every damn gram so there is no black market diversion, it's pure bureaucratic madness. How simpler life was for our grandparents and the ones before them, when families were for a good part farmers, trading was simpler and the government didn't have to control every damn thing.
If it is straight burley, that's great stuff. I enjoy a straight burley blend (light and dark) in a pipe quite often. Neat to see this method, thanks for sharing it.
Yeah, that sounds good.
Almost every tobacco leaves in Indonesia is sun dried, even if it’s Virginia bright. After picking from stem, it must be stored in dry places around 2-7 days depend on the varieties. Usually, higher nicotine contents tobacco’s or thick leaves need more day. Less days, the taste would be harsh, too much time it would be bitter because of rotting. After storing phase, they shreds it at night time and in the morning they would sun cure it for around 2 days (until it really dry inside the stem). In the night of last day, they would put it outside to catch humid air, after humidity right they would store it. Exceptions for virginia, after that sun curing process, the factory would rehydrate the shredded leaves and then put it in the giant machine for flue cure.
Wow it was really nice of him to show you around his operation. Very cool!
You see? This is GREAT! Because in Italy its legal to cultivate tobacco while it's still illegal to own tools for "mass tobacco production". This method may just be what home Italian gardeners need to be self sufficient smokers!
Low tech FTW!
Thx David 👍🏻
Go Italy!
i'm italian too and i think i'll use this method to dry my tobacco this year cause i live near bologna and i think the sun that there's on late summer about 30 degrees celsius should be perfect for this method
@@lucabertaglia7651 Ciao! Sono italiano anche io! Did you end up doing this? Did it work? I've planted my first tobacco plants and have been trying to figure out how to cure it, shred it, make it into cigars and cigarettes, this looks very promising
Yeah, until government decides that home growing tobacco should be illegal. With the ever increasing prices on tobacco, you know that it'll be just a matter of time. And it's not about your health, it's about breaking the human spirit.
@@bromisovalum8417 Yup in the Netherlands you pay already 38 € voor 130 grams. ( Insane ) But you can grow about 100 plants i believe. But of course our ruling tyrants will ban that eventually.
Just tried the method in your vid, pretty impressive in its simplicity, no problem with burning. Thanks for sharing the Tek.
Send pics if you can - would love to share them. david@floridafoodforests.com
AMAZING PROFITS from Dried Leaves!!!
That was cool, what lovely people showing you their process.😊
Got your tobacco book a few days ago. Great to see the video. But the bamboo mats won't fit on the dash of my car...... that is full now.
Video on fermentation of tobacco would be great.
I just ordered seeds for my florida food forest. You're videos have helped so much. Thanks for the information
I planted seeds in the spring that were over 15 years old, 100% germination ! Pretty sure it's burley amber? And a dark Cavendish. 15 years, that's a long time.
I tossed probably a thousand seedlings because I didn't have room. But I have at least a hundred 4' tall plants starting to flower right now.
Great video.
Omg thanks David! This one video answered so many, well all...of the tobacco questions I have had which prevented me from tackling the task. You must get his name! I will cut mine with one of the slicing machines teachers use to cut square paper.
That would work well I bet.
HA HA -"Omg..."
This is a most interesting show that I'm glad to be watching!! I'm curious as to the variety of tobacco being grown and can tobacco be successfully grown here in Florida??
Yes - tobacco is easy to grow in Florida. I'm not sure of the variety. Victory Seed company has a bunch of different seeds available, though.
thank you for the video. as indonesian, i shocked to the fact that you came to wonogiri, which is not a famous district, even for tobacco research purpose. good job!!
Thank you! It was beautiful.
How do they make rokok daung tobacco?
I don't smoke but think it is cool about the whole procedure. Ty4Sharing
Wolf🐺 👍
This must have been a great experience
This is an excellent video that I will hold onto for the future!
Have you learned about how to cure leaves to roll cigars? I would very much like to use some my harvest this year to do so.
I generally have little interest in tobacco, (unless I find a market!) but this was super interesting! Those drying mats could have so many uses. I look forward to seeing a video of you making them. Cool stuff!
Yeah - those mats are great. I was also looking for a good dehydrating mat that wasn't galvanized or plastic and this fits the bill.
For a non-smoker I am just ridiculously fascinated by your 2nd episode video and this one as if I need to grow tobacco. lol. Even though I have no desire to get other people to smoke, in the general sense, I have to think this is a far better option from a human health perspective compared to what I hear about additives in commercial cigarettes. And I'm liable to be into whatever can be done on a local, self-sufficient scale for a variety of reasons. I need to find out what is the deal with why pipes smell so great while cigarettes don't really smell good to non-smokers and cigars are basically designed to make non-cigar smokers flee. I don't know but I was guessing that had something to do with tobacco varieties.
I noticed the Islander farmer, for demonstration purposes, ran whole teak leaves, large veins and all, through his shredder. Does this mean that he likely runs the whole raw tobacco leaf through, as well? Are central tobacco leaf stems usually dried and cured, as well, and chopped up with the whole leaf into the final product for cigarettes, etc? Thanks. Great video! Newbie, here.
Love the knowledge in the videos for growing tobacco, do you sell any paperback versions of your book or just the digital?
Great video! Are you currently growing your own T using this drying method? Wonder how it is working for you.
Cheers
Did you see or ask how large his field was? And that pile sitting out... was that another curing step before bagging?
Good question. Not sure.
I don't know if you'll see this, but did you ever figure out those bamboo drying mats? I'm need something like that for drying hops.
I has just planted my tobacco seeds and now they sre 38 days old i wonder Why not go immediately ferminting tobacco leaves since it enhance flavour and keep it strong
Looks like a great method if you've got the weather for it.
Yeah, that's the trick.
Hmm, I have zero interest in smoking or chewing tobacco, but I know nicotine is a pretty good poison, so I wonder if it would make a good chop and drop and foliar feed to decrease insects? Does it grow like a weed, or does it need a lot of effort?
It grows pretty easily once established. It's a good foliar spray. Haven't tried it as a chop and drop.
Drying: Leaves torn apart put in a pile on paper ideally with heat source from below. Put on top of a computer works perfectly. Then when a bit drier chopped up with scissors, resulting in clumps. Being pulled apart these mostly turn into long thin strips perfect for rolling cigarettes or stuffing into pipes. When mostly dry store in a sealed container for an hour or so to equalise moisture across all the tobacco. Dry further if still too damp. COMPLETE!
I will give this a try next year!
Nice way of curing. I usually sun dry whole leaves in the Florida sun. I will have to try shredding some and sun dry it! I have Burley 64 and Florida Sumatra sprouts started. I plant the Tobacco on the row next to my Tomato's and I have found the Tomato Horn worm eggs on the tobacco and not my Tomato's every time! I guess the Moth prefers Tobacco.
I was told the other day that the horn worms more frequently seen on tommatos are actually the "tobacco horn worm" rather than the "tommato horn worm," so if there's anything to the names it would seem that you're right that that's their preferred host.
I'd love to try that method myself but I live in the UK and rarely see the sun, last summer was ok but I missed it as I was in the bathroom at the time.
Just wondering when he brings the big bags to factory,
What did learn of his cash flow barting methods
Hey Dave,
I planted some tobacco seed I was given and I believe I have identified the variety as Nicotiana tabacum. I have no idea what I'm doing, kind of a miracle they have grow so well, but is there any way to receive a physical copy of your book, not just a kindle version? Also is there any other content you would recommend looking into for that variety or in general (specifically regarding harvest/drying for smoking and getting seeds from the plant?)
Hi, I am in Indonesia, if you tell where in Wonogiri , Central Java , I will ask his name for you... good video
I make each cig using a hand device and pre roll tubes. 1/3 tobacco, 1/3 Mullen, 1/3 secret ingedient 420.
A good smoke, mild, smooth and Mullen sure helps with my old lungs 🫁🙂
Do you dry the mullen the same way?
This farmer could probably make extra money by allowing other farmers to use his chopping machine.
Good idea.
Thank you for fisiting my country 👍 matur nuwun
It is a beautiful place with wonderful people.
@@davidthegood thank you sir 👍
Tobacco leaves quick dried in direct sunlight taste like chlorophyll. I've tried smoking some of my tobacco that was left in the field after harvesting, all of which actually tasted green and gross. I've also experimented with various drying and curing techniques with mediocre results compared to traditional American processing. The flavor of good tobacco comes from proper drying and curing over time, of a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks, not in 4 days. Some higher quality tobacco is aged and cured for years. The process shown here only drys the moisture out, which is sufficient for the people of Java, who smoke and chew tobacco for the nicotine content, not for the quality of smoke.
yep, I have lovely browned soft leaves but its still a harsh smoke, I am going to dry them a little more, age them and hope they get better.
Awesome video David, thank you!
So every year my tobacco here in Washington state has molded during the drying process??? About to give this idea to dry it
i do it like that ? i chop it up use a plastic biscuit container with the lid just held open on 1 end with a small stick 1 to 2 days dry
IM GUNA GIVE IT A GO!
Can you dry whole leaves than crush after, I just ordered seeds trying to grow upstate NY
Do they not ferment sun cured tobacco?
Now I'm trying this method with other tobacco. Nitcotena takes 5 days an is strong.
I'm reluctant to share this.
Hi, and sorry for my English, your video was the best of all on youtube, I would like to get the tobacco to dry in the sun too, I wanted to ask you, but after this process is the tobacco ready to smoke? is it good for making cigarettes? and then I wanted to know what kind of mats I could use to dry it
The man told me it was good to smoke after drying like this. He used it for cigarettes. The mats are woven bamboo.
thank you so much you have been very kind
Just ordered a bunch of tobacco seeds. Have you smoked the more potent varieties?
I have not. I've been meaning to get some Rustica, though.
@David The Good I order about 12 varieties from victory seed with a few being listed as high nicotine. I think one was named Mohawk. I just watched video where the variety you mentioned was talked about. I don't smoke currently but I think I will get a old English pipe before too long. I listened to mito life podcast with Eliot Overton as guest and they mentioned some positive health correlations with smoking which is wild but they are selling distilled nicotine capsules as newtropic for brain so there must be something to it.
Would you have to add any moisture with this technique if you are in an location with low humidity. Indonesia is pretty humid
Very cool, thank you for sharing
This was fascinating!!! TY for sharing!
Would a food processor work for shredding
I was just wondering if a paper shredder would work haha I thought of it when I saw the farmer shove those dry leaves through and they came out reminding me of watching shredded paper
Hey ehat temperature and humidity would it have been when he was curing thr tobacco?
In the 80s (F), and probably 60-80% humidity.
They sell the sun dried tobacco to P.T Sempoerna, a tobacco products manufacturer in Indonesia.. your translator did a literal translation there (Sempurna = perfect), where the guy actually meant PT Sempoerna..
just helping out a bit. Hope that helps
Thank you very much.
Anyone have a link for buying tobacco seeds?
I have been doing this,but I sun dry the whole leaf. An that is a wonderful smoke.
I wonder how that guy keeps that tobacco from getting blown away by the wind.
I can have a smoke in three days.
With Prilep tobacco,you don't need to add anything to it.
Very cool.
Great work thank you for sharing
What if you live in a windy place?
Thank you, David.
What if the wind blows?
Saya dari jawa... saya suka sekali..saya juga menanam tembakau di sini banyak
Do you have tobacco seeds to giveaway or sell? Virginia gold or Burley
I do not, but Victory Seed Company sells good ones.
Where can one get seeds?
Victory Seed Company.
I would love to get a hold of some tobacco seeds. I've heard it's excellent insect repellent for your garden. No bugs like tobacco( I don't think anyway). I wonder how our high humidity will effect the curing process? Hmmm.
Tobacco worms will always find your crop. Giant green caterpillars.
@@topsecretbear9918 yes but not much else. From what I understand anyways
High humidity is good for curing.
Do u still want some tobacco seeds?
Did you buy tobacco from him?
FINALLY!!!!!!! Thank you so much! I have been been exploring this myself... my tech is different, but the concept is the same. I'm gonna have to give this method a try too!! Thanks so much, man... 😉
Nice one, I leave it in my car then shred, marinate in brandy, compress in banana leaf.
JsunLau how do you compress in the banana leaves and for how long???
@@mlagerg3021 you heat banana leaf on stove, that just makes it pliable-use a heavy weight-like 20lt bucket of water-forget about it- a bit like rope tobacco
Hey mate can u please give me some more steps to your method. Cheers
I did like that and the tobacco leaves dry out with 24 hours and the color dosent change
Yeah that's my problem with this. This isnt actually "curing" the tobacco. Just drying it. Whoever he sells it to perhaps flu cures it afterwards? Anyhow...
@@hughthetuber7990 No need cure this not cigar tobbaco, most western country tobbacco made stupid pluss many bad quemicals added
Ty sir! Great info!!
Wow. Your head is stretched up and down??? Sorry I am curious. Is there a medical reason for this? I love learning things. Oh my gosh! I hope I am not being rude! I just have a need to know things!
I understand the language. He said to flip it 2x a day for 2 days. Altogether flipping 4 times.
Thank you
Thankyou for sharing
Good and thank you come my country👍🏿
Thank you. It is beautiful!
I am ready you bring my self the job in firm your country🤝🙏👍🏿
Nice!
What was the outside air temp and humidity there?
Rather dry, sunny, 70s to low 80s F.
@@davidthegood if I try this in AZ it gets crispy af. Did they moisten it ever?
I have grown tobacco when used to smoke I air cured mine
Actually he bought that machine by taking loan either from the factory that bought his tobacco or from a store, its seem your translator forget to mention that😅
Could you use a paper shredder?
And how can I make my own drying mat?
Is the tobacco ready to dry? I hope this video means that you are getting ready to do this!
Indonesia kasturi tobacooo
TFS
Like tedding hay.
Virgian tobacco estjava
So he has a million dollars worth of tobacco in Australia and he can only buy a shredding machine...the world is crazy
The farmer is not getting those millions. Your government is. So is mine in the US. Tobacco is a highly taxed good. Governments get rich and the farmers stay poor.
No in Indonesia the decimal point is majorly moved to the right meaning roughly when we speak of thousands they speak of millions .
Drying kratom leaves
Lol!!! Quite possibly.
Bahasa is the easiest second language to learn
I found the simple phrases easy. Loved the people.
💚💚💚
good to find out wherethe shitty black market tobacco in Australia comes from. People here still fork out $35 a pack of 25 rather than pay $5 for this crap. Sad but true.
Saw you in news feed.
Just stopped to tell you:
"Only God is Good" - Jesus Christ
Thanks. I know that. But my family name is "Goodman", so I am stuck with a theologically inaccurate moniker already.
@@davidthegood haha sorry i couldnt help myself.
If you are in Christ, then indeed you are a good man :)
Only Christ's righteousness is good enough - and I accept His sacrifice on my behalf. I used to have a boss who would occasionally call me "David Depravedman," as it was much more theologically correct.
Fast is not how you dry tobacco
It is how they did it
Are you able to do me a huge favor ,where i live it's hard to get seeds .