Thursday, August 23, 2012

Digital Photograph - Curing Tobacco

Curing Tobacco

Thought I would share one of the sights you see all around the South. Curing tobacco in the barn. The barns are tall and narrow.
The tobacco leaves are wrapped on sticks
so that the leaf hangs down. There are
several leaves on a stick. The sticks
are then places in slots along the
inside of the barn or on a contraption
that looks like scaffolding. 
This farmer is fire curing his crop. 
The barn is wrapped in plastic to keep
the heat in and cure the tobacco. There
is a fire box or stove in the barn. It
can take from three days to several
weeks to cure the crop. You can see the
smoke and steam coming out of the top
of the barn. This method of curing
gives you low sugar and high nicotine.
This tobacco is used mainly for pipe
smoking, chewing tobacco and snuff.
These barns and the ritual of curing
your own are slowly falling away. I
find it all rather sad.

3 comments:

barbara said...

i love the tobacco barns of tennessee and kentucky! august seems a bit early to smoke the barns, but i look forward each year to the season.
thanks for sharing your lovely photos from tennessee.

Elizabeth Golden said...

We have had a very long growing season this year. The winter that never came and the early spring made perfect conditions for early crops. I think that is why you see the curing starting now. This also gives the curing process some extra time. I just found it all interesting. I have not seen a fire cure in awhile.

Ann said...

i've never seen this.
it's a wonderful photo...it is sad to see parts of "history" and ways of doing things go by the wayside.