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.