ayuh! -- the dry/cure process is as much a skill as anything else,....It takes a few days at least for the "death throes" chemistry changes start really breaking things down in there, and a certain level of moisture during this time is important,... the general recommendation is about 70F, 50%RH, (and gentle air movement!), which should take several days-week to dry enough to start jaring up for final moisture equalizing and full curing,... it's amazing how much difference +/- 10 degrees or %RH can make! I dry at the mercy of inside T/RH%... last season I got lucky with upper 60'sF and about 40%RH and that batch dried just
cherry! ... I've had bad luck, early Fall weather with warmer humid conditions (mid-70's/65+RH% inside), and it added 3+ days rack time alone
.... No matter what, huge amounts of terp's get lost during this time, so anything that accelerates this can make a big difference,.... upper 70's+ sucks the light molecular weight terp's right out and you get f'ing hay--
-- and overly strong air movement can do similar things, plus make the bud really uneven in moisture content--crispy outside, wet inside...... Mold is more of a worry during initial few days, then after a certain amount of moisture is gone it won't be able to attack it,.... I have seen botrytis crawl up a stem and fuck up more bud on fresh cut for 3 days though!
(didn't set spores though thank fuck!) ....After that the moisture content becomes unfavorable for this mold at least,...
