The cure that actually matters
A slow dry and a patient eight-week cure will fix more problems than any amount of fussing over the grow itself. Most disappointing harvests are cure mistakes, not grow mistakes.
The dry
Ten to fourteen days in the 60°F / 60% humidity range, out of direct light, with gentle airflow that isn't pointed straight at the buds. Drying too fast in a warm, dry room locks in a harsh, hay-like taste that no amount of curing fixes later.
We hang the whole plant with the root ball still attached rather than cutting it off at the base. All that extra wet mass gives up its moisture slowly, which stretches the dry out by a few days and makes it harder to overshoot in a dry room. It's messier and heavier, and it isn't the right call for everyone. The tradeoffs are in drying with the roots on, or cutting them off.
Jar and burp
Once small stems snap rather than bend, jar loosely and burp, opening the lid for a few minutes, twice a day for the first week. Taper to once a day, then a few times a week, as the jars stabilize.
Two-way humidity packs
A 62% two-way humidity pack in each jar takes most of the guesswork out of the first few weeks. It's an ongoing cost, not a one-time buy, but it's cheap insurance against both over-dry and moldy jars.
Eight weeks minimum
The flavor and smoothness genuinely keep improving through at least eight weeks. It's the hardest instruction in this whole guide to actually follow, and also the one that matters most.