what I do, is cut the plant down to branches, trim as much as I can(save anything smaller than fan leaves)...the 2 main keys to drying are dry flowing air, and avoiding direct sunlight and too much heat. I dry the weed 'til it's aaalmost dry(stem snap)...then it goes into the mason jars....every day I 'breathe' the jars, and make sure the weed's not too moist...the weed goes into a 2 to 3 wk. stage of 'decarboxilization' or something- basically the starches(harsh smoking'grass')turn into sugars(candyland)...if the process stalls, it's probably too dry- add piece of carrot, or orange peel to the jar for a couple days...do not over moisten...the key to a good cure is walking the line between too moist and too dry...too moist, mold- toss it!... too dry?- carrot, keep curing...when it stops smelling 'grassy', and takes on a sweeter, closer to early budding smell, you can cut back to 'breathing' the jars to once a week or less...if you want a special bag to blow people away, just put a quater or 1/2 oz. in a ziploc bag rolled up and put in a mason jar when the weed's almost cured...wait a month, and HOLY candy gush batman! we're talking uber-bag appeal!= I'm just finishing off the master kush (south) pictured with jaan here- the bag smells like baba's(grandmother in hungarian) easter european candy. it's a whole different smoke from fresh m.k.(fantastic, but lacking that 'kushiness').soooo smooth and sweet!