the smoke from the end of a cig will rise up about 4" to 6" before wifing away when you have the air movement correct.if it seems to you that the buds are drying to fast just slow down this movement.buds can dry at 90% humidity with enough air movement.like you said "trail and error" but be careful not to allow the first dry after cutting take to long....3 days max imho...as this is when mold/mildew is most likely to set in. of course there are 1000 ways to dry and cure and none are really more correct than others if the end results are the same .