Congrats on your grow - it looks great!
I also grow in the midwest (northwest Illinois) and have my tent in the basement. Everyone has to tweak their environment management based on the conditions of where their tent is so it's great that you're looking for different methods!
When I dry, I do it in my tent as well. Having all of the plant matter in the tent hanging seems to keep my RH pretty much spot on. I have an AC Infinity setup that monitors temp/humidity and turns on and off as needed so that makes it so I don't have to babysit the tent in the basement.
As Juan suggested, you can try dry trimming instead of wet trimming. I've never dry trimmed because I've never had the need to but it's a potential solution since it keeps more plant matter on the stem and in the tent to slow the drying process.
Either way, keep an eye on the humidity of the plant matter and start the cure when it's in the correct zone. To test this, there are a few ways: as they're drying, you can touch the buds to see if they're feeling dry/crispy on the outside, but a more accurate way is to take a stem or two of buds and put them in a mason jar with a hygrometer. Check it in an hour, if it's in the right RH zone, leave it for 6-12 more hours then check it again. If it's still in the correct zone, you can start the cure. In my opinion, it's better to start the cure a little early as opposed to a little late. HOWEVER, it's important to check the RH in the jars at least daily for the first few days to a week. That way, if the RH gets too high, you can leave the jar open or even spread the buds out to dry a little longer depending on how high the RH is. If you dry too long, you get stuck trying to re-hydrate the buds with Boveda packs, etc. Not that it's the end of the world, but for my preference, I'd rather keep a close eye and have to dry longer instead of having to try to re-hydrate. But again, keep a close eye on them once they're in the jars.
Great job!
​
