A few years back, I hung mine to 'airdry' for 2 nights but kept them misted and checked them daily. Once they started to lose their colour but were still pliable/stretchy, I laid them in an airtight container, one over the other in a decent pile, and kept it raised above my HPS ballast, airing/burping daily for 2-3 months and rearranging leaves every week or so. I also kept those 64% humidipack things in there. After 3 months they smelt so incredibly sweet, I just had to dry and crush one up and pull a huge cone through my 1footer...OUCH!! Now I love my whiteox and baccy bongs, but that was something different. I learnt not to abuse Rustica again after that. I add mere chips of it now to changa mixes or occasionally use a leaf as a wrap for a big joint. Also snuffed it once, and the nostril was so incredibly clear for days.
Keep in mind, this all happened 3 years ago, and it was only 3 ounces dry (though the taste has improved greatly with time). It's just not something I like to use very much of. I'm germinating some n. Tabacum seeds now to see if I can manage a more palatable smoke...
Best of luck Humbolt! Your plants look healthy. Did you let the flower heads grow to collect seed? Because if not, if you pinch them and the 'suckers' off, the main leaves grow a fair bit larger and flatter. The colouring on your dried leaf is normal though; hopefully someone can tell me why it happens (part of the fermentation process?), but it's happened everytime I grow tobacco.
