# Who else runs their plants really dry during flower?



## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Im sure its not new, but i got the idea from fine wine vineyards. They make the conditions less favorable for the plants producing fruits. By letting them dry out. Not wilted dry but close. This forces the vines to work harder on their fruit. The end result is better, more concentrated higher brix grapes. This is science, its been proven. So i decided to try it. I must say. Im seeing more frost, firmer more dense buds.


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## mindtrip (Oct 24, 2020)

I haven’t tried it, but it makes sense. I know you generally need a lot more of the dry time than feels intuitive in the wet/dry cycle.


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

mindtrip said:


> I haven’t tried it, but it makes sense. I know you generally need a lot more of the dry time than feels intuitive in the wet/dry cycle.


If you think about it a plant has one goal in its lifespan. Reproduce and it makes sense logically if the plant feels threatened, that it would pour a remaining energy into the buds


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Heres a few buds from this experiment. They're not 9 weeks old yet


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## pute (Oct 24, 2020)

I can't argue with your results but stressing a plant through the entire flowering cycle?   Keeping them on the edge of water starvation would be risky for me.  I would get loaded or distracted and miss a diluted water cycle and kill everything. Good luck with the experiment and maybe this will make you famous.


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## Chad.Westport (Oct 24, 2020)

Wine grape vines aren't cannabis though. In the grapes it will effect the taste of the grapes, which is a distinguishing factor for wines, high brix just means high sugars.

I would say there are advantages and disadvantages of doing that but the biggest concern would be salt pockets in the dry soil. The technique is a means of stressing the plant which induces it to try and finish strong because it thinks it is near the end. Water stress and the plants desire to live can also potentially lead to herms. I think you'll be fine though, would be interesting to do an A & B side by side with the same strain.

I have heard of this in the final weeks of flowering though But thats also when I flush and the soil is always pretty moist then.


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

They're not starving for water lol. Just on the dry side. My method is. Water every 3-4 days until flower. Then i push it out to 6-8 days in 5 gallon pots. Mild temps. So they never get bone dry. But it is enough to get their attention i guesd


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Chad.Westport said:


> Wine grape vines aren't cannabis though. In the grapes it will effect the taste of the grapes, which is a distinguishing factor for wines, high brix just means high sugars.
> 
> I would say there are advantages and disadvantages of doing that but the biggest concern would be salt pockets in the dry soil. The technique is a means of stressing the plant which induces it to try and finish strong because it thinks it is near the end. Water stress and the plants desire to live can also potentially lead to herms. I think you'll be fine though, would be interesting to do an A & B side by side with the same strain.
> 
> I have heard of this in the final weeks of flowering though But thats also when I flush and the soil is always pretty moist then.


I hts my autos by topping them and they never slow down.  Plants are more resilient than people realize


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Cannabis flowers are designed by nature to grow in harsh conditions,  compared to regular plants


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## pute (Oct 24, 2020)

Chad is totally correct on the water/grapes ratio.  I never water my grapes no matter how dry of a year it is.  My plants must be much larger than yours in my tent.  They are dry as a bone after 3 days in 5 gal pots.  Harsh conditions maybe but dead is dead. For me anyway.  We all grow differently but I wouldn't advise this unless you are very careful.


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

putembk said:


> Chad is totally correct on the water/grapes ratio.  I never water my grapes no matter how dry of a year it is.  My plants must be much larger than yours in my tent.  They are dry as a bone after 3 days in 5 gal pots.  Harsh conditions maybe but dead is dead. For me anyway.  We all grow differently but I wouldn't advise this unless you are very careful.


What are u growing in? I grow in coco loco 5 gallon. And they still a little damn after 3


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## Chad.Westport (Oct 24, 2020)

Coco you don't want to let get too dry, it throws of the EC in the medium.


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Chad.Westport said:


> Coco you don't want to let get too dry, it throws of the EC in the medium.


Pure coco is supposed to be watered daily. That would drive me crazy. Coco loco. Grows like coco treat it like soil


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## Chad.Westport (Oct 24, 2020)

RonnieB said:


> Cannabis flowers are designed by nature to grow in harsh conditions,  compared to regular plants


True, some strains are definitely more rugged than others. More resistant to insects and molds too.


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## Chad.Westport (Oct 24, 2020)

RonnieB said:


> They're not starving for water lol. Just on the dry side. My method is. Water every 3-4 days until flower. Then i push it out to 6-8 days in 5 gallon pots. Mild temps. So they never get bone dry. But it is enough to get their attention i guesd


At the end of the day, you're in front of the plants and reading them. They will let you know when they need a drink, for sure. 6-8 days sounds like a long time given the short window of flowering but if the plants are liking it, I wouldn't change a thing.


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## pute (Oct 24, 2020)

Actually Ronnie, you have opened up an interesting subject that I haven't seen.  To answer your question.  Smaller Indicas don't absorb most as much water/nutes as larger Sativas.  Some Hybids are all over the board.   I am in Sunshine #4 with 25% perlite and 1" perlite at both the top and bottom.  I water/nute every 3 days and all are needful once they have reached the peak growth.  I drench to 15% runoff and suck the tray dry after an hour or so.  If I let the plants go and extra 8 hours they the upper fan leaves start to droop.  I am talking from first hand experience and not what I have been told.  I know nothing about coco but personally I think you are playing with fire.....just like over watering except the opposite.....


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Thank you all for the great advice. My plants look to be very happy. Hopefully it stays that way lol.


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

Today. Watered them on Tuesday


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## pute (Oct 24, 2020)

You know what Ronnie.  We all have our own way of growing.  I have never known anybody who did exactly what I do.  At the end of the day.....it is a weed.  If it works and you are satisfied with the end result then DO IT!!!  Beautiful Plants.


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## RonnieB (Oct 24, 2020)

putembk said:


> You know what Ronnie.  We all have our own way of growing.  I have never known anybody who did exactly what I do.  At the end of the day.....it is a weed.  If it works and you are satisfied with the end result then DO IT!!!  Beautiful Plants.


I honestly like experimenting. I am always trying stuff. One thing I don't get is yellow leaves lol


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## pute (Oct 24, 2020)

Not gonna do it now but moving a plant into 48 hrs of darkness and tomorrow I will show you a picture of yellow leaves.  It is sat night, band hasn't even started at the local twist and shout and I am toast.  By the way....we all experiment and the end result is DANK!


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## pute (Oct 25, 2020)

Here is that picture I promised last night....love the fade on this Strawberry OG....good smoke


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## Ganjagrandaddy (Oct 25, 2020)

it is called drought stress . Ideally at day 49 on a 9 week flowering plant. Water is withheld until a noticabke droop in the leaves and stems at max 11 days. Then feed as normal until harvest.  The research behind it is very conclusive and positive if the conditions and strain are right. ideally strains that are used to dryer climates have the best result.  The 11 days is a guide and it may be shorter if a visible droop to the right level happens before then  I am just starting at day 49 and did a lat watering   I never flushbin any medium any way but do imagine this is similar to stem splitting or other stressor in late flower . I already have very frost buds due to a new sp3000 light but this might give even more trich action. fingers crossed.


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## WeedHopper (Oct 25, 2020)

Why the drought? What's the purpose?


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## WeedHopper (Oct 25, 2020)

Okay i found this. In short..
A study published in the May 2019 issue of HortScience, a publication of the American Society for Horticultural Science, investigated the effects of targeted underwatering, or controlled drought stress, on cannabinoid content and dry weight. The researchers hypothesized that controlled drought stress might allow growers to enhance the quality of their cannabis crops.









						Study: Underwatering And Drought Conditions Could Induce Cannabis Plants To Produce More Cannabinoids
					






					www.benzinga.com


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## pute (Oct 25, 2020)

Interesting, but I think I will stay on the side walk.  This morning after 3 days and my normal feed/water cycle my plants were dry and needed to be tended to.  I guess this would work better for me if I went to 7 gal pots but I like my current results.  So, good luck to anybody who wants to wander off the beaten path and try this.


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## WeedHopper (Oct 25, 2020)

I think you could probably just do what i normally do and have some of that benefit. I don't water sometimes untill i see a little droop anyway.


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## pute (Oct 25, 2020)

Good idea but that would create a schedule mess.  So, I have to wait to water/feed until they are stressed to the point of drooping!   What if I have to be someplace and get delayed?  My days are full and I like to do my gardening in the morning and get it out of the way.  I am a stubborn o'l fart.  Why complicate things.


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## WeedHopper (Oct 25, 2020)

Yeah,,i don't grow like you do brother. Mine is all personal. I never grow over 4 plants at a time so its no big deal.


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## Chad.Westport (Oct 25, 2020)

WeedHopper said:


> Okay i found this. In short..
> A study published in the May 2019 issue of HortScience, a publication of the American Society for Horticultural Science, investigated the effects of targeted underwatering, or controlled drought stress, on cannabinoid content and dry weight. The researchers hypothesized that controlled drought stress might allow growers to enhance the quality of their cannabis crops.
> 
> 
> ...


I'll be reading that shortly, thank you. One thing that jumps to the top of my head is the correlation between leaf surface temp and drought stress. I reviewed a paper by Bruce Bugabee about this exact topic. When plants are drought stressed, leaf surface temp rises tremendously. So I imagine to get the maximum benefit from this technique, there would need to be some consideration given to room temp / canopy temp / leaf surface temp.


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## HerbWatcher (Oct 25, 2020)

This is one of the most longest running debates on every forum. 
When to and when not to water.
Everyone has their own way of growing that works for them.
Which is cool. 
Some people like to experiment. 
Some people like to just argue and disagree with what has been posted.
Which is immature and ignorant. 
But does make for a entertaining forum, sometimes. 
For me personally, when I use to grow in soil. In flower I would wait in between waterings a day or two longer just for a little bit of added stress. I saw a very little increase in trichrome production. And NO damage to the plant. 
Now I've been growing with areoponiics for years. 
When I first started my on off times were like, every 5 minutes the roots got sprayed for a minute. And I had good results. But I had trouble improving on those results. 
So every grow I started using different on off times. And started seeing better results. 
It took me 5 years to find the sweet spot. 
Now the roots just get sprayed seconds every 20 minutes. For very very good results. 
So in this case less is way better.
But I must admit I didn't think about this till right now. 
What's the difference if the roots are hanging in the air or sitting in soil. Roots are roots.
Oh no another experiment. LMFAO. 
The thing is grow the way you like. But the most important thing is to enjoy what you grow.
Just remember there is ALWAYS room for improvement. No matter if it's a 10 percent or 50 percent improvement. 
And remember nobody is telling you to try these things on these forums. They are just bringing up a conversation. 
Just thought I would through in my 2 cents that's about all I got left at my age. Later.....


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## Chad.Westport (Oct 25, 2020)

There are many ways to grow this plant. Most of them get the job done. When you try translating these topics to large legal grows, where little decisions make big dollar differences, that is where you find people get particular about the various aspects. I have done both and prefer the ability to experiment that personal growing can provide. Environmental differences are also going to be a factor of why one thing works great in Oregon but are shit in Colorado. This can explain different results for people too.


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## cardgenius (Oct 26, 2020)

WeedHopper said:


> Okay i found this. In short..
> A study published in the May 2019 issue of HortScience, a publication of the American Society for Horticultural Science, investigated the effects of targeted underwatering, or controlled drought stress, on cannabinoid content and dry weight. The researchers hypothesized that controlled drought stress might allow growers to enhance the quality of their cannabis crops.
> 
> 
> ...



Interesting topic and great find on the article! I read it and in this study it definitely shows an increase in THC and CBD production from the plants put through the controlled drought conditions compared to the ones who were not. A pretty significant increase at that too.

“THC: 50% higher;
THCA: 43% higher;
CBD: 67% higher;
CBDA: 47% higher.”

One downside to this technique that they pointed out is that it’s a fine line between doing it correctly and over doing it and effecting your yield. Also strain dependent which means some trial and error would be needed to get it dialed in. Too bad they didn’t test the terpenes. I’d assume they increase also but it would be nice to see for sure.


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## nobogart (Oct 26, 2020)

i stay with Vapor pressure deficit.......i shoot for .8-1.1 in veg 1-1.4 early flower and 1.3-1.5 late flower, resulting in a similar effect as the op, VPD is the relationship between temp and %RH, an environment too wet, the girls stop drinking, too dry and the stoma close and they don't breathe, either extreme will slow or stop plant growth, causing what appears to be many other problems resulting in the grower chasing his proverbial tail............


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