Hey Krissi! Thank you. I read something you wrote to another grower (I searched for "controlled drought") and it's cleared up a couple of questions I had. One thing I am still unsure of is how to measure the leaf wilt if not degrees.
Aaaah you have asked the ominous question.
Is it too far of a stretch for me to tell you that they will tell you when they have had enough?
In the beginning I was very wary and I was focused on trying to get the LWA. After a while, it seemed as if I could tell when the plants have had enough. There is a point before we like freak out and enter that red zone, you know, where it just goes downhill. There is a specific time with each plant I have droughted, that I have seen that same time come regardless of LWA (although I still urge new droughters to follow it and ask older droughters questions on if its ok to go on-as you are already doing). I say this too, however, because I have had some strains that never wilt or lose turgidity. Fat squat plants have done this to me, Sirius Black, NYC Diesel, Big Bull for example.
So when I saw that LWA wasn't really changing, I had to go to another visual que.
Sometimes, plants have only started to show deficiencies for example, Cmag on the ones mentioned, especially; When I saw that becoming what was soon to be a pretty severe deprivation, I decided to stop droughting.
Another thing I have done is along with the reference leaf, finding a few others and using the collective as a way to determine if the plant has reached the LWA we want. Sometimes I have picked a leaf and it's like that is the only leaf that wilted or that is the one leaf that didn't...it really does change the more droughts you do with each and every strain responding differently to the stress.
My major takeaway was that Caplans droughting wasnt done over years and years with plants and plants there was never a strain based study or Indica vs Sativa study or anything of the like so not going against protocols, just understanding that the set protocols probably have some leeway room across the phenos and it is up to the droughter to find the right balance in the end, for our droughting plants.
I know that kind of leaves things up in the air but when I started the droughting thread, it was for this purpose-to experiment, document, take notes, see what holds water, what doesn't, and where there are leaks.
I truly hope the overall uncertainty of an unscripted drought per say, won't deter you from continuing droughting. My hope is that it just expands your horizons and opens your eyes and green soul to connect even more with your plants in order to get the most medicine out of them
I'll check in with you again tomorrow and see if it can go another day
Please do, you'd be surprised what some plants can take and the benefit of an extra day or two can, as Stone said, really make a difference.
