There are different ways to grow cannabis plants aside from the traditional method which promotes vertical growth. Two of these are cannabis SOG and SCROG cultivation methods.
SOG is an acronym of Sea of Green and SCROG is an acronym of Screen of Green. The techniques are similar but each has its particular advantages and give growers options for optimizing different grow spaces.
In this article we’ll take a look at SOG and SCROG, how to cultivate using these techniques and, focus on the benefits and disadvantages and discuss tips to make the most of these ways of growing.
Cannabis SOG and SCROG compared: Meet SOG!
Sea of Green (commonly known as the SOG cannabis grow technique) is when a large volume of small-sized cannabis plants are grown closely together.
The end result with a SOG cannabis grow is a canopy that looks identical in height and has a uniform growth structure. This is where the name Sea of Green comes from as the entire garden will be one large green-filled space. The process follows a very short vegetative stage with plants achieving a final height of 75 – 100cm in the flowering phase.
It is important to follow certain protocols when following a cannabis SOG method and one of those is to use strains that are SOG suited and stay small and uniform (indica dominant varieties are best suited).
Advantages of growing with SOG
- Shorter grow time as fewer weeks are spent in the vegetative stage.
- Higher yields per square meter by Maximizing the use of light and space.
- Uniform harvests come from an even canopy of buds.
- You can harvest a crop every 8-9 weeks depending on cultivar, meaning a return on investment is paid off very quickly, and curing jars permanently full.
- It’s ideal for home growers who have limited height in their grow room. Maintenance levels are low and the final plant height will be medium-short so growers can fully maximize a growing space and get the highest yields possible in the shortest amount of time.
- Minimum vegetative times reduce electricity bills. By quickly moving to the flowering stage on a 12/12 light/dark cycle money is saved versus several weeks on an 18/6 light/dark cycle using the traditional grow method.
- You can harvest a crop every 8-9 weeks depending on cultivar, meaning a return on investment is paid off very quickly, and curing jars permanently full.
Disadvantages of growing with SOG
• Higher risk of pests and diseases due to the density of the canopy.
• Higher outlay costs due to growing more plants from seeds or clones.
• Harder to scale due to the time and management required.
How long is the veg phase in a SOG cannabis grow?
The switch to flowering should occur when plants are 25 – 30cm tall. This ensures that the final plants do not grow too big and overcrowd the growing space. Growing from seed it is advised to give plants 18/6 hours of light/dark for 7-10 days.
Flowering out a canopy that is too tall and bushy for the space originally allocated defeats the purpose of S.O.G and will only add more time to the final harvest date.
If working with rooted clones, vegetate cannabis plants for 7 days.
Tips for a successful SOG grow
Pot size and spacing
As the name suggests, the entire room is dedicated to smaller sized plants so when it comes to choosing the best pot size, you don’t want a pot that is too large that the root zone won’t occupy the space efficiently.
• 7.5 – 10 liter pots will work perfect and allow plants to finish around 75-100cm.
• Allow a 30cm space between each plant e.g. you could get between 12 or 16 plants inside of a 1.2 meter space.
• Make sure watering can be done easily and all pots are evenly spaced out.
• Create an aisle down the center and sides so you can access all parts of the grow.
Choose your strain wisely
Strain characteristics best suited to the SOG cannabis cultivation method are short/medium indica dominant hybrids with a fast flowering time of 50-55 days, preferably with a main central cola and uniform side branching. It is advised to avoid any strains that are known for being slow starters.
Encourage good airflow
There is nothing worse than losing a crop due to a bad infection of mold. Due to the density of big heads gathered together in a SOG setup, relative humidity should be kept below 40% in flowering.
In addition, good air circulation is the best form of preventing mold developing. An oscillating fan at the bottom of the room blowing at the base and tops of the pots, as well as another fan blowing above the plants is advised.
The air flow should be a very comfortable breeze, that will help circulate the air fresh and remove any stagnant air in the room. It is also recommended to keep your oscillating fans spinning at different times from one another to maximize the air current.
Common mistakes to avoid with a SOG setup
• Using a pot that is too big and will only waste growing medium and potential space.
• Not doing your research and choosing the wrong genetics not suited for S.O.G.
• Having inadequate air flow and poor air circulation at the top and bottom of the plants.
• Growing plants in 18/6 for longer than 10 days causing plants to become too big.
• Limiting your working space and having great difficulty moving between the plants.
• Turning your fans off at night and encouraging stagnant air to set in the garden.
Cannabis SOG and SCROG compared: Meet SCROG!
Scrogging is a cannabis plant training technique which uses a ‘screen’ suspended above the cannabis plants. Through this screen, cannabis stems are weaved (the process is also known as tucking) through the mesh as the plant grows in order to promote horizontal, rather than vertical, growth.
Over time, this will produce a canopy that covers the mesh, exposing more bud sites to light and providing an even cover of flowers, producing a sea of similar sized substantial buds.
The advantages of SCROG
There are three main benefits from applying the SCROG cannabis training method:
• It maximizes the use of space, especially in a grow tent. The method allows the grower to grow fewer plants but get more bang for the buck in terms of yield.
• It improves light exposure for plants compared to traditional growth methods where the concentration of light produces fat buds at the top of plants, with those on the lower branches declining in size and density.
• It ensures better airflow circulation amongst the plants’ branches, which reduces the risk of mold developing.
The disadvantages of using SCROG
We’re not going to lie to you, the SCROG cannabis growing technique does require some extra management! The aim of Scrogging is to evenly distribute the buds across the growing space and this requires training the cannabis plant.
As the plant is a living thing that just wants to grow, this means the grower has to be proactive with management and dedicate some time to weaving those stems to ensure the canopy develops evenly and maintains the same height across it. Nevertheless, the extra effort is worth it when harvest time comes.
Equipment needed for a successful cannabis SCROG
The essential piece of kit is the ‘screen’, which is actually a net, with wide holes allowing the grower to weave cannabis plant stems through and encourage them to grow horizontally.
The screen is cheap to buy and commonly available and comes with attachments allowing it to simply attach to the poles of a grow tent.
If your grow space isn’t a uniform size it’s just as easy to make one using materials such as bamboo poles or large holed plastic fence wire can be cut to size and held in place with cable ties. Another very useful piece of equipment is some thick, flexible gardening wire for holding branches in place during the SCROG process.
Because a successful cannabis SCROG can be achieved with a minimal number of plants it’s essential that they are housed in big pots (at least 12 liter) in order to maximize room for root growth. The grow space should have more than five pots within a 1 m² area.
Pots should not be too close together as a successful SCROG will fill all the horizontal space available.
How tall should cannabis plants be before they are scrogged?
It depends on the set up, but a good height for cannabis plants to start being scrogged is 25 – 45cm. It makes a difference if the variety is indica or sativa leaning (the screen should be set lower for indicas).
In order to promote horizontal growth through the cannabis plant SCROG method there are a couple of steps which are required to help coax cannabis plants in the right direction:
Topping, also known as ‘pinching’, removes the top of the plant stem. This should be done when you have at least five nodes (these are the points on the stem where new branches start to form).
This process will prompt the plant to focus on growing sideways, not upwards. Once the strongest side branches are off and running sideways, prune out the bottom branches so that the plant doesn’t waste its energy on these.
How to train a cannabis plant in a SCROG grow
As you have to train – i.e. weave the side branches through the holes in the screen – wait until the side branches are 2 – 3 cm above the screen before starting the training process.
Take a moment to work out which direction you are going to weave the side branch i.e. don’t start weaving all branches in the same direction. The aim is to evenly fill the screen and use all of the growing space.
Use soft gardening wire to hold branches lightly in place after each training session. Once this process becomes established, the plant will lead the way and the method becomes quite intuitive. The aim is to fill the screen as evenly and completely as possible.
Cannabis plants are incredibly hardy and versatile in the vegetative stage and so long as you’re gentle, whatever bending and twisting you do won’t harm the plants at all. That said, if you are new to the SCROG process, it won’t feel natural (at first). There is a stage after each training session when the plants look ugly and misshapen, but within a day or two they will recover.
Once plants are in flower you should avoid ‘hard’ training in order to prevent stressing plants too much.
Using SCROG for outdoor cannabis plants
The scrogging method can provide benefits for outdoor cannabis plants:
• This technique provides better airflow than a marijuana plant grown the traditional way and therefore provides an extra level of security against Autumn mold.
By controlling the growth shape, a scrogged outdoor cannabis plant is much easier to protect from the rain too (i.e. it’s easier to rig up some cover for protection).
• Scrogged cannabis plants are much less conspicuous than traditional shape cannabis plants so provide camouflage from nosey neighbors.
• The obvious difference is that unlike the four walls of a grow tent, an outdoor plant lacks natural fixings. However, this is not really a problem as four stakes at the corners of the plant provide a base on which to rest the screen.
Unlike an indoor SCROG, the outdoor cannabis grower needs to take into account factors such as surrounding foliage and access to sunlight i.e. will the marijuana SCROG set up have sunlight blocked by the vegetation around it?
As plants will be ready to harvest in September/October, the position of the sun – which will hang lower in the sky in these months than it does in midsummer – needs to be taken into account.
As such, setting the screen as high as 50 – 60 cm for outdoor plants can dramatically improve sunlight access. More tips in this article.
Conclusion
SOG and SCROG are two training techniques which rely on promoting the horizontal growth of side branches. They both rely on using the cannabis plant’s natural resilience towards training. By manipulation branch growth, both techniques aim to produe an even canopy where flowers are a uniform size (a covering of more sized medium buds rarher than huge top colas).
There are numerous advatntages to using the cannabis SOG and SCROG methods, and with good management they can provide the grower with bigger yieds, whie protecting against common issues such as mold.