Maximize Your Yield With The Scrog Method

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Categories : Cannabis cultivation

Maximize Your Yield With The Scrog Method

The Screen of Green (ScrOG) method of growing cannabis is an advanced technique that can really push your cannabis plants to the limits of their genetic potential.

It is similar to the Sea of Green method (SOG), but fewer plants are required and it utilizes a screen.

ScrOG focuses around having a wire screen between your cannabis plants and your grow lights. Guiding your cannabis plants to grow along the mesh, creating a full, even canopy, allows for massive top colas to be produced.

ScrOG was a method originally produced to make sure that growers using poor quality fluorescent lights could get the most out of their cannabis, but it was found that when HID lights were used with this method, the cannabis plants became unstoppable. It is also a handy technique for those with a limited grow space as it allows for easy control of plant height. Not all cannabis plants grow to the same height, and when you have those that reach very high, it can be quite hard to manage your grow room. The ScrOG technique eliminate this problem.
ScrOG Screen On Green Method

To use this method you need to do the following:

To start with you need to obtain a screen. You can use 2 inch chicken wire on a frame for this purpose, or pretty much any other sturdy netting material of a similar hole size.

The screen is placed in between your grow lights and cannabis plants. The height at which it is placed will depend on the power and size of your grow lights, but generally it is placed at a height in between 40 to 60 cm. It is handy to have lights that can be adjusted in height, to allow for flexibility.

Ideally, you should use female clones for your ScrOG. This is because the removal of a male plant can be quite a hassle and will leave a big hole in your canopy - you need to maintain an even canopy for this method to be effective.

You need to give each plant 1 square foot to allow you cannabis plants to really thrive. This is much more room than in a SOG method, and means you require less plants.

The cannabis plants are allowed to grow up to the mesh, and are then trained along and around it as they continue to grow. This continues in a vegetative state until you have a full and even canopy. As a result, you may find that your expected growing time is 1-3 weeks longer than usual when using this method, but it is well worth it in the end.
ScrOG Screen On Green Method

You continue to train the plants under your screen until you are two weeks into the flowering phase. At this point, allow the tops of the plants to grow upwards through the mesh. Keep as many leaves as possible pushed down below the screen, this will allow optimal light to reach the exposed buds. If your leaves are getting unmanageable, then cut the fingers of each fan in half. This opens up your buds to the light whilst still allowing the leaves to produce some energy. If you cut off the fan leaves completely, you risk stunting your cannabis' growth.

In about a week you will have a canopy of bud. At this point it is wise to go beneath the screen and remove all of the lateral branches and excess bud sites that are not contributing to the canopy. This will allow your cannabis plants to focus their energy on growing their main colas – the canopy stops light penetrating below, making these lateral branches nothing but a drain on your plants, as they receive no light themselves. Doing so It will also promote air movement which helps prevent mold and fungus.

That’s it, your cannabis crop is now growing to its optimum potential under the ScrOG method. All you have to do now is maintain them and wait until it‘s harvest time.