In constant struggle for the regulation of cannabis, mainly in the medicinal field.
01-02-2018 11:00:47 - Updated: 1 February, 2018
Have you ever thought about growing marijuana with the SCROG technique?
Don’t panic over the acronyms, it’s not complicated at all. It all starts with the use of special meshes to optimise the amount of vegetable mass per square metre.
The use of a mesh is the main key to this cultivation technique that emerged in the United States in the 1960s and aims to achieve the greatest possible result, with a small number of plants. To do this, the plant should not be allowed to grow upwards, but this store to branch out.
When we carry out indoor cultivation (generally due to the impossibility of doing it outdoors), the main disadvantage is usually the limitation of the dimensions of the indoor cultivation space.
With limited space, it is not always easy to achieve the production we want in a short time. However, there are different methods that will help us maximize this space. Specifically, we refer to the SCROG (Screen of green) technique.
What is SCROG technique?
The term “SCROG” or scrogging is the acronym for “Screen of Green” or “Green Screen”. Scrogging is a technique for growing marijuana plants that involves the installation of a mesh on top of your plants, when these have a certain height, and then adapt the growth of plants to the mesh, as your girls grow.
Proper scrogging works best if it also uses other methods, such as coating or topping, which involves pruning the tips of marijuana plants, boosting their growth across the width rather than upward. This helps them branch out and become shrub-like plants, with the SCROG method determining that each part of the new branches will receive the right amount of light, making extremely efficient use of space.
Although another famous technique in the cannabic world such as Sea of Green (SOG) has been popular for years, the SCROG method is based on the same characteristics, but with the difference that growers add a screen that can maximize exposure to light.
The meshes can be as simple as the typical wire mesh or nylon mesh that will allow you to retain the tips of your growing marijuana plants. Ideally, the screen should have holes with a diameter of 5 cm.
But… what advantages SCROG system gives us?
If you leave a single plant in a pot so that it grows without applying any kind of “special technique”, it will most likely develop only with a central bud. By applying a SCROG mesh, each branch will become more than a decent sized bud.
The SCROG technique produces homogeneous buds. All the cannabis branches are directed to pass over the mesh as a screen, this means that all the stems will be at the same distance from the light (more or less), giving each flower the opportunity to absorb as much “solar juice” as they need
Very light and resistant elastic mesh, which is mainly used in the cultivation of marijuana type SCROG (Screen of Green)…
For indoor and outdoor crops
120-100-80cm
Used by stretching the mesh
By using SCROG, you will get a consistent culture without too much effort and in a very simple way. This method is particularly useful for growing sativa varieties. Sativas tend to stretch too high during the pre-flowering phase, and may also be difficult to grow indoors, as they tend to be tall plants. However, indica genetics perform equally well in this method.
Using a display also simplifies maintenance. There’s no need to tie branches in random and clumsy shapes, but the screen provides a simple grid so you can place your cuttings equidistant and make the most of the growing space.
You may also use your feminized marijuana seeds to apply this technique, as long as you use the mesh when you have the seedlings ready.
Now we explain how to apply the scrog mesh… Let’s get started!
How to SCROGGING step by step?
Before going on to explain how this method should be carried out, the first thing we will indicate is the material necessary for it.
The main goal is a mesh or grid that can be of any material you wish (wood, wire, plastic or bamboo). It should have holes of about five centimeters so that the plants can pass through it. In addition, of course, you’ll need an indoor cabinet as well as a lighting, ventilation and humidity control system.
Cut the mesh to fit the area of your growing space (or cultivation closet) and install it 30-40 cm above your marijuana plants. Only do this if you have between 50-60 cm more space on top, because that’s where the lamp will have to hang when your plants are as high as the mesh.
Use cable clamps to hold the screen to allow flexibility of movement. The screen should be kept as close as possible to its light bulbs, you can also direct the tips of your plants, to increase the number of new sprouts or branches that have access to the light.
One of the wonders of the SCROG method is that you can save time during watering. Be sure to water only when the soil is completely dry. Excessive irrigation is one of the most common mistakes of novice growers, and will only increase the chances of having a fungal pest due to the drastic increase in moisture in a very small space completely covered with plant mass.
Because scrogging is an indoor cultivation technique, the change between vegetative and flowering status will depend on the individual grower and may also depend on the type of substrate being used. For example, if you’re using a hydroponic system, you may be able to get plants from vegetative growth to flowering in 3 to 4 weeks.
If the plants are in soil, it can take about 6 to 8 weeks, although this does not actually affect the application of the mesh.
When to apply the scrog method?
Because Cannabis has a natural tendency to stretch during the first few weeks of flowering, plants grown with the scrog system may be an ideal choice, so you can use the screen to keep the overall height of your indoor marijuana garden under control, while ensuring that new buds don’t burn under indoor lights.
The ideal way to manipulate the new branches is to wait until they reach the screen. At this point, the top of the branches will lean slightly through one of the holes in the screen. The main concept behind the SCROG method is that instead of growing a single main branch, you can grow multiple branches under your luminaire.
As your plants grow through the screen, it simply pulls them down, creating more branching points, allowing you to maximize your indoor marijuana harvest. Plants can easily be tied with plastic strings or straps, guiding the branches to the empty sections of your scrog screen.
Keep in mind that you will probably see more branches when you change the light period to 12 hours of darkness and start the flowering period.
This we have just explained, obviously, should be done with several plants, but if we only want to do it with one, we have the option of practicing with a 25 litre pot. After 5 or 7 weeks, we will be able to link new branches to the screen…
…soon we will enjoy a scrog flowering!!
Conclusion
We hope you liked our post and may use this simple and productive method for growing marijuana indoors. Growing marijuana with the scrog method has never been easier if you do it with us…
You dare??
Don’t forget to share your experience with us, we know that you can apply it like the professionals…
Go ahead!?
For the 25gallon how many seeds did you use ? Or did you use only one seed on 12/12 light?
Hello Darius,
Yes, only one seed at 18/6.
greetings