Scrogging is a great way for growers to maximize your yield and make the most of your light. It is also a great way to grow if you have a plant count. I talked briefly about SCROGGING and plant training here: Cannabis Plant Training How To Get Get Big Farm Yields In Small Spaces
I feel this is one of the best ways for growers to get big farm yields in small spaces and deserves more attention. So I want to go into more detail and show you my newest SCROG grow.
I think it is important to mention that scrogging is not a set it and forget it grow technique. It will require daily attention to properly train your plants. Once they are flowered it gets much easier because the training was already done earlier.
Plants were vegged and trained to an open bush for about a month. This screen of green then was vegged another week in my flower closet to green up and fill out the screen before flowering.
Last time I hand watered in coco but I think results will be even better using top feed drip with grow stones. I have 3 plants in a 2 x 4 tray. Very excited to see what this Mendo Breath will do as I have not grown it before. Also flowering a Platinum Candy and Apple Fritter. They were flipped to 12/12 today is day 1.
How To Train A SCROG Plant
Training a plant is simple. I head my plants back at the 5th node. Then I use LST(low stress training) and tie the branches down.
They can be headed back again when they have 5 nodes. This will produce side branches. I dont do much more training other than to remove anything growing on the lower part of the branches. Remove any growth coming from the dark side because it will never get enough light and will sap energy from the top shoots.
I place my net about 8 inches above the plants and start spreading the branches out. It is hard to know how many plants to flower and a lot depends on the strain. This grow has 3 but one plant was a smaller strain. 2 larger stretchy plants would work too. If you dont mind the veg time you can fill a 4 x 4 with one stretchy plant like the Platinum Candy.
The trickiest thing about SCROGGING is knowing when to flower. Many people advise waiting until the screen is 75% full but a lot depends on the plants stretch. In this grow my Mendo Breath stayed fairly compact but the Apple Fritter and Platinum Candy got very tall and I ran out of holes to tuck the branches in so I had to super crop them to keep the canopy level.
SCROGGING 2.0 DAY 1
Both the Apple Fritter and Platinum Candy are tall stretchy plants, making them perfect for a SCROG. The Mendo Breath will be smaller and more Indica dominant.
When I SCROG I do not weave branches in and out of the screen. I simply tuck them under, The screen will hold them down and when they pop up again I just pull them back down. Also I use a 3.5 inch square mesh. It is a bit harder to find but larger 6 inch holes will not give you the control you want with branch placement.
I use open FloraFlex manifolds and open ended flora flex tubing. It is way more flexible and easier to use. Open ended means less chance for a clog. I am running 4 drippers per pot but you dont have to run that many but I would recommend at least 2 in case there is a clogged line. They are run for 2 minutes on every 3 hours during lights on but your cycle may be different depending on pump size and plant size too.
I run House And Garden Aqua Flakes in a recirculating reservoir.
I use HLG lights and am running their HLG 650R. Very powerful with great coverage and I am running it about 3 feet away. They are not cheap and made in USA. I know there are a lot of cheaper lookalikes but believe me they are not the same. With LED lights you get what you pay for.
You can watch this Day 1 video on my YouTube channel if you are at least 18 by clicking the image
SCROGGING ON DAY 14 CONTROLLING PLANT HEIGHT
These girls have gone wild. Still stretching and out of holes to tuck them in and even super cropping has not slowed them down much. Not really a bad problem to have. Very excited to see what this Mendo Breath will do. Also flowering a Platinum Candy and Apple Fritter. They were flipped to 12/12 today is day 14.
TOP FEED DRIP VS FLOOD AND DRAIN
I am using top feed drip in this grow. I think my plants have grown more vigorously with this system than conventional flood and drain. I am using 2 1/2 gallon pots and they are 10 inches tall. With flood and drain I would not be able to flood high enough to water properly. Even with smaller pots I was noticing very little root development above the flood line. By watering from the top down instead of bottom up the plant can make use of the whole pot.
Because the screen is placed low and close to the pots (about 8 inches) hand watering would be difficult so an automated watering system is the best way to go. Plants do best with uniformity. They get used to a feed and water schedule and do best with it. This is very hard to accomplish by hand watering but quite easy with a simple timer.
I use growstones but this holds true no matter what your grow medium is. Frequency of watering depends on the medium used, It is not possible to give a feed and watering schedule because every grow is different. However you should have some run off after every watering to prevent salt buildup. In this grow I am watering 3-4 times a day for 3 minutes depending on plant size. A bit of trial and error will help you find your sweet spot. Not too dry and not too wet.
SCROG 2.0 DAY 21 – IS IT STILL A SCROG?
Things have changed. My girls have gone wild, especially the Platinum Candy. I probably should have flipped sooner. The Mendo Breath is a smaller plant and I wanted to give it some time to catch up. Big mistake.
By week 2 I had filled every hole. So at that point I could no longer scrog anything. I super cropped the plants and did a leaf strip to try and slow growth but it really did not work. I am not going to complain. My screen has 72 holes and there is a nice top in all of them. I may actually need to put a 2nd screen on this grow. So my SCROG is looking a lot more like a SOG but without so many plants.
My advice is if you scrog multiple strains make sure they all have the same amount of stretch. The number of plants you scrog is also strain dependent. One Platinum Candy could have filled my 2 x4 screen given enough veg time. Two would be the max I would do for a stretchy plant. The Apple Fritter was in between the 2 as far as size goes. She got as tall as the Platinum Candy but was not as vigorous so did not spread as much. But for a smaller more Indica leaning plant like the Mendo Breath I would do 3 max.
You can watch my week 3 video at SCROG 2.0 DAY 21 GIRLS GONE WILD! – YouTube
SCROGGING ON DAY 28
This is a scrog gone wild and I added a 2nd net which is something you dont normally do for a scrog. My Platinum Candy has taken over this grow despite my best efforts to contain and control her. I did not nickname her Long Tall Sally for nothing.
Everything is doing really well but the Mendo Breath is not getting as much light as it would have if everything had stayed the same height. I ran out of holes to scrog the Platinum Candy in weeks ago. Should have done a one strain grow or flipped earlier in hindsight. Even still all the buds look great. There are 72 holes in the lower screen and there is a cola in every one.
PLATINUM CANDY, APPLE FRITTER AND MENDO BREATH DAY 28 BUD SHOTS
WATCH SCROG 2.0 DAY 28 VIDEO ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL
This video is for 18+ viewers and YouTube wont let me show it on my site. So if you go there give it a like and subscribe please.
SEA OF DIAMONDS DAY 35
Some things are hard to capture on video or in pictures. They need to be seen with your own eyes. Such is the case with this grow. My Platinum Candy is the tallest plant in the grow forcing me to put a 2nd screen in what is supposed to be a SCROG. As I gaze across the screen the trichomes sparkle and twinkle under the light. Maybe that’s what Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds is really about and maybe Long Tall Sally needs to be renamed Lucy.
Everything is doing well on day 35 and everything has great trichome coverage but that Platinum Candy puts them all to shame. She does not make large buds and she is very stretchy but her trichome coverage is insane, in a good way. Anyway here’s a few pics for you
SCROGGING DAY 35 VIDEO ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL 18+
SCROG 2 O DAY 35 SEA OF DIAMONDS – YouTube
SCROG DAY 49 MENDO BREATH PLATINUM CANDY APPLE FRITTER
Day 49 is here and the Platinum Candy looks incredible. The Apple Fritter looks better every day. Unfortunately the Mendo Breath is a dud. It is Mendo Breath but certainly not a good cut of it. Trichome production is not up to my standards. Not even close. Below is some Platinum Can9dy on day 49. She sparkles!
Full day 49 video here SCROG 2 0 DAY 49 MENDO BREATH APPLE FRITTER PLATINUM CANDY – YouTube
FLUSHING AND HARVEST
My flush started on day 49 and plants were harvested on day 63.
Here are some videos on my YouTube channel on days 56 and 63 of this grow. Like and subscribe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUcYtWpGn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10GrtM3lNho
SCROGGING WAS A SUCCESS
It certainly did not look like your typical SCROG but it did really well for me. Even the Mendo Breath turned out better than expected. The Platinum Candy was a beast and took over. The buds are gorgeous so I am not complaining. The Apple Fritter did well but she can do better. She was not happy and showed lockout symptoms that I believe was caused by my bloom booster and too much potassium for her liking. Here are a few harvest pictures for you:
