Benefits of Growing Autoflowering Cannabis In a Sea of Green
- 1. What is the sea of green?
- 2. The advantages associated
- 3. Which strains are best?
- 4. Top tips on sea of green farming with autos
- 5. Scrog - the sister of sea of green
- 5. a. What is the scrog method?
- 5. b. How to implement the s.o.g and sgrog methods at the same time
- 6. In conclusion
If you are new to growing Cannabis, you may have come across the terminology S.O.G and been left wondering what it meant. Thanks to the genetic diversity of autoflowers, as growers we are able to adapt our grow spaces, schedules, budget, and level of plant maintenance to specific cultivars that are more practically suited.
Over the years, cannabis cultivators have leveraged this genetic flexibility to develop a host of growing methods that are compatible with different goals. Among them, S.O.G stands as one of the best approaches when growing cannabis in limited space. The technique involves growing many small plants instead of a few larger ones. Overall, this results in increased yield and easier management. But not all cultivars perform equally in this set-up. Thanks to their short stature and rapid growing times, autoflowering varieties are perfectly compatible with this method of growing. Read on to learn all you need to know about Sea of Green, the benefits associated including our top tips, and why autoflowering cultivars are the best choice, due to their short size and fast flowering traits.
1. What Is the Sea of Green?
This basically refers to the end goal being a room filled from wall to wall, with small-sized uniform Cannabis plants. Purposely grown in small pots with a very short growing period, no training applied, and packed closely together. It may sound like an amateur’s set up who does not know what they are doing, however, there are many benefits associated with this style of growing.
As the name of the technique suggests, the end result takes the form of a literal sea of green plants that fill grow rooms and greenhouses. The use of small pot sizes keeps plants relatively uniform which makes management strategies such as defoliation and pest inspection, and tasks such as harvesting buds, substantially easier.
2. The Advantages Associated
Small pots of 6.5L are commonly used meaning a small amount of growing medium is required. With such a short growing time, roots will settle and expand as much as they can anchoring themselves to the base of the pots.
Nutrients for the vegetative period are only used once or twice, ensuring your nutrient lasts much longer every time you produce a crop. Over multiple grows, the savings on root boosters and grow nutrients will be evident and dependent on the size of your crop, one nutrient bottle may last several cycles.
It is possible to easily fill an entire room wall to wall with flowering plants being as efficient as possible space-wise, however it is necessary to create an aisle to allow access to your canopy. As long as you can access your plants in case of an emergency, this is oftentimes the best way to grow in terms of efficiency.
Some very fast flowering cultivars that flower as quickly as 7-8 weeks allow for a grower to restrict each grow cycle to a total of 8-9 weeks in total. It is easily possible to achieve large scale commercial growth in a very short time of up to 10 weeks including the drying process.
Commercial growers are able to achieve multiple harvests per year, in comparison to long vegetative phases that demand some training and hands-on maintenance. The only work required is to plant clones or seedlings, flower and harvest and rotate. Plant height is reduced to around 30-50cm meaning it is possible to achieve a very successful SOG set up, in a low space such as a bedroom closet, loft conversion or low ceiling cellar space.
3. Which Strains Are Best?
The goal is to flower your Cannabis plants as fast as possible, using an autoflowering cultivar that is a solid, reliable performer. Anything that takes over 10 weeks may be impractical and increase the number of days between harvesting and rotation. Indica dominant or hybrid cultivars is the ideal choice for Sea of green thanks to their ability to stay low and uniform, with very little internodal spacing, these are the most preferred.
When working with most of the polyhybrids available on the market, growers should expect some amount of genetic variability between their plants. However, the growing environment also has a large impact on the phenotype that each plant displays. By providing the same pot size, watering schedule, feeding regimen, and light exposure to each plant, you’ll ensure excellent uniformity that makes growing with the S.O.G method easy, rewarding, and fruitful. One of the best things about autoflowering strains is that they are created with the fast-paced grower in mind. It is possible to harvest an entire crop in as little as 9 weeks with Gelato Auto, Blackberry Auto, and Wedding Cheesecake Auto.
Cannabis plants that grow with one main central cola surrounded by thick side branches are a great candidate. The growth structure associated with this variety of strain allows for the uniform, top-heavy green blanket effect once blooming has commenced.
4. Top Tips on Sea of Green Farming with Autos
1. Fast autoflowering strains are much better at reducing the amount of time they can be exposed to an airborne pathogen such as Botrytis. Indica dominant cultivars are often more resistant to plant disease and a better choice for Sea of Green.
2. Find an autoflowering strain that is reliable and does not require much hands-on training, or maintenance. A wise choice for beginner growers and those still learning the ropes.
3. Make sure that you leave plenty of space for an aisle that you can comfortably walk down. In the event that the plants need to be treated, then your ability to easily access and freely work is essential.
4. Avoid letting plants touch the sides of the grow tent or walls of the room. It is very important to keep a consistent airflow around the plants and allowing them to touch moist walls during flower can be hazardous.
5. Using a pump and drip emitters can save a lot of work and physical labor, especially when you are working with rows as large as 35 plants and upwards. Setting a timer to do all the work for 15 minutes a day reduces work and saves you a bad back every time.
5. SCROG - The Sister of Sea of Green
So, there we go. Pretty much all there is to know about the Sea Of Green cultivation technique. But there is one option that we haven't mentioned just yet. A method that can be used in tandem with S.O.G (or by itself) - ScrOG, or the Screen Of Green method.
What is the SCROG Method?
Simply put, ScrOG (Screen of Green) is a cannabis cultivation technique that maximizes yields by training the plants to fill out an entire screen or mesh. This results in each and every cola getting its share of light, resulting in higher-quality buds across the board. Additionally, because you can spread the plant structure out over a larger horizontal plane, you maximize every square inch of growing space.
Benefits of SCROG
Growing cannabis using a ScrOG setup offers numerous benefits, including larger yields, better light distribution, and increased air circulation. On top of this, the use of the net or screen to even out the plant's growth essentially tricks the plant into evenly spreading out the amount of growth hormone and energy to all the budding sites, instead of focusing on the main cola.
This often results in higher-quality buds from the branches that are bigger, denser, and more fragrant than those grown in S.O.G methods alone. On top of this, since you are training the buds to catch more light, and thus more photosynthesis, you can expect your crop to mature faster than it would otherwise.
How to Implement the S.O.G and SGROG Methods at the Same Time
It's all very simple. All you have to do is place a screen or net above the plants that are growing in the Sea Of Green grow area. The height of said screen will depend on the strain that you are growing, but a general rule of thumb is about a foot or so above the rim of the pots. This allows the top branches to stretch outwards and upwards, while the rest of the plant can be trained down into a horizontal plane.
Once you have set up your screen, it is time to start training your plants. Again, all very simple. As your plant's canopy reaches the net, simply start carefully tieing the main stem and branches to the net or screen. That's it. This will even out the entire canopy of the Sea Of Green crop, and ensure that all the flowers receive a very similar amount of light penetration. Easy!
6. In Conclusion
There are a number of highlights as to why a grower who is harvesting every 12-14 weeks, may want to switch to Sea of Green farming using autoflowering cultivars. The obvious reason is the crop rotation that is possible every 9-10 weeks, and the other is the reduction in electricity use, nutrient use, and plant training.
On the other hand, many growers love nothing more than getting hands-on with their plants and enjoying a good 5-10 week growing phase. Some may argue the amount their plants' harvest is worth the extra wait, yet the reality is a room full of buds from wall to wall will always harvest the same amount if using lots of small plants or a few large sized. We hope you enjoyed this article and have discovered a new, fast, productive, and stress-free way to grow. Good luck with your fields of high-grade flower!
