If you’ve heard of the term SCROG, you probably want to try it, but what if you don’t know what to do?
I am here to help. This article will explain when and how to SCROG so that you can take advantage of this powerful growing technique.
I’ll also share a photo guide for those that prefer pictures over words, and a shopping list so that you have everything that you need. If you have any questions about scrogging, I intend to answer them below.
Keep reading or skip ahead to your favorite part:
What is scrogging?
If you know any marijuana growers, you have probably heard the term “SCROG” before. Much like many growing techniques, scrogging marijuana strives to make the process a little bit easier and a lot more beneficial.
The term “SCROG” is an abbreviation for “Screen of Green.”
Screen of Green is a method that optimizes your lights by bringing lower buds up to the top of the canopy.
This is useful because:
Better light distribution helps produce higher yields!
The scrogging method has been around for a while. People have been using it since before high-intensity discharge—HID—lamps. It can improve the yield of your grow, even with basic fluorescent lights.
Watch our scrog video
Marijuana growers are always looking for the next best way to get their plants to grow the most efficiently.
High yields, potent buds, and bushy plants make the world go ‘round for growers. Scrogging helps your plants grow bushier and use up their space more efficiently.
To be specific:
Scrogging is a type of training for marijuana plants that involves securing a screen above the canopy of your plants and then tying the growth from the plants onto the screen as time goes on.
It’s typically not done alone, however.
Proper scrogging works best if you also use other methods, such as topping. Topping basically involves cutting off the tops of your marijuana plants, so they grow outwards rather than upwards.
This helps them grow more branches and become bushier, while scrogging helps every part of those branches and leaves to get exposed to sunlight, making for an extremely efficient use of space.
When to SCROG?
Wondering if you should bother with this technique?
If you intend to only grow a few plants, yes.
Scrogging is perfect for people who live in a state where growing marijuana is legal, but only in small amounts. For example, several states in the US let you grow five plants or less.
Scrogging is perfect if you are trying to maximize the yield of your cannabis seeds. Browse our high yield seed selection today.
If you are trying to get as much weed out of your garden as possible, five plants aren’t that many. Scrogging lets you get the most “bang for your buck” when you must grow in limited numbers.
Maximize your grow by choosing high-yielding marijuana seeds here.
SCROG journal
Small-scale gardeners aren’t the only ones who benefit.
Scrogging is especially useful for those who want to grow large Sativas in a smaller space.
It lets them manipulate the growth until every bit of light is hitting the plants somewhere, rather than being wasted by hitting the floor instead.
When a branch grows 4 inches through the filter, tie it to the screen horizontally. Continue attaching the branches until you get a nice ‘blanket’ of tops.
Shopping list for a successful SCROG
It’s important to know what your entire grow room needs before you even think about scrogging. For the grow room part, the following items are an example of what you could use:
- 1 x 3×3 foot tent
- 1 x 400 watt MH during vegetative stage
- 1 x 400-watt HPS during flowering stage
- 1 x 9,000 feet cubed extractor
- 1 x 10,500 feet cubed filter
- 1 x 3,500 feet cubed inlet
- 4 x 6.5-gallon pot
- 4 x Amnesia cuttings
- Flower Power nutrients
In terms of equipment for the actual act of scrogging, you will simply need a screen, scissors, and some large pots. Let’s look at some of the details behind each of these.
The screen
This is the most obvious (and perhaps the most important) piece of equipment needed for scrogging. The actual screen is not as important as how you use it, however.
Keep in mind that you will just need to be able to tie the branches of your marijuana plants to it several times. It will eventually create a blanket of leaves and buds all at the exact same height.
Scissors
Although any sharp scissors will do, you shouldn’t just pick up scissors from your office and start using that. Instead, make sure it is very sharp, then clean and sterilize it before using it on your plants.
Much like you would be careful around a wound on a person to prevent infection, the same precautions are necessary on the “wounds” you will make on your marijuana plants.
Large pots
Assuming you won’t have a large number of plants to grow (since scrogging is usually used by people who can only grow a limited number of marijuana plants), large pots are the way to go.
Larger pots will allow the yield to be maximized as much as possible when you are using the scrogging technique.
Installing your screen of green
Just as important as what you buy is how you decide to use it. Some of these steps may seem painfully obvious, but you would be surprised.
Trust us: it’s better to be clear. Check out these detailed and extensive photo series on our Marijuana Grow Course at the ILGM Blog.
First of all, fill the large pots with soil after placing them inside the tent.
Then put the plants into the soil and make sure they are adequately covered — usually, cuttings that have developed a root system or plants that are roughly a month old are the best way to go.
After that, water your plants with water that is at a 6.0 pH level and doesn’t have any added nutrients. Don’t overwater them — 8.5 ounces near the stem of your plant is perfect.
It is easy to overwater a small plant in a big pot, so be sure to be extra cautious of that. All the soil in the pot should not be wet.
Next, cut a screen to fit the area of your grow room (or tent) and hang it, so it’s about 15 inches above your marijuana plants.
Only do this if you have between 20 and 25 more inches of space above that, since that is where the lamp will need to hang when your plants are as tall as the screen.
Use cable ties to attach the screen to allow for some movement.
Once the branches of your plants grow through the screen by four inches, begin tying it and retying it as it continues to grow. It should create a blanket of sorts at one single height.
How to Scrog: the 5-step edition
- Place a screen at 20 to 25 inches from the pots.
- Cut off the top cola of each plant.
- Prune bottom branches when top hits the screen.
- Force into flowering 2 days after pruning bottom.
- Attach all branches horizontally to the screen.
Here is a photo guide on how to SCROG:
See? Scrogging is simple!
Perhaps the most important aspect to consider when setting up this method is having some kind of wire or even a tight rope to act as the SCROG screen.
A sturdy screen that can hold back the top canopy and has 2-inch by 2-inch squares built in will certainly be adequate.
The “screen” must be set correctly.
You are effectively “training” the marijuana plants to grow in your desired direction without doing anything harsh that could adversely affect growth.
The distance between pots and the screen should be 20 to 25 inches.
Why does the screen height matter?
When you have limited vertical space or limited light emission the screen keeps the plants lower. It also allows the light to concentrate more evenly on each of the plants.
Make sure to download my free Grow Bible for more advanced growing techniques.
That’s not all…
The plants are now forced to grow horizontally, which will produce more “useful” cannabis plants in the long run.
How to get the most out of scrogging
The scrogging method isn’t just about setting up a screen and watching your marijuana grow.
Although very little work is involved in general, you will still need to take great care if you want to SCROG correctly.
People who successfully SCROG also:
- Top their plants
- Attach them to the screen
How to top your marijuana plants
Start by cutting the top colas off each plant when the plant is around 10 inches tall.
This encourages the weed plant to create new branches that you can manipulate in any way you please. The ideal way to manipulate the new branches is to wait until they have reached the screen.
At this point, the tops of the branches will be slightly poking through one of the holes in the screen.
You’ll want to continue to take each branch from each plant and move them over to the next hole so that horizontal growth can continue relatively unimpeded.
You could also bend and attach all the branches to the screen with some wire horizontally.
When to start SCROG training
Here’s the thing:
When your growing space is small, you could run out of vertical space if you let your plants continue to grow vertically.
However, if the marijuana plants are “trained” to grow horizontally, you will ultimately get more yield and a better canopy later on.
You can maximize your grow if you time it right.
Just before the top of the plant hits the screen, cut off all the small branches and side shoots at the bottom.
This gives a boost to the top colas because there will be no energy wasted on the growth of useless and small side shoots and fluffy buds.
The process of taking the branches out of one hole in the screen and placing them in a hole farther away from the plant base is often referred to as “tucking.”
This should be carried out with the utmost care as any breakages can cause your marijuana plants to reduce growth.
Some marijuana growers like to make their screens adjustable so that they can raise the “ceiling” if the growth becomes too abundant.
This is really beneficial if you want to keep your cannabis plants in vegetative state for as long as you can.
Another way to ensure that the plants produce higher yields is by maintaining a relatively even canopy all the way across.
This will involve cutting off the top portion of a cannabis plant to shorten it and also make room for deviations in the branches.
The more branches you have, the more you can continue tucking.
Since the growth is diversified and the light is hitting every viable part of the plants, the yield will increase when harvest time comes around.
When to stop SCROG training
Because scrogging is an indoor growing technique, the shift between vegetative state and flowering state will be up to the individual grower with some variance based on how you are growing.
For instance, if you’re using a hydroponic system, you might be able to take the plants from vegetative growth into flowering within a matter of only 3 to 4 weeks.
If the plants are in soil, it should take around 6 to 8 weeks.
Force starting the flowering stage is something almost based on intuition. You can see when the plants have sort of maxed out their vegetative state.
You will obviously want to visualize how much the plants will continue to grow once they enter flowering. When you decide to go for it, put the plants on a 12/12 light regimen.
Then, growth will start to increase as the plants begin to flower extensively. Carefully train all branches and shoots through their individual slots in the screen.
I always force my marijuana plants into flower just before they start to grow through the screen.
How much can you yield when you SCROG?
So how exactly does scrogging work, and how does it actually help?
I can’t say this enough:
The more light, the better. The most obvious benefit of scrogging is the fact that it doesn’t waste any light at all. Energy costs money, and wasted light is a waste of yours.
Because of the impenetrable blanket of leaves that you’ve created, all of the light will be absorbed.
But that’s not all:
The fact that the weed plants are all the same height is a huge benefit.
It allows every cannabis plant to get as much light as possible because none of the plants are shading the others, and none of the branches or leaves are being shaded.
Want even more benefits?
Try bringing to the lowest possible level (since there isn’t one taller plant that would get burned), therefore maximizing the light intensity.
Of course, be sure the temperature doesn’t get higher than 77 degrees Fahrenheit! Our temperature control guide can advise you in case you run into any issues.
You can see the benefit of scrogging during the actual flowering phase as well. Any branches that didn’t make it through the screen should be pruned, meaning your plant won’t develop any buds that aren’t receiving much light.
This matters because:
All of the buds will be top quality, with no fluffy or soft buds that never ripen left to waste your plant’s resources.
Ultimately, scrogging can increase your marijuana plants’ yield by up to 20%.
It takes a bit of fine tuning before you’ll be consistently getting these yields, but of course, the effort is certainly worth it in the end!
Some useful tips
Only use clones or feminized seeds when scrogging
Only use feminized seeds and clones, since, with scrogging, it is crucial that all of your plants are female.
If half of your pot plants were male, they would need to be removed, leaving a huge gap in the screen of green. You can see why that’s not an effective strategy.
Therefore, it is essential to ensure that you only have female plants by either using clones or by purchasing feminized seeds.
Remember, you won’t know if your cannabis plants are male or female until they are into their flowering phase, so be sure to be proactive about it!
Switch to flowering stage when the screen is filled
As a good rule of thumb, your marijuana plants should remain in their vegetative phase until the mesh or screen is completely filled up.
There should be no major gaps. Your plants become the busiest during the vegetative phase.
Even though the flowering phase is the most rewarding, the vegetative phase is also extremely important.
During the vegetative phase, make sure to bend any parts that are poking their way upwards back down. You want them to remain on the same plane as the other parts of the plants.
This will allow all the plants to grow upwards in even rows, maximizing the energy from the grow lights.
Scrogging is a simple growing technique that can make a significant impact on your yield. Once you learn how to do it correctly, you can enjoy even more from a single plant.
It all comes down to the screen, however, so make sure you choose the right gear. This is definitely one of those times when patience and attention to detail pay off.
Want to try the scrogging technique in your grow journey? Take the first step by buying only the best marijuana seeds from my shop.
Thanks for reading. Check out my most frequently asked questions below and don’t forget to download my free grow bible.
Happy growing!
Robert
Other pruning methods
Besides scrogging, there are more techniques to prune your plants for more yield. Find a short explanation in my pruning article, or head directly to the technique below:
FAQs about scrogging
Does scrogging guarantee a better yield?
Any type of training can increase yield, but if the plant doesn’t have an ideal environment, it will not thrive. Learn how to create the best environment in this article.
Does it matter how many marijuana plants you SCROG?
Any type of training can increase yield, but if the plant doesn’t have an ideal environment, it will not thrive. Learn how to create the best environment in this article.
How high should I set my screen?
Where you set, your screen is up to you; choose based on your needs. You could make it one foot or two – just remember that the higher you go, the more pruning you’ll need to do beneath the screen.
How close can you put the lights?
For the best results, you want your lights to be as close to your plants as is safe. If the lights are too close, you could burn your plants. However, that number varies depending on the lights.
What about scrogging in a hydro setup?
It is difficult to make changes to your solution once your plants have created a sea of green. You need to plan for this. Therefore, if you are growing hydroponically, use the Ebb and Flow method. Learn more about hydro growing this article.
What happens if you don’t top the plants?
The SCROG technique teaches plants to grow horizontally, but it doesn’t keep them from growing vertically. If you don’t top your plants, the top shoot can grow right through it. Learn more on topping in this article.
Noticed that nobody has posted anything for a couple of years Just wanted to let you know that I read your Bible and learned from it. ILGM fan
Hi Jerald,
Thanks for letting us know. We appreciate you blowing new life into this comment section!
Alex ILGM
My grow room is beautiful, Scroggins is zachlee what I needed to do as a next step in growing. I do see a difference in how G.L. & W.W. grow.Had to give a W.W. away. G.L. grew alot faster. Didn’t matter,we love the taste and the quality of the motivation of G.L. Thanks hope to someday meet
Hi Jerald,
Thanks for your comment. That’s awesome to hear 🙂
We’re happy to hear the Scrogging method worked well for you and you had some good results, particularly with Gold Leaf.
Happy growing,
Alex ILGM
Where does he get his screen? I can’t find one with squares that small.
Don’t no if I am reading this right at one point you say you go to flower before the tops hit the screen and in another text you say to allow to veg through the screen is the first one a personal choice ??
Can I use the scrog method in my outside greenhouse?
Wasted my life!
The Empecable Video on Srogg Screen of Green & Topping & preppy made easy ….. Who?. .ILGM!!! of course!
LST or A frog?
I am a neophyte, could you further explain what you mean by…
1 x 9,000 feet cubed extractor
1 x 10,500 feet cubed filter
1 x 3,500 feet cubed inlet
Fantastic article! By far the simplest for a novice like me to inhale!
Starting out with a 4x4x7 tent, 400W MH into 600W HPS, soil and three very healthy little 6″ tall Lemon Haze clones. It looks like topping, training and tucked in a mesh is the safest way forward being my first grow.
Is there a trick to the weave so as not to damage the bud sites? Having never attempted it – the better knowledge I can gather – the better the results are sure to be.
To all at ILGM – you guys f&%$ng rock!
How about FLUSHING the plant/pot? I would normally bring the plant to the shower cabin to flush it but it appears to me its not feasible to detach everything from the screen to transport the plant. And not least, to reestablish the SCROG afterwards must be very tedious and risky for the plant.
But very interesting, thanks for the article!
Great work on this. Get in touch.
Woodsmantoker~ Rollitup.org
can you Scrog Auto Flowering plants?
Learning as much as i can about growingmarijuana
Wanting to learn about scroging
Im new to this and would like to know if its possible,during flowering, can you cut only what you need and let it continue to grow or do you have to pull the whole plant and start over?
You’re contradicting yourself!
In 1 place you say “I always force my marijuana plants into flower just before they start to grow through the screen”.
In another place you say “Your marijuana plants should remain in their vegetative phase until the mesh or screen is completely filled up”.
So which is it, dude? Flower “JUST BEFORE THEY START TO GROW THROUGH THE SCREEN”, or not “UNTIL THE MESH OR SCREEN IS COMPLETELY FILLED UP”??? It CAN’T be both!!
Hello
I guess this tutorial is perfect for sativa strains, in terms of timing and sizes. I have Read somewhere else that you don’t use scrog on indica strains. If i plan to do it anyway, what would be the adjustments to do? Shouldn’t i install the net lower and start flowering sooner?
(Sorry for the caps at each word, there must be a bug with either my device or the html form :/)
I was wondering if scrogging is beneficial when growing autoflowers
How do you Harvest with the screen?
Hi Robert,
I’m trying to find information on growing a Vertical SCROG outdoors. This year will be My second time growing. Last year was with clones and did pretty well considering it was my first time. This year i started from seeds.
The reason i may want to Try a vertical scrog is due to the position of my garden, sun exposure, slight shade areas at specific times of the day In the summer due to my neighbour’s monster maple trees and last but not least, the chain link fence along the back of my garden (where i want to plant 4 to 5 plants) with a 10’high and 12’ deep cedar bush on the Opposite side that runs about 100 feet along our property
great info on scrog always wanted to try this method but wasn’t quite sure of how to go about it.now i do and will go down that path on next grow.love your detail.just a bit of info on lowering power bill try adding a 5kw+ solar panel system to your home as i have done. have dropped power bill fromm $900 to$400 per quarter to run entire household. will pay for itself in 2-3 years and has increased value of property if i choose to sell in the future.also cost less to grow hydro……..tight buds.
You say that you start your flowering just before they start to pop through the screen is this because the flowering growth will be enough to continue the trellising process for the remainder off the completed grow cycle
I would like to know how much the humidity really affects the growth of my plants. They are bubble gum
Steven,
Of course you can use SCROG method with auto flower seeds. If it grows up, you can train it or tie it down. 🙂
Happy growing
Hi Robert.
Im 58 years old and i used to grow weed outside. Back then we just topped the plants over and over to make them bushy. Sometimes one of the topped places would double gene, meaning instead of getting two sprouts youd get 4. We thought that was pretty cool. I like the idea of scagging. My question is, will this work with auto female seeds? Please get ack with me on this question.
Thanks for help. Spot on. They are deffinately not growing like a seedling. Is a sweet amnesia by G-13 labs. Never seen such prolific branching. Still another 3-4 weeks before 12/12. Have high hopes. Pun intended.
Just a note on scrogging. First attempt. Took cuts from 8 month old monster mom at 2 weeks in flower. Will they still give me a main cola or be predispositioned to multiples ?
Old guy,
You will still get a main kola or 2, depending on whether or not you top the clone. It will not grow like a seedling. Happy growing 🙂
Would you recommend scrogging and/or topping of plants grown outdoors (California) and if so,when?
Chynel,
SCROG is a technique developed for growers with limited grow space in order to take full advantage of light and space indoors.
Outdoors you have full Sun all day around the plant and SCROG is not necessary.
Scroging is threading it through the mesh
Best site for newbies like me.May all good come to Rob and dedicated team.
How many sativas can i gros in 4×4 x84tall tent with 1200watt iaparspecrta ledsativas
ties can be found in in homeowner warehouse in electrical dept
get a bag of zip ties, $1 at dollar store ..3 different sizes easy to use, easy to cut
I’ve got a 4×4 tent. With pots in soil and a SCRoG, how would I ever reach the plants in the back of the tent to water or prune them? What size SCRoG and number of plants would work best? And do you have a link to those nifty looking clips to tie down branches with?
going to try my first scrog with some ak-47 autoflower
I am just fixing to start what is the best seeds to get…
George,
Try some of our OGKush. Easy to grow. Good strong tight budded yield; If…. You allow us to guide you to a successful grow.
Hint: Make a grow plan before starting seeds. Join the forum.
Hi I have one question first rob said he flips the lights to 12/12 when the plant top hits the screen of scrog. Then if u read down more he says to flip the light when the screen is filled. Which is it? theres a big difference
onathan DaCostaSilva,
Logic would dictate that you would take advantage of the longer photo period in order to fill the screen prior to inducing the flower photo period. Once the screen is filed you flower, allowing the plant to stretch, and then continue to train limbs as needed.
Happy growing.
p.s. We will look into the “typo”, if any. Thanks. 🙂
The “Typo, if any” is still there 2 1/2 years later.
I scrogged my onemonthold plants already flowering is it ok
Be happy my friend. answered you above – I❤️GM
My plants are already flowering one month old is it ok to start srogging and tie down my branches in my growtent with 600 lite hps
This should have been done earlier on. You can still scrog them if you are careful, and do not break any branches. Hopefully you have not over fertilized, and the plants are still pliable enough to bend easily 🙂
Another issue would be; If you have not cleaned up and pruned the bottom part of the plant.
I advise you to join our forum and we can help you figure this out, if you upload a couple pictures of the plant and it’s growth.
Happy growing, lw 🙂 – I❤️GM
Finally going to give this a Try. I’ve read just about every manual you have put up.
Can I SCROG Auto-flowering plants?
Thanks
has anyone had much experience doing scrogs in greenhouse? I have 2 RDWC 6 bucket 6 gal systems with scrog screen set at 11″ about buckets tops. My screens measure 73″X43″ and are steel screens with holes that are 2″X4″. Last season i got a my plants in the greenhouse late like the second/3rd week of May i think.. I was moving my greenhouse and pouring a concrete slab for it to sit on. The greenhouse is 20’x20′ with 8′ ceiling joist and a pitched roof with another 90″‘ of sloped air space about the ceiling joists.It was my first attempt at scogging in the greenhouse. I did not top or train plants but did spread out and tie branches as they got to the screen. It was very quick as most plants where already at or about the screen level do to an early start with the plants indoors. I got the first level tied down filling out most of the screen. Then the shoots took off. I had to add 2 more levels of screen @ 2′ above first and then the top one at 2’ above the second screen. My plants all grew threw the 3 level of screen another 2 to 3 feet or more. It was not a great success as the plants grew from early march to early Nov. I was not real happy with the results as the first 2 levels of screen where blocked of light and produced just about nothing for buds.This year i have topped the plants and i want all my plant and bud development to be on the first 2 levels of screen. Maybe my plant choice is not right also but all the plants last years just got away from me and grew out of control. This is one of the reasons i went to scrog last year to control plant height and increase yield.
Hi Lisa, the idea is the same as in both cases you get the plant to go wide and give the individual colas space to flourish.
Good info. Is this the same idea as manifolfding? The word scrog meant something totally different when I was younger! I only grow outdoors but think I can improvise.
thanks for the reply, obviously i’m a beginner. If i use a fan with that help?
Can SCROG be done for outside plants? I have a green house I’m using for outside growing it can hold 8 plants in 5 gallon buckets. Is using a green house ok for growing or will it get too hot for the plants inside?
Larry,
You can grow plants indoors or outdoors or in a greenhouse.
SCROG will work outdoors as well. I would be careful not to overcrowd the greenhouse too much because air flow is extremely important to proactively keep bugs off the plant and to allow good air circulation throughout the grow space.
I copied your “Marijuana Grow Bible”, yesterday and I ran out of ink in my printer. Is there anyway you can send me the first 15 pages of the Bible, by email, I have the rest. Thank you.
Hi Shirley, best ask our support dept. for a new link to the Grow Bible. [email protected]
how about sexing seeds it is said that with a magnifing glass felmale seed have a deeper volcano hole in the end what up i cant really tell
Get yourself some auto seeds or feminized, then you don’t have to worry about the volcano, its like presto there she is again and again!
Sounds like another myth to me. Sorry. Perhaps you would like to join our support forum. I am sure members would love to discuss this topic with you 🙂
I use Coco Coir and an autopot system in a 1.2m x 1.2m tent with a 600w HPS Cana coco A + B rhizotonic and CMX budding – shooting powder – first effort 1.25Lb. had issues with raising seeds due to light if light is your issue you should notice the plants have “STRETCHED” if not air flow and temp.
Download ILGM bible and the ILGM Plant care manuals they are free. Happy growing
+ +
U
Corry,
8 plants would grow nicely. You must always consider air circulation and ability to get to pots in order to water…etc. Join our support for access to many other expert growers who love to share their opinions. 🙂
Happy growing, lw
How many plants can I put under too powerful LED lights in a 4 x 8 grow tent if I am going to be Scroggin. Indica dominant strans
Scrog by the way
I have a 600 watt ledboss full spectrum light in my homemade cabinet, brilliant results with 8-ball Kush
That is great to hear Danboy. Thanks for sharing 🙂
How many plants can I grow in 1.2×1.2×2.00 600 watt
Ryan. Guessing you mean in meters???
I can barely grow 2. It all depends on what grow methods you choose to use, and how much plant training you want to do.
Join our support forum. We have many friendly and knowledgeable growers there. Always a sharing.
Shepses,
It really depends on your personal grow method. Some growers keep their screen about a foot above the top of the pots, and other, grow the plant up to the screen 2 feet above the pots. Either way will work but, using the higher screen requires more pruning of the under canopy.
Happy growing 😀
That’s bad ass!
My question is; For measurement purposes, do I measure from the floor or from the top of the Pot to get my 20-25″ scrog?
Mine is only “10 above my plant due to the fact I’m doing a stealth grow, smaller space requires shorter screen height, make it so you can move it a little bit. Higher space go higher. Also ilgm compact seeds are great for compact stealth grow and require minimal care. Peace !
I used the divider from a dog crate the wire is perfect and its coated, so there is no rust or corrosion problems, just cut to fit your application. Works perfect! You guys defiantly give some good tips. Ililgm. Peace out!
Excellent idea thanks I have on in the attic. I bought a stretchy net like thing but haven’t used it yet
Hi Truth, best hop onto our grow support forum where our experts and fellow growers can help you in detail 😀
I’d like to grow in an outdoor greenhouse and scrog. Is that possible? If so, how? Need ideas for setup. Soil, light, ventilation, etcetera.
Hi is there a guide on scrog v supercrop v topping ie which would be best for a new grower with a 400w hid in a 1x1x2m grow tent with 3/4 plants 2 critical mass , white widdow n special queen 1
I’m growing outside in the valley -Oregon put my plants outside in May I have MrMajestic, lamb sour diesel, gorrilla glue#4 and a assortment of bagseed I have been using all the tricks Robert has started and I’m getting results, thanks dude
Hi there thanks for the info. I have been growing indoors for a few crops now but was wondering how to get a little bigger buds.Im wondering if tomato cages with screen on them would work?. i have 2 rooms set up so i need to be able to easily move from veg room to flower room.
Diana,
I would not recommend Tomato cages. You would be better off with some welded wire, or horse fencing. 🙂
Diana,
You are better off with welded wire, or horse fencing, also welded wire.
I answered this already in another article. Please just post questions once.
great info u give out bob. iv had some great results scroggin .nice 1 bob ilgm.
James. Most people start there plant and leg it fill out to 6-12″ and then build screen to correspond to the height of the plant, at that stage. Experienced growers can get away with setting up a screen before hand from past experience. Finally; This article stated to build your screen at 25″. This can vary up or down depending on strains and vessel size. (height)
Join our support forum. We have many helpful members that use this grow method. Happy Growing! 🙂
This is my first time growing indoors and am a bit confused. Do you try to keep the shoot under the screen until
you come to a hole that is vacant and then bring it through? Perhaps this will become obvious once I get to that
point but for now I’m foggy. Thanks for any help you guys can give.
I am now on my second Scrog screen in my Cabinet with a foot print of 2′ x 3″ and to help the buds along the 3″ edge I have used 45 degree elbows to create a Vscrog. the buds at the edges are a little closer because of light fall off on the edges.
just my thoughts.
Thanks for sharing!
no shit? awesome
I am using LED lights, very good results, very little heat, they won’t burn the plant even touching the leaves.. didn’t even notice it on my hydro bill.
Hey gang, glad to have found these growing guides, they are great! My hat is off to you Robert and family! I have so many books on growing marijuana, ( Ed Rosenthal, Jorge Cervantes, to name a few ) and reading your guides has revealed more info to me than all of them. I love how simplistic your explanations are on different aspects of growing and flowering. I have learned a lot and am grateful to you. I have ordered several times from you guy’s and have a lot of the freebe seeds yet to be used. Thanks again, Mike
Best method for a SCROG is Ebb and Flow. This allows you to have a reservoir that can be accessed easily for solution changes. Thanks everyone for the great feedback, and I invite you all to join our support forum. 🙂
That hydro. It’s perfect. Flawless. It’s like dr Dre on CD. But good soil grown organic, indoor/outdoor is like Bob Dylan on vinyl 😉 tbh of love to try it. Hydro jus seems too much for me..
hi robert,
Very interesting information , helped me a lot. One of my big doubts about scrog is what can i do after watering for dont mess up my grow tent, if i cant move the plants its hard to throw away the water and this will elevate the humidity and if i left there will drown my plants roots.
keep growing
jhon
I use shop vac to remove water.
If your using a simple water container for your hydro, If you need to change out water or should I say when ,just use a piece of hose, to use as a siphon, about one inch diameter, it will get rid of your old solution in a jiffy. No muss no fuss!
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werden die pflanzen 2 mal getoppt??
You learn every day, I grow indoor, and for the first time in almost 18 months have had great crops until my last one. My plants started to curl in the leaves however I was still doing the same things as before,a friend said to me it must be heat,so I lifted the lights and still no change,then it clicked,the lights were good however the U V had gone out of them and all they were doing was heating instead of lighting .So friends don,t run your lights for any more the 5 crops before you change your lights.Hope this fixes some problems.
What lights were you using? I thought only LED had uv, and they last 50,000 hours?
Good info!
Great information, I’ve tried different variations of this SCROG method without knowing I was doing it. Thanks your Lordship for the information. My next attempt will be with greater knowledge and preparation.
Hi All, Notsure if this is the correct thread for this post.
I have access to two L= 7.2m H=2.4m, W=2.4m spaces. My questions. How many lights?, Fan sizes? Best medium, cocoa, clay balls, soil? Strain? Fertilizer program and method to get the biggest yields.
Cheers.
FROM THE LAST WORD I KNOW YOU ARE IN EUROPE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CARBON SCRUBBER, DUE TO THE WONDERFUL STRONG SCENT AT END OF FLOWER, IF YOU ARE NOT IN HYDRO TRY A BIO BIZ WITH COCO, WATCH VIDEOS OF HOW TO SEAL WINDOWS, FRAME THE INSIDE HANG BLINDS, USE BLACK CHEAP CURTAINS, THEN 1/4 INCH HARDY BOARD, AND CAULK. GET HIS BOOK I .L G.M.J.CHEERS AND LUCK IT TAKES A FEW.THE BOOK WILL SAVE YOU IN MANY WAYS. 🙂
This is the fun part! Learning. Go with a LOW NPK value “organic soil” I like to amend 5 gal. Containers with 2lbs each of Coco coir.. Also some perlite, EWC, guano, and some love 🙂 I’m personally jumping on the LED train.. The high end ones. My platinum advanced LED p300 is perfect for my tent. Also have some supplemental CFLs. (1 huuge 86w 3200k CFL I will introduce at 12/12.. Built my scrog frame today from PVC.. Stay away from anything branded cannabis’s dreaded MIRACLE GROW! LOL. U could get some fox farms, or promix. But a homemade light. Organic concoction works well amended properly.. As for nutes. FF sells a 3 pack for all stages of growth. Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Blood.. Are the three they usually pkg together.. Start slow. 1/4 strength. If that doesn’t burn em. Go 1/2. You get the idea buddy 🙂 I love when people say it’s just a weed it’ll grow anywhere. True. But will it grow beefy and trichome LOADED though?? Do u check ur trichs before harvest? I prefer like 75% opaque, 25% Amber.. Grab a cheap pocket 10-100x microscope from radio shack.. Don’t go by hairs that are red. Go by trichome color.. Warning- if u harvest to soon (w clear trichs) , the high will be super disphoric and racey.. Heart beat fast. Essentially you’ll need a Xanax! Lol. Under ripe smoke not only sucks cuz u know u should waited 2 or 3 more weeks for some chronic.. Now all that said. I find the best advice is by trial.. For instance iv always my past grows work with out any ventilation. Well this time, I have a direct vent from AC duct + 6 inch booster fan. (25$ amazon ) to go in bottom, pulling in cold air, ordering my 460 cfm mountable exhaust fan, to pull hot, humid air out.. Temps r 75-80° atm w jus AC vent blowing into open closet w 2 fans.. Once I get my exhaust, il prolly go right back to tent. Cuz I’m scrogging. Found best way to mount screen in tent. Made a square out of a Daisy chain n threaded it around the 4 poles of my tents diameter, tightened into shape w a carabineer locking it closed.. 4 plastic zip ties on each corner (attached to tent frame and scrog. I feel the Daisy chain not only gives it a lil something to sit on, but I feel it will make adjusting screen height easier.. Hope I answered your questions, get some beans n get in the dirt! Or Coco, or hydro, or grow pebbles. Lol. Practice makes perfect. Iv yet to crack over one oz per plant. Pathetic. Well CFLs n window light do their best huh? It’s a shame. The sun where I live shines hard ask day, everyday.. However it’s the most humid spot in the country! Outdoor is tough in late August. Humidity gets up to 90% when sun goes down. Making last year’s outdoor sativa a pain to bring into a dark dry bathroom for its dark period.. Terrible yield. Excellent quality.. This one’s gonna be it. Will be ordering the next size up PLed p450 for next time for just veg room. Or maybe swap out the 450 to bloom. N 300 to veg.. Lmk hope it turns out Dirkcrawlspace@yahoo. Com. This could be real old n I just wasted all this time writing this. Got some sour Jack ready to be packed into my bowl dammit!! Lol. Enjoy the journey. It’s better then the destination.. Nothing like fire smoke that u know u cultivated.. 🙂
PS! 2 small, cheap things you should definitely! Invest in are a digital thermometer/hygrometer.. Constant eye on changing temps n humidity. Like 7$ at Walmart. N some sort of pH/fertility (amount of NPK present..) Meter. Alot of shade is thrown on those soil pH meters. Ppl say they don’t work. Always reads “7” no matter what. Well my 14$ Walmart meter is close enough to give me a VERY close estimate.. Cannabis in soil should actually be the same pH as milk.. Lol. 6.5-7 highest.. Since nutes get locked out of too alkaline/acidic soil.. Knowing you’re pH is key to making sure they’re eating properly.. Which only serves to better your final swollen kolas! Enjoy. Lmk
Hello i am wanting to grow outside but woried about people passing and smelling it what seeds are the least smelling when in flower ? thanks
If your worried about people seeing it then it’s probably not a good spot to grow it. Even if legal in some states…still have to worry about theft/vandalism. Could easily google for strains with low odor but pretty sure all have some amount of smell especially late in bloom. Most likely people will spot it before they smell it though when outdoors.
Amazing information! I’ve learned a lot and look forward to applying this knowledge. One question I have is about the stage where the plant starts growing through the screen, and your clipping it down with a tie to make it grow horizontal. You say the “the branch keeps growing, repeat the previous steps.” Do you mean- continue to tie down the branch multiple times across different “squares” when it grows up/vertical every couple inches?
Lastly, if you don’t mind, could you please give a brief description of what a good “horizontal field” looks like?
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it! Once again, your information is invaluable!
Did your questions ever get answered about repeating the process of tying the branches down? It is a little unclear to me. Do you have multiple attachment points to the screen on each horizontal branch, or just repeat with all branches that come through the screen?
Yes you want to keep the main branches at the screen level. Whether from tucking over and under the net or from tieing it somehow. Then each branch will develop flowering shoots all along the length of it. These shoots are what you want to allow to grow up to the light and they all turn into big buds. This way you end up with 15-20-30+ quality buds growing toward the light evenly.
I’m growing one plant I’ve been giving nutrients and the stalk looks great but in the last few days it has developed white dots or nodules at the bottom. Of the stalk only. What does this indicates? The plant looks very healthy and is getting a lot of new growth!!
how many plants can i grow with scrog in a 4x4x6 tent? I have 1000 w MH/HPS and good ventilation/smell control but heat topped out at 85f. 8 oz first time, didn’t veg long enough under cfl lights
How many plants could I grow in a 4’x2’×5′ tent, with a 1000w led in 5 gal pots?
Depends on how big u want to grow em.
U could have 3-4 good size or 2 monsters as long as you crop to keep em low or 15-20 smaller ones
How many plants can I grow in a 4x3x5 tent with a1000 led with the scrog method?
I could only put two plants in mine. I have a 4′ x 3′-3 × 6′. I could have moved my air filter, but I don’t have that much room. I use two LumiGrow 325 less. I think they are doing alright? First time indoor grower. I made my soil but I don’t know if I’m using enough nutes? I would like to post a pictures. Can’t figure out how. I’m starting week 4 actually it’s Wednesday the 11th of January 2017.
Hi Joemc, you can’t post pictures on the blog but you can go all out on the forum 😀
4 plants is plenty my room is 6x6x7t and my screen is over running if you do it properly 4 plants will fill your screen up
I’m currently doing amy first scrog in a 4×4×6 and I was hoping to fill it with one ICE plant is this even possible with one plant or am I going to be in Veg for 10-12 week’s and help I would really appreciate I am a member of of your forum and I love it you have some excellent people there more than willing to help but I have just been reading over this and I seen the number’s and I’m thinking I’m done lol, am help please thank you Johnzy81.
John Murphy,
You can do a SCROG with 1 plant or 4 plants or even 6 plants in your space. Either way will do you good. Keep it simple and enjoy your 1st effort. See you in the forum. Perhaps you should start a journal at ILGM forum. Peace 🙂
Laura, it could be anything. However, I’d say based on your description, you may have a lighting issue. Get better lighting. And check your nutes.
Hello, i am learning so much with all this information, but at the same time i am very sad because i realize that my plants are growing very slow 🙁 you said that i might be able to take the plants from vegetative growth into flowering within a matter of only 6 to 8 weeks in soil, but i have like 5 weeks with mines and they are 11 cm and only 5 sets of leaves. I have them indoors, with soil, fluorescent bulbs.
Dont know what i am doing wrong, maybe the seeds were too old?
I have seen videos of scroggs where they use the vegetable trellis netting, this is what I thought I would try. My only issue is the spacing you mention in between pots. I have all of my pots centered under my main light ( a 90 watt led grow lamp) and three 200 watt cfls on the sides of the pots to cover the lighting they might not pick up from the led lamp. Will a scrogg screen help me increase yeild even though my space between pots has to be so limited?
What kind of bulbs are you using and how many watts each? I grow with cfl bulbs also and it’s going great till now. Im into flowering for three weeks using scrog method. No problems or complains at all. I would gladly help you if you need something
i was directed online to a clear plastic scrog screen with adjustable legs designed for one 3 gal pot. cost=$74.00 . chuckle, chuckle
Hey Laura , a variety of factors could be slowing your growth. So u know your soil ph? Nutrients? Light n wattage? Grow room temps n humidity? Jus asking so I can help 🙂
I was gonna say if I had to bet. It’s a lighting n temp/humidity problem. And prolly very little nutrients..
Try heat pads under your pots cold roots are not Happy
Your problem is your lighting. Not enough lumens. You need a high pressure sodium or metal halide. Or full spectrum led.
CFLs work fine if they are powerful enough and you keep them close enough to the plant.
Use several Clfs if your you have to ,get 40-42w 2700k soft white six will be sufficient for one plant at least 150w total. Several smaller 40-42w are better then one 250w bulb the more the better you really can’t get to much, color is not that important. 42w soft white squatters, 42w 6500 day light, taller plants. Soft are great for scrog. With cabinet grow!
How many lights are you using?
How many total lumens?
What light spectrum?
What grow medium?
Slow growth is usually caused by not enough light. But if you rule that out it could be a fresh air or nutrient deficiency.
How close to plant is light?. What watt is light? With fluorescents unless they are touching the plant, they’re pretty useless.
Brandon Schroll,
How close light is to plants depends on what type of lighting system you choose. HID lamps are placed anywhere between 18″ – 36″ depending on size. LEd lamps can be placed a bit closer but, also need to be kept at a safe distance. You could grow a SCROG under 4′ T5 lamps if you had bulbs across entire canopy.
Not sure what else you were asking. Happy growing.
You don’t know what your talking about sorry to say. I use eight bulb 4 foot High Output T5 Floressant light fixture sit has 40,000 lumens. And it works great. If your not using a fixture or bulbs as good as mine you need to keep it real close, up to a couple inches away. My fixture is about 12 to 24 inches away. Depending on if I’m sprouting seeds or growing a mature plant. With my fixture when sprouting seeds and with very young plants the light needs to be farther away so the plants don’t get light burn or so they don’t get bleached by light. And smaller plants can’t take as much heat.
Flouerescent bulb are not strong enough
If u dont kno what ur tlkn bout, u shldnt tlk. T5 ho work great for scrog, especially during veg. If u choose to flower w t5s , expect to only yeild a third of what a good hps wld get u, but its completely do-able . If u do get mostly red spectrum, 2700k bulbs, with maybe 2 blues .
you need to feed your plants more frequently. Food and Water and Light = growth… also I suggest using a mycorrhizae 2x a week after you plant until you go to flower. “Great White Mycorrhizae” is the best.
Your seeds are too old. That’s just not a thing. The problem is that you are using fluorescent lighting which is one of the worst sources of plant lighting. If you were to use a high pressure sodium light, or a Quantum board, you would see growth three or four times faster than you are having now.
That should have said “your seeds are NOT too old.
You need to upgrade your lights
I dont think its the seeds as much as the lighting that is affecting the speed of your growth. While effective in germination and seedling stages, t5 and cfl lighting systems just dont create enough light penetration to be able to veg correctly unless you have A LOT of the lights to work with
Fluorescent bulbs. That’s your problem…..Fluoro’s need to be like no more than 6″ away from plant. You would do better investing in LED lighting