An introduction to Screen of Green (ScrOG)

Lesson by: The Canna Dogg

Topic: Screen of Green (ScrOG)

Summary: This lesson will teach you the fundamentals of scrogging your plant.

Note: Some consider topping to be essential for scrogging. However, you don’t have to top your plants to benefit from scrogging. In this guide, we won’t be covering topping.

Introduction

Scrogging your plant refers to the practice of modifying your plant’s natural growth in a way that it produces a literal “Screen of Green”[1],[2]. It’s widely attributed to Wolf Segal, a Cannabis growing legend, who invented it when he was doing time after getting busted with no less than 12,000 illegal plants back in 1989.

The method itself is based on the “Sea of Green” method, but is done with a single plant instead of a “sea” of plants. So, you don’t need 12,000 plants to start scrogging, you actually only need one!

The nifty thing about scrogging, is that it makes it easier for you to get all the above-ground environmental factors (light, temperature, humidity, wind, and CO2) right across the screen, as all your buds will be horizontally aligned.

This is done by deploying a net or grid of some sorts horizontally across your canopy, and effectively training your plant to break apical dominance by weaving/tucking your plant into your net. There has actually even been scientific research conducted on scrogging, and the preliminary research suggests that scrogging can indeed significantly increase yield, even for the inexperienced grower[3].

As mentioned above, you can top your plants for an even bigger screen, but we’ll be looking at a non-topping approach. So, let’s have a look at how it’s actually done:

Materials Needed:

  • A seedling
  • A screen
  • (Optional) Rubber-coated plant wire/zip-ties

Instructions:

  1. Install your screen. Most grow tents or boxes come with fittings for a screen.
  2. Your screen height will be your canopy height. Adjust as needed for optimal light exposure and general growing conditions.
  3. Let your plant grow vertically, until it hits your screen.
  4. Start weaving/tucking your plant into the screen.
  5. Basically, you’re weaving all your branches over/under/over/under your screen, in order to create a single horizontal line of buds.
  6. Remember that your plant can grow up to around 50% in size during bloom. So keep this in mind when planning your ScrOG!
  7. Prune all leaves underneath the canopy. They will not be receiving any light, as your ScrOG will block out the light.

Additional Information:

  • You can use zip ties or rubber coated plant ties to secure your branches to the screen for additional support.
  • Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. The tucking of the branches need to be done very gently!

Living FAQ:

  • You don’t have to buy a screen, you can actually make one yourself. Just be careful of your choice of material. I recommend using string for its ease of use. Don’t use anything like fish line that can cut into your plants - it won’t work.

If you’re not quite sure how to prune your plant, @sierragrovebags has written a great guide on that over here, and you can find some very affordable netting over here at Growers House.

For more from The Canna Dogg, you can checkout my site here.


References:

[1] G. Green, ScrOG, in: S.T. Oner (Ed.), The Cannabis Grow Bible, Green Candy Press, San Francisco, 2003, pp. 116–121.

[2] L. Edwards, Growing techniques, in: C. Perry (Ed.), Grow Great Marijuana, Sweetleaf Publishing, Los Angeles, 2006, pp. 38–40,

[3] Knight, G., Hansen, S., Connor, M., Poulsen, H., McGovern, C., & Stacey, J. (2010). The results of an experimental indoor hydroponic Cannabis growing study, using the ‘Screen of Green’(ScrOG) method—Yield, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and DNA analysis. Forensic Science International, 202(1-3), 36-44.

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Thank you, @cannadogg. Great info.

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My pleasure @jktavernier! :slight_smile: Really happy you like it!

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This is great information.

Any tips for managing the run off water of plants? I have fabric pots with collectors below them but I won’t be able to reach there and lift the plant and take the plate out to get rid of the water.

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Hey there @the.mae.way! Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the kind words :slight_smile: Good question! So, for the next grow, you can do all sorts of cool things. I really like building small platforms myself for them to stand on, which then collects the runoff in a separate container for me. I know you can buy all kinds of cool solutions for it nowadays, but for the homegrower, you can also just build it yourself! It’s a nice little DIY project :slight_smile:

I’m currently experimenting with super controlled automated micro stealth grows (in a 30x30x60cm box), so I don’t have have a grow going right now to photograph for you, I’ll see if I can dig a photograph of one my older setups up for you later!

You could also (if you’re really fancy) use a little pump, to pump the runoff away from your saucers. But if you’re at that stage, you’re probably also be wanting to automatically measure EC of the runoff, so we’re probably moving a bit out of your standard home grow hehe. I’ve been experimenting with it for fully automated DIY home-setups, but would not recommend for beginners.

Before getting to all that, though, for the water you have right now, use a big syringe. You can get some comedically large ones, if you just shop around a bit. :slight_smile:

Some people actually also just let it sit. This is not recommended, though, as the EC (fancy way of measuring the mineral contents of the water, by measuring its electrical conductivity; don’t stress about it right now :wink: ) is actually different in the runoff than what we normally want to be feeding with. But if you just let it sit and your medium isn’t saturated; it will suck up the water, and begin the process of messing up your root-zone environment. Which you DON’T want to happen hehe! :slight_smile:

I hope that answered it, the answer got a bit long hehe, sorry! :slight_smile:

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Nice lesson @cannadogg

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Really informative. Thanks for info!!

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thanks @cannadogg that is a great break down. Now that my tent is free and in a couple of weeks I will have extra lights … maybe I should do a dwc with a ScrOG​:thinking::thinking:

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absolutely… lol…

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Great article @cannadogg, I have never really tried SOG in any of my grows, but have always wanted to try it.

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Wicked plant diagnoses tool. Been messing around with it and going to use it.

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Thanks so much @chrisj, I really appreciate it! :slight_smile: I’m going to reach out to you directly next week; I just looked through your profile, and I think you’re the person I’ve been looking for hehe!

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@cannadogg that’s incredibly helpful. A lot of great tips, I’m all for making DIY projects, prior to getting my tent that what it was, a DIY project.

Would you consider there’s any one determining point in time when you can apply the SCROG? Is there a time it becomes too late to do it? (Assuming this is only for Veg to start off)

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@cannadogg… that tool is now saved on to my home screen so awesome …

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@the.mae.way Thanks a lot! :slight_smile: Happy to have been of help! Hmmm, yes and no hehe. Technically, as long as you’re still in veg, you’ll be fine. And even a little bit into flower you can actually still train your plant, but it’s just going to be a lot easier to manage if you plan for it from the start, though! So for the first time, I’d say decide on your ScrOG height from the start, and start training the plant as soon as it reaches your net! :slight_smile:

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@docee Extremely happy to hear it!! :slight_smile: :green_heart:

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I hope you not a cop. :rofl: Chat soon.

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Hi @the.mae.way
I use a big ass syringe 60ml with a added piece of air tubing that works to get water in and out of tight spots, bottles and what every it can help for.

Happy Growing :vulcan_salute:

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Amazing, that’s exactly what I meant, thanks so much for sharing @docdre! :slight_smile:

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Pleasure @cannadogg
Always happy to help.

Happy Growing :vulcan_salute:

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