1st Journal: Autoflowers

[TorturedSoul]

That looks more like a simple support mechanism than a SCROG setup. In the other hand, it does appear to be working for you, lol.

 

[CanadianStoner]

That looks more like a simple support mechanism than a SCROG setup. In the other hand, it does appear to be working for you, lol

That looks more like a simple support mechanism than a SCROG setup. In the other hand, it does appear to be working for you, lol.

So what's a scrog then?

 

[Tokin Roll]

This is a scrog in a 4x4 tent.

Stay safe, and grow well my friend,

Tok..

 

[CanadianStoner]

This is a scrog in a 4x4 tent.

Stay safe, and grow well my friend,

Tok..

Thanks!

 

[TorturedSoul]

So what's a scrog then?

I'll provide a link to an introduction of sorts that includes another link to a wealth of information from ~25+ years ago (much of the archived discussions about the subject from the days before forums existed on the world wide web and, therefore, a lot of public online discussions took place in (on?) Usenet news groups. But basically: Start a plant (some people choose to use multiple plants, but that can become a bit of a PITA, especially if they are not clones from the same mother). Choose something to be the screen - I like to use poultry netting (aka "chicken wire") because it's cheap, easy to work with, and I don't currently have any chickens . Attach the screen horizontally(*) above the surface of the medium, at a distance that you expect to give you adequate room to work underneath it (e.g., 12" to 14"). Hang the light so that it is close enough to the screen to properly illuminate the plant while it is at and just under the screen, and leave it there until it becomes necessary to begin raising it during the "stretch" portion of the flowering phase. The screen should not be so large that the gardener cannot easily get their hand(s) under the middle of it even if the path isn't exactly straight; or, if there is no access from the back, easily reach all the way to the back and the far corners. Allow the plant to grow up to the screen. When the tip of the plant has grown up through a hole far enough that it can be pulled back through and directed towards a more distant hole, do so.

Each day, when the gardener returns to the garden, he/she will, again pull the tip down from the hole it has started growing up through, and direct it to a different hole. Quite soon, because it is being forced to grow horizontally instead of vertically, the plant will begin producing branches (and they will grow at a faster rate than they normally would - this is because plants that use light-energy have evolved a light-seeking behavior, and it is governed by auxins that are normally found at the top of the plant, but which the gardener has forced to become redistributed to multiple locations. Each of those branches will, of course, have a tip - and, each day, the gardener pulls each of those tips down from their current holes, and moves them to more distant ones. The branches will produce branches, which will produce branches, which will produce branches, which— well, you get the picture. A plant that is forced to grow horizontally throughout its growth phase, with the assistance of the gardener, will soon turn into a huge green cat's cradle. This can either serve to either improve the gardener's mental state or (figuratively) batter it with hammers, lol - because another term for a cat's cradle is "a big, frustrating knot." It's not uncommon to pull a tip down... and to not have an empty hole conveniently close - so the gardener pulls down a tip so its hole can be used, which means he/she must find a hole for it. One move can end up being somewhat involved, so to speak.

While all of this is occurring, the gardener removes any "undergrowth" that may exist. Both to direct resources up to the screen level, and because, properly done, there won't be enough light getting through the greenery at and immediately underneath the screen to allow the gardener to read a newspaper down there, let alone for the plant to achieve a useful amount of photosynthesis.

At some point, the gardener will decide to change the light schedule to a flowering one. The plant will enter the flowering stretch (first 40% or so of the flowering phase). Any remaining holes can be filled - and then, each of the 32,768 (lol) branch tips are allowed unrestricted vertical growth for the first time. That is when the gardener begins raising the light. (And breathes a sigh of relief at no longer having to perform real-world n-spacial geometry on a daily basis .)

At harvest time, the gardener grabs a saw, cuts through what generally turns out to be a relatively substantial trunk down below the screen, unhooks the screen and - probably with the assistance of a helper - carries the screen and the literal dense carpet of buds to a table, whereupon he/she gets to do the usual harvest task, but likely more so than he/she normally does .

(*)Originally, the technique was used by people who were using banks of old-school 4' (very occasionally, 8') fluorescent tube lights. Which, as everyone knows, don't penetrate worth a **** - so a flat-plane setup was ideal, especially one that was such that a second one could be run directly above it without needing to remove the ceiling. Later, people who used HID lighting began using the SCROG technique, and some of them reasoned that a screen that was set up in more of a shallow bowl shape might better take advantage of their single-point light source. They were correct - but it leads to a more complicated setup, and also raises the level of difficulty (frustration) somewhat. Therefore, most people continued to use a flat horizontal screen. There have been a few variants - vertical screens, sometimes three or four around one or more centrally-located lights, et cetera, but those have always been rare. As for LED lighting... If the lighting setup is such that it's a relatively large area that has an even amount of light all across it, then the flat-plane screen would, again, appear to be optimum. But a lot of LED panels seem to have the same issue that a lot of HID setups do - way too much light directly underneath, and too little elsewhere. That means that some benefit might be achieved by experimenting with a more "three-dimensional" screen. A PAR meter might be even more useful than normal, when experimenting in that regard.

Anyway, that's a quick summary, insofar as I remember it. It has been several years since I've done a proper SCROG grow. I used to like doing one plant per eight square foot screen, growing out of a 23-gallon (DWC) reservoir, one 400-watt - or 430-watt - HPS per. But it has been... whew, many years since I was able to have fun on that kind of scale. Well before I even knew about this forum, and I became a member back in early 2009.

Oh, I almost forgot the link to the treasure trove of SCROG (and a bit more) information. It's all old, but still relevant. I hope the link is allowed to remain; it isn't to a competing cannabis-related forum, or any kind of forum at all, and it won't try to sell you anything, lol. Here you go:

CannaStats - The ScrOG Technique

ScrOG (short for Screen Of Green) is explained by the grower who originally developed and popularized the concept on the Internet.

www.angelfire.com

 

[CanadianStoner]

I'll provide a link to an introduction of sorts that includes another link to a wealth of information from ~25+ years ago (much of the archived discussions about the subject from the days before forums existed on the world wide web and, therefore, a lot of public online discussions took place in (on?) Usenet news groups. But basically: Start a plant (some people choose to use multiple plants, but that can become a bit of a PITA, especially if they are not clones from the same mother). Choose something to be the screen - I like to use poultry netting (aka "chicken wire") because it's cheap, easy to work with, and I don't currently have any chickens . Attach the screen horizontally(*) above the surface of the medium, at a distance that you expect to give you adequate room to work underneath it (e.g., 12" to 14"). Hang the light so that it is close enough to the screen to properly illuminate the plant while it is at and just under the screen, and leave it there until it becomes necessary to begin raising it during the "stretch" portion of the flowering phase. The screen should not be so large that the gardener cannot easily get their hand(s) under the middle of it even if the path isn't exactly straight; or, if there is no access from the back, easily reach all the way to the back and the far corners. Allow the plant to grow up to the screen. When the tip of the plant has grown up through a hole far enough that it can be pulled back through and directed towards a more distant hole, do so.

Each day, when the gardener returns to the garden, he/she will, again pull the tip down from the hole it has started growing up through, and direct it to a different hole. Quite soon, because it is being forced to grow horizontally instead of vertically, the plant will begin producing branches (and they will grow at a faster rate than they normally would - this is because plants that use light-energy have evolved a light-seeking behavior, and it is governed by auxins that are normally found at the top of the plant, but which the gardener has forced to become redistributed to multiple locations. Each of those branches will, of course, have a tip - and, each day, the gardener pulls each of those tips down from their current holes, and moves them to more distant ones. The branches will produce branches, which will produce branches, which will produce branches, which— well, you get the picture. A plant that is forced to grow horizontally throughout its growth phase, with the assistance of the gardener, will soon turn into a huge green cat's cradle. This can either serve to either improve the gardener's mental state or (figuratively) batter it with hammers, lol - because another term for a cat's cradle is "a big, frustrating knot." It's not uncommon to pull a tip down... and to not have an empty hole conveniently close - so the gardener pulls down a tip so its hole can be used, which means he/she must find a hole for it. One move can end up being somewhat involved, so to speak.

While all of this is occurring, the gardener removes any "undergrowth" that may exist. Both to direct resources up to the screen level, and because, properly done, there won't be enough light getting through the greenery at and immediately underneath the screen to allow the gardener to read a newspaper down there, let alone for the plant to achieve a useful amount of photosynthesis.

At some point, the gardener will decide to change the light schedule to a flowering one. The plant will enter the flowering stretch (first 40% or so of the flowering phase). Any remaining holes can be filled - and then, each of the 32,768 (lol) branch tips are allowed unrestricted vertical growth for the first time. That is when the gardener begins raising the light. (And breathes a sigh of relief at no longer having to perform real-world n-spacial geometry on a daily basis .)

At harvest time, the gardener grabs a saw, cuts through what generally turns out to be a relatively substantial trunk down below the screen, unhooks the screen and - probably with the assistance of a helper - carries the screen and the literal dense carpet of buds to a table, whereupon he/she gets to do the usual harvest task, but likely more so than he/she normally does .

(*)Originally, the technique was used by people who were using banks of old-school 4' (very occasionally, 8') fluorescent tube lights. Which, as everyone knows, don't penetrate worth a **** - so a flat-plane setup was ideal, especially one that was such that a second one could be run directly above it without needing to remove the ceiling. Later, people who used HID lighting began using the SCROG technique, and some of them reasoned that a screen that was set up in more of a shallow bowl shape might better take advantage of their single-point light source. They were correct - but it leads to a more complicated setup, and also raises the level of difficulty (frustration) somewhat. Therefore, most people continued to use a flat horizontal screen. There have been a few variants - vertical screens, sometimes three or four around one or more centrally-located lights, et cetera, but those have always been rare. As for LED lighting... If the lighting setup is such that it's a relatively large area that has an even amount of light all across it, then the flat-plane screen would, again, appear to be optimum. But a lot of LED panels seem to have the same issue that a lot of HID setups do - way too much light directly underneath, and too little elsewhere. That means that some benefit might be achieved by experimenting with a more "three-dimensional" screen. A PAR meter might be even more useful than normal, when experimenting in that regard.

Anyway, that's a quick summary, insofar as I remember it. It has been several years since I've done a proper SCROG grow. I used to like doing one plant per eight square foot screen, growing out of a 23-gallon (DWC) reservoir, one 400-watt - or 430-watt - HPS per. But it has been... whew, many years since I was able to have fun on that kind of scale. Well before I even knew about this forum, and I became a member back in early 2009.

Oh, I almost forgot the link to the treasure trove of SCROG (and a bit more) information. It's all old, but still relevant. I hope the link is allowed to remain; it isn't too a competing cannabis-related forum, or any kind of forum at all, and it won't try to sell you anything, lol. Here you go:

CannaStats - The ScrOG Technique

ScrOG (short for Screen Of Green) is explained by the grower who originally developed and popularized the concept on the Internet.

www.angelfire.com

Wow! That's alot of new information definitely appropriate it. Maybe I'll try a real SCROG at a different point, if you look back in my journal you'll see that I thought that they were autos lol so had to switch up a few things and figured throwing a couple nets over top was best for coverage. I'll definitely re read and go check out link. Thanks for taking the time

 

[CanadianStoner]

Wow! That's alot of new information definitely appropriate it. Maybe I'll try a real SCROG at a different point, if you look back in my journal you'll see that I thought that they were autos lol so had to switch up a few things and figured throwing a couple nets over top was best for coverage. I'll definitely re read and go check out link. Thanks for taking the time

*appreciate

 

[TorturedSoul]

*appreciate

*appreciate

Cell phones

. My Samsung's virtual keyboard app is the worst one I've ever used. Half the time, it'll spit out a word that contains letters my fingertip never got near as I slid it around, and that lacks letters that my fingertip did touch (and then change direction when moving away from). Then I'll get frustrated and start tap- tap-tapping. It also capitalizes random words in the middle of sentences, seems to have a rather odd set of punctuation rules that don't exist anywhere else in the known universe, and - most frustrating of all - routinely changes the correct word that I've just painstakingly tapped in, letter by letter, into something else.

I used to reliably type at a rate of 75+ words per minute without errors on my laptop. Now it's pooched, and I probably average about twelve. It's frustrating to someone who got his first computer in (IIRC) December, 1981, was proficient enough within a couple weeks that I no longer needed to look at the keys, and who typed enough to wear the print off of nearly every key on every keyboard I've owned since. At least my old Moto G3 was decent enough that I only had to glance at the screen when I started to enter text, and I could generally assume that it was producing the text I intended it to. If I ever hit the lottery, lol, I'm going to buy that little folding Bluetooth keyboard that Mrwhosetheboss showed in one of his gadget videos on YouTube. Or... you know... a new used laptop .

 

[Lady T]

Hey everyone, been growing for under a year, all autoflowers. We use Pro Mix BX for soil, and general hydroponics liquid lineup for nutes and optical for CM. We give 1/4 dose of nutes until pre-flower then bump up to 1/2 dose (if plant is healthy) and only give nutes every other day with water in between they seem to like it. We run a 4x6 and a 3x2 for seedlings/vege and extra space.we chose to go with bloom plus 2500 and a aglex 4000 in the 4x6 and 1 aglex 1000 and bloom plus 1000 in 2x3. We love LST and start about 3 weeks after popped depending on size. We've done topping and it's worked out and will continue to test it and practice. When I say WE its me and my gf who grow, its worked out perfect she enjoys making nutes over feeding them and training them and I enjoy training and feeding, so long story short we save ourselves around $600 a month now by just doing it ourselves!
We are medicinal and recreational users ACMPR licensed, and Canadian, if name didn't give it away.

Thanks to anyone who took time to read this I look forward to more knowledge and meet new like minded people, never did a journal before but hope I got most stuff out there that I should if not ask away!
Happy growing.

Awesome! I'm on my second autoflowers grow. Used Fox Farm trio. Thinking about using the same nutes, as you.

 

[CanadianStoner]

upgraded our 3x3 to a 4x4! Pretty excited to give our girls more room, the have lacked a little in trying due to space but now tomorrow I'll be able to open them up a bit more. We took down our 2x3 and kept 3x3 in its place and stuffed it into the closet lol so now the apt has a 4x4 in mud room and a 3x3 in our closet and the 6x4 in the living room so it's safe to say my girlfriend has said no more tents lol

 

[CanadianStoner]

trying

*training

 

[Krissi Carbone]

upgraded our 3x3 to a 4x4! Pretty excited to give our girls more room, the have lacked a little in trying due to space but now tomorrow I'll be able to open them up a bit more. We took down our 2x3 and kept 3x3 in its place and stuffed it into the closet lol so now the apt has a 4x4 in mud room and a 3x3 in our closet and the 6x4 in the living room so it's safe to say my girlfriend has said no more tents lol

How nice is that! Woo-Hoo! They look sooooo stoked! I like your hanging "decor" as well and I mean other than the lights

 

[CanadianStoner]

How nice is that! Woo-Hoo! They look sooooo stoked! I like your hanging "decor" as well and I mean other than the lights

How nice is that! Woo-Hoo! They look sooooo stoked! I like your hanging "decor" as well and I mean other than the lights

Lol Ya they do! And thanks my little cousin makes them so I buy them

 

[CanadianStoner]

Lol Ya they do! And thanks my little cousin makes them so I buy them

Lol Ya they do! And thanks my little cousin makes them so I buy them

 

[Krissi Carbone]

Lol Ya they do! And thanks my little cousin makes them so I buy them

Awww that's sweet and you display them, even better! As for the tents, I went from 0 tents and growing under a table I had to lift with a jack and wooden blocks to 2 tents in 3 months. Always so exciting to set everything up!

 

[CanadianStoner]

Awww that's sweet and you display them, even better! As for the tents, I went from 0 tents and growing under a table I had to lift with a jack and wooden blocks to 2 tents in 3 months. Always so exciting to set everything up!

That's awesome happy you got your tents, definitely nice to have spaces for them, and nice outta site sometimes lol

 

[Krissi Carbone]

That's awesome happy you got your tents, definitely nice to have spaces for them, and nice outta site sometimes lol

I have them in an addition to the back of the garage. It was rendered useless for storage and crafting primarily and then voila, it came to me, a grow room. And here we are. Kudos to you as well. Happy growing

 

[CanadianStoner]

The 4x4 dosnt seem as big after today's training lol, they will be happier though thats forsure.

Also today I started my 1st try at root over rock bonsai, so if it takes should get a nice plant if not I'll try again!

Happy growing/smoking all

 

[garybo]

The 4x4 dosnt seem as big after today's training lol, they will be happier though thats forsure.

Also today I started my 1st try at root over rock bonsai, so if it takes should get a nice plant if not I'll try again!

Happy growing/smoking all

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Nice looking setup and I feel your relief after having cleaned up the canopy. They may look a little on the naked side, but that will only be short lived.
Spark up

 

[Mayne]

Looks like a bunch of weeds bro,

Great Job!