One of the most important factors when growing cannabis indoors is yield production. The more flowers grown, the less self-supply grows you have to carry out, which means saving money and time. This is the reason why plenty of growers use different techniques to maximize their yields, such as the Sea of Green- S.O.G grow method.
This growing technique offers great yield results without major difficulties. The main idea is to cover the cultivation area with mother plant marijuana cuttings in order to reduce growth time and also to make sure that all the plants develop homogeneously.
SOG growing features certain characteristics that make it perfect for indoor cultivation. To start with, it reduces total cultivation time, meaning less time to suffer plagues or nutritional deficiencies. This is great, especially for rookie growers, as they normally have greater difficulties detecting plagues or nutrient excesses or deficiencies.
In order to carry out a SOG grow with guarantees, thinking ahead is crucial. To start with, you need to choose a well-known mother plant that adapts to your needs regarding structure, development and growth time, as this would make things a lot easier. If you know the nutritional needs of your plants beforehand, you’ll be able to plan ahead and prevent possible nutritional problems.
SOG grow example
You can fit around 25 rooted clones of 20 cm tall in 7L pots. They’ll start flowering in 2 weeks maximum and the entire cultivation cycle can take another 8 weeks, that is 10 weeks in total. If we manage to get 20 g per plant, that would be a 500 g yield, which is excellent for the amount of space and time used. This is just an example, there are tons of different possible configurations, it all depends on the means and needs of each grower.
It’s important to take different aspects into account before deciding on the amount of plants and the size of the pots. The more plants you use, the smaller the pots. If you opt for 7 L pots (20 x 20), you can fit a maximum of 25 plants per m2, 5 x 5 to use up 100% of the space. If you want to fit more plants, then you’ll have to choose smaller pots. Some very experienced growers cultivate 49 plants in 3 L pots, 7 x 7. This way, they can obtain 10 g per plant on average, and approximately 490 g per m2, which is pretty good.
Plan a SOG grow ahead
Some things to take into account before carrying out a SOG grow:
- The smaller the pot, the more often plants need to be watered, sometimes daily or even a few times per day. This requires time and effort, therefore, think about it before considering this technique.
- Take into consideration the structure of the chosen strain, the more branches the plant grows, the less plants you’ll need. For SOG grows, it’s best to choose strains with a column structure, as they tend to form a big central bud.
- It’s important to know the temperature and humidity levels of the grow room. A very arid climate is not compatible with growing too many plants, as combined with the environmental conditions, it’s going to cause hydraulic stress for sure.
- Knowing how strains behave is also highly advisable in order to have a fair idea of how much the plants will grow for the first few weeks under a 12/12 lighting schedule. Otherwise, you could be overwhelmed if the plants grow more than expected at the start of the flowering period.
SOG grow inconveniences
One of the problems of SOG grows is that it’s difficult to water the plants once they are fully developed. Sometimes, two simple actions can make things easier, such as staking the plants and using a watering lance. Being comfortable and safe while handling the grow is always going to pose a benefit towards the yield.
A water tank with a pump hooked to a watering lance makes things way easier for grows of up to 10 meters. For larger ones, it would be more convenient to install a drip irrigation system, although not easy, once done, it facilitates irrigation by a lot.
Another inconvenience is that you need to have a separate area where to keep your mother plants and clones. Although you can do the SOG technique with seeds, it is a more complex task because of the uneven and strong growth of the plants in the weeks previous to flowering.
SOG growing is one of the most cost-effective techniques. Cutting the growth period so short means a lot of money saved on lighting and fertilizers. Using a high quality substrate, such as All Mix Boom Nutrients, is always a good idea, as well as adding 10% of hummus if you opt for a light substrate. Choose healthy clones with a properly developed root system to ensure a perfect start; this way you’ll only need to focus on the flowering period.
