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Everything you need to know about the screen of green (ScrOG) technique.
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Training cannabis plants enables growers to increase yields, reduce pathogen risk, and improve the vibrancy of their crop. ScrOG—or screen of green—is a training technique that forms an even and horizontal canopy. There are myriad benefits to creating this botanical structure.
Left to their own devices, cannabis plants grow taller than they do wide. The ScrOG technique aims to bring the lower branches up and the upper branches down, stretching them across an evenly distributed plane. By placing a screen above the growing medium, cultivators can weave branches through the mesh as plants grow and mature. By redirecting individual branches and running them lengthwise across the screen, growers achieve a flat horizontal canopy.
But why ScrOG in the first place? Well, the technique offers plenty of advantages, including:
You’ll start to guide your plants through the screen as soon as they start making contact with it. We recommended positioning the screen around 20cm above the base of your plants, so their rate of growth will determine when exactly you start to ScrOG.
Start the “tucking” process as the apex of each plant begins to grow through the screen. Wait for each tip to grow 5cm above the screen. Proceed to tuck each individual shoot under the screen and direct them through the next square away. Tucking will lay the foundation of the ScrOG process, so be mindful of the direction you want each branch to grow towards.
Continue this process throughout the vegetative phase. Switch to a 12/12 light cycle to induce flowering when the screen becomes mostly filled.
Continue to tuck and weave each branch over the next 2–3 weeks as your plants begin to stretch. This increase in growth will allow you to fill out the screen before your plants enter the true flowering stage and slow their growth.
Avoid tucking and weaving your plants too early. It might be tempting to rush ahead, but they’ll only grow well beyond the screen. Training your plants into the mesh too early—during the early vegetative phase—will lead to extra work. You might even run out of room on your grid.
Although ScrOG setups can look complex, the technique requires little work. Even if you have limited experience growing cannabis, you can jump right into the technique and produce good results. Just make sure to follow the guidance below, and you’ll be in for a happy harvest.
With or without training, growers should always tailor strains to their preferences, spatial limitations, and climate. Some genetics are far more compatible with the ScrOG technique than others. Check out the best characteristics for the job below.
You’ll need to select the correct pot size to optimise your grow. This variable will shift depending on how many plants you want to incorporate into your ScrOG. Consider the following factors:
Growing multiple plants in a ScrOG means you can harvest several of your favourite strains. You can grow high-THC and high-CBD varieties together, and even match plants based on their terpene profiles.
As one of the most important factors when growing several plants, the correct spacing will help minimise mould formation while encouraging the best yield possible. The goal: Fit in as many plants as possible for best results, while keeping them far enough apart to increase light exposure and aeration.
You’ll get away with squeezing four small/medium-sized plants per m² in a maximum pot size of 11l.
Building a ScrOG screen is easy peasy. If you’ve ever constructed flat-pack furniture or hung a picture on the wall, you’re more than qualified. Make sure you have the following resources and equipment, and you’re good to go.
After a couple of weeks in the seedling stage, your plants will enter the vegetative phase. You’ll need to tick the following tasks off your checklist to ensure your plants are fully compatible with the ScrOG method.
Keep weaving throughout the early flowering phase until your screen becomes filled. Secure branches in place using soft garden ties.
ScrOG produces fantastic results when used in isolation, but combining it with other techniques can help bring results to another level. Here are some of the most effective.
Low-stress training involves gently bending and tying down cannabis branches to manipulate the shape of the plant. The lack of significant stress doesn’t impede growth, so plants need little time to recover after the process.
LST can be used in several ways during a ScrOG. By tying down the tip of the plant and positioning the main stem parallel to the soil, growers force the side branches to shoot upwards to form a much more productive canopy. Alternatively, utilise LST to tie down the four primary branches after topping, forming an “X” shape. This will force your plants to grow laterally and fill out the screen.
Lollipopping is a form of defoliation that involves removing the lower foliage and bud sites from branches. As a result, aeration is boosted and energy is diverted towards bigger and more productive buds elsewhere in the canopy.
This technique is ideal for the ScrOG method as it benefits the buds growing on the screen while limiting the presence of inferior "popcorn" buds on the lower parts of the branches. A win-win! This technique should be performed using clean, sharp scissors at the end of the vegetative stage, and combines well with LST and main-lining.
This technique involves sequentially topping and tying your plants to create a canopy loaded with evenly sized buds. Main-lining goes hand-in-hand with ScrOG by forming an open and well-distributed canopy that slots into the mesh screen from below.
To complete the process:
Make your branches more pliable and easy to weave using super cropping. This high-stress method involves carefully squeezing and pinching branches to bend them down to the point where they almost snap. This not only increases light penetration, but also makes plants more compatible with ScrOG.
Super cropping aims to damage the inner plant tissue to make stems easier to manipulate, without creating an open wound on the outside. Of course, it comes with a relative amount of risk. Perform the technique during the vegetative stage, before your plants enter the screen. Follow these steps to super-crop your plant:
Ultimately, super cropping allows you to begin shaping your plant and priming it for entering the screen later in the process.
Green Gelato is one of those strains that is spoken about with longing amongst cannabis growers and connoisseurs. Growers enjoy the ease of maintenance and the thrill of watching dense nuggets form as the 12-12 progresses. Striking purples and mauves develop as the fragrances reach their tell-tale Kush, mint biscuit, and fruity dessert crescendo. Green Gelato is certainly the most flavoursome way to introduce a far-out 25%+ THC into your system. In combination with a unique terpene profile, this strain will whisk your brain away and give your muscles a case of the jellies.
A slight indica dominance gives Green Gelato a number of characteristics that take well to the ScrOG. A high flower-to-leaf ratio means more light exposure to nuggets as there is minimal shading by excessive leaf production. Minimal leaf production also means less need for time-consuming under-shucking. Tight flower clusters form at each node, rather than forming long colas, which creates an evenly exposed canopy of homogeneous buds. Lower flowers that might otherwise be small on an untrained plant are given the opportunity for maximum growth.
Sunset Sherbet x Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies | |
500 - 700 gr/m² | |
80 - 120 cm | |
8 - 10 weeks | |
THC: 27% |
Sativa 45% Indica 55% | |
800 gr/plant | |
150 - 200 cm | |
Early October | |
Clear, Physically Relaxing |
OG Kush quickly became a much sought-after strain the moment it was introduced in the US. Then, it wasn’t long until it found equal appreciation in the global cannabis scene. The fragrance, look, potency, and palate of this plant continues to thrill cannabis fans on every continent. Striking citrus top notes predominate over gentler sweets and sours, and an enjoyable aftertaste lingers long after spliffs are finished—extracts are a pure flavour sensation. Euphoria and mental clarity with a bone-deep physical effect make it a favourite for recreational and therapeutic use.
The healthy stretch between nodes of OG Kush makes it an apt selection for the ScrOG. Topping a number of times and exchanging apical dominance for area allows buds at each site to reach their full potential, creating a carpet of Kush with enough distance between nuggets to prevent shading and allow airflow. Cannabis in general responds with vigour to training, and OG Kush is no exception, producing evenly-sized and equally dense flowers across the whole light footprint. OG Kush delivers great yields for a plant that is so undemanding to grow.
Chemdawg x Lemon Thai x Pakistani Kush | |
425 - 475 gr/m2 | |
90 - 160 cm | |
7 - 9 weeks | |
THC: 19% |
Sativa 25% Indica 75% | |
500 - 550 gr/plant | |
180 - 220 cm | |
October | |
Calming, Uplifting |