Ramón Souto
In this article we are going to explain what the Sea of Green (SOG) method is and what the advantages and drawbacks of this technique are. We will also give you some advice so that you can make the best of your crops. The two most used techniques to raise the production in indoor crops are SOG and SCROG (Screen of Green). We will discuss the latter in forthcoming articles in detail. Using any of these two techniques you can obtain great yields and harness every bit of space.
What is SOG?
The name comes from the appearance of the crop, when the plants cover the whole cultivation surface, making it look like a green ocean. This technique is based on covering the surface of the box with numerous little pots placed close together, fitting in the maximum number of plants possible.
What is the goal of the SOG system?
The goal of SOG is to maximise our yields making the most out of the lighting system. For this reason, if we use cuttings of the same mother, we will obtain a homogenous crop and we will have made the best use of the lamps.
How many pots are necessary for the SOG?
I am going to give you several examples, all of them based in a 1 square meter space. I have grown SOG using pots of 3 to 7 litres capacity. I believe the best option are the 5,5 litres pots, so there are not that many pots to water. If we choose the 3 litres pots, we can fit 36 in a square meter; with 5,5 litres we can fit 25 plants.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of SOG?
Pros
- Obtaining great yields in a short time. Two weeks after the cuttings have rooted, we will be shifting the plants to flowering. We do not need tall plants.
- It is a perfect technique for growers with reduced space.
- Great savings in light bills and nutrients, the cultivation time is shorter and we can make more harvests within the year.
- Reducing the cultivation time makes it less probable for the plants to suffer plagues or illnesses.
- We obtain a crop with quality flowers, with almost no low buds (small and not very developed).
Cons
- Having to manually water so many pots is a big nuisance.
- The smaller pots get dry sooner than the big ones, therefore the watering needs to be done more frequently.
- We need a mother plant that is big and in good state to get a good number of cuttings from it.
Advice:
It would be ideal to use cuttings from the same mother plant, that way all the plants would have the same needs during the whole process, making the work much easier.
It is advisable to use varieties that grow a big central bud, that do not grow too many branches and do not grow too tall either. Buddha Seeds’ Kraken might be a good option.
If we want to skip a good number of hours’ work, we can install a drip irrigation system. In this case we advise using mineral fertilisers, because the organic fertilisers can easily block the pipes and drippers.
Starting during rooting stage, we will add a good root stimulator. The idea is to enhance the vegetative stage because the SOG makes it shorter.
In case there are any low branches before shifting the plant to flowering that are not going to grow and develop, we will eliminate them. This technique of pruning the lower growth is known as lollipopping.
Since the plants are so close to one another, we need to control temperature and humidity always. If we fail to do this, fungi or plagues might appear. Keep the temperature between 22º and 28ºC and there should be no problem. As for humidity, we need to keep it between 40 and 50% during flowering, that will ensure the harvest will be good.
If you have little space for your plants, this might be the perfect solution for you. Just a small box and a LED lamp may be enough to obtain great crops. For sporadic growers a good 100W LED and a grow box of between 60X60 and 80X80 might do the trick.
If you decide try we would be delighted if you shared the pictures with us on social media. You can also ask us if you have any doubts on the method.
I wish you the best smokes so that together we can keep cultivating our ideas.