A few questions about sea of green

dirtchewer

New Member
Hello everyone! I'm a fairly new toker and I'm already head over heels for Mary. However, it is costing me quite a few $ and as such I want to take my newfound passion to the next level and begin growing.
After quite a bit of research on the subject I feel as though a small grow utilizing the sea of green method would be ideal given the compact nature of my intended grow space. That being said, I had hoped to collect insight from some of you who have more experience than I and specifically answers to the following questions.
- When using this method its recommended (from what I have read) that a spacing of 4 plants per sq. ft be used to maximize yield and efficiency. I'm confused as how this is possible considering I have also seen it stated that the standard for container size is 1 gallon per foot of vertical (plant) height. Even with the short plants that SOG produces this would make for some very long and awkward 6x6" pots. Does this inconsistency imply that SOG must be done hydroponically?
-Is SOG considered an advanced method? As this is my first grow I don't want to overcomplicate things, albeit I do have prior experience with plants as I am an avid gardener. Would you recommend a different type of grow?
-I live in new england and power outages during the winter are very common. How can I protect my grow from being destroyed by this? Is the any way besides purchasing a noisy generator?
Any constructive input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
 

gardengardian7

Well-Known Member
Hey friend, welcome to the community. I wanted to coment because i was kind of in the same perception at first about the SOG, Scrog, and LST. There are many training methods you can choose. I dont have any experience with the more sophisticated training methods YET, but i just wanted to point out that the SOG was only one of a few good techniques to train plants with. If youre adamant about creating a nice canopy like the SOG you can do also LST and still come out with a nice canopy. It really all depends on space, equipment, and time. I went with LST on my girl that i have now and i didnt canopy her because i was without all i needed. Thus this is still my first grow. I started with three ended up with one which i did LST on her. You can check out my journal and grab a few thoughts and ideas. And youll see with my plant Nuenna she would have made a nice canopy herself, in addition to two more like her. Im only working with a 4*6*2 tent though and budgetting, so it was a challenging time for my first grow. But now im a smooth sailor learning observing and growing with knowledge and wisdom. This is a glorious part of my life. Ill be around to help when it calls for my experience to accommodate. Youre not alone. Check out google pics of SOG, LST, and Scrog. These can produce nicely per plant. Mainly the SOG and Scrog. They dont really require extreme training but skill and technique of course. Good growing... Can i ask what all you will be setting up with?
 

Kush Knight

Well-Known Member
I haven't tried SOG but i have researched as well for about a year now.

SOG can be expensive and will NOT maximize your harvest.
SOG works best with 600-1000W hps lights (no one has journals on LEP that i can find.)
At most expect 25 plants a light, with a minimum 3 lights in your grow room. Good SOG plants reach 1-3 ft strain dependant, getting 1-3 lbs at most in the end.
Sea of Green works by shoving as many SINGLE stalked plants (generally above the grow limit) under the light as possible.
All plants go in a 1.5-3 gal equivalent pot. If you want the most overlay of light then you put the lights near each other. Since the light confines the plants to a brick basically, feeding by hand is near impossible.

So to answer your questions:

-The best set up for SOG is in fact hydro/aero/aqua/bubble one of the ponics. Generally I think people go with ebb and flow setups.

-SOG is somewhat advanced in required pest control and focusing on each 3-5 gram plant individually doctoring if necessary. But if you don't have a worthy strain or if you are prone to accidental overfeeding, over/under watering, pests, or other poor gardenkeeping you won't harvest much of anything.

-You'll need a generator, a place not near the plants to put it and vent exhaust (generators can cause deficiencies), and a noise canceling headset to avoid the headaches in comfort.

To go the extra mile-

Depending on what you have you could get much more though. SOG is just good for people that like to have ONLY potent large nugs to sell to clubs. SOG in reality is a quality over quantity style grow.

Outdoor will make it produce 3x as much as you could ever get inside. Just check out this grow i found i want to replicate and improve http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/221046-500-gallon-smart-pot-outdoor-grow-journal-2014-growing-dank.html

A scrog would be most effective if you have cfl lighting, or only one HID light, and can be done light and all within in a small 6x5x7 area. It is best if you don't mind a wait and only have one to two plants. Quality and quantity meet nicely in this style but needs a good strain to successfully complete.

If you have more room, more lights, or a mylar grow tent you don't want to scrog with, then just grow it normally in 10 -20 gallon pots, And just lst by tieing down, topping or fimming, supercropping if thats you thing etc. if you have the right lights you can do a 4-5 month veg and harvest 1-2 lbs a plant of super stony midshelf.

Hope I helped.
 

AfgooCBD

Well-Known Member
-I live in new england and power outages during the winter are very common. How can I protect my grow from being destroyed by this? Is the any way besides purchasing a noisy generator?
I grow scrog in a cab, and used a battery-powered LED lantern to let the plant "think" that the lights were still on. Worked. Good luck with your 1st grow! Cheers!
 

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
As KK said above. SOG is best done in an ebb&flow hydroponic style grow for those new to that style.

An easy way is with Rockwool cubes of 4"x4" size. Yes 4 per sq. ft. would be a good place to start, as long as you flower at 8" to 10" and no bigger! I would avoid Sativa's or Sativa dominate strains till you have grown for awhile and know more on what to expect, as they can be quite fussy.

If using a tent. Use 3'x3' trays in 4'x4' tents or 4'x4' trays in 5'x5' tents, with the res under the trays. In a 4'x4' a 600w will work. Go up to a 1K for a 5'x5'.
 

dirtchewer

New Member
Thank you everyone for the replies! I was away for the weekend and was unable to get on here. I hope this isn't considered resurrecting a dead thread. Garden gardian, if I do decide to do a sog grow I was planning on setting up a 2x2x4' box lined with Mylar allowing me a total of 16 plants. I was going to use five 40 watt cfls as my light source. However, I am now questioning the viability of that grow given the feedback I've received since posting.
Kush knight, if I understand correctly sog is appropriate if one wants to produce the best bud possible even at the expense of quantity?
Afgoo that's rather clever, I will absolutely be trying that rather than buying a big ass loud generator (which is certainly a viable option I just prefer not to pay for one or the gas).
 

Kush Knight

Well-Known Member
Kush knight, if I understand correctly sog is appropriate if one wants to produce the best bud possible even at the expense of quantity?
For the most part, you got it spot on.

Ironically because of the nature of SOG, Autos are the shit. But THC levels in Autos are generally lower than in true photosensitive sativa/indica/hybrids . If i remember right, Autos contain at least a little cannabis ruderalis genetics in them. They can still hit 16-18%% thc if you have a great strain. Luckily they are high in CBD ranging from 2-8% CBD in breeding programs not even aiming to breed high CBD males.

But honestly all you'll know if you smoke a properly grown SOG bud is that it was a damn good bowl/joint/etc and that you wouldn't mind buying it again.

Garden gardian, if I do decide to do a sog grow I was planning on setting up a 2x2x4' box lined with Mylar allowing me a total of 16 plants. I was going to use five 40 watt cfls as my light source. However, I am now questioning the viability of that grow given the feedback I've received since posting.
Since im here, 5 40w cfls is not enough for 16 plants. Im not even gonna think about your setup right now, cause its at the very most 4 plants to a sq ft and you'd get crushed nugs. 5 40watts is enough to finish one plant at 1/4-1/2 oz. if you baby it.
A 16 plant CFL SOG would probably need 1 150w, 2 80w, 5 40w, with a fan.... putting power consumption up to 550w being used which means, you could've used a 600w hps/mh for how much power you'd have to pay. Anyways for any return, aim for at least 80-100w of overlaying light on every plant/main cholla (only counts if the light is less than 6" from plant)
I guess what im getting at isss a frickin low wattage cfl SOG? just get the 5 more 40ws you'd need for a 4 oz cfl closet grow.
 

dirtchewer

New Member
I was under the impression 50 watts per sq. ft was standard that's why I had intended to have that particular amount of lights bit I will have to figure something else out then.
So from what Im gathering, doing four plants and veging them longer is gona be more profitable than sog?
 

Kush Knight

Well-Known Member
So from what Im gathering, doing four plants and veging them longer is gona be more profitable than sog?
For the most part yes.

Theres a whole lot of methods that mess around with yield, but for a small 4 plant personal/medical cfl grown plant, id probably try mainlining if i want "good looking" weed. Downside is you'd be limiting each plant to only 8 easily trimmed, good producing chollas. And as long as you have enough light, you'll get good density.
Watch some vids (a good 15 different setups) on Cfl grows be they stealth or budget grows. Watch 23-40w bulbs grow a seedling until it slows to a stops. Look at the wattages on flower chambers, and compare to yield/density. You'll get a good idea on what you really need to grow what you desire.

For real profit (if no size restrictions), you want to focus on the growing the roots. The bigger the established root system, the larger the final yield can be.

This is all hypothetical right? So for the most part im wasting my time here lol. bye
 

dirtchewer

New Member
Well to be honest "good looking" weed was never the goal. All of it will end up being consumed by me or my friends, so quality is my primary concern.
And yes of course it's hypothetical.
 

Kush Knight

Well-Known Member
Well to be honest "good looking" weed was never the goal. All of it will end up being consumed by me or my friends, so quality is my primary concern.
And yes of course it's hypothetical.
It'd be quality, just look it up man.
Just don't expect too much from cfl. Very little PAR (photosynthetically active radiation)
And you only really have the light for 2/3 of this style plant
http://www.growweedeasy.com/mainlining-nugbuckets





Single Plant
 
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dirtchewer

New Member
That's pretty impressive for one plant, I may try doing that instead of what I had planned. Earlier you mentioned that cfls are not ideal in this situation. That considered, what lighting would you recommend for a grow of four mainline plants?
 

Kush Knight

Well-Known Member
That's pretty impressive for one plant, I may try doing that instead of what I had planned. Earlier you mentioned that cfls are not ideal in this situation. That considered, what lighting would you recommend for a grow of four mainline plants?
Well, mainlining would be a "HST" method that would require strong 6500k during veg, and strong 2700k during flower. If I wanted a good yield I would probably have 2 250 watt switchable for four plants, or one 1000 watt for all four. The thing with lights is their footprint limits so much. The two 250 watts would leave a very even canopy, whereas the 1000 watt centers the growth and density under it.

I dont have any real personal experience with HID's yet (i'm dirt poor) but i can tell you that heat will be a huge issue in a small space. And if you have to crowd the plants you increase the chance of PM. Also you have to factor in the power bill when budgeting. If you go this route, plan on at least a real mylar tent with exhaust ports and everything.
 
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