Seedlings are almost ready-- SCROG or not?

Hey all!

I'm brand new to growing cannabis, and since I have grown many other types of plants aeroponically with success, I thought I would use aeroponics for my first cannabis grow. I currently have 10 seedlings growing in rockwool, each about 2 inches tall as of today. Since the seedlings will soon outgrow their rockwool cubes, I'd like some help to decide how, specifically, to proceed. My rough plan is as follows:

-I will continue to use rockwool cubes to germinate and clone plants as needed
-I will have two separate grow areas that clones/seedlings will be transplanted to: a top-fed DWC system in my closet for vegetative growth, and a grow tent with a pure aeroponic system (mists the roots only) for flowering.

Given that I have 10 seedlings on deck, and space for a 4' x 4' flowering tent, should I design the grow tent to house 12-16 smaller plants (forced into flowering early) and use standard plant training/topping to maximize efficiency, or would I be better off designing it to house only 4-6 plants and use SCROG instead?

Also, does anybody have any thoughts on my choice of aeroponics style? I.e., is it better to just use DWC in both systems, or use traditional aeroponics instead, etc?

One last question if you have time, any suggestions on what type of lighting to use in each area, how many, wattage, etc?

Thanks a bunch!

tbf said:

Hey all!

I'm brand new to growing cannabis, and since I have grown many other types of plants aeroponically with success, I thought I would use aeroponics for my first cannabis grow. I currently have 10 seedlings growing in rockwool, each about 2 inches tall as of today. Since the seedlings will soon outgrow their rockwool cubes, I'd like some help to decide how, specifically, to proceed. My rough plan is as follows:

-I will continue to use rockwool cubes to germinate and clone plants as needed
-I will have two separate grow areas that clones/seedlings will be transplanted to: a top-fed DWC system in my closet for vegetative growth, and a grow tent with a pure aeroponic system (mists the roots only) for flowering.

Given that I have 10 seedlings on deck, and space for a 4' x 4' flowering tent, should I design the grow tent to house 12-16 smaller plants (forced into flowering early) and use standard plant training/topping to maximize efficiency, or would I be better off designing it to house only 4-6 plants and use SCROG instead?

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These are all just my opinion, and I know others will chime in with their own.

Having grown with aeroponics helps, but growing cannabis, inside, via hydroponics, is it's own challenge. My advice is to keep it as simple as possible for your first grow so that you know how they grow inside, under artificial lights. There's a challenge almost all the way through your first grow, and it can get overwhelming at times. I'd wait until your next grow to SCROG. This grow, get used to low stress training (LST), supercropping, FIMing pruning, and topping. You will have a great yield using these techniques by themselves! Scrogging is a way to use every last drop of space available. It's work and time consuming. It also takes longer (sometimes much longer) to veg, so you're waiting longer for your harvest. The more energy you put into your grow, the more you're going to get out of it. But there comes a point where it may just be too much time and work for the extra amount t you're able to squeeze out of your grow.

tbf said:

Also, does anybody have any thoughts on my choice of aeroponics style? I.e., is it better to just use DWC in both systems, or use traditional aeroponics instead, etc?

Click to expand...

I'd go with dwc, and eventually move to an rdwc, which makes things easier to manage. Sprayers have a habit of clogging with the nutrients used. Dwc is so easy, and the yields are awesome. Downside, you will have a large volume of water wherever you have your grow. If you look at my grow you'll see my framed-in area with a pond liner.

But the upsides to dwc are great! Read up on it and you'll see.

tbf said:

One last question if you have time, any suggestions on what type of lighting to use in each area, how many, wattage, etc...

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That's way too difficult to answer! Your best bet is to read up on the different types of lighting, the costs, and the upsides/downsides to each.

I like my 600 watt MH/HPS, but if I had the money I'd build a COB LED array. I'm sure I'll probably be going that route in the next year.

Hope that helps[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

tbf said:

Given that I have 10 seedlings on deck, and space for a 4' x 4' flowering tent, should I design the grow tent to house 12-16 smaller plants (forced into flowering early) and use standard plant training/topping to maximize efficiency, or would I be better off designing it to house only 4-6 plants and use SCROG instead?

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Also, I would grow four, of the same strain, in the tent I stead of a bunch of small ones. A SOG is usually done when there isn't a lot of vertical space available. If you're getting a tent, you will have that height (if you get a standard 80" to 84" tall tent). A four-plant SCROG in a 4x4x7 tent, under a 600 watt MH/HPS light housed in a 6" air cooled reflector hood, is a great setup! It's "great" for cost and for yield! It's also a really manageable system for beginners. Gives you lots of room to work on the plants, without a large footprint.

Scrog can be a pain in the ass especially with bubblers and DWC.

Stealthstyle said:

Scrog can be a pain in the ass especially with bubblers and DWC.

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I agree! This is my first grow in around a decade, and built a well-designed rdwc/UC. The plants grow so fast at times that it gets difficult, and time consuming, trying to keep up. Especially during stretch.

Plus, with a SCROG, it's especially difficult lifting the lid to check under the hood. My solution to this is to cut a square out of the top, and cover it, allowing access to the roots without having to raise the lid.

After this grow, I'm not going to SCROG again. So much more relaxing just letting them grow more naturally! Just do some LST and use a SCROG net to hold up the branches when they get big.

Thanks, you guys! I'm glad I asked before getting myself too deep into SCROG. I've heard that SOG is better for indoor grows because you get a higher yield per area, but if I have enough vertical space, I should be able to get similar yields from fewer, bigger plants, right? Also, in what order would you recommend training the plants? Should I use LST first and then top, or FIM them first, or....?

tbf said:

Thanks, you guys! I'm glad I asked before getting myself too deep into SCROG. I've heard that SOG is better for indoor grows because you get a higher yield per area, but if I have enough vertical space, I should be able to get similar yields from fewer, bigger plants, right? Also, in what order would you recommend training the plants? Should I use LST first and then top, or FIM them first, or....?

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A SOG won't produce as much as a SCROG. SOGs are for lights that don't have a lot of power to penetrate the canopy and bleed through the leaves. Lights commonly used in SOGs are t5 florescent light fixtures and CFL lights. You can get these lights close to the plants because they stay relatively cool. You can get them within inches. But, they'll only be effective at the top of the canopy, so you'll have a carpet of buds on the surface. With an HID (MH/HPS), you keep it at a distance because of the heat and intensity. A SCROG let's you create a thicker canopy because the light's going to penetrate the canopy a distance. You create a layer of leaves at a thickness that takes advantage of the top range of the light's effective power. Along with creating a thick canopy, you trim all the lower branches clean so that none of the plant's energy is wasted on growing stuff that the weaker, leftover light is trying to grow, which is popcorn or larf.

As far as which order, there really isn't any, and most of the time you'll use a combination of all of them.

Best bet is to follow the Grow Weed Easy guide! Look up "LST" and you'll have a lot of info to go off of.