A Detailed Breakdown of The SOG Method and How It Enhances Cannabis Cultivation Success
The sea of green (SOG), developed in Holland in the 1970s is a canna-cultivation system that allows reducing the growing time for higher yields by growing the plants in a canopy. It is one of the several cultivation methods that indoor cannabis growers use to make efficient use of their space. This is carried out by planting many plants in smaller pots in each square meter of space and also reducing the time the plants are to spend in the vegetative phase. Instead, they are changed to the 12-12 flowering cycle while still little so they can grow well and have a high yield.
The main aim of SOG is to increase plant yield per square meter, not its volume, this is why the plants are forced to grow quickly to form a canopy. This ensures the plants receive equal lighting thus eliminating the need for extra lighting. It is a suitable technique for cannabis growers that have small spaces or those that have space for several growing tables.
Apart from taking advantage of available growing space by making complete use of it with as many pots are needed. The Sea of Green method helps in saving light consumption and reducing the growth time while still getting a great yield within that space. They also reduce the probability of pest and disease attack due to the shorter growth time and allows for a faster trimming method as it has a low amount of leaves that need trimming leading to less organic waste.
Essentials for a Sea of Green Method of Cultivation
Pots
Pots are one of the most important things needed for your own SOG, the ideal choice is small pots for your small plants as they allow you to maximize your floor space and ensure enough circulation. However, you must also ensure that the pots are large enough to aid root development and also hold enough water to allow less time between waterings. Pots made from terracotta, plastic or airbags are ideal for this purpose as they help prevent plant diseases by ensuring air circulation.
Vegetation
To give your plants enough time to develop a strong canopy, the vegetation period should not be more than 2 weeks. Cannabis growth rapidly increases during vegetation as the roots become developed and plants ensure a hastened metabolism. It is important to know when to make the change from the vegetative to the light-based flowering stage as any error on your part might cause stunted growth for the plants.
Air circulation
Getting adequate air circulation is important to your plants at this point as the leaf canopy causes an overlap that covers the leaves below the canopy. It is also important for maintaining the wet-dry cycle and preventing the growth of mold, algae or diseases.
Maintenance
The sea of green method having been proven to be one of the most effective methods of increasing plant yield without having a large plant does not require any particularly special method of treatment. Rather, all it needs is just the regular care and attention for any cannabis plant and ensuring light and air circulation to all the leaves which can be done by removing underdeveloped branches and anything that won't allow penetration to the whole plant.
As with any other cultivation technique, plants under the SOG method need the same attention and care that should be given to your cannabis plants especially while young as the highest yields come from the healthiest plants.
Tips for Sea of Green Cultivation.
Your plants should be at an even height to allow for equal lighting.
Regularly prune your plants by removing all growth below the canopy to ensure the plants concentrate their energy on bud production rather than growing their branches.
Different strains have different flowering times, so it is important to keep an eye out for this while using the SOG method.
The SOG method works best four or more plants and if you have too few, it won’t work. On the other hand, the plants should not be too much as this will lead to less light for the branches below the canopy which is also not what you want.
The cuttings used for the sea of green are usually taken from the same mother plant and should be more than needed to pick the best as they need to be uniform in size and root mass.
Some growers believe that SOG might not be a method to use as a result of the possibility of disease spread among the plant due to the tightly-packed structure. Also, there are cases where limitations that exist on plant numbers or the extra amount of work to be done at the initial stage might be the reason a grower might choose not to make use of this method.
CANNABIS GROWING SOG, READ MORE...
