Planning my first SOG, and wondering folks’ thoughts on a few things. I’m planning on going for big, single cola buds, and as short as grow time as possible, but as high of THC as possible. Don’t care so much about CBD.
Best strain? (I’m leaning OG Kush)
How long in veg? (Or is it okay to go 12/12 start to finish?)
Best way to grow single cola? (I figure just keep all leaves, cut off all lower new buds?)
Pot size? (I was planning 1 gallon milk jug for each plant. Or could/should I put 3-4 in one big 5 gallon bucket?)
Density? (I have a 4x2 flower tent, I could squeeze milk jugs pretty close, maybe get 15-20 single cola plants in there, or is that overcrowding? Could I get more?)
I’ll probably think of a million more as I go. Any thoughts or tips on other areas appreciated as well! Thanks…
Sounds like a lot of questions. I would say 5 gallon fabric pot as a minimum. While I’m still on my first grow, someone more helpful and more experienced than my self will be along shortly. I am extremely interested in this method of growing. I currently have OG Kush growing now. (About week 6)
Autos grow on their own time frame. The 12/12 is for flowering. You need to have at least a 14/10 for veg. Most here use the 18/6.
Milk jugs? How are they going to drain? How much soil can you put into a jug?. The smallest pot I’ve used is a three gallon smart pots.
There is a grow Bible and guides to scrog. All are very helpful.
Wishing you luck & Happy Growing!
I want to clarify, SOG, not SCROG. That’s why the 1-gal jugs (with drainage holes, sitting in a pan, because they’re free!), the plants won’t have branches or get tall, it’s just a “sea” (of green) of many plants, each with a huge, single cola.
I got these for several reasons, they were cheaper than plastic ones at my local stores, (Alaska is an arm and a leg for shipping!) and these “air prune” your roots so they don’t get root bound and produce more green.
247Garden 5-Pack 5 Gallon Grow Bags /Aeration Fabric Pots w/Handles (Black) Amazon.com
I searched the ILGM seed bank and the highest THC auto flower is AK-47. There are other option for photo’s but if you want short grow time auto is the way to go.
If you go auto-flower it’s roughly 3 months (give or take) from start to finish and the plant decides on length of veg and flower. I will tag a few people over to help with timing the lights as I’m still fairly new.
I understand you are trying for a single cola per plant so aren’t worried about crowding in top of the soil, but I would think you need to worry about what’s going on under the soil too with the roots. If your roots are crowded and can’t grow then your plant above the soil will be stunted and won’t grow. I gallon is pretty small. Most people suggest at least 3 gallon for autos and 5 for photos. I definitely would not put more than one plant per pot.
As far as density and how many plant will fit in your tent, you also have to consider your lights and what amount of coverage they will give your plants.
I did 6 small plants all single cola with small side branches. They stayed under 2ft with about 5 weeks of veg. I believe I used 6 (1) quart sized plastic pots. That was in a 4x2ft tent.
Thanks for the tips! I’ve got some time, still need to order seeds. That’s the main thing, looking for a good one cola strain. I’ve been growing about 18 months now, a few waves of harvests and a lot of experimentation, so I know that (generally) sativas are taller with many, fluffy buds, while indicas are shorter, with fewer, dense buds, so easier to make single cola plants. I know, I know, lots of variations, but that’s been my experience so far.
OG Kush shows a shorter harvest time, which is my #1 priority, and pretty decent THC levels. I’ll probably experiment, see how the colas vary in size according to pot size, maybe use 1, 3, & 5 gallon pots. I’m going to get some autos too (no grow room necessary, just set it in the corner of the living room with a 25W LED over it!), but using photos for the SOG.
Do NOT use auto flowers if you plan on doing SOG. Your best bet is to get a good photo strain (feminized or not) keep in mind a lot of feminized seeds have herme characteristics so using regular seeds and sprouting a few could be your best bet. Grow out a good mother plant/plants cut clones and start your SOG that way. As soon as clones get roots you can throw them into 12/12 and they will grow 1 main cola. Cloning is not that complicated. I use an old aerogarden or you can make your own cloner. I don’t even use the cloning gel or powder. They root as long as they get oxygenated water. (Aquarium pump, air stone and water) You will need 2 different grow areas also, one for vegging mothers/clones and one for flowering clones.
That answers a big question. I’ve read just put them directly in the flower tent AND give them 1-2 weeks in veg. But since they keep growing quite a bit after 12/12, it makes more sense to me to just go ahead and put them directly in the tent. I have a big trash can with a 24W LED for my momma. That saves me having to get a 3rd chamber for veg.
Ha! Yeah, Big Bud would be a good one. I have ONE Gold Leaf seed left, and I LOVE that strain, been saving it. I may just end up using it as my mother. This is an experiment, my first SOG. My next experiment will be a long veg super crop on a sativa, I definitely want to order Blue Dream for that!
I’m a total noob, so I’m asking and not stating this as fact, but I was under the impression your light decided yield more than amount of plants. Not sure if that is accurate in SOG, but worth asking these other guys about to maxmize your yield. Might be worth considering at least.
The point of a SOG is a quick, easy harvest. No light wasted on small buds or unnecessary branches, all energy production goes into the single, big cola, little or no time spent in veg mode, straight from root to flower (from clones, not seeds). Makes harvest a breeze, just one big bud to trim per plant.
Your light and space ultimately limits your yield, you could SCROG or supercrop a single plant to fill an entire 4’x2’ tent, but you’d still be in veg mode by the time a multi-plant SOG was being harvested! Since this is my first SOG, I’m just looking into the fine tuning variables like leaf-to-flower ratio, flower time, bud density, all the characteristics that would help enhance a fast flower time and easy to trim colas.
