Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

[425jesse]

Hey all, flowering my way thru my first SCROG, which I applied late in Veg to add support and help manage a single level of light. Since it's my first, I have already found problems, which I will address later, but really I have questions about your methodology...

This is my SCROG.

The colas are as tall as 12" out of the screen, and thickening up, as the stretch is almost over. That being the case, I have large leaves on the sides of those colas that seem to block a lot of the useable light from the lower cola sites. How much, if any, of the leaf-life above the screen do you maintain? Or let it run free?

Also, should I be removing more of the foliage below the screen? I removed more from one of the plants than the other two, and it seems to be the most robust, but they may or may not be related.

My next SCROG will be a string one, not a metal one, 100% for sure. The metal is mean to young foliage as it's so stiff, where I think string would caress the tender shoots and make them happier.

Advice is appreciated, thank you all!!

Cheers!

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

Hey Jesse. It's hard to answer some of those questions definitively- it's grower preference. But a few thoughts.
The mesh spacing in your screen is on the small side. If the spaces were 3-4" you'd find it much easier to work with.
In the early stages I arrange the plant limbs by tucking them through the spaces. But after they are through the screen they stay in whatever mesh spaces they are in. Almost all of the action on the screen takes place above it. I use pipe cleaners to arrange and tie the branches down to the screen. A scrog screen is simply something to tie to for the purpose of LST type training.
I remove all the foliage under the screen after the stretch finishes. It will just die down into a useless mess anyway if you don't. If you strip it clean there will probably be small buds that grow back down there. They don't amount to much, but often will finish fine by the end of harvest.
The defoliation question- it depends. I usually always remove a few leaves that are blocking light. If a strain is way too bushy I will go through and thin everything out- to try to simplify the plant structure I guess. Lower buds that don't get much light can finish just fine, though not always. Generally I've found that major defoliation slows the plant a lot and I lose more than I gain. Other people seem to have better results. Yours probably isn't going to get a lot more bushy. I would just remove a few leaves to open it up a little between the colas..

 

[425jesse]

Re: Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

Hey Jesse. It's hard to answer some of those questions definitively- it's grower preference. But a few thoughts.
The mesh spacing in your screen is on the small side. If the spaces were 3-4" you'd find it much easier to work with.
In the early stages I arrange the plant limbs by tucking them through the spaces. But after they are through the screen they stay in whatever mesh spaces they are in. Almost all of the action on the screen takes place above it. I use pipe cleaners to arrange and tie the branches down to the screen. A scrog screen is simply something to tie to for the purpose of LST type training.
I remove all the foliage under the screen after the stretch finishes. It will just die down into a useless mess anyway if you don't. If you strip it clean there will probably be small buds that grow back down there. They don't amount to much, but often will finish fine by the end of harvest.
The defoliation question- it depends. I usually always remove a few leaves that are blocking light. If a strain is way too bushy I will go through and thin everything out- to try to simplify the plant structure I guess. Lower buds that don't get much light can finish just fine, though not always. Generally I've found that major defoliation slows the plant a lot and I lose more than I gain. Other people seem to have better results. Yours probably isn't going to get a lot more bushy. I would just remove a few leaves to open it up a little between the colas..

Thank you WC! That's the kind of advice I'm looking for!

I had been considering widening every opening by removing a little bit of the screen, I think that will be tomorrow mornings project.

Thanks again!

 

[Weaselcracker]

Re: Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

Yeah I would just snip a few of the wires. You may not need them changed at this point, but in future you will, if you use the screen again again, or if you want to remove the plant without cutting it all up first.

 

[425jesse]

Re: Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

That screen will be used again...once recycled and maybe made into food cans! String from
Here out for sure.

 

[bignugz420]

Re: Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

That screen will be used again...once recycled and maybe made into food cans! String from
Here out for sure.

I am planning a scrog next run I have never actually ran a scrog my plants kinda scrog with my training without a screen here is a example

that's one plant and I am 4 weeks since flip so now I will defoil lightly then let her go til chop, but I am excited to try just a 1 or 2 plant scrog I have 2 mango sapphire sprouts and those are gonna be my scrog and TONS of clones some monster crop and some clones from before flip, I was going to scrog with clones but it makes it harder because they aren't uniform like sprouts, I am currently trying to get all my DWC done and then all soil Bc my res is just getting to high in temp, and I am worried about root problems, I wish I had running water at my warehouse but I carry 5 gallon bucket 15 to 30 a week

 

[425jesse]

Re: Hey Scroggers! A little advice needed!

I am planning a scrog next run I have never actually ran a scrog my plants kinda scrog with my training without a screen here is a example

that's one plant and I am 4 weeks since flip so now I will defoil lightly then let her go til chop, but I am excited to try just a 1 or 2 plant scrog I have 2 mango sapphire sprouts and those are gonna be my scrog and TONS of clones some monster crop and some clones from before flip, I was going to scrog with clones but it makes it harder because they aren't uniform like sprouts, I am currently trying to get all my DWC done and then all soil Bc my res is just getting to high in temp, and I am worried about root problems, I wish I had running water at my warehouse but I carry 5 gallon bucket 15 to 30 a week

I totally feel that about the water. I water 7-8 gallons 3 times a week, and like you, hand carry all the water to the tents. I get the water at the local fish tank store as they have the very best RO/DI water around. I always feel funny hustling across the yard at 4am with two 5-gallon containers in the dark!!