Guidance for my first grow

[24/7Grind]

Hey everyone, new to the forum and the world of growing... an acquaintance of mine is very accomplished in the field and convinced me to invest in a grow tent. I have a 5x5x7' tent with a 1000w single light source. I'm growing in coco and the plants look great. That being said, I have no experience and the person who was supposed to be helping me completely disappeared so i could use some advice. I have 12 plants in this small space because he told me to go short on veg and SCROG the tent. I just topped them for the first time but when should I switch to flower? I obviously don't want them too big in a 5x5... any advice is appreciated. Thanks

 

[HerbWatcher]

Dude i think 12 plants is way to many for that little tent I would go with four tops. But if your going to SCROG I would think two would be good and try and find another place at your house to grow the other plants. You didn't say anything about air exchange, fans, nutes what's up with that ? How old are they ? I have never grown SCROG before but I would think you would want to start that a little before you go 12/12. I'm sure someone else will jump in here. Good luck

 

[QBCrocket]

you can sog 12 plants in 5x5 , I have just started my second Sog I've gone with 12 plants but you need to get on it early , I tiped early so there are multiple stems on each , plants should be no bigger than a basket ball and then I layed some mesh over them about 8 inches high turn to 12/12 straight away ,

 

[2RedEyes]

QBC, yer a show-off...

 

[24/7Grind]

Appreciate the input guys... I got clones from my buddy and they were fairly small, I'm gonna try to attach pictures... 400cfm exhaust fan with a carbon filter and I'm using the exhaust to cool the light before it exits the tent. Nutes I'm using Ro/soft and CalMag plus. Temp is constant 75-79 and humidity is between 54-58% consistently. This is my first grow and if it is successful I will be converting a massive shed into 3 rooms and growing perpetually, aiming to harvetmst every 6 weeks. The strain he gave me is Bubba Kush

 

[24/7Grind]

The files were too big so i had to screenshot them but this was a pic from 16 days ago when I got them and last night

 

[QBCrocket]

if you going to keep them all in that space turn them now ,

 

[24/7Grind]

Ok, I can flip them tonight when I get out of work. I do have a net with 6" squares, I topped them a few days ago. When should I set up the net? My 1000w metal halide is at 50% for veg and I'll be using 1000w hps for flower

 

[24/7Grind]

Also I had them on a 24 hour light cycle... shoukd i run 18/6 for 2 or 3 days prior to switching to 12/12 or is it ok to just jump straight to 12/12? I've heard mixed opinions on that topic

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Scrogging I s more than just putting a net over your grow. With an actual scrog, you veg your plant for quite a long time and train the branches to grow horizontally under the screen. Any growing tips that poke up are put back down under the screen to grow horizontally. When it comes times to flower, you let the buds grow up through the screen so pretty much all that is above the screen is buds. With the number of plants you have in the space you have and the short vegging, it is more like a SOG with a screen.

I personally wouldn't put them into 12/12 until they are sexually mature.

 

[24/7Grind]

I apologize, sea of green is what he told me. I was under the impression they were the same thing because alot if research I've done always says scrogging or SOG. My fault on that one... I've done a ton of research and I'm willing to put in the time but i was expecting some hands on help on this grow and now I'm solo, hence how i landed here. My goal at this point is to salvage a decent grow and not make any big mistakes, obviously. I was planning on flipping them in a week or 2, but i will go sooner if that's better. My next grow will be 6 plants in a 5x5 and to just have 2 tents set up. So what is the difference between sea of green and screw of green? I thought both involved netting and bending the plants to grow outward instead of upward...

 

[zem]

well, you could possibly go a little bit longer if you think that they are not sexually mature. You have the possibility of thinning them down if they are too big. In a typical scrog it is normally thinned below the screen.

 

[24/7Grind]

Like I said, I am pretty new at this... how/when do i determine sexual maturity? I thought this occurred when you switch to the flowering cycle... also the clones are supposed to be all female. And trimming the plant below the canopy won't stress it out?

 

[zem]

Like I said, I am pretty new at this... how/when do i determine sexual maturity? I thought this occurred when you switch to the flowering cycle... also the clones are supposed to be all female. And trimming the plant below the canopy won't stress it out?

ok then I guess they are sexually mature. you can tell that by looking to see if the plant is showing some pistils and if the internodes are alternating then it is mature

 

[24/7Grind]

Ok... I'll definitely flip them later this week then. I'm just lost now lol. Should I still use the net or just let them go? Should i transplant them from 1g to 3g before i flip them or let them finish in the 1g?

 

[QBCrocket]

In pictures above I let my clones get to around 12 inches tall then laid the mesh down on them so the branches were running horizontally to a point I actually broke a couple, but zip ties and lec tape and they were as good as new , in the first week of switching they will have a huge growth spurt and you need to move branches to places were they will get their own light need to do this daily , I tried with the 6 inch net to sog couple years ago didn't work but the smaller squares give you more control Clones and seeds are completely different I think seeds you would need the plant to mature but clones not so much , when I first joined MP Keef posted some pictures of buds growing straight out of his aerator just buds no branches , changed the way I thought about my grow - I think if you let them get 2 big in the space you have you will find a lot of undergrowth will be wasted due to no light , good luck hope it goes well

 

[St_Nick]

All of that aside, since you just topped them you need to wait until they recover before you flip them. I would wait 7 to 10 days

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Sea of Green (SOG) is where you take a whole bunch of plants--sometimes as many as 4 per sq ft., don't veg them long, and flip them early. You end up with a bunch of single cola plants that will generally produce under an ounce. IMO, this is generally counter-productive. Plants will not flower until they are sexually mature, regardless of when you flip the lights. When you flip the lights early, you are simply depriving them of light.

Screen of Green (SCROG) is where you take fewer plants, you veg them for longer and train the plants to grow horizontally under the screen. This training should start while they are still young. There should be none to little foliage above the screen. Then when the plants start flowering, you let the buds grow up through the screen. Just putting a screen over your grow really doesn't make it a scrog.

I would suggest that you do some reading and studying so you understand more about the physiology of cannabis. Sexual maturity is generally denoted by alternating nodes and the appearance of pistils (or pollen sacs in the case of males). It generally takes 6 weeks when growing from seed. As you re running clones, they may have alternating nodes already--clones are the same biologic age as the plant it came from. This is the reason that you cannot clone autos. Even with clones though, I like to wait for the appearance of pistils before I flip.

Even if they are all supposed to be female, keep an eye out. You could get a hermy, especially if mom came from a bag seed.. I have also had a plant be 100% male that was supposed to be from a feminized seed. Never get complacent.

If you have an overcrowded tent/space, DO NOT top them. This just makes them shorter and bushier, a condition you do not want in an already overcrowded space.

 

[24/7Grind]

Hemp Goddess, thank you. That was very informative and I really appreciate the detail . I have done countless hours of research on growing but almost none on the plants itself, so point well taken. A buddy of mine just had his clones die and is offering me some cash for 4 of my plants... should I sell him 3 or 4 and clear the tent a little? I topped them Saturday so this upcoming Saturday will make 7 days when I planned on flipping them. Do I keep the 12? They are approximately 16" tall from coco to the highest point as they sit right now... and once again, thank you all for your time

 

[24/7Grind]

Updated pics