SOG (Sea of Green) Explained

Cannabis is such a diverse plant and how we are able to grow it indoors allows us to alternate from long winded seasonal growing, to produce a quick turn around and abundant harvests. Sea of Green is the name given to a setup of a large number of smaller sized plants, that are purposely kept small during the growing phase and when flowered will grow to a medium height. Below is everything you need to know about S.O.G and the benefits associated.

What Does SOG Mean?

Have you ever flowered your tent or grow room and thought you could have filled the space much more? Or perhaps you could have easily added more plants or spent the time to train them ensuring your grow space is full from wall to wall? A Sea of Green set up will deliver that exact result and as the name indicates, when the plants are ready to harvest, there is literally a green sea of plants. Of course, you can still replicate this in a small grow space when having to decide if it is better to have big plants that take time to train, or lots of smaller plants.

Short Vegetative Times

During the growing phase of 18/6 when Cannabis plants are forming roots and foliage, it is best to give seedlings up to 10 days and rooted clones 7 days of vegetative time. One of the advantages of keeping the growing phase seriously short is the amount of nutrients used is minimised, making your nutrient bottles stretch much further. The other is your electric bills will be greatly reduced compared to a 6–8-week growing phase with one large plant.

No Plant Training Required

Perfect for commercial scale farming, Sea of Green does not require any plant training such as low stress training, super cropping, pruning and topping. The seedlings or clones are simply left to stretch and grow to a medium height at best. If you are not comfortable with low stress or high stress training, then S.O.G may be the perfect alternative for you.

Which Strains Work Best?

If you have ever browsed through a seed catalogue and noticed the breeder has explained how the strain is well suited for S.O.G or SCROG, this is because the growth structure, size and flowering time will be most suitable for a Sea of Green set up. Normally indica and short stocky plants work best, as they will grow to around 75-100cm. Some hybrids can be good candidates also, but the indica dominant ones will also be the most consistent. A good tip is to thoroughly research which strains are best suited according to breeders, as this will make life much easier in the long run and especially when it comes to selecting the best mother plants for S.O.G.

No Need for Big Pots

You should grow smaller sized plants in pots of 6.5L and never grow in large containers such as 10L or more. The plants simply won’t have a chance to fill the pots with roots, so in this case it is advised to work with 6.5L to 9L. In a 1.2 metre tent for example, you could have 16 x 6.5L pots, and be ready to harvest within 9 weeks as long as you have an 8-week flowering strain. As long as you follow everything carefully and grow the best plants possible, then you should finish with a tent that is packed full of top-quality buds.

The 7 Advantages Associated:

• Electricity bills are cut down as 18/6 is only required for 7-10 days at the most.
• Small amounts of growing nutrients and root boosters are needed.
• Fast turnaround on a crop.
• Perfect for commercial scale farming.
• Zero plant training required.  
• Harvest short to medium sized plants.
• Ideal for small spaces and limited height. 

Perpetual Harvests:

One of the main benefits about a Sea of Green set up is that you can harvest every 8-9 weeks depending on how fast your strain finishes. This means that when a grower who spends 8-10 weeks vegetating a huge plant for SCROG or will only flower by the time another grower with a S.O.G setup is ready for their second run.