micro grow Micro Scrog

[Crow River]

Hello folks. I have been growing in a small cabinet for nearly a year now (85h x 70w x 60d - centimetres, not inches). LED lighting, growing in soil. Exclusively autoflowering strains to this point, mainly because they don't grow so tall and are slightly less complicated to bring to harvest.

 

I have some feminised seeds from photoperiod strains, a couple of freebies and also some subbie seeds. I was thinking about trying to grow one later in the year. Given the lack of headroom in my cabinet (after taking into account the lights) I'll need some way of keeping the plant short, and I'll have to think about which strain might be best suited.

 

Was mulling the option of doing a scrog grow, to try and keep the canopy low and away from the lights. I've done a bit of reading on the topic, but most spaces I see using this technique have a bit more headroom. 

 

So my question is really whether this is feasible in such a squat space? I mean I've seen pics of scrog grows in PC cases, but the plants were really tiny. I've got a bit more space than that (about 0.7 square metres) but not much more height.

 

Also I suppose any tips about pot size, strain choice, etc. I read that for scrog with a single plant it's good to use a fairly big pot, say 20 or 30 litres. However I wonder if using a smaller pot will help to keep the plant stretch more manageable?

 

My freebie seeds are Peyote Critical and Green Crack. I'll probably try one of these first, as they're single seed packs so no risk of others in the packet going off once opened. From what I've read elsewhere, Green Crack seems more difficult to train as it grows very tall. Maybe Peyote Critical might be a more appropriate choice for this space?

 

[inceywinceyspider]

Scrog is perfect for your space, you just use the size pot to fit your space/light from owderbs guide. You can have the screen any height within reason. Basically if it's a low stretch plant you grow it till it fills up to 90% of the screen and if it's high stretch up to 50% when you flower you tuck it under as it stretches.

[BilgePump]

If you think autos are less complicated yer in for a very pleasant surprise once you start popping photos 

 

[Crow River]

1 hour ago, inceywinceyspider said:

Scrog is perfect for your space, you just use the size pot to fit your space/light from owderbs guide. You can have the screen any height within reason. Basically if it's a low stretch plant you grow it till it fills up to 90% of the screen and if it's high stretch up to 50% when you flower you tuck it under as it stretches.

 

Cheers, I searched that guide up and found it. Very helpful rule of thumb. Both strains are supposedly "tall" so I'm guessing it'll be 50%!  

 

Looks like scrog will be a good option maybe. So I've got a screen to sort out for the autumn... 

[Crow River]

30 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

If you think autos are less complicated yer in for a very pleasant surprise once you start popping photos 

 

 

I was just meaning stuff like judging the veg time and so on. Autos just do what they do, which is handy when starting out. TBH I've also stuck with autos so far because my lights are not up to the job. I started the cabinet on a low budget. The lights I'm using are fine for 18 or 20 hours for growing autos (or vegging a photo) but they don't put out enough light for flowering 12/12. 

I have a better, dimmable main light that I am planning to fit in the cabinet, but haven't got around to it yet. Still growing with the original setup. I'll try and get a run of autos with the new lighting before attempting the scrog. That will allow me to test out using the dimmer and suchlike, as the new light will be overkill for 18/6 for instance... 

 

[BilgePump]

Again I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised regarding growth habits and controllability , I get what yer saying though dude.

 

What is it you have waiting to takeover as yer light source? 

 

[Crow River]

@BilgePump, just a Chinese quantum board thing. I tested it and it draws around 130 watts from the wall at full intensity. I know that doesn't sound much but for my space with the low ceiling it should be more than enough. If the PPFD charts are to be believed then I'll need to dim the light for most of the grow... 

 

Thinking is if I do a run of autos first I can dial in the "veg" levels for the scrog grow at least...

[BilgePump]

Those Chinese boards do a fair job from what I've seen , it's just pot luck as to what turns up quality wise sometimes I fear.

 

I've almost owned a couple numerous times now but life kept getting in the way , saving for some par+ boards right now and I'll see it through if it kills me 

 

Sounds fair , especially if yer familiar with autos enough to know what to expect to some extent.

Personally I've only ever stuck autos outside and left them to it so I know nothing of how they go about business on the day to day.

 

[Military Grade]

@BilgePump

Might be worth looking at the Voost lights. Also British company, same power per board but come with UVA diodes too.

 

@mister phlegm

Has a diary with one of them

 

 

Edited January 26, 2022 by Military Grade
Edited to add link

[BilgePump]

@Military Grade I think I read somewhere on here that UV diodes on a full spectrum board aren't Ideal , like they have different parameters to say an lm301b for example and/or can reduce a units lifespan , the exact science evades me right now.

Growlights Australia use white LEDs with a near UV coating to get round this by all accounts, others just offer full UV supplemental strips etc I guess, like I said the technical bits are somewhere floating around these boards , somewhere.

 

[Military Grade]

Just now, BilgePump said:

@Military Grade I think I read somewhere on here that UV diodes on a full spectrum board aren't Ideal , like they have different parameters to say an lm301b for example and/or can reduce a units lifespan , the exact science evades me right now.

Growlights Australia use white LEDs with a near UV coating to get round this by all accounts, others just offer full UV supplemental strips etc I guess, like I said the technical bits are somewhere floating around these boards , somewhere.

 

Maybe, i've also seen someone on here who seemsed clued up about UV talking about getting a high end board with them included ,

but i have no idea myself

[BilgePump]

@Military Grade I think they are fine provided they have their own dedicated driver and aren't just added to the circuit running the other LEDs ...I think.... 

 we should probably just stop now 

 

[Crow River]

2 hours ago, BilgePump said:

Those Chinese boards do a fair job from what I've seen , it's just pot luck as to what turns up quality wise sometimes I fear.

 

I've almost owned a couple numerous times now but life kept getting in the way , saving for some par+ boards right now and I'll see it through if it kills me 

 

Sounds fair , especially if yer familiar with autos enough to know what to expect to some extent.

Personally I've only ever stuck autos outside and left them to it so I know nothing of how they go about business on the day to day.

 

 

Yeah I've no great expectations of the light, but if it lasts a year or two then it'll see me through a few grows hopefully. Had decent customer reviews so we'll see. It's certainly bloody bright at full whack!

 

I can't make the comparison as I've no experience with photos, but so far what I've learned about autos is they really don't like being overfed!  Apart from that I reckon they're not difficult to grow. I look forward to trying out the Real McCoy photoperiod strains in due course...

 

[v12xjs]

Assuming you can use the full 130w and shooting for 1 gpw, you're looking at around 6 oz once it's all dialled in.
I get an oz of healthy buds from 1 litre of coco or about 2 litres of soil, so in soil I'd guess 12 - 15 litres would be a good startpoint.
They will grow faster if you give them more.

Scrog and LST also reduce the effects of stretch quite a lot. I tend to top a plant to get 4 sidebraches and grow those on. As the roots then need to power the stretch in 4 tops rather than 1, it reduces it to about a quarter of what it would be otherwise. So instead of doubling in height, I get a 25 - 50% increase.

 

Barneys Farm gear is purely for souveniers if you ask me. Go with the green crack

[Crow River]

1 hour ago, v12xjs said:

Assuming you can use the full 130w and shooting for 1 gpw, you're looking at around 6 oz once it's all dialled in.
I get an oz of healthy buds from 1 litre of coco or about 2 litres of soil, so in soil I'd guess 12 - 15 litres would be a good startpoint.
They will grow faster if you give them more.

Scrog and LST also reduce the effects of stretch quite a lot. I tend to top a plant to get 4 sidebraches and grow those on. As the roots then need to power the stretch in 4 tops rather than 1, it reduces it to about a quarter of what it would be otherwise. So instead of doubling in height, I get a 25 - 50% increase.

 

Barneys Farm gear is purely for souveniers if you ask me. Go with the green crack

 

Assuming I can keep the canopy low enough, then hopefully I should be able to use the lights at nearly full intensity during flower. 12-15 litres for the final pot sounds doable. Might use a washing bowl or similar to keep the height down. 

 

Thanks for the tips on topping, it does seem it will be essential for my situation, and desirable to get a better yield. 

 

I've heard great things about the mythical Green Crack, however was a bit worried I might mess things up on the first attempt. From what I've read, Peyote Critical could be a bit more forgiving and less lanky due to heavier Indica genetics. Though I suppose it might depend on the individual seed. I suppose I can just limit the veg period a bit if the plant's getting stretchy...