Scrog - train before plant reaches screen?

[Chronic777]

Hey, im totally new to scrog, but i got a screen that fits my tent & is height adjustable...
Im gonna be growing super lemon haze & growing it tall (over 1m) isn't an option.
So im trying to get my scrog technique half figured out in advance...

Would it be a good idea to train the plant a bit before it reaches the screen?
Meaning when it does reach you should only have to tie it down once to the screen, so then you can have all your bud sites preplanned & evenly spread out through pre-training where they go to on the screen.

Im thinking of vegging and pretraining the branches at even distances apart, then when i start flowering & get budsites, to lower the screen onto the bud sites & tie them down, then hopefully i shouldn't have to tie down the branches anymore?

Id really appreciate some advice if this sounds plausable or not?
Im just concerned about having to tie down the branches to the screen over & over & it becomes a ridiculous mess with buds unevenly spread out

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[bigtopsfinn]

I do as much LST as possible first. I put the screen on once it's at a good height from the soil (enough so that I can water). Then veg for a week or two, pulling the new shoots back under the screen and out farther towards the edges of the screen, or to fill in gaps in the middle. Depending on strain and how it stretches, you'll want to fill in anywhere from 30-70% before flowering.

With this way you get many more bud sites, as you give the little buds at all the nodes along each branch a chance to grow up to the screen. With some of the longer branches, I'll tie a string to it about halfway down and pull it up to the screen, so that the node there and all the nodes above it along the branch are at screen level and getting maximum lighting.

Hope that makes sense

 

[Chronic777]

Cool, you've turned me all around on the matter!
It makes perfect sense for the braches to travel along the screen towards the edge or centre as then it allows the smaller budding areas along the branch enough room to get light aswell
I was kinda planning on just focusing on the main colas of each branch...

 

[bigtopsfinn]

Different strokes for different folks

That's just how I do it, I think the way you described it will work fine also. Depends on how many plants, what the area is, how long to veg, lights, etc.. With my way, you won't need to cut off as much of the lower growth, since it's all mostly even. By just having a few main tops, you will have several tiny undeveloped bud sites on each branch. Of course they can (and should) be cut off, but I believe in more bending and less cutting.

 

[VerdantGreen]

good post.

tucking the branches under the screen is better than tying down. if you want the branches to get longer then let them grow up through the screen for a few days before tucking them back down, and if you want the laterals to develop then tuck the tops back under more regularly.

i top once or more during veg - works better for me that way.

VG.

 

[Chronic777]

I think im gonna go for a combo of first tying down a bit, then tucking under the screen, im just thinking with 3/4 plants i gotta keep an eye out where im heading on the screen or the buds are gonna bump into each other, although i suppose you can tuck in any direction you see fit?

Also, when would be best to lower the screen onto the plant & start training it on the screen, just before flowering?
Or isit best to scrog it for a couple weeks in veg before flipping the lights?

 

[bigtopsfinn]

Depends on the stretch... If it's a 8-9 week flowering plant, aim to fill about 60-70% of the screen before flowering. But yeah, I'd give it at least a week of veg with the screen, maybe more.

 

[Chronic777]

Cool thanks for the tips you've helped alot, im really looking forward to doing this, before i wouldn't have considered it but i much prefer sativas, so i gotta get into the scrog game...

ps Its super lemon haze, 9-10 weeks...

 

[mellow yellow]

All helpful info thanks

 

[FreezerBoy]

Sounds like double the work load for no benefit. The point of the screen is to train the plant. If you train without, the screen serves no purpose other than chewing up your time.

 

[ScrogBoxJenkins]

Sounds like double the work load for no benefit. The point of the screen is to train the plant. If you train without, the screen serves no purpose other than chewing up your time.

Yea that!^^ Your plant will reach the screen faster, if you dont cut the top off of it...

 

[milehighmedical]

.

 

[VerdantGreen]

if you keep the plants under the screen rather than weaving it then you can still adjust the branches as they grow.
with something like a stretchy haze then you want to use the screen to take up some of the stretch so i would flip early rather than late.

as for topping, i find that you get a more even and managable scrog by having more than one growing tip to strain under (having topped it). also with plants grown from seed - especially sativas, i find that it is harder to divert the growth hormones from the tops and the dominant cola (or colas) will still grow quite long with less sidebranching resulting in a less even canopy - so having at least 4 dominant tops before you start is better from my experience.

many ways to do it though and the best way to learn what works for you is to do it

with a stretchy strain the biggest mistake most beginners make is to fill the screen too much before they flip - leaving them nowhere to go but up - and that can get messy if height and penetration is restricted. having said that, having 6 or so inches of height in colas above the screen will lead to a good yield if you can keep it under control

VG.

 

[Chronic777]

Im gonna be growing the super lemon haze verdant, it can be quite stretchy, do you reckon it would be a good idea to keep the plants under the screen and stretch them out under the screen, rather than weave it over & under?

Its seems alot simpler & tidier to keep it under the screen...

I can't wait to get going, i think im never gonna turn back after using this method...

 

[VerdantGreen]

yep, keep them under the screen as then you can still move the branches to even out the canopy. you also want to let it start growing up through the screen before the stretch has finished so you get some nice colas. think of scrog as a 3 dimensional box that you are trying to fill with buds - first you cover the bottom with budsites then let them stretch up to fill the box just as they top out - in an ideal world that is what happens

its a bit long now and i do modular scrog, but if you look through my grow diary link you will get some good tips and pictures that may help you.

V.

 

[Chronic777]

I was thinking to let them start growing up/through the screen when the flowers start to properly form, as that must be nearing the end of the stretch, would that be roughly right?

Your thread is so great man, nice to see the sharksbreath there, that last nugshot, the pink hairs, my lord!
I just received my lemon haze seeds this morning and they came with a free sharksbreath & cole train seed, i got a real good feeling about this lemon haze

 

[VerdantGreen]

sounds good! - always a tough call when first growing a strain - if you keep good notes then you can really dial it in on the second go. scrog is pretty forgiving though and even if its not perfect you'll still get a good yield.

VG

 

[Chronic777]

Im def gonna top at least once aswell to try & keep an even canopy, i think im gonna need patience with this one though i heard lemon haze is a slow starter, gonna get the seeds in the riot root cubes tonight, i love fresh starts

 

[Lord_Shagrath]

Good luck dude, you can check out my SLH scrog.

 

[Chronic777]

Yeah im def gonna keep checking in on your thread seeing as your a month or so infront of me, id love to see the pics of your training under the screen evolve...
How far the branch ends up from its original pot etc...