Need Scrog Help Please!

Hello,

This is my 4th grow.. Fairly certain I have the grow room and DWC setup fairly well sorted as the plant grows fast and no signs of deficiency, but still having problems with the actual growing of the plant using the scrog method..

So basically I know how to do the actual scrog, I top the plant, let the two tops grow up to the screen then start filling in the screen till about 85% full, switch 12/12, fill rest of screen then let all tops grow up into light and bud up..

1st thing I don't understand is why I keep reading everywhere to keep the nodes as close as possible, I know they need to be as close as possible from the screen to the light to make the buds tight and no stem showing.. But what about filling in the screen horizontally?

When I fill in the screen horizontally, the MH light makes the nodes very close around 1cm apart (even when the light is 4ft from the screen).. So there is a new top/cola every 1 - 2 cm throughout a 5 x 5 screen.. Making around 160 tops on my last grow..

My problem is that when those tops grow up into the light all the fan leaves at the very top create a blanket effect because all the tops are so close together.. Meaning only the very top of each cola is getting light.. Everything underneath, around a foot of stem, is getting no light.

Also it takes a very long time to cut and trim 160 small tops once dried from only one 600w light.

How do I grow the plant to create say only 20 bigger thicker tops, each having room for light to reach the bottom, instead of 160 smaller ones receiving no light beneath the top blanket of fan leaves?

All I can think of is grow the plant how I have been, and after filling out the screen after the stretch.. I cut off 80% of the tops at the stem it connects to below the screen.. Leaving say around 20 tops with 5 - 10cm of space around each one.

I know this would stress the plant for a bit.. Don't know whether the plant would know to make these 20 tops that are left bigger/thicker than they were if there were 160..

Thanks for any input

Is this too long and no one is reading it?

Anyone?

So your question is basically.

How do you get several big buds rather than (160) smaller buds?
When your plants grow into and above the screen you will see main tops trying to take off !! So instead to pulling under screen and or topping let them colas grow !

Hey man, how long did you keep scrogging after you flipped to 12/12?

I'm on my second scrog and Im loving it, how long you keep tucking them under the screen I believe depends on the strain. For example my current scrog in my signature, I trained them for about 10 days from flipping to 12/12. I kinda wish I had stopped a few days early to let the buds stretch up further from the screen. No doubt they will swell up, but ive kinda lost some vertical space.

kiwipaulie said:

Hey man, how long did you keep scrogging after you flipped to 12/12?

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For about a week, that's not my issue though. I'm trying to work out how to grow the plant so I only end up with say 10 - 20 medium - large sized colas, instead of 150 small ones.. With having 150 tops, all the fan leaves are crossing over each other and creating a blanket, meaning no light is getting down below..

Purple veins said:

When your plants grow into and above the screen you will see main tops trying to take off !! So instead to pulling under screen and or topping let them colas grow !

Click to expand...

But if I don't top or pull anything under the screen the plant will just get one big main top.. I'm trying to fill a 5x5 area with say 10 - 20 medium sized tops using one huge plant..