Sea of Green is a famous Dutch method of growing cannabis indoors that is designed around two of the most omnipresent issues of cannabis cultivation – yield per square meter and time, maximizing the first while minimizing the latter.
Sea of Green (SOG)
The most defining feature of this method is the cultivation of small plants, preferable the clones from a single parent plant, so that all plants are the same, as much as possible. Instead of letting flowers become unwieldy and individualistic, so to speak, the idea is to create a level, sea-like field which absorbs equal amounts of light throughout and thus makes the most out of both space and light.
In short, SOG is all about uniformity.
How SOG Works
SOG employs small pots which need to be placed close together, but not too close in order to keep plants from trying to outgrow each other and avoid the “jungle effect.” So, the plants shouldn’t initially touch each other, which is why the SOG should be initiated around the fourth week of the bud formation.
Another key element of SOG is its short vegetative phase – around 2 weeks or less, which is followed by a 12-12 (12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness) flowering cycle while the plants are still relatively young and small. This leads plants to focus all their energy on creating one main bud.
It’s important to note that while the vegetative stage should be short, and plants should be pruned throughout both the vegetative and flowering stages in order to drive them to bring out one dominant bud, you should be careful not to go overboard and stunt plants by butchering them or giving them too little time to vegetate, even by SOG standards.
The short vegetative stage makes for more grow cycles and harvests.
Trimming the wild leaves and weedy branches is also important for quality air circulation throughout.
Maintenance
From here, it’s indispensable that all plants receive equal amounts of light. You need tomake sure all light sources are high enough, placed correctly, and don’t create “hot spots” – these are some of the most widespread mistakes in general cannabis cultivation.
Cannabis Varieties for SOG
Cultivars like Northern Lights, Hindu Kush, Super Skunk, and Afghani #1 work well as they tend to be shorter and neater, making them easier to control and thus more suitable for this streamlined method.
While cutting corners usually ends up being more time, energy, and financially consuming, SOG is definitely an exception. Do it right and you can get a great yield per meter in a much shorter time. It’s a great option for cultivators without much space, time, or those who have found a variety they love and want more of.
