What Is Sea of Green (SOG)? The Dutch Technique for Fast Harvests

By @ladygrower420

What is SOG?

SOG, short for Sea of Green, is a cannabis growing technique developed by Dutch growers in the 1970s: you pack lots of small plants close together and flip them to flower after a very short veg, so the canopy turns into one even "sea" of buds. It's all about fast harvests and maximum yield per square meter, and it's one of the best-known ways to get the most out of a grow space.

SOG is a growing technique the Dutch came up with in the 1970s, and it changed commercial growing for good. The name comes from "Sea of Green," and the idea is simple: grow lots of small plants per square meter, packed in tight.

It combines two things most growers want, minimum time and maximum yield, which is why it's so popular. But there are a few things to keep in mind if you want to pull it off. 

If you want to dig deeper into this technique, check out our Intermediate Growing Course (in Spanish)

Why growers use SOG

The big advantage that made this technique famous is that plants spend less time in veg and still deliver a heavy harvest, with tons of buds per square meter or in whatever space you're working with.

Cutting down veg time like that can get you one extra harvest a year if you want it.

Pro tip

For SOG, clones are your best bet, since they guarantee your plants share the same traits, like growth rate and height, so you end up with an even canopy, the "sea of green" you're going for.

You can run SOG from seed too, but stick to a single strain. Ideally, skip tall sativas so you can keep all your plants at the same height under the grow lights and get growth as even as possible. If you still want to run sativas like that, we'll get to that below.

How to set up a Sea of Green

Growers usually pick strains that naturally grow one dominant main cola with minimal side branching. Indicas and indica-dominant hybrids fit that bill, and some strains are especially well suited to SOG, like Super Skunk, Afghani, Hindu Kush and, thanks to how sturdy it is, the classic Northern Lights, among others.

Once your plants reach about 20-30 cm (8-12 in) tall, it's time to flip them to flower, meaning a 12/12 light schedule. For plants that size, use pots 20-30 cm (8-12 in) across, roughly 7-11 liters (about 2-3 gallons).

Keep in mind that container size limits how many weeks of veg you can give your plants. In the pots above, clones can only handle about 8 weeks of veg before their roots get tangled and stressed for lack of space. If you want a longer veg phase, go with bigger containers.

More vigorous strains like sativas and sativa-dominant hybrids can branch out like crazy and eat up a lot of space. In that case, prune off the lower branches to let more light through and push the plant into one fatter, better-developed main cola, and that pruning also improves airflow around the whole plant.

If you're just getting started, check out our Successful Growing Course (in Spanish). 

Good training is everything! 

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