Outdoor SCROG for stealth, who's done it? (On the cheap)

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TSD

TSD

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Does anyone have any tried and true methods/materials for an outdoor scrog, preferably on the cheap? Last year I grew trees and they were too obvious, even behind 2 fences. Initially I had them trained and tied down, but we had an awful storm, microburst and shit, that beat them up, split trunks, even uprooted one, I had to untie and repair them... and then they went ham lol. I think this year I may attempt an outdoor scrog. My DIY plan in my stoner head is to use garden fencing, the green coated one with the rectangular openings, and attach it to the metal posts that are for the same purpose, they have little hooks at various heights to hold the fencing.
My questions are; will this be strong enough to subdue vigorous plants? They are in full sun all day and get babied, I always basically have trees. My garden is good soil for about a foot, my holes for the gals are great soil for about 2-3 feet, but beyond that, it's all sand and rocks... I fear they might just push the fence up as they grow. I suppose I could put the stakes in concrete if I have to.... but this is my vegetable garden as well and it gets reconfigured endlessly, so I'd prefer not to have anything permanent.
Are the openings on that fencing the right size? I've never scrogged anything... wait... 🤣
I know you're supposed to manifold and all that jazz to do a proper scrog, but I'm beyond the time for that now, so I'm just going to attempt to grow them horizontally and offer support... maybe even a double layer of fencing, one low to support weight, one high to keep them under control?
I haven't topped yet, wasn't going to this year, but they may get a late haircut now that I have this idea. I have done some LST to expose the lower branches on a few of the ladies and they are growing up nicely, I would like to do the same to my 3 younger ones as well, but I don't have the space or light coverage to really spread them out properly, I think the younger gals will end up in containers, which of course will keep them smaller. I realize I can put them all in containers, but this will be my smoke for the year, so I don't want to shoot myself in the foot too bad.
I have at least 2 more weeks till I put them out, once the cold is for sure over, the ground is warm and the daylight is just over 15 hours... so time to plan and build something if I can get the materials. Any input appreciated!☮️
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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Nothing against scrogs ... in fact, a scrog is an ideal way to shorten a plant's profile. However, a tree is a tree and will always be more obvious than a bush.

The best way to limit size is to limit root growth. Consider using fabric pots and plant them directly in the ground. A very loose rule of thumb is 5 gallon pot will grow up to about a 5' plant. A 7 gallon pot, up to 7' plant. I would choose a pot size that keeps your plants at a heights comfortable enough to scrog and remain discrete.

Edit: Welded wire fence makes a good outdoor scrog net (coated is better). Look for roughly 3" mesh hole pattern. Treated 2 x 2's make for an easy to build outdoor scrog frame. PVC pipe is another and possibly cheaper option for a scrog frame.
 
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mysticepipedon

mysticepipedon

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I used to put a stealth plant or two in my backyard each summer. My main interest was keeping the plants short to keep from peeking over the fence. Tying them down worked best for me. I didn't want some structure attracting attention.

One summer I planted a 2 foot plant in a mound of soil at a strong angle. As it tried to grow upright, I'd bend and tie down the branch tips. It was like a creeping shrub. After a couple of weeks of that, so many growing points were stimulated by light that it only got about 3 - 3.5 feet tall.
 
TSD

TSD

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Nothing against scrogs ... in fact, a scrog is an ideal way to shorten a plant's profile. However, a tree is a tree and will always be more obvious than a bush.

The best way to limit size is to limit root growth. Consider using fabric pots and plant them directly in the ground. A very loose rule of thumb is 5 gallon pot will grow up to about a 5' plant. A 7 gallon pot, up to 7' plant. I would choose a pot size that keeps your plants at a heights comfortable enough to scrog and remain discrete.

Edit: Welded wire fence makes a good outdoor scrog net (coated is better). Look for roughly 3" mesh hole pattern. Treated 2 x 2's make for an easy to build outdoor scrog frame. PVC pipe is another and possibly cheaper option for a scrog frame.
Yeah I did a few in fabric pots in the ground last year at my second location, they were still big, not as big as my special girls lol. I guess I just want to have my cake and eat it too. 🤣
 
TSD

TSD

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I used to put a stealth plant or two in my backyard each summer. My main interest was keeping the plants short to keep from peeking over the fence. Tying them down worked best for me. I didn't want some structure attracting attention.

One summer I planted a 2 foot plant in a mound of soil at a strong angle. As it tried to grow upright, I'd bend and tie down the branch tips. It was like a creeping shrub. After a couple of weeks of that, so many growing points were stimulated by light that it only got about 3 - 3.5 feet tall.
Yeah that's kind of my plan, make it long and low... just trying to figure out the best way to make that happen.
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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Yeah I did a few in fabric pots in the ground last year at my second location, they were still big, not as big as my special girls lol. I guess I just want to have my cake and eat it too. 🤣
Do you have a plant count limit? Michigan plant count limit is 12. I'll be running 8 in my greenhouse. My intent is to keep them all 5' or less. I should harvest about a 1/2 lb a plant easily.
 
TSD

TSD

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Do you have a plant count limit? Michigan plant count limit is 12. I'll be running 8 in my greenhouse. My intent is to keep them all 5' or less. I should harvest about a 1/2 lb a plant easily.
Yes, 3 veg, 3 flower per adult, I currently have 6 and one baby that will be elsewhere. Not even sure all 6 will go here... don't like putting all my eggs in one basket.
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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Yeah that's kind of my plan, make it long and low... just trying to figure out the best way to make that happen.
Unrestricted roots will mean its not entirely possible to determine the plant's final size. However, planting the plant at a 45 degree angle as suggested while using a scrog trellis might give you the biggest plant at the lowest profile. I would still bind the roots in a fabric pot ... even if you chose the 10 gallon size or larger.
 
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Madmax

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Ive mentioned this quite alot how i grow for stealth outdoors.soon as they are up they are sown straight into the ground and once they get to the 3rd node i top and once plant is say 7 inches tall i then gradually bend the plant over and train those 6 branches for 3 months or so then let them come up.i use fencing wire and use that to peg the branches down and the secondarys that come off that and end up with a plant 2metres wide and 1.5 high and heaps of tops...i did bend quite a few branches with string to position them keeping the canopy even..i did do a diary on it how i go about it..sunset sherbet-blue cheese.just a couple pics of the grow..itsa scrog without a net but used a net towards the end just to keep the branches upright. The net was a little pticey as it is waterproof ..you could just jock through it looking at the pics just to give you an idea ..works well but the damn odor wasvsoo friggen loud i had some unwanted visitors at the end..pics
Download 1
Download
 
TSD

TSD

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I've got a good start on the 2 older ladies, but like I said, I'm running out of space. Don't mind thier slight light stress, we were on day 2 of hardening and mama got preoccupied with tilling the garden, didn't move them, and they sat in full sun for a couple hours. Poor girls, already looks better today... buck up buttercups! They're staying inside today while the other ladies have a field trip to the outdoors.
 
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TSD

TSD

2,795
263
Ive mentioned this quite alot how i grow for stealth outdoors.soon as they are up they are sown straight into the ground and once they get to the 3rd node i top and once plant is say 7 inches tall i then gradually bend the plant over and train those 6 branches for 3 months or so then let them come up.i use fencing wire and use that to peg the branches down and the secondarys that come off that and end up with a plant 2metres wide and 1.5 high and heaps of tops...i did bend quite a few branches with string to position them keeping the canopy even..i did do a diary on it how i go about it..sunset sherbet-blue cheese.just a couple pics of the grow..itsa scrog without a net but used a net towards the end just to keep the branches upright. The net was a little pticey as it is waterproof ..you could just jock through it looking at the pics just to give you an idea ..works well but the damn odor wasvsoo friggen loud i had some unwanted visitors at the end..picsView attachment 1243290View attachment 1243291
Gorgeous!
 
TSD

TSD

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The 3 younger ladies are opened up a little, but not as much as I'd like... I'll have to bite the bullet and buy a tent for my startup every year. I don't know why my phone makes them lime green... my eyes do not see that color irl lol
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MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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Fortunately a tent for starts (both garden and cannabis starts) doesn't have to be large. A 2' x 4' by 60" tent lit with a few 4000k to 5000k 4 foot LED shop lights is all you need. Smaller works too but the 4 foot wide means it's easy to find cheap shop light style LEDs to light it with.
 
Mudballs

Mudballs

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You can wait quite a bit more before you train them and split them open. At the size they are now TSD, i wouldn't even sweat it. I want them bigger before i mess with them.
Those are just sticks i use and some wire.
 
Blastfact

Blastfact

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Back when I grew outdoor and a 40 years prison sentence could be yours for the asking. I pulled them over and used light weight hemp rope and rebar stakes to control them.
 
mysticepipedon

mysticepipedon

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I've got a good start on the 2 older ladies, but like I said, I'm running out of space. Don't mind thier slight light stress, we were on day 2 of hardening and mama got preoccupied with tilling the garden, didn't move them, and they sat in full sun for a couple hours. Poor girls, already looks better today... buck up buttercups! They're staying inside today while the other ladies have a field trip to the outdoors.
Looking good! You may even have to thin out those upright branches.
 

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