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Edit: Figures that I notice there is an entire section for outdoor and greenhouse growing *after* I've made the post. Mods feel free to give this one a move.
Hi everyone,
Some of you may recognize me from over at the Shroomery, where I've been a member for over 14 years. Then again, I don't recognize very many of your names, so perhaps not.
This year, I will be making my first growing attempt. I will be cultivating a medicinal strain (lower THC, higher CBx). This is to treat cancer (not my cancer, a family member's). Of course, government and law enforcement don't appreciate it when people want to be self-sufficient and produce their own medicine, and so I am forced to do this as clandestinely as possible, like I'm some sort of criminal.
Of course, I've been doing a lot of reading, and have a pretty good idea of how I'd like to proceed, but I thought it might be wise to run my ideas and plans past some experienced eyes before committing to a course of action.
Initially I was intent on doing an indoor project. However, electricity here is extremely expensive, and my calculations determined a $300-$350 monthly increase on my utility bill. For this reason, the free and better-quality light from the sun is obviously quite attractive.
The idea is to construct a 5'x10' rectangular frame against the back of my house. Anchored to this will be a half-dome structure made from curved PVC "ribs", spaced, with two on each end and one in the middle. Covering this will be a fine green mesh, and on top of this mesh will be a translucent layer of poly. The green mesh is to further diffuse the optics, making it even more difficult to tell what's inside. The structure will be 7' high, and approximately 300 cubic feet, accounting for the curvature.
There will be six plants to start. My primary concern is odor control. I am living outside of the city, in a subdivision. The nearest neighbour is 70-80 ft away. The next nearest is twice this distance and others are four or five times farther off.
See for yourself:
I've seen some other threads on here saying "just plant some other fragrant flowers around." I am not willing to place my confidence in other fragrant flowers. My intention is to construct this greenhouse to be as air tight as possible, and to carefully control all of the airflow in, and all of the airflow out.
The two goals of this airflow management are odor control and temperature control:
Warm air from the GH is pumped into the house by a 300 CFM fan (kept inside to contain the noise), scrubbed with an appropriately sized carbon filter, and then exhausted out a window. The negative pressure in the GH is satisfied by two passive intakes, either of which can be adjusted such that the correct air temperature is being delivered. During the day, cool basement air will be replacing the exhausted air, while during the night warm exterior air will be supplied instead. These feeds will be switched or blended by opening and closing valves.
I am unclear as to whether or not the temperature in the GH will plummet at night, and am considering embedding a series of earthship style rammed earth tires into the ground to comprise the floor. These will absorb heat during the day and radiate it back into the GH overnight.
Note that if you consider the above two images together, it appears as though I am venting scrubbed air toward my neighbour's house. This is not actually the case. The windows I will actually be using are on the same wall as the GH, adjacent to it and on the opposite side. It is was necessary to draw it this way, because as you can see I suck at drawing.
I very much appreciate any and all thoughts on this design concept. If I can establish some confidence that this design is highly likely minimize the risk of detection by way of drifting odor, I will go forward with its construction, and this thread will become a grow log where I'm sure I'll be asking many, many more questions.
So one of the issues I see is you aren't going to have enough air flow. Part of the awesomeness of growing outside is constant fresh air. So if you are wanting to do it this way, you will need to have around 3 times the amount of airflow to CF.
As to the temperature, that's all going to depend on the weather around you. Being in a sealed GH, it will help with fluctuation. I wouldn't be overly concerned, unless you live in an area where the temp drops really low at night.
And I'll leave it here, as it will get more views.
-------------------- Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
At 900 CFM, I would be exchanging the entire volume of air in the GH once every 20 seconds. I'm not sure how I would maintain humidity with such heavy airflow.
During the summer and into the fall, the average nightly low is around 10 degrees C (50 degrees F), give or take one or two degrees. It's likely that the GH could reach that temperature at night. Will this be a problem?
If I could pull air from the attic down to the GH, this might help maintain a higher temperature during the night. How important is it really to keep the plants in that ideal temperature range all day and all night, all the time?
Also, in that location the GH would be receiving a maximum of 9-10 hours of direct sunlight per day, with one or two more hours in the shade as the sun sets behind some nearby trees. Will this be a problem?
I'm not looking to grow killer buds here. I just need to get some medicine together to cook into edibles.
Also, with the nearest neighbour at ~80 feet away, if something happened like a power outage, or a mechanical failure in the airflow system, are six plants liable to raise alarms next door? I have no experience with this and therefore have no idea how pungent the smell can be outdoors, or how well it carries.
Yeah, I'll definitely aim as high as possible. It's simply that I'm not going to be depressed if the yields or the potency aren't at the maximum. All the guides I read are written in such absolute terms, and they are all aimed at maximum everything, such that it's difficult for me to get a clear picture of what kind of breathing room I've actually got here.
It sounds like you're saying the influx of fresh air is more important than fluctuating temps. Is that correct?
I read a post elsewhere in which another first-time greenhouse grower was advised that the right strain can tolerate temperature swings, as long as his temp doesn't fall below 45 F. Does that sound reasonable?
The airflow has to at least run through the house, because that is where the fan will be. This is for noise reasons. The intake, however, can come from outside no problem. In fact, that makes my life a lot easier.
What about the odor? Suppose something goes wrong and there's no filtration at all for a few days during their most pungent time. Will that house 80 feet away be likely to smell six plants, between 4 and 5 feet each?
You've been a huge help; thank you. I've been treating this like an indoor grow, except outdoors-but-not-really. I have a bit more perspective now. Things are a bit more in focus.
Well outdoor bud isn't protected from temps, yet can still be amazing. So obviously temp flux isn't that big of a deal, as long as it's not to low.
Smell will depend on strain and other factors. But I wouldn't all that worried about it. I live in the middle of fairly dense housing, and let it get pretty stink from time to time. Most people don't know what the growing MJ smells like.
-------------------- Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
As it turns out, we're not going with the greenhouse design after all. There are just too many concerns about detection, and given that this is my family we've decided to be as safe as possible. I guess this thread should be deleted.
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