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Despite having posted my interest a million times I'm in a situation that allows me an extra closet over what is required. Will probably build a contained grow-box and have most of it planned already just with a few questions a more experienced individual may have.
Plan: I will be creating a contained grow box to be able to be semi-camouflaged, and also to make it slightly easier for containing the light (I have one window to the street in the room, even though it's a basement room anyone 2-3 feet within the window could see the closet. Will be getting curtains before I begin) and controlling the air flow.
Current Plan of Action: Construct a 1.5x1.5x3-2x3x4 (DepthxWidthxHeight, measured in feet) grow box. Will have a door on the front, and I will likely have the timer on the outside. Growing in soil, likely a 4 gallon bucket for the container. I will be using an LED grow light, most likely a triple band to use through every cycle and planning to use a roughly 100w light. Will likely utilize LST and try to grow a single plant at a time.
My questions: 1) Are my dimensions and lighting plan acceptable? I know LED lights are not very hot so I don't think heat or vertical space will be an issue, but since all my knowledge is from reading I don't have personal experience with LED lights.
2) What kind of odor am I looking at? I can try to think of some ventilation system, but any actual modifications to the building is out of the question. Discreetness is preferred as I have room-mates in the upper floors of the house (separate entrances)
3) How important is intake, and does CO 2 fixation cause notable differences? I'll likely only have a single exhaust fan, I only have 24 cubic feet of space at the very most of reference, do I only want enough swap air every 5 minutes (is CO fixation a 2factor in this?
4) What kind of nutrients, soil, and supplemental gear am I looking at? I live in a large town with multiple Home depot like stores. These will be what I buy closest to germination time, but I'd like to go out and price check the acceptable soils.
5) Slightly off topic of this board, but just including it in this post. When it's time for drying and curing will it be possible to design the grown box to double as a drying room? My plans for construction may be modified based on thoughts.
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes
I'd say ditch trying to buy soil. Ocean forest has gone down hill these days and you'd be able to grow plants bigger and faster using a soil less medium. A very very easy and cheap way to grow plants would be a hempy bucket. And growing one plant at a time in a 4 gallon hempy would produce a monster. I also recommend doing a single plant scrog.
Hempy buckets are a maybe, I'm basically going with a low cost low maintenance goal. I prefer to visit the home once or so a day. It's a few blocks off campus, and is a short walk to get to. I won't be smoking there, might sleep there 2-4 days a week. The apartment is legally mine though, so it's not like I'm just sketchily hiding this in a friends house or something. After a few grows if I need to stop I'll probably just sell the kit to a buddy that wants to get into growing.
Scrog was what I was going with, just didn't feel like talking about something I still have to read more on.
It would be nice to gain the hands on knowledge and technique of growing instead of just reading about it since forever.
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes
2) This is something you need to take care of before it is too late in the grow and you are like HOLY SHIT IT STINKS. If the box is sealed up completely you can get a small blower and stick a carbon scrubber in the box to pull the air out, clean it and push it in your room. This will keep smell down as well as provide fresh air and keep heat down. I sealed the room in my last apartment grow with painters plastic too.
3) CO2 can definitely provide better growth. A computer fan can provide enough air intake for that box(maybe 2 fans) the 12 volt ones. But if you do like I said above with a blower and just leave a small hole in the bottom it will provide good intake through the hole(pulling fresh air from bottom and to the top) without letting smell out of the hole since it will constantly be pulling through it.
The fan should be able to evacuate the grow area within 1-2 minutes in my opinion. Read CFM(Cubic Feet Per Minute)
4) I would order some nutrients. You could piece together your own but it sounds like you are fairly new and it would just be best to buy some. I push the homboldt 3-part system, I love it...or loved it I haven't grown in over a year. I use a soilless mix from a local garden place(check around) and it is awesome. You can make your own but I got it for like 10 dollars a bag and you can't really make it for that(not this size bag). I find soilless mixes easier to make adjustments when need be. Some people might disagree but that's me.
5) Yes if you use the blower it will keep smell from drying buds(which is terrible) inside the box just keep the light off while you do it.
A small blower and carbon scrubber are not THAT expensive especially when you are growing in an apartment.
I'm not even doing these first few runs for the bud. I just want to learn, especially with how popular LED lights are getting. If I fixate the CO2 in the box does it effect the rate I need to exchange the air (as it will use the CO2 slower) or is the purpose of air exchange to get the air flowing around it?
Considering I have designed the box to have an extra few feet above it should I throw the blower on a side wall of the box or on the top? That way the air flow would be almost completely vertical.
I'm going to have my plan prepared before I start germination due to my need to not be making a ton of noise during the grow.
Are there any special steps I should take to make the box usable for drying the buds, or is it basically "just turn of the light and hang it? I'll probably get multiple totes to store in the room so all the gear to switch the room over is all together for the same stage of growth.
I will post back in this thread when I figure out more, will likely purchase the material to build the box in a month or so once my budget balances back out (rental deposits for the lose).
-------------------- "Je pense, donc je suis (I am thinking, therefore I am)." -Rene Descartes