small cabinet grow possible?

Hello! I have got multiple strain seeds waiting for warmer spring to be grown outdoors, but until that i want to grow one of my autoflowers in my working desk cabinet- short stuff ONYX

My desk is similar to one i added picture of only wooden. Cabinet size is (HxWxL) 44x36x41cm so it is small. I want this plant to be as compact as possible, so i am going to use very small pot (1-2liters) and two 23w CFLs with 18/6 light schedule. I will give nutes only during flowering.

And now the questions part.

I am confused about ventilation. How important it is? I mean, how can i get air in and out if cabinet door is closed all the time?

What if i don't use any ventilation at all? CFLs don't heat up like HPS and MH, right?

Has anyone here ever grown ONYX? How does it smell during veg and flowering time?

I know a lot about outdoor growing where light, odor, size of plant and ventilation isn't such a problem but when it comes to indoor, especially in so little working space... you know what i mean.

forgot to mention, that i don't hope for a big harvest. All i need is 10-15 grams for the beggining of summer. Of course i could buy some, but prices right here are crazy. approx 20$ per 0.8g for mids

Edited by Chief rocka, 18 March 2012 - 09:38 PM.
forgot to mention

a. you will need more light,
b. try LST to keep it low
c. as long as it is not too hot then you should get enough air flow for one plant by simply opening it to check on her everyday will provide sufficient airflow.

d. if smell is a problem you will need a vent fan to suck the air outof your box and push it through a carbon filter, then you have to worry about the static pressure of the fan and how many CFMs it has as well as noise,

having only seen outdoor plants before my grow i can promise you that you will be moderately surprised at what you can get in that hole,

ill most certainly be following to see how this goes for you

d. if smell is a problem you will need a vent fan to suck the air outof your box and push it through a carbon filter, then you have to worry about the static pressure of the fan and how many CFMs it has as well as noise

That is thing that concerns my a lot. I still live with my parents and they mustn't konw that i smoke or grow pot. If i can't grow in my room without suspicious smell or noise, it is not worth the risk. I think i could only veg it inside and take it outside when it is going to get too smelly.

ya, that is what lots of people are doing, going outside with it, might get better flowers anyways letting it flower under natures lights,

i have seen a lot of people say that two computer blower fans(not the standard box ones) will push through a DIY filter made with granulated Activated Carbon, if they are sucking the air outta your box to push it then it will keep the cabinet on negative pressure and the smell wont escape, someone might notice a slight smell if they were checking for a smell around the cabinet, other than that it should just sound like a computer running, sound is not a concern for me so i just used a 50CFM bath fan, kinda loud but not bad,

yeah, but still, cutting two holes in the back of my desk isn't really my goal

I guess i am just going to wait until beggining-mid april and then start this so in may i could take my baby outside Thanks for help!

Oh, and how many bulbs should i use?

for 1 plant just through the veg i bet you could get away with about 100W of CFL maybe less, but its the same idea as indoor flowering, more is better, i personally dont think there can be too much light, heat is the biggest thing with more lights, but my plant was vegging at about 85 - 90F without problems, as long as it is consistent and fluctuates down a little at night.

Hello there, i am back with some updates!

I have prepaired my cabinet and i am ready to go! My only concern is still temperature- it goes up to 40-50 degrees celsius when door is closed for a few hours will it harm my seedling?

If everything goes by plan and i will get lucky with temps outdoors, i hope to get some smoke in june, right after final exams The plan is to keep my plant inside for 3 weeks or until it starts flowering. (i hope it won't start earlyer because of temps outdoors) and then move it outdoors and it should be ready by middle of june.

bumpity bump.

Dude those temps are through the roof ! You need air flow an fast ! My seedling died after I day of 40 degrees temps in her box ! Any higher then 30 degrees Celsius your pushing shit up hill ! Specially in a confined space .

What should i do? I can't just drill two big holes my table!

use a pc or find a piece of wood that is the size of the hole and put holes in that, and replace either the back or the door temporarily if you dont wanna mess up the original wood... either way you need to have at least some airflow for the plant to survive, even if you find a way to get through those temps, photosynthesis causes the plant to release elements into the air that are essentailly toxic for the plant when it trys to synthesis using that air again, the air in you space needs replaced every two minutes....

if you really just dont want big holes for light reasons, look into the mini blower fans laptops use, some of them move quite a bit of air and the output is just a little rectangle like 1cmx3cm, two slits at the top back of that cabinet might never ever be noticed

Hi guys!

Seed got planted in the ground on march 31st and now it is about 1cm with 2 rounded and 2 rugged leaves. I will upload some pics soon!

Haven't done anything about ventilation because of stealthness problems, but i don't hope this plant to be done. I mean- i am still going to take care of it but it will be wonder if it survives. Hoping for the best.

OK here's the picture:

I think i will start journal sometime soon.

OK here's the picture:

I think i will start journal sometime soon.

how did that turn outÉ

This is my case, cheap to make, extremely subtle, with some well placed and held together carbon filters over the fans the smell can be masked and atm I'm growing 6 plants in it. With the fans that were already in the pc, I have them going to keep the temperature right, and I have 3 lights atm, about to put in a fourth.
One of these could easily fit in your cabinet, and can grow your plants to a decent size.