A complete noob questions. XD

Growing in an appartment ups the chances of getting caught by a lot..

That being said you should think long and hard about growing there..



1. So I live in an apartment and I have read that the smell can reach to those below me. I am wondering if this is true. Very true. You would have to invest into a carbon scrubber.

2. Living in an apartment I currently spend about 2 dollars on electricity a day. What light source can I use that will not raise my bill by too much? If you use CFLs it wont raise your electricity by much at all.

3. Is it completely necessary to reflect light from all side of my grow room to the plant? Can I just have a light hang above the plant(s) in my closet? If nessisary can I use aluminum foil?Dont use alluminum foil, i've read it reflects light weird and can burn plants, Go to Wal Mart and get an emergency blanket in the camping/outdoors section, they're about 2 dollars and pretty big.

4. Does both the male and female plant provide a smokable substance? No. Females are the ones with the THC, males have very low THC and will just give you a headache

5. Should I trust online vendors when purchasing products (Ex: seeds, grow tents, lighting, etc.)? If so how do I know who I can trust and do I need to do anything special to make sure I don't get caught? www.htgsupply.com is where i would go for tents/lights and stuff like that. As for seeds, just read around i haven't ordered any online.

6. I was thinking about getting a grow tent, The grow tent would be in my closet where there is no ventilation, how can I regulate temperature? Intake/Exhaust and Fans

7. A friend of mine told me I can control the growth of a plant with nutrients and lighting, is it possible to grow a say... 1 foot tall plant that produced a good amount of bud? And Can I just cut off a small amount at a time and let it keep growing? You can veg for not as long or there is strains that grow really small i.e "Lowryder" is a strain that stays small. There's also ways to train your plant so it isnt as tall http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/122936-how-lst-low-stress-training.html

 

Your Welcome.

And remember in apartments your landlord can just barge in unannounced...so stealth is key, but i would still say to really think about it.

Whichever route you choose..

Good luck

 

Three plants won't do that much smell to bother your neighbours. But it will raise questions about where it's coming from if anyone is inside your home. Believe me, the smell has nothing to do with the smoked stuff. It's amazing. Animals are attracted by it. People will find it lovely and will want to know where does it comes from. Mammals brains have specific receptors for cannabinoids and they love it! Stupid laws and prejudice is what keeps the majority of the world from smoking mj. (or rather admiting they do smoke mj).

Don't risk yourself with "somewhat so so DIY" stuff. Go for a scrubber if you think it's needed. Or buy some ONA Gel, like said above. One slip and you're jailed.

 

Each strain has a specific smell and strength of smell. We use (hypothetically) the Airwick automatic air freshners that spit out scent over so often. We had to get 2 since friends said the piney smell seemed odd when I didnt have any pine trees *lol*. we also use baking soda in a cup which surprisingly helped a lot to.

Personaly I would be terrified to grow in an apartment. You never know who is walking by and doing inspections or repairs. I am not sure how much lights cost daily, but I can only see sunlight as your other option and on a balcony -thats not so secure.

If your walls are white you should be ok. They say reflective or white.

Cut those boys down quick and make hash if you want. To me they arent worth it that small so I would suggest feeding your dog or cat some fresh leaves - they love them by the way. Oh and random Celtic fact, Hemp stems are great for bow strings.

I cant tell you about online vendors. I try to follow the Ice Goddess rule. Build it if you can, and pay cash when you cant. If all else fails, .... ok never gotten to this stage yet.

You cant control a plants size by depriving it of nutes. just begin flowering when the plant is half the size you want. It will stretch a little and then stop growing. That is how you control the size. Or of course you can use varying grow methods, such as tieing the stems etc. I am no experts at that though.

 

Growing in an apartment is quite risky, I advise against it. Neighbors are much too close, landlords and their agents can come in unannounced, etc. Even if your lease says they are to give you notice before coming in, that doesn't apply in an emergency (which is totally up to the landlord) and can be caused by circumstances beyond your control (someone else floods their bathtub and it leaks into other apartments, cockroach infestation, upgrade the cable TV wiring, anything). In many leases you have already agreed to allow regular maintenance to come in unannounced (change air filters, etc). And you need ventilation, which often means that you need a place to exhaust the air to (outside, an attic, a crawl space, etc) and you are limited in how to do that in an apartment (leading to compromises that lead to greater risk).

 

Well, I grow in an apartment, but my leaser said I could change the keys for security, so I did. No one else has copies. But I agree. It's risky as hell.

 

I disagree with kind of a lot of what people have put on here.

Questions:

1. So I live in an apartment and I have read that the smell can reach to those below me. I am wondering if this is true.
It doesn't smell more than smoking in your apartment, that's for sure. You'll want something to handle the smell during the last 3 weeks or so, they don't smell much before then, more like wet dirt and plant than chronic. It's easy to cover up and Carbon Scrubbers is overkill for you. Ona Gel if you need it, but I agree that baking soda and some air freshener is probably all you'll need.

2. Living in an apartment I currently spend about 2 dollars on electricity a day. What light source can I use that will not raise my bill by too much?
If price is an issue you probably want to go with CFL lighting just because the bulbs are like $3. While you're at it you might want to replace all the bulbs in your apartment with lower wattage CFLs to offset the new power cost. Odds are that you'll need between 200w and 400w of lighting running 18 hours per day in the beginning. This is going to double your power use I'd imagine, but it's no more than having a computer running or a big screen TV in your apartment. Might cost you another $20 to $40 per month depending on your baseline usage.

3. Is it completely necessary to reflect light from all side of my grow room to the plant? Can I just have a light hang above the plant(s) in my closet? If nessisary can I use aluminum foil?
Reflection will maximize your growth and utilizes all your energy/$$$. But, with CFL lighting, the amount of useful energy ends about 3" from most bulbs, and is usually closer. So, if you're going with a single high-intensity bulb I'd suggest reflection, otherwise it's not a big deal. Foil is your last choice, use the brushed side because the glossy side creates hot spots and burns. Titanium white is actually very reflective so if your closet it already white I wouldn't worry.

4. Does both the male and female plant provide a smokable substance?
You can only smoke and use female flowers and leaves. Male plants are for pollen.

5. Should I trust online vendors when purchasing products (Ex: seeds, grow tents, lighting, etc.)? If so how do I know who I can trust and do I need to do anything special to make sure I don't get caught?
I used attitude seed bank. They offer "discreet" shipping options.

6. I was thinking about getting a grow tent, The grow tent would be in my closet where there is no ventilation, how can I regulate temperature?
Leave the door open... Use a fan to blow the air out... I use a tent in my closet. You're going to want a blower, they are about $100 for a good 180cfm fan and some ducting. You'll need to include a small 80mm intake fan for the tent to completely solve the heat issue. Using CFL lighting would totally negate the need for heat venting but clean, fresh air is important for your plants. As important as water and light and it cannot be ignored.

7. A friend of mine told me I can control the growth of a plant with nutrients and lighting, is it possible to grow a say... 1 foot tall plant that produced a good amount of bud? And Can I just cut off a small amount at a time and let it keep growing?
In my opinion, no. A 1 foot plant might, might yeild up to 7 grams in 60 days from seed and that is in no way a good amount of bud considering the time and money you'll be throwing at this. Might as well just buy it. I wouldn't suggest a plant under 18" for someone only growing a few plants (500 plant SOG it'd be fine). If you need to keep them short look into scrogging, but if you get a tent then you can grow 3 foot plants without much stress.
You can trim the mature buds as it grows but there will be a start and end to that. It'd probably be better to have access to clones and to just grow and harvest without having to rely on seeds and germination rates.

Let me be upfront with you. To grow 3 plants, and then just 1 good one to maturity, with a tent and lighting and ventilation and energy and media and nutrients and all the other crap... you're looking at a final bill somewhere between $400 and $800. Make sure you do it right and that it's worth your while before getting in over your head.