First Time Grow, Semi Stealth Dresser Grow

Hey everybody,
 I recently decided I wanted to grow some plants and was thinking of the best way to keep it low profile. (we get frequent visits from the in-laws who wouldn't much like that I'm growing drugs lol)
 
my options: garage or spare bedroom/my den. It gets way too hot in the garage so the den it is!
 
I'm kind of nerdy in the sense that when I get into one of my projects I really become obsessed. So over the last week or so that I decided to go for it all I have been doing is watching every documentary on youtube and scouring the forums for tips and similar grow setups. anyways, the dresser is about 3.5' x 2' x 1.5' and I hollowed it out and reattached the dresser drawer faces to a piece of plywood like I have seen many on here do. I'm using 4 100 watt equivalent CFL's to start with, I made a carbon filter and attached it to a 4" inline fan  which shoots the air up and out a little "chimney" that has dryer sheets covering the top so the air must pass through a filter and an air freshener.
 
here is what I have so far. it is almost completely light proof, I caulked around all the seems and used weather stripping around the door, the only place that light can get out is the intake hole, but the closet door is going to be shut when guests are over.
 

 

 

 
so what am I growing anyways?
 
I was originally just going to grow a bag seed and then realized, if I have the space and the light then I should just grow two plants. and then I read that its really important to start out with good seeds if you want a good crop so I ended up buying White Castle Sativa and Aurora Indica seeds from Nirvana and I'm all ready to go when they get here! I know growing sativas indoors is hard, especially in a dresser, but what can I say, I like an active social high, so I'm gonna try to keep her small and bushy. Im using 2gal buckets to keep them on the small side.
 
that's all for now, I'll update again after they germ.

 

been doing tons of reading today. and I smoked for the first time in like a month and before that was over a year. So why grow pot if I barely even smoke?! because I have a green thumb and when I get an idea I just run with it. It's not that I don't like smoking. I do. I really do. but it kinda became my life and I was not a good functional stoner so I stopped. I guess I just forgot that everything is good in moderation. 
 
anyways, my seeds just shipped on Wednesday so I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival because I'm ready to start! Well Kinda ready... 
 
I was playing with the setup doing a dry run and I just couldnt get the temps down no matter how I arranged the fans and adjusted the speeds.(like 93*. then it dawned on me that 1.) the a/c isnt on and the temp in the house is 80* 2.) the air flow was stale (the exhaust fan was up against a wall. 3.) intake was too small
 
mind you this is a highdea and I didn't even think about it when I was sober. it was such a simple solution, i dont know how I didnt see it before.
 
I put the dresser across the room over the A/C duct and have the exhaust fan blowin out the window. after about 15 minutes running, the temps are down to 86* still much higher than ideal, but the ac hasnt been on long enough to cool the house down into the 60's
 

 
humidity is good, but I gotta get that temp down

 

While waiting for my seeds to show up I germed two bag seeds my buddy gave me. I need to get my ac fixed but so far the temps are under control. I sank them in a glass of water them put them in a wet paper towel and they sprouted in one day! Right now they are getting their sun tan on 18 on 6 off. More when they break ground..

 

I planted the little gals 2 nights ago and they already broke ground! I've been utilizing the nice weather and keep them outdoors for the majority of the day and bring them in to finish the light cycle. Obviously this is only until they start to look like pot plants but I think it's giving them a nice head start!

I've done some more reading and decided to buy some higher wattage bulbs for the main light fixture and the 23watters for side and under the canopy. I bought 2 65 watt daylight and 2 55 watt warm lights so I'll be over 250 actual watts! Can't wait to get home and check on today's growth!

 

Day four since I planted the two bag seeds. They are doing great! They both germinated about the same amount of time but one of them is much bigger than the other. I think they are really liking being outside during the day. It's much more intense light and it's actually hotter in the house. I will be keeping whichever one ends up being female and then grow an Aurora and a White Castle for 3 plants total.
 
here they are:
 
the healthier looking one

 
 

 
the less healthy looking one. its pretty early in the game to tell, so it might surprise me.
 

Being my first grow, I am not expecting an insane yield, but that is okay. I'm more in it for the experience. I haven't really cheaped out on anything so I should get some decent results if I keep reading on here and absorbing all the good info.
 
the most exciting event to post about is that my seeds came! They got here really fast considering they had to cross the Atlantic Ocean, although it felt like an eternity. 5 femanized auroras and 5 feminized white castle seeds and 10 randoms. I'm going to save the randoms for a forest guerrilla grow next spring
 

One of two aurora seeds has already sprouted a taproot less than 24 hours!!, still waiting on the 2 whites. Hoping they are all going to be ready to be planted tomorrow! I let them sink to the bottom of a glass of water and then put them inside a moist paper towel. seems to be working really well.

 

So day 7 for the two bag seedlings. They are both doing great! They both have their first two sets of serrated leaves. I also germed 2 auroras and 2 white castles and got them in the soil yesterday and the day before. So far I have 100% germination success. Pretty stoked on it. The aurora seed I planted on 7-19 sprouted today.
 
Here is the bigger one:
 

 

 
and the one that was looking a little weak a few days ago is looking a ton better
 

 
and here is the lil sprout
 

 

Looks like its just me in here for now, thats cool, it will start picking up soon. I just purchased some nutes. I went with the Botanicare as it was recommended as the easiest to use and achieve good results with. I got the Grow formula and the Cal Mag. I went with half strength to introduce the plants to the goods, and will slowly work my way up to the recommended doses. 
 
My new lights rock! I have the two 6500k bulbs on their own reflector pointing straight down and am using the 2700k with a splitter for a bit more light. I had all of them on splitters and the bulbs are so big they werent even under the reflectors! Now its a ton better. The heat from these lights is intense though. its been a mild week weather wise so I figured I could close the dresser door to maximize reflection.. not a chance. in the 5 minutes I left it the temp spiked to 95+ with the fans running. kinda ruins the whole stealth thing I was trying to accomplish. Oh well, I can just leave it be until we have company and then do like half lights or something for the day. 
 
I'lll post pics when the little gals get their second set of leaves!

 

lots of new growth in the last couple days. out of nowhere the two bag seeds started shooting leaves out of everywhere! they look beautiful. They are about 3" tall, I decided to transplant to 1 gallon containers where they will stay for the duration of the grow. I'm hoping at least one of them is female, if they both are I'm going to kill the smaller of the two to make room for the aurora and white castle plants that will be getting 2 gallon containers. I figure I can fit 2 one gallon pots and 2 two gallon pots in my dresser.
 
I wish I came across a seed in the bag I'm smoking on now. I've never had such a great sativa. usually I get a little paranoid on sativas but this one is different. it is a clear headed high, euphoric and mainly gives a relaxing body buzz. I've read that the white castle has similar attributes so I'm hoping for 2 healthy plants
 
anyways, here are some pics
 

 

 

 
baby white castle seedling trying to break its shell (la flama blanca)
 

 
gringo
 

 
Laura the aurora
 

 
things are going very well so far! cant for the life of me get the temps below 84 during the day, but I'm experimenting with different things.
 
that's all for now, will update next week or so. somebody post already! I want some feedback!

 

Day 18 from seed for the Aurora and Day 17 for the White Castle. I have been fighting high temps since I started my grow. Finally said screw it with discrete and cut a bigger exhaust hole and intake and hooked up a small vortex fan to it and sealed around the edges so all the air was going into the box. I have 2 65 watt bright white bulbs going and 2 55 watt soft white going and my temps right now are 84. That is incredible for this time of day.
 
I transplanted the Aurora and Castle seedlings into the 2 gallon buckets they will call home for the rest of their lives. They smell amazing. They look so funny in the big containers. and the other Aurora and Castle seedlings I started later are just going to be solo cup challenges. I'm gonna give them to my buddy who is going to watch my plants while i'm on my honeymoon. 
 
I wanted to switch to 12/12 before I left on my honeymoon, but I'm afraid my buddy won't be able to distinguish between male and female and it might fuck up the whole grow, so I'm just going to veg a little longer. I topped the two bag seed plants and I think I'm going to try LST on the others.
 
 
here is what the innards of the box look like now

 
 
Intake

 
Exhaust ( I also have the 4" inline going out the back of the box out the window.. not sure if its doing much now)

 

Tempted to do autos next. I can get two harvests in the winter vs. one regular grow. My harvest date for this grow is November 10 barring any major hiccups. I'm very impatient so this is going to be a great treat! Im just ready to stop buying bags..  stoked for my next grow regardless what I decide to grow. heat isnt going to be a factor. I might even try to grow some purple as the temps will lend themselves to it anyway. we will see how the cfl's do, might get a 400watt hps or something if I decide to get a perpetual garden going.

 

Been quite a while since my last update, been super busy this month. I'm going to be out of town for 10 days and I was having trouble finding someone to watch my plants so I killed 3 of them off so it would be easier for whoever would watch them. I killed a completely stunted plant and the two whose sex was undetermined. My buddy is going to watch them and water them a few times. He doesn't have any room indoors but he has a ton of land in the back of his property that they will be chilling at.

Will this shock the plants too much? They have already been through a lot, with heat stress and being underwatered and overpruned but after about a month and a half of vegging they seem to still be doing well.

The first aurora I planted is the strongest, beautiful branching and nice aroma. Hope my plants make it without me. I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for my friend and I think

Switching to outside at this point will be a nice Segway into flowering i think as the days are getting shorter. Just a little worried about dropping the temps 15-20* suddenly and pests. Let me know if you have any ideas

 

The deed has been done. They are outside. It was high 70s today and should be mid 50s tonight. I'm already planning for next round. This has been a great learning experience but I made a planning mistake and shouldn't have planted them when I knew I was gonna be gone. Oh well. I'm looking for the most piney flavored and smelling strain possible. It would have been great if I grew that this time so it would just smell like Christmas in my house lol

I'm halfway done building a veg cab and will turn the closet to all flower bulbs when I get back.

Next round I'm looking for a pine taste/smell, with a clear headed active buzz. I'm going to have a bunch of aurora which is a somewhat strong indica so lookin for something different for different times

 

plants stretched their legs a little bit while they were outside. i'm really bad about updating this, but my 3 remaining plants seem to be doing just fine. they have been on a true 12/12 cycle indoors for the last 4 days. I took a couple cuts and am trying a few different techniques for cloning. 
 
this first grow has been a super great learning experience and has evolved into much more than a 100 watt stealth dresser grow. I have the beginnings of a perpetual grow going. I have the flowering closet and a separate cab where the clones and next round of seedlings will veg out. 
 
next on my list of beans to buy is super silver haze. from what I've read and felt, the last bag I had was super silver haze and it was amazing. never had such a nice social buzz like that before and it made me feel so calm yet energized enough to take on cleaning out the garage.
 
Im currently germinating the freebies I got from nirvana, although if those dont take off soon I'm going to germinate the remaining white castle seeds I have. I will post more pics i promise lol lights come on after dark..