I've never grown so I don't know how much of an odor it gives. I live in an apartment building that has two other tenants. I only plan on growing from two to four plants. Is it very easy to detect the odor and is there stuff that you can use to easily mask the odor? One thing to consider is that there is a ally right by the room I plan to grow in. There's not that many people that walk through it, but I'm concerned about its proximity to my room.
will the other 2 know youre growing? or are you trying to completely hide it from EVERYBODY except yourself? 2-4 plants smell is going to be a big issue, you cant really mask the smell, you have to eliminate it completely to be as safe as possible....usually a carbon filter needs to be used for best results.
The other two wont be knowing, though they are pretty cool, I just don't know them well enough to let them in on the fact. Less people that know the better.
you can google som DIY carbon filters. Pretty easy and cheap to make. All you need is a 1 or 2ft piece of 4 inch diameter stove pipe, a pair of black nylons, activated carbon found in the fish section in your local pet store or walmart and a standard 4 inch duct fan. Cost is about $40. You take one nylon and wrap it around one end of the stove pipe, fill the stove pipe up with activated carbon and compress it with something really good, then add the second nylon to the other end, clamp on your fan to one end and hang it up in your garden somewhere, works for about 6 months before you need to change the carbon, you can also add some prefilter material to each end of the pipe to filter out extra dust. By prefilter material I mean some pillow stuffing that you can find in the craft section. Make sure you cover your windows with black plastic sheeting over the blinds so you see the blinds from the street/alley. cover the black plastic with a cool tapestry or sheet, make sure you have plenty of airflow and presto your in business. I live in a 4 unit apartment and this is how I do it, works great, nobody knows.
I live in a one bedroom and grow just fine. As for odor, get a carbon filter for your tent. I use a big quart of ONA gel inside my tent and have some odor cones outside it. No one even guesses. Truth be told though dried MJ smells like 100x stronger to me. All my grows it really never smelled unless I put my face up close or when I first open my tent.
It seems smell is one of those things that effect people differently depending on a lot situations. Mine smell enough still in veg that if I cut my fan off to my carbon filter you can smell them outside my house about 10 feet away and inside the smell permeates the entire house.
I've also had plants that can stink up a whole house and beyond, even in veg. As you can see there is the potential for MJ to really, really stink, so you need to plan that it will. Growing in an apartment is risky for many reasons, check the security sub-forum for much discussion.
Ona is some awesome stuff. I keep a small thing of gel in my room outside the grow closet, just replenish it with the concentrate. I also keep a spray bottle with 1/2 cup ona and the rest water for a more immediate solution if needed. You can also get a small humidifier and mix just a little ona in with your water, and put that on a timer outside your grow. I havent done this one yet, but I probably will and just put the humidifier near my a/c intake so it gets distributed through the house. I like the smell of it though, you just have to dilute if using the concentrate. It isnt a replacement for a carbon filter, but it definitely helps. Before my filter, I had to work to keep enough ona out there to totally kill the smell. With the filter, I just use the ona stuff as a secondary and check it every once in a while. Over all, it is the best odor eliminator I have found and I've tried just about everything at the local stores.
I prefer to hide in plain site. I banged on my 7 neighbor's doors and explained what an MJ card is, why I take it, explained they may smell it, and even joked i'd share, lol. Turns out a neighbor smokes too! Lol. Now if they smell my grow they think it's just me smoking and dont worry lol, and no one asked to see a card btw I do my best to kill the smell but just in case I'd rather my neighbors not freak out. Lol, even my landlords know I smoke and have a hydro setup we grow flowers in lmao, told em I gotta learn to grow somehow. Don't know how understanding your neighbors are but I guess the point is to setup your lie and make it SIMPLE and give some truth in there just in case.
Keep your karma points up! I'm big on helping people with little things. If I see one of my older neighbors taking the trash out I will offer to help and if they don't want my help I'll walk and chat with them for the few minutes it takes to get to the dumpster. I have a neighbor who lives upstairs and she has to make 4 or 5 trips to get her laundry/groceries from the car and walk all the way upstairs with them. If I help her I can just grab all the bags while she carries one or two and she only has to walk up the stairs once. I smile and wave at EVERYONE including the police officer who lives a few units down. Some may think this is weird but where I'm from the smile and wave is just a little part of life. I try to make a note of learning all my neighbors names, what they do, and what they like to do, this way I can always have something to talk with them about for a few minutes if I see them around. I have a security system and a key locking door on my grow room. I've always thought apartments were sketchy because your land lord could just come in at any second along with maintenance people, sure they say they'll give you 24 hours notice but I have multiple friends who have been told that and they had surprise visits. That's why I live in a condo. Plus apartments are notorious for younger party animals, sketchy people, and low income families (not that there's anything wrong with that but my friend lived above a family of crack heads and it ALWAYS SMELLED LIKE CRACK!)
Best advice, if your neighbors like you then they probably aren't calling the cops! I shovel the neighbor lady's walk way in the wintertime so she can take her dog to pee. Shit, it's an extra 5 minutes and that little old lady hooks me up with cookies, cakes, pies, casseroles, all kinds of stuff. Lol, free homemade munchies!
i have three plants, and there's almost no smell to them unless you're right there in the closet with them. i'm growing in a rubbermaid bin, and i cut up a screen from a window so i could make holes in the bin for ventilation. with all the other weird smells nearby like a rabbit, garbage can, and litterboxes, it gets completely drowned out.
All depends to how big your apartment complex is. I live in a gianormus one and they own like 5 other locations here in Atlanta. Odds are I never see them. I pay my rent on time and thats all that matters. Theres no reason for them to come by and 99% of the time leave letters on doors when they have to go inside. My tent is a small one inside my big walk in closet. You cant even hear anything passing by.