Hello all, Sorry if I'm reposting these vast questions/scenarios but I've been reading my eyes off and I can't understand a lick of anything, really. My brain is all jumbled together between grow lights, wattage, carbon filters, pot size, light cycles, etc. Ok, here is my scenario-- My husband would like to properly grow marijuana in our small shed/barn (made of wood, store bought). Its about 12' tall/wide. Peeked ceiling, and a loft as well that is maybe taking up a third of the area and is about 4-5' from the ceiling. It has 2 ventilation areas but no electricity (other than an ext cord ran from our home) Currently, we have six/seven pots of small plants that have been growing since March. They have been growing under a light, however I have no idea what the wattage is. I believe they are currently on a 16/8 cycle. I live in an L shaped duplex. The barn is behind our home outside of a small wooden privacy fenced in area. I have 3 dogs so the back yard reeks of dog poo when it's super hot. I live up against a corn/beans field, as well. Currently the corn or beans are not planted yet but will be soon. I dont know how this will affect my concern but I figured I'd mention it just in case. Our neighbor is very active and is outside with his dog and kids a lot. His barn/shed is also located about 10-20 feet away from ours. My concerns/fears: How the heck can we keep this from being found out? Are we doing this in the wrong place? Is there ANY way we can keep this area without our neighbor smelling/noticing? We've been taking precautions, and the plants have not flowered yet, so we've got time (I think). I just need to know if I need to nip this in the bud (no pun intended)? Should we just grow one plant indoors? How much would come off one plant? I'm terrified and want to be confident (not scared at every little knock on the door)..... Help this wife right here.... Please........ Thanks!
How many plants do you intend on growing? 1 plant grown under optimal conditions can have anywhere from 2 ozs to 5 ozs
At the moment, he's got about 18-20 growing. However they may not all survive because I feel like we have no idea what we're doing....
Ok the spot they're in could be perfect but with twenty girls in there you will absolutely need filtration or your neighbor will follow the scent straight to the barn. The dig shit won't cover it. So if anyone is gonna be within a hundred feet of that barn your ginna need a filter I currently grow ten plants and I have them under two six hundred watt lamps. So depending on what your looking for as far as end game has a lot of variables. A five gallon bucket of promix brings me a quarter pound dry herbs. That's after twenty five days on 18/6. Then another sixty odd days for flower. First things first take care of any smell. Even if they don't now I promise they will stank very soon.
Reasonable budget- cost friendly I'd have to say. I don't want to spit out a number and sound like an idiot bc I really have no idea what this shit costs. I know it's cost me my sanity so far. I can get a pic up soon.. Thanks again.
I'd personally recommend starting in small grow space with few plants. Your first grow you learn the most. Try not to look at all the info at once rather than addressing each problem or variable accordingly. It's not all that hard once you get the hang of it
Filter Ideas? One that will truly work, or all they all kind of susceptible to not fully masking the smell? Would 2 or 3 plants create a huge smell? I live in a 'close knit' neighborhood, if ya know what I mean.
Two plants can stink up an entire house easily. Get a good fan and filter combo, they will remove 99.9% of the odor. Phresh is a good brand of filter, beware of the cheapies as they don't work nearly as well.
I use a Canfan filter and a max air fan I'll look for links. I have a five by five room my filter is a thirty pound carbon Canfan filter and the fan is a 300 cfm max air fan. It's amazing. Open door you can smell heaven close the door you smell Nuthin
My combos is absolute brand name tried and true I've read that cheap filters aren't packed right and can fail to stop the odor. A sweet thing about the carbon filter is you can leave it in the room and hang the fan and filter from the ceiling. As long as the fan is removing the air fast enough you'll never have an issue. Weed smells because the shit accumulates in the air the longer it lingers the more it smells. At least it feels that way to me even a good wind won't dissipate the smell it'll just carry it somewhere else. Which is what gets people in trouble.
Can you move your husband into the shed and use his half of the bedroom closet to grow? Sorry, I shouldn't suggest that on another man, but some days I can't help myself. First problem you have to address is the most obvious - electricity. You're going to need at least one 20 amp circuit, and having an electrician do that won't be cheap (it gets worse). The shed you described is plenty big enough, but the BIG second problem is going to be air conditioning. No matter how well you ventilate and insulate, during the summer I suspect it will be entirely too hot for your plants to survive. Experienced growers can grow with temps in the upper 80's to low 90's using CO2, but that's getting way too complicated for where you are right now. Afraid the A/C problem may kill your idea... that close knit neighbor whose shed is 20' away is going to think, "WTF is that air conditioner doing in a garden shed? (Now if your husband is living in there it makes a lot more sense and is not nearly so suspicious ). Check out some of the lighting threads on here regarding LED's, T-5 fluorescents, etc. But I'm old school so I REALLY think you'd be better off with a 400W HPS light, a 400W Metal Halide conversion bulb, and a decent carbon filter. Check the DIY threads on here for how to make one if you're on a budget. If not, as many suggested on here, buy a good quality combo. I second Numbnutt's suggestion on the Can Fan combo; I've used them for years and they are awesome. You can smoke a fatty in the room with the filter running and a few minutes later the smell is gone. A 400W will cover about 9 sq. ft. (3'') in one end of a closet, and grow some outstanding bud. Yield is unpredictable, but the general rule is 0.5 grams per watt per month of bloom. So an 8-9 week bloom time strain could yield around 400g (probably less your first couple of rounds while you learn & improve your technique). Experience will tell, but (almost) guaranteed you will be ahead of the game at the end. Start slow / small. Get the feel for it and learn as you go. It will come together for you. And use the forum freely. We need more of the smarter sex on here so the place doesn't smell so bad all the time.....
Look at this: Can-Filter - Air Purification - Climate / Odor Control Not the cheapest on the web but excellent phone support and they know their stuff. Select your filter by calculating the cubic feet of the grow room - L X W X H. Select a combo that will output that much air in 5 minutes.