Clandestine Grow Room #1

[Ricochet Ranger]

This is my first real effort to grow an herb garden, and so far - so good. From the outside, all that can be seen is a normal bifold closet door. Hanging on the outside is an organizer with various unremarkable objects, shoes, t-shirts, and so forth.

But, opening the door reveals a 'blind drape'. It is black on the outside and white on the inside - designed specifically for folks who sleep days and work nights. It is suspended from a simple telescoping curtain rod inside the closet. The closet walls are also painted white thus maximizing the interior reflective quality.

Pulling the drape aside, the grow light is suspended from a telescoping shower curtain rod and connected to a Brinks timer plugged into the best surge protector I could find at Walmart. This makes the light height easily adjustable and made structural modifications to the closet interior unnecessary.

A 24" folding camping table, six plastic flower pots, a bag of Miracle Grow potting soil, and a small clip-on desk fan... and I was on my way. I also hang auto air-fresheners within to mask any odor. This is all in a corner closet in my bedroom. Several people have been in close proximity to the grow closet and no one has suspected that it houses anything but my clothes.

I purchased the light online. Everything else is from an afternoon trip to my local Walmart. Even with the light, my total investment is just under $100. Since my only goal is to sustain my own supply of selected herbs, I see no need to ever expand the space.

I used seeds that I had saved from some delightful herbs I came across recently. The grow closet has been assembled and operating for about 16 days. The herbal growth in the pics is 20 days since germinating. I am on a 18/6 light cycle right now and waiting patiently for signs of gender.

This project is putting all those high school science class experiments into a whole new light. I welcome your feedback

 

[Locked]

Looking good brosef.....the only thing I can add right now is be careful using MG potting soil....if it has time release ferts in it it cld burn your plants...the other thing is when using bag seed be vigilant and keep an eye out for hermies....bag seed tends to have hermaphrodite qualities a lot of the time.

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

Looking good brosef.....the only thing I can add right now is be careful using MG potting soil....if it has time release ferts in it it cld burn your plants...the other thing is when using bag seed be vigilant and keep an eye out for hermies....bag seed tends to have hermaphrodite qualities a lot of the time.

Great advice. Thanks, Ham

 

[nouvellechef]

Wait till week 8 flower. You really need a exhaust fan and filter. Summer is coming too. A exhaust fan controls heat also. Have you used a preventative for spider mites yet? I would. Or else you might be in the sick plant section in a couple months.

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

Wait till week 8 flower. You really need a exhaust fan and filter. Summer is coming too. A exhaust fan controls heat also. Have you used a preventative for spider mites yet? I would. Or else you might be in the sick plant section in a couple months.

Thanks for the heads-up, Chef. Good concerns. I have a plan to run a vent up through the ceiling and out the attic. It's an old house with 10' ceilings and there is plenty of airspace in the closet. I just haven't reached that part of my 'to do' list yet, maybe a week or so. I'm not really worried about summer heat. The closet is in an interior room and I have good a/c in the house.
The spider mite possibility hadn't crossed my mind. What parasite preventative would you recommend? I'll take prevention over correction any day...

 

[Locked]

Yeah you don't want to battle the Borg....

 

[nouvellechef]

Floramite. Get it on bay. Little goes really long way. One spray in last week of veg cycle, then flip to 12/12. Wear goggles/gloves when you spray. Turn off all fans in room, before spraying.

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

Floramite. Get it on bay. Little goes really long way. One spray in last week of veg cycle, then flip to 12/12. Wear goggles/gloves when you spray. Turn off all fans in room, before spraying.

...and thanks! I found it on eBay, inexpensive and should be here in a week... plenty of time before I need to use it.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

What you have set up will do for now, but I really doubt that you are going to be able to take your plants through harvest without some improvements to your space. How big is your space? What size/type/spectrum light did you get? You need different lighting for vegging and for flowering. I would also like to encourage you to run your lights 24/7. There is no need for a dark period. Running your light 18/6 lengthens your veg period and encourages stretch. You also need good air exchange--your plants need a continual supply of FRESH air all the time the lights are on--out with the old and in with the new. To do this, you need a decent centrifuge type exhaust fan (eclipse, Vortex, Can, etc). Car type air fresheners will do nothing for the smell once the plants start to flower. A good exhaust system, negative pressure in your room, and a carbon filter takes care of smell. I would also recommend getting some nutrients formulated for mj. As already mentioned, keep a really close eye out for hermies since you used bagseed.

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

What you have set up will do for now, but I really doubt that you are going to be able to take your plants through harvest without some improvements to your space. How big is your space? What size/type/spectrum light did you get? You need different lighting for vegging and for flowering. I would also like to encourage you to run your lights 24/7. There is no need for a dark period. Running your light 18/6 lengthens your veg period and encourages stretch. You also need good air exchange--your plants need a continual supply of FRESH air all the time the lights are on--out with the old and in with the new. To do this, you need a decent centrifuge type exhaust fan (eclipse, Vortex, Can, etc). Car type air fresheners will do nothing for the smell once the plants start to flower. A good exhaust system, negative pressure in your room, and a carbon filter takes care of smell. I would also recommend getting some nutrients formulated for mj. As already mentioned, keep a really close eye out for hermies since you used bagseed.

...and I'm starting to research improvements now. Thanks for the pointers

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

...and they're looking robust. Healthy and strong. I currently have 12 plants in 6 pots. All is ready to re-pot as soon as I begin to see signs of gender... checking with a magnifying glass during every morning watering. Planning to go 12/12 with light cycle and begin nutes with re-potting next week, May 21st.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I wouldn't put them into 12/12 until they were sexed. If they are not sexually mature and you put them into 12/12, it is simply going to encourage stretch. Do you have alternating nodes yet?

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

I wouldn't put them into 12/12 until they were sexed. If they are not sexually mature and you put them into 12/12, it is simply going to encourage stretch. Do you have alternating nodes yet?

...and thanks for the info. I guess I'm rushing it a bit. No alternating nodes yet. I'll be patient... :farm:

 

[Old_SSSC_Guy]

be careful when/if you try and lower the table, don't want to cut or smash the power strip.

nice compact grow!

 

[maineharvest]

Watch out when watering with that power strip directly underneath the pots. They look nice and healthy so far.

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

Watch out when watering with that power strip directly underneath the pots. They look nice and healthy so far.

...thanks for the power strip advice, guys... I removed the table completely and mounted the power strip on the wall... no worries about inadvertently goofing things up on that end. The plants are all in the 12" range now... I'm having a great time with this!

 

[suburban]

Looks like you're off to a good start, and people are throwing out some real good suggestions. Getting all your electrical items off the floor/away from moisture is a real good one. One thing you mentioned that I don't think I'd personally do is suspend a light from a telescoping rod - it might be a super-strong rod that screws really tight (I suppose they exist...) but IMO it's a MUST to have your heavy high-intensity lights firmly attached to a solid suport (joist or whatever) and make sure the chain or whatever can't come loose from the light (I like those little carabiner connectors in place of S hooks).

All it takes is for you to bump into that telescoping rod or hit it with something, and your rod could come loose. The BEST scenario is the light crushing your plants (worst is broken lights and fire risk). I know a guy who did something similar and it wasn't a week before he was in tending his plants and raised up and caught the pole with the back of his head and the whole arrangement slid to one side, fell, and snapped a beautiful Hash Plant in its 4th week of flower. He was real lucky his bulb didn't shatter, as it was an open reflector... (He cried for days.)

Maybe you could attach a backup chain to your reflector so your light stays safe if the telescoping rod fails for whatever reason (?)

Really nice first setup!

 

[woodydude]

Looking good RR.
You have some nice growth there for such young plants.
The only real pointer I would give is to transplant the plants you have sharing pots ASAP. Waiting for them to show sex before repotting will cause you problems with tantgles roots, stunted growth etc.
They may show sex at 4 weeks, but it could be 6 or even 8. As they are 3 weeks old in the pic in post 11, they could double in size over the next 3 weeks. I would hate for you to loose a plant due to tangled roots.

Lots of green mojo my friend. W

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

Hey Suburban and Woodydude, thanks for your great advice and for your supportive comments. I am going to place 2x4s vertically against both side walls directly underneath to brace the light suspension rod on both ends. That will take care of the rod-failure risk. I do need to transplant soon as the plants are growing quickly and I am getting tight on closet space. I'll post some updated photos next week. Thanks again for your input

 

[Ricochet Ranger]

I noticed a single leaf with signs of insect munching during this morning's watering. I took the pots out to my back porch and gave them a spray of Natria, making sure to spray new growth and leaf undersides.
They were at 4 weeks last Thursday and they're robust and looking great. Alternating nodes have appeared on two of them and I have them on 24/0 light. I hope to see some solid gender identification soon... life is good