Indoor or outdoor?

I've grown once before, I bought 20 seeds and started them next to my window in planters and later moved them outside when they got to be about 4 to 6 inches tall. Didn't really tend to them too well, there were a couple of heavy rainstorms and some animals ate a few. I hear that deer really like weed. This year I'd like to try again - I'm in a rural part of Eastern Ontario, so I could probably start a plot in an area off of my property (Canadian laws are not as lenient as some might think, especially under the Conservatives, and I'd rather not have plants on my land). I could find a rarely-traveled edge of a nearby citizen's property to grow on. There's also forest nearby that I can drive or even walk to, though I'm not too sure about the soil quality or the amount of light at ground level. There are trails through a part of it and some hikers and hunters during the season. I'll probably bring a gun too, in case of bears. On the other side of this, I could possibly do a small grow in a 3' tall, 5' wide, 2.5' deep closet. It would have to be very compact and very inconspicuous, as in no super-high electricity bill and no weed smell. If the indoor space is not feasible for a plant by any means, then I'll start gearing up for an outdoor grow.
Regardless of which I choose, I'm willing to spend around $100-$150 not including seeds.
Here's the local seed shop I'll be going to http://www.crosstowntraffic.ca/ValleySeed.htm

well seeing that you have to have a stealth grow with no weed smell and no high electric bill, it sounds like your best bet would be compact flouros..(cfl)..and they arent that great, but you CAN grow with them successfully..you dont really have the money for a hid light and all the fixins for smell and air and whatnot.. i would just go outside..indoors isnt for everyone.

I have a medium-sized fan and some fluorescent tube lights, though I'm not sure if they're compact or not. What exactly would I have to do for the smell?

well you could buy this stuff called ona gel, it comes in blocks and in gel form, and itll mask the smell.http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=ona+gel&x=0&y=0#/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=ona&rh=i:aps,k:ona

oh and cfls are the twisty looking bulbs...theres a bunch of different kinds you can buy.. for veg you want 6500k, or daylight.. thats the blue spectrum.. and for flowering youll want 2700k, or soft white.. thats the red spectrum.

grow outside if you dont have pests or large animals coming through your yard, but it'd help to just get them started inside and moving them outside at small intervals. give them sunlight as much as possible since this is the best light you could get for any plant but dont let them get off their light cycle so you dont have to worry about hermies. and in this closet you could fit a good place to pop some seeds, maybe buy some storage containers and build some air ducts and get either a compact cfl(s) or a t5 fluorescent lamp with preferably 4 bulbs(these lights can be easily mounted onto the lid of the containter). you can pop all those seeds in here, id also suggest getting a dome or propagator to help them germinate or you can just do the wet paper towel method which most people use. make sure theres good ventilation and after they are a good 6 inches and they're ready to be transplanted to gallon buckets you should get them to a safe place outside, or else your gonna have to buy a hps bulb to flower them.

Desr I have some twisty fluorescent bulbs, some of them are soft white but I don't know if I have any daylight bulbs. Do you think Febreze or essential oils would work to mask the smell?
In my previous grow I used a wet paper towel, all 20 seeds eventually germinated. Sounds like a good idea to start the plants under CFLs in my closet, how often should I check and water them once they're outside vegging? I don't really want to grow them on my property if I can help it, because if the cop chopper sees them or the cop dogs smell them then I will go to jail for a while. If however I'll have to check them every day, I'd rather take the risk just to keep them close. I have a few conical tomato cages quite similar to this one, I can add more wire to keep the rabbits out:
http://0.tqn.com/d/poolandpatio/1/0/v/_/-/-/acecage.jpg

sonorama21 said:

Desr I have some twisty fluorescent bulbs, some of them are soft white but I don't know if I have any daylight bulbs. Do you think Febreze or essential oils would work to mask the smell?
In my previous grow I used a wet paper towel, all 20 seeds eventually germinated. Sounds like a good idea to start the plants under CFLs in my closet, how often should I check and water them once they're outside vegging? I don't really want to grow them on my property if I can help it, because if the cop chopper sees them or the cop dogs smell them then I will go to jail for a while. If however I'll have to check them every day, I'd rather take the risk just to keep them close. I have a few conical tomato cages quite similar to this one, I can add more wire to keep the rabbits out:
http://0.tqn.com/d/poolandpatio/1/0/v/_/-/-/acecage.jpg

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You can get those twisty CFL's daylight at walmart or crappy tire. Just don't get caught IN the plants; most guerrilla growers grow on other people's property, also, choppers in ontario generally land, chop the plants and take them away, done. Unless you're talking hundreds or thousands of plants, then ya, I'd be a little worried. You shouldn't have to water them much where you are, as long as they're in the ground and not in containers, and unlesss you have a very dry summer. Also, you can get time release fertilizer made for marijuana that you only have to apply like every 3-4 weeks. If you're growing regular seeds, you'll have to start checking them like everyday starting about the end june/beginning july (depending on strain), just to pull the males (so they don't pollinate your females). Onnce you've pulled the males and are sure all you've got left are females, you won't need to make daily visits, even though you'll want to! Unless you plan on tying down to increase yield or anything like that, you could cut down your visits to just every 3-4 weeks to apply the time release fert (if you use it) and check in to see if any of them require staking or repair. If it's really dry though you'll wanna check and make sure they don't need water, and just that they're generally doing ok. As far as pests go, your biggest enemy when the plants are small will be slugs (you can get slug bait for them at walmart and sprinkle it around the perimeter), squirrels and other rodents (they'll destroy a seedling with one chomp), caterpillars and deer. Once the plants get bigger, you may have problems with deer, beavers (if you're near a dam), I've had beaver chop giant 8' plants down, and just leave them, and spiders will make webs in the buds sometimes, which will cause mold. Dog hair has always worked wonders for me for deer, and if you can pee around your plants that will help too. And skunks and other animals have dug my plants up before (small plants), destroying them, but only if I used blood meal in the soil. As for small rodents and young plants, I still haven't found a fool proof deterrant. But dog hair helps.

I'll just be growing a few plants, probably either Mr Blue's NL5 x Skunk, Blueberry, or Blue Skunk. Assuming they don't freeze in October... Maybe global warming will help out with that. I want to avoid losing vulnerable seedlings, can I grow them under CFLs for part of the veg stage? Would that mess with their natural cycle too much or could I get them up to a couple feet tall before setting them out?
I've heard of some growers separating the males and growing them on a contained plot to produce hash, but I've also heard some say that it's a waste of time and effort for the amount of one would get out of it. What do you think?
Would the tomato cages help to discourage the wildlife from eating my crop? I'll make sure to take a piss around them, and I can get some fur from my dog (maybe some poops too).

Sorry, I have zilch experience with those strains, but with your location, you don't want anything over 9 weeks flowering time, preferably 7-8. You can definitely grow them under cfl's to start. You want to get daylight bulbs, like as opposed to soft white; they have these at walmart or crappy tire. I start mine indoors under cfl's. I keep them on 17 light, 7 dark. Reason for my light schedule is that mine can't go outside full time till 1/2 to 2/3rds through May (risk of last frost has passed), so I've tried to match up the hours of artificial light I give them to the hours of sunlight they'll be getting when they go outside, which is approx. 17 in mid to end of may. You also want to make sure and harden them off when you put them outside. Like it's too much for them to go from 100% artificial light to 100% sunlight in one day, also the winds, etc. can be too much for them if they've been inside all their lives. So just put them out for a few hours on an overcast day, with shelter from the wind. Or on a sunny day in the shade, and then progressively let them have more sun and less shelter, day by day. And that's called hardening off. Eventually they'll be ready for full days of full sun and wind. I start bringing mine out in early may, just for a few hours here and there, to get them used to it, save on hydro, and cause nothing beats real sun. It's up to you, but I wouldn't keep the males around unless you're looking to use the pollen for breeding and making seeds. Pollen can travel an awful long way, and if it makes it to your females, all your hard work will have been for naught, cause all your buds will be full of seeds. In my opinion, if you're interested in making hash, just use the trim from the females you grow. And yes, tomato cages will for sure help with deer anyways (I just can't use them cause my plants are in the middle of nowhere, and they'd probably attract more attention than anything), but you'll really want to get some slug bait, or some kinda slug deterrant. Also, when I start bringing my plants outside, I cover them in like mini dome things. I just take 2 liter pop bottles and cut the spout off, drill a bunch of holes in the bottom part, and put one over each plant, firmly dug into the soil, it keeps their humidity up, and also protects them from alot of pests, while they're in their tender state

sonorama21 said:

I'll just be growing a few plants, probably either Mr Blue's NL5 x Skunk, Blueberry, or Blue Skunk. Assuming they don't freeze in October... Maybe global warming will help out with that. I want to avoid losing vulnerable seedlings, can I grow them under CFLs for part of the veg stage? Would that mess with their natural cycle too much or could I get them up to a couple feet tall before setting them out?
I've heard of some growers separating the males and growing them on a contained plot to produce hash, but I've also heard some say that it's a waste of time and effort for the amount of one would get out of it. What do you think?
Would the tomato cages help to discourage the wildlife from eating my crop? I'll make sure to take a piss around them, and I can get some fur from my dog (maybe some poops too).

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grow outdoors if its not too cold/hot where you are but if not set up something inside. cfls are okay to use but if your not on too high of a budget get a compact cfl or they call them horticulture bulbs at your local hydro store. fluorescents are fine, considering your using multiple t5 lamps(i prefer these, hang them because you will constantly be changing the height so your plants dont grow into it).
or t8s but they dont give off too much usable light, although if you have plenty you might be able to have a pretty normal veg cycle. metal halides are also good but they get hot and you cant mist your plants around them or have too much humidity, but you can always have a fan on it.

if you have a dresser around that you dont use, you can also saw off the parts that you put stuff in and put air ducts in it. this works well and if you seal it correctly its a great veg box, you can flower in them but honestly id just wait till august to put them out. look into training too, it makes lights the most efficient if you keep all parts of the plant level, this will grow branches which can be either bud sites or clones.

and kill males unless you want seeds, but you can always get two females and make female seeds(research light poisoning or overflowering if your interested). hash require ALOT of bud to be profitable, in morocco they make so much because they grow acres of mostly wild mj. its good if you've got land and a license to grow acres of bud, but just stick to growing some sensimillia crops if your trying to get something almost as potent as hash.

and they'll grow out of tomato cages, get chicken wire and if your rich maybe get some barbed wire too for extra protection from any assholes trying to get free weed. and set up booby traps around outdoor grows if your spot is known to have people running around it, nothing too hurtful but enough to keep them away. or go to somewhere nobody goes and just grow in some bushes.

this thread reminds me of my own grow experiences
i'm in NY, not far from the OP, used to do outdoor grows
outdoor grows are great fun, and can be very good results
but everything has to come together, genetics, weather, location, etc.
what i get from my micro grows is fine weed, better than the stuff i've bought
it's tough to beat inside results, provided you have the right place to grow inside(room mates, landlords, and so on)

I'll dispose of the males then. This grow is just to give me some bud, not for financial profit. Are these kinds of CFLs okay? Because I have a bunch:
http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/640459/640459,1299853567,1/stock-vector-compact-fluorescent-lamp-cfl-vector-illustration-eps-v-72931888.jpg
Also, do you know of a way to run them to a standard wall outlet? I don't want to make any fancy fixtures in the bottom section of my closet, as I'll be using it for storage over the fall and winter.
I actually have a ton of fencing and some barbed wire, but I'm worried about the attention they might attract both from the sky and from the ground. Growing out in the bush seems almost like more of a gamble, as they'd be in no-man's-land.

yeah those kind are fine. (daylight)6500k for veg and (soft white)2700k for flowering.. you can probably find a plug to socket adapter, but i would just get something like this and hang it above your plants..http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Tools-Accessories-Work-Lights/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbm8p/R-100354511/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Dunno how I'd hang that, but I'll check if they carry it at the nearby Home Depots. Clamp makes me think it's designed more for a desk or the edge of something.

buy some small chain. that way its adjustable too..ive had lots of success using these. and ive never seen one on a desk.lol.

Haha, I just meant it looks difficult to fasten to a flat surface. Chain is a good idea, I've got some around.

Does it matter too much if there's a some foliage partially obstructing the sunlight when the plants are outdoors? There's a field of willows I'd like to put them in so that they aren't visible from the sky.

sonorama21 said:

Does it matter too much if there's a some foliage partially obstructing the sunlight when the plants are outdoors? There's a field of willows I'd like to put them in so that they aren't visible from the sky.

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You just want them to have about 5hrs full sun each day,

Well, they'd get more than 5 hours, but it would be slightly diluted light. If you know that won't work, I can take the risk and plant them out in the open.