Total Newb

Hi, this is going to be my first attempt at growing as I got tired of buying from friends and they deciding on not wanting to sell anymore. I decided instead of researching all the things I have already read up on, I thought it would be wiser to simply post on a site and ask questions. Simply because I noticed everyone grows in a different way depending on their situation. So here is my situation:
-I live in a apartment with free water and electricity
-I live in a place with other people who do not approve of my little enjoyment .
-I will have to grow it in a small area in my slide door closet, in a very small space. Probably in the cabinet that I put in my closet. (do not know the dimensions but can tell you its pretty small).
-I want to grow two-three plants if possible, (will grow one if the space is a problem).
-I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE IT DISCREET AS POSSIBLE. (I plan on growing white shark, is there an overbearing smell to the plant while it grows/buds??)

So I was wondering what type of soil I will need to use and what lights I should get so I don't tip anyone off to the fact that I am growing. I really need a step by step guide on how to grow white shark in a small disclosed place. I am truly a complete and utter newb about these things but would love to have a plant going so I don't have to buy anymore. I already have the seeds placed safely and ready to germinate for when I figure out what I need to grow it with. Can anyone help me please????

i wouldn't grow without the ay ok from everyone living with you,

there will be nutes pots water everywhere its hard to hide evidence etc

but if you are going to get a 250 w High pressure sodium and a grow tent to fit your space

then you will need an intake and out take fan .

and for soil go with what ever you can get. there are to many companys to name .

Yeah i agree if people in your house dont agree then you could get locked up people love to snoop through other people shit, they do sell them stealth grow lockers that you can lock and kind of looks like a food cabinet, im kinda in the same situtation but my shit his hidden so good you have to move like 6 big ass things to get to it and i have more room then just a closet but if you put ur mind to it and keep seraching youll find something to fit ur style of grow

i would grow in a household others dont approve of.. especially if it isnt your house.. move out, then start a grow op.. i reccommend started with a tent in a closet until you can afford to use the closet without the tent.

small space, means small lights which also in turn means small yield... you would prolly waste more time tyhen what you get out of it reguardless of its free electric. i would say 1k is the minumim cost for a grow op and thats only for a 400w hps

I have a closet and inside the closet I have a cabinet. The inside of the cabinet is 90 cm long, 35 cm width, and 140 cm in height.

Is it really going to be that obvious?

If stealth is a concern... i'd think twice between fan noise, heat, smell, there is a lot you will have to do to keep it a secret. lots of people do... i'd read up
https://www.rollitup.org/stealth-micro-cab-growing/

I'm growing in a cabinet and my roommate is completely unaware.... it's possible, but it's not easy. I have my cabinet in the corner of my bed room, using it as a TV stand. The carbon filter sticks out about a foot from the back of my cabinet so it has to be in the corner. The exhaust isn't quiet, but I also have an air purifier in my room on at all times (allergies) that I put right next to the cabinet to drown out the sound. My roommate knows I smoke, so any smell I'm sure she assumes is just me smoking in my room. I also have a few potted plants outside on our patio so she won't think twice about any growing supplies. You definitely need exhaust with a carbon filter, and it can be harder to maintain conditions (mostly heat) in that small of a space. It's also more expensive than you'd think. Do some research and you should be ok.

Yeah stealth is a concern but more other concerns I have is electricity. Even though the apartment has free electricity you would think they would noticed a small jump in their electricity bill they pay??? I may be concerned about the others finding out but I have no problem locking the door so they can't get into my room. They are grown ups and don't venture into my room without permission anyways (as I enjoy leaving my laptop on and record when I am gone, so I know if someone comes into the room. Yay Technology).

I readin up on the stealth thanks brownies for the link. I don't even know how to transform my cabinet into the plants home. I am that newbish.

Thanks Bygon for some of the information, I will look into the carbon filter and exhaust. Though I really have no idea what I am doing rofl!! I don't even really know what to look for.

Don't worry... I was right where you are a few months ago lol. Do you know what type of lights you plan on growing with?

BygonEra said:

Don't worry... I was right where you are a few months ago lol. Do you know what type of lights you plan on growing with?

Click to expand...

I am not really too sure what to grow with. I gave the space dimension earlier, I know I need lights that won't take up to much electricity and raise the bill too high that will tip the people who own the apartment building off that something is going on. Do you happen to know what would be best for a small space? Sense I keep reading you have to keep it a certain temperature in the cabinet??

I also might try this for the carbon filter https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html, hopefully all the noise that will come off of that is the fan blowing into it? Thats the exhaust right??? XD. The guy said it was also very good for the smell and payed about 10 dollars all together for it all. Which would be great.

I am not sure what Lights I should grow with as it is a pretty smallish place, maybe I could get a picture of it and put it up at a later time when I go to clean it out. I also need lights that won't make the electricity bill jump to high so the people who pay for the building don't get tipped off that something is going on. Don't want them to be searching the place for why the bill suddenly went up. Do you happen to know which lights would be the best??

I also think I might use https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html as a carbon filter. As it reduces the smell and doesn't cost that much, the sound should be from the fan blowing into the filter (which is the exhaust right??).

Okay I posted like 2 times so if something comes up repeated I am sorry. It said need mod to approve but I don't know if they refused me or what XD? I am not sure how all that goes.

I am not sure what lighting to use. I know I need to make sure that they don't use a lot of electricity because of renting an apartment with free electricity. If their bill starts going up they are going to be suspicious about something going on right? I also read up you have to worry about the heat inside the space. I posted the dimensions in cm earlier. I might take a picture of it and post it up if I get it cleaned out. Do you happen to know which one would be best to use??

I also might try this for the filter system that I found on this site, the best Diy Ez Walmart carbon filter if it works within my space. It will take care of the smell thankfully. I am hoping it will make no difference in the sound of the fan blowing into it.

pretty sure those filters are made with honeywell fans, If i were you id make the carbon filter part and get a 6" inline fan with a fan controller ~120$, build that filter, and get 3-70 w HPS lights and a few dual bulb 2' t5's. all this stuff except the fan and controller can be found at home depot. make sure if buying the t5's upgrade to High output bulbs

The cheapest from an electric bill standpoint is growing with LED's, but the lights themselves are pricey. For 2/3 plants, you'll probably need around 100 w for veg. They also don't produce much heat at all which your plants will greatly appreciate. Second would be CFL's, which are very cheap to buy, and relatively cheap to run... that's what I went with. For vegging, you probably will want around 200 w daylight (cool spectrum) lights. These run hotter than LED's but not as hot as an HPS, which I personally wouldn't recommend for a cab/stealth grow. Too much heat for that small of a space IMO. But, you would likely get better quality bud.

You will need exhaust to pump out the heat from your lights and the smell. I'm using a 4" inline duct fan (100 cfm) and it's sufficient. You will also likely need an intake, or you can do what I did and make a passive intake (basically a hole) with a light shield to keep light from coming in during the dark period. I plan on getting intake later but a hole is fine for now lol. My entire set up is using around 250 watts, which is definitely enough to up my electricity bill... but not substantially by any means.

I think I might have to do LED's, I mean I really need to make sure that the electric bill will not be noticed so HPS is out of the question sadly. I might choose to go with the CFL's sense they are cheaper like you said. I will wait till I get my own house before I try the HPS route. That way its all good and no one will be knocking on my door demanding to gut my place.

Is there any cheap tents or something available to buy instead of me trying to grow in my cabinet? Its pretty thick and I am not sure how I am going to cut holes in it for the exhaust and the intake. It will be closed in my closet also so I don't think I will need to worry about light as long as I don't keep the closet door open right??? Is there anyway I can get a picture of your setup Bygon?? So I can see what you are talking about.

Thanks Nazza for commenting, I like the thought of the filter as it looks really nice and seems to do what I need it too. The HPS though might be a big problem.

Be careful with LED, for every decent one out there, you will find 1000 crappy ones. You didn't give dimensions but you are probably relegated to CFL with your space. You could also do a 250W HPS, that and a fan will not use much more than a high end computer so you should be fine. The it is just an enclosure, make sure you have good ventilation and a carbon filter and water and nutes. I am not sure if you specified grow medium, but I would stick to soil since it will be the lowest maintenance and is great for starting out.

On the light, you could get a 400w dimmable ballast that you run at 50% power, that way if you want to upgrade later you can. at 200W, you would not be generating much heat at all.

I grow completely stealth, I just don't want the kids poking around and we have regular house guests since we live close to the beach

• The inside of the cabinet is 90 cm long, 35 cm width, and 140 cm in height.​
  
  
  
  

Those are the Dimensions that my boyfriend measured out, we really want to try to do this but I need to know what I am doing. I want to go full on soil because as a first time grower I noticed that the hydro and andro or what ever was way to complicated for me to even begin to start out with. I am on a very low budget and I don't think I can cut a hole in the cabinet, which is going to be a huge problem. So I might just have to use something else? Anyone got any good ideas on what is low budget and easy to get??

I am not sure what to use as soil but I read on most of them to use soil that has perlite? Or something like that in the soil so it can filter the water through easier. What are nutes? Are they nutrients??? I haven't read up on any nutrients, they give what they are using but they really dont tell you how to use it. I will probably just be using the water out of my facet.

You need to read some more... https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/1326-101-already-asked-questions.html


In this forum section you'll find ideas for stealth grows so check it out:


https://www.rollitup.org/stealth-micro-cab-growing/




Imo its a really bad idea trying to grow in a house with people that are against it, if they find out they can rip you off or call the cops (if you are doing it illegally you will get in trouble), if you are going to grow no one should know about it.


If i were in your shoes i'd go for outdoor guerrilla instead till you can get your own place and a budget to buy proper equipment, be careful with poorly ventilated cabinets, thats a huge fire hazard especially if you are going to use HPS lights, they get VERY hot.

There is alot 2 learn, water has to be pH'd correctly for nutrients in soil to be absorbed by plant, and there isn't much nutrients in bare soil/water, although it would depend on what soil you are using. Low budget or not, I started out wanting to go cheap as possible for 1-3 plants, I am about 500$ in and I just have cheapo 135w LED, and 150w HPS. The CFLs are cheaper to buy, something like 5-10$ per? You will need I believe about 100w of actual wattage, so like 4-5 CFLs I believe, although I've never done CFL grow myself. Nutrients are supplemental solutions to feed your plant, some soils come with nutrients in them, but your average potting soil probably won't have much. If you don't feed them any nutrients and just water, they would have substantially lower yield, and be in worse health in general, with signs of deficiencies all over the plant.

Perlite just helps aerate the soil so it doesn't get as compact, also you referenced "adults" so im assuming your underage ( not 18 ), probably not the best time to try learning to grow, especially without a job or any revenue to fund your grow. Like I said I started out wanting to be cheap and small as possible, nearly 500$ later I'm still learning veg state. I wouldn't recommend trying to grow in a area where your not allowed to do your own thing freely, especially if your limited on budget as lack of money will probably be one of the more detrimental factors in the plant health.

My 3-4 week old is one of the sadder plants on newb section, only 4-5 inches tall but I'm tellin ya' its not going to work out well with people not wanting you to smoke or grow, no job, place to grow at your own will. I think more plausible option if your in a area that supports it, would be an outside guerilla grow most likely. Either way the only thing limiting you besides budget would be lack of knowledge of basics.

As a few month newbie myself, you need to buy for indoor basics: lights, nutrients, venting fans, soil, pots, pH meter.
Outside your worries are more geared towards pests and environmental factors. You won't need lights for outside grow obviously, no bill for electricity, I'm not entirely sure on nutrients though, I have never really bothered checking into outdoor grows as I went straight for indoor small grow. I know the soil outside would be somewhat geographically dependent, and just from assumption I'd say some might supplement their plants even outdoors, as nature is not perfect and you can spot deficiencies/pests on the plants all around you outside. Anyhow my knowledge is really limited, but yours is dangerously limited. I would very first and foremost get a job or source of income that you can use to put forward to the grow IF your going to do it inside, I would also work out a better situation then hiding it from "adults" but not being able to cut holes or vent anything in your room (similar to me but I am not restricted by other people knowing).

Someone arleady gave you estimate of 1k per grow op, that would be on the more average end of things, you could keep it down to about half of that, and be missing a bunch of stuff or using shitty cheap lights without moving enough air to vent them.

I have 135w cheapo LED, I highly doubt you could keep temps below 85 if your running LED in enclosed space with no ventilation, it does put out exhaust air from the LED vents right around 85 degrees during operation. Lastly read, and most of its subjective opinion, your going to find someone tell you one thing is important or good, and another tell you something else trumps it or thats just outright wrong, ect.

People hate to hear this, but you are going to end up with very little bud, it wont be very good and you will STILL be out buying buds.
But...
Good Luck.

It always amazes me, it seems like I am the only person who tries to warn people of what is coming. You are going to be really disappointed.

I am willing to bet right now you end up with less than an ounce for your hardwork.

3 months of growing, 1 month of curing, for one whopping ounce of weed. Not worth the risk, time, money, at all. You would be better off just continuing to buy weed off the streets.


Save up 500+ bucks, spend a solid month reading everything you can about grows/lights/soils. Get a good book on botany (not the outdated "grow bibles" they basically suck). You want atleast a 3x3 space with HID lighting to even come close to yielding a balance worth the risk/time/money.

There are exceptions, but those exceptions have been growing for years and understand all the training techniques to get every drop out of their space.