How do I mask the smell of drying plants?

I have reading through the forums for my answer and have had little luck. I will be drying my plants in my 2 car garage. My home is not isolated and I do not have a lot of land. Casual use of marijuana is now legal in my state so I amay not worried about the authorities. However, I would like to be discreet about my operation. So my question is simple; how do I dry my plants without having these smell run wild. I have read that Ona products affect the smell/taste of the hehe finished product. Is this true? If I put the Ona blocks/gel next to the doors of my garage, will they mask the smell? Any info would help. Thank you!!!


You’ll want something like this it will hide the smell vent it right out side nobody will know what your doing

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Thank you for this. I probably should have clarified. I am on a budget and growing outdoors to keep my costs down and have a bit of a higher yield due to growing outdoors. Is there an inexpensive option for masking the smell? Thanks again for your help!

Maybe?

https://www.amazon.com/Ona-Gel-Pro-Gallon-Pail/dp/B0032JWIBK/ref=pd_sim_201_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0032JWIBK&pd_rd_r=0KV814PKKZMVMHCF6JJE&pd_rd_w=y000q&pd_rd_wg=jTIhA&psc=1&refRID=0KV814PKKZMVMHCF6JJE

I have used similar products to what @Matthew420 posted in my industry to mask smells in duct work and what not they did helped out a bit but wasn’t a permanent fix ? My experiences I have not tried this one
Maybe it would work for you
Charcoal is the best way to get rid of smells
We use charcoal embedded pleated filter in airhandlers close to kitchens and bathrooms
Did I mention I’m a commercial HVAC tech
They sell all sorts of Oder products in your local box store and hardware stores good luck my friend let us know what works for you
FYI you can get a charcoal filter like the one in pic I posted for less than 40$ on Amazon and use a cheap 4 inch duct fan for another 20$ Since your on. Budget
That’s inexpensive for the peace of mind IMO

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@Novicetoker I agree with @Countryboyjvd1971 save up that cabon filter will be well worth the money in the long run it will pay for its self

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You’re going to need a WAY bigger filter than a 6" to vent a 2-car garage, IMO :slight_smile: I could see the fan helping, though.

I would do one of those twirling roof caps maybe? At least the smell will be higher up off the ground. But, I sense you don’t want to be cutting holes and such. I also might try letting it vent, maybe after the initial blast of stink it will dissipate to a lower, diluted level outside.

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He was only concerned about smell 6 inch was just a suggestion and yes if he wanted to vent the whole garage he would need to size it proper most likely a 12 fan but he could put wet bud under a 6 inch filter and capture smell before its has a chance to stink garage up it building a plastic wall around drying rack or hanging rack unless he has a whole garage full of wet bud then in that case good for him lol

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Here’s another suggestion. Get a big cardboard box, maybe a refrig or something like that, and hang the weed in there. That will enclose it and seal with tape to contain the smell and then put something like Ona in the garage itself. With it in the corner, you may be able to contain the odor somewhat. Then you could put something like charcoal briquets inside to absorb some of the smell and humidity. Just a thought.

Remember that no matter how you do it, you still need to ventilate at least once (or more ) a day to get fresh air in there and get the humidity out. You will also need a small fan inside to keep the eir circulating. Don’t want mold this close to completion!

The only thing I might add is that remember how much it costs to buy a gram of good herb. You will have an initial outlay of about $60-70 for a fan and filter but how much GOOD weed will you get for $70 in a pharmacy or from some one else.? ? And the 4" fan can be easily hooked to the same box or just get a new box. That would take the smell AND humidity out. Should be able to get one at Walmart or home depot or another hardware store for nothing. They throw them out all the time. again with NO expense the next time.

Best I can come up with on limited budget. Just something to consider. Hope this helps. Jerry

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Now there is a smart idea. Enclosure. Would be easy with some plastic and strapping. Like Guinness in a can! Brilliant! Maybe you talked about that and I missed it. I was focused on 2-car garage. Which I wish I had, btw.

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Wow these are some amazingly inventive ideas. I could both the enclosure and cheap carbon filter to do the job. Maybe add some wood shavings/cat litter to absorb the moisture in the structure. I will be growing outdoor NL and Blueberry so I should have a heavy harvest. My first in about 20 years so I’m excited. Thanks for your help. I will update when it’s that time. Grateful for your help.

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I will offer my 2 cents here. First, I bought the ona gel to use in my grow room to hide the smells. After researching. I found that this is bad for that. The molecules that hide the smell attach there selves to every thing, including the cannabis… And then it will smell like it. I didn’t try it in my grow room but I did try this in my house for a week. The smell was over powering. It took over a month before I quit smelling that stuff. I had only used a 1/2 tsp in a small cup of water. I had bought a large jar thinking i would need it. I tried giving the stuff away but after any one smelled how strong it was. No one would take it. I ended up tossing it in the trash. I would do a search for using this with cannabis before getting it. Then make up your mind if you want to try it. Just my o2 This is a good topic as I was wondering how I am going to deal with this come next month :grin:

I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, but you should have considered and solved this problem before you started your grow. I’ve read down to the bottom of this thread and all the guys who answered your question did a noble job trying to help you out considering your strange situation. I say ‘strange’ cause you say you grow outside, yet live in a residential area with not much land around your garage where you’re planning to dry. It sounds like you’re a small hobby grower and so even if you’re drying just a few plants, they will definitely smell as they dry. It also sounds like you’ve chosen the ‘enclosure’ idea as a solution to your problem. Smart move. That’s a good idea with cheap bathroom fans and charcoal filters out the exhaust to the outside above your enclosure inside your garage so the filtered air rises above street level. You say its legal where you are and not worried about cops but still want to be discreet. Smart too, because you’re biggest worry is the smell inviting a rip-off of your harvest. Which leads me to wonder how you can grow outside and not worry about that too. Like, one day you’ll go out to harvest your next crop and you’ll discover that thieves have harvested it the night before! If you grow outside and are not worried about this in the first place, it must be that your outside grow is hidden from prying eyes. So maybe my suggestion is going to sound ridiculously simple but…why don’t you dry beside the same spot where you grew? If your outside grow is safe from discovery, then just set up your cardboard frig box enclosure (or plastic tent) in the same spot right by your grow. That way, you’ll always have a spot to dry in while your next crop is growing. Trimming your little dried harvest will also create that beautiful MJ stench! Have you thought about that? If you want to stay discreet you’re going to have to do your trimming in the same enclosure. If you’re also on a budget then hand-trimming is your best option but will take longer. If you want to speed the trimming up and be in and outta there before anyone catches on there’s a cool little auto-trimmer you can buy when you save up the cash for a few hundred bucks that’ll probably trim your entire little harvest in 5 minutes flat! Its called a, Tom’s Tumble Trimmer. Its perfect if you want to remain discreet: its Silent Running because it doesn’t use blades. Which even makes it more quiet than hand-trimming. Tom even sells a CHEAPER hand-cranked version which is tiny and will fit inside your enclosure like his one with the silent little electric motor. You’ll be in and out of there in 5 minutes flat with Buds that still have all there crystals and look like they’ve been hand-trimmed too!

Hope this helps,
Slipperyslut

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I’m in a similar position as the opening poster. First, I’m a beginner grower. Second, I’m growing outside. Third, I’m in a neighborhood with houses close by on both sides (but 6’ fencing). Fourth, I’m in Washington state so not only is it legal to use the green, I’ve got a med license to grow it. Lastly, like the other poster, I knew drying and curing would be a hurdle to overcome, I didn’t want it to stop me from jumping in head first back in the spring - so I did.

Unfortunately, my grow aspirations are much smaller - 3 autoflowers and 6 Fems but they all look really healthy and I expect the autos to be ready for harvest in a couple weeks.

I love the idea of drying outside! To be honest, sure, my grow could be snapped up by my neighbor at any time if they really wanted it. I think because I’ve kept it to a low # of plants, kept them low key, kept them spread out (not all in one corner or area of my yard) and generally hid them among my vegetable garden (think corn and tomatoes) that they’re safe for now.

Now i need to research the best size set up for drying 3 autos outside.

My favorite username on this forum. :rofl: