I have a full basement in my house and was going to start up an attempt in a few weeks. I was thinking that rather than fight all kinds of circulation issues that I would just grow in an open area. (My basement is 1150 square feet.)
Is there any particular benefit to growing in such a very small space or is that done just for stealth purposes?
Is there any particular harm in growing in an open space?
FYI: Basement stats:
Temp: 69 at night to 79 in day.
Humidity: Currently limited to 50. Can increase to 75 if dehumidifier is turned down.
Light: Will be combination of old 175 watt Halide used for reef tanks and two dual 40 watt 40" florescent fixtures.
Thanks in advance for any advice on how to set it up. I’ve ordered in the 5 + 5 free WW and am going to start with only two plants to see how it works out.
From what I gather smaller grow areas can be for stealth. But I know that having a grow box or tent is used for security and odour control. getting busted is the last thing any grower wants.
Check out this article about temperature:
It says that you can have it between 68-77f (20-25c)for cuttings and seedlings. After that stage maximum 84f(28c)
I would buy new a new halide bulb, even though light is emitting, it won’t be emitting the light bands that your plants need to grow.
I’m not concerned with getting caught. It’s a solid concrete basement below ground in the middle of the end of the cul-de-sac that backs up to protected wetlands where the nearest neighbor is a half mile away through impenetrable brush. You’re in my back yard, you’re getting shot…because there’s no reason on this earth you should be there.
I would consider building/buying some type of “container” for your plants. The more that the environment is consistent with temp, humitidy, and light - the better the bud. Also, during the flowering phase, if they are exposed to any light during their night cycle, it will hinder growth and quality.
The basement is actually studded, but largely unfinished. There’s a room about 12 feet by 10 feet in the very back that is three sides concrete with the “open” end being the framing of the stairwell that leads up to the ground floor.
I was thinking about using that area, and simply paneling up the framework of the stair well to block any light and using some sheet plastic to seal up the insulation under the ground level to prevent any odor from getting in to the ground floor. There would be only a 4 foot wide access area to the room that I would leave open for ventilation.
I would then set my light timers to run from around 6:30 am to 9:30 pm. The odds of any light getting back there during those hours is very, very slim since the house is built on an east/west line.
Sounds like a solid plan. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty jelly that you have such an awesome area to grow in. You have a solid plan as well. I’d recommend getting panda film (Google panda film), or Mylar. Both are very reflective and are go-to options for growers setting up their grow area. Lastly, don’t forget to put a lock on the grow area and come up with a cover story. You mentioned that you have some weapons so you could say that is where your gun locker is.
I’ve got a boatload of paint I was going to use and just paint the entire area flat white, and I just ordered in several 6800K bulbs for the halide.
I’m only going to do two plants first to see how it goes before I go all in on mylar and such. I’m trying to use what I already have. At this point, all I’ll have to buy are the seeds (on the way already) new bulbs (on the way) some plastic tarp, some top soil and plant food. I already have everything else.
Baby steps for me for now.
Thanks for all the advice. It’s much appreciated.
You’re welcome! I look forward to seeing how your first grow turns out. If you’re going to do MH (Metal Halide) you HAVE to have HPS (High Pressure Sodium). MH has a white light similar to spring, HPS has a yellow tint similar to the autum light.
The big thing about the size of the room is the lighting. You’re going to need 25W (that’s REAL W, not “equivalent” W) per square foot of LED light or 100W (real W) of CFL light per square foot (don’t know specs for MV or HPS). So a 2’x2’ space is going to require 100W of LED or 400W of CFL.
If I had your space to work with, I think I’d set up in a corner and build some “dividers,” like movable walls that I could adjust depending on the size of my grow. Then you could even have a couple of smaller “sections” with small CFL setups for germination and clones along with your main grow area.
Sounds like you have a lot of options, I’ll be interested to see how you decide to set it up!
I’ve got a couple of “poster display” panels from Hobby Lobby. They’re flat white, 30 inches tall and 48 inches long. I’ll use them as partitions to narrow down the area up against a fixed wall to make it just large enough for two 5 gallon planters.
Over that space will be a MH fixture running a 6800 K HPS bulb (daylight spectrum) and 4 48 inch 40 watt 5500K florescent grow bulbs.
All of the light fixtures will be suspended by chain from the trusses of the ground floor so they can be raised and lowered as needed.