I have a small grow tent: How to grow discreetly in an apartment
As the song goes, not everyone is lucky enough to have a balcony. Some even have the misfortune of living in a tiny flat with curious neighbours. Even so, they need not lose heart or give up hope of the desired three plants. Higarden advises how to grow indoors discreetly, yet effectively.
When we speak about discreet indoor growing, we certainly do not mean a few pots hidden on a balcony or a windowsill. We are talking about growing under artificial lighting in a special grow tent – growbox. Not only the plants, but also most of the equipment can be hidden inside it, and if you wish, you can even arrange it so that your mini grow room looks like a wardrobe from the outside. The important thing is that no light or odour escapes and that operation is as quiet as possible.
Which growbox to choose and where to place it
How large a growbox do you need? It probably does not need explaining that the smaller the grow tent, the easier it is to keep it hidden from curious eyes. However, if you do not want to grow only herbs, but have your eye on something more aromatic, you will need a tent with at least a 40x40 cm footprint and a height of 120 cm. Such a tent can comfortably fit one smaller plant, for example an autoflowering plant. If you want to grow more plants, you will need at least one square metre of growing area. Remember that the larger the tent, the noisier the operation of the growing room will be.
If you want to grow discreetly, you may have to pay a little extra for a growbox. Cheaper grow tents will fulfil their purpose, but they often let light through the seams. Growboxes from premium brands are made so that not even a ray of light gets out.
And where should you place the grow tent? The ideal place for a grow tent is a well-ventilated dark room, for example a storage room. However, if you cannot choose and need to keep the growbox, for example, in a bedroom, you can disguise it as a wardrobe. Just make sure you leave openings for the extract fan and air intake.
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How to keep the growbox quiet
Even the hum of a fridge can disturb a light sleeper, and the buzzing of fans in a grow room can be just as irritating. Quiet and reliable fans are essential, and it is not worth saving money on them. Modern fans with an EC motor are slightly more expensive than older AC types, but their operation is incomparably quieter. Their low energy use and easy speed control are also advantages.
An essential piece of equipment for a truly quiet growbox is also a noise silencer, which is fitted to the extract duct immediately behind the fan. A good idea is to hang the extract fan on rubber straps, which reduce the transfer of vibrations. When installing air ducting, remember that every bend increases the noise of the flowing air - therefore try to keep the connections as short and as straight as possible.
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Keeping odour under control
In addition to noise, the pleasant scent of flowering plants may give your growing room away. Modern medicinal varieties have an aroma that can pass through three doors, so when growing them it is essential to use an odour filter. This cleans the air leaving the growing space and neutralises the characteristic odour.
The filter must match the fan output capacity, and all joints must be well sealed. Do not forget that carbon filters wear out over time and after two or three cycles they need to be replaced with new ones. A few hundred crowns is a small price to pay for a peaceful sleep.
In the period just before harvest and during drying, the plants will become fully fragrant, and air filtration alone may not be enough. Be sure to equip yourself well in advance with odour gels, which create another layer of defence against unwelcome noses.
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Suitable varieties for small tents and how to control them
Although almost anything can be grown under artificial lighting, if discretion is your goal, leave tall and vigorously growing sativas for greenhouses. In a small growing space, compact indicas or autoflowering varieties do best. They usually do not grow taller than one metre and have a short growing cycle.
A small space has its limits, and if you want to get the most out of your plants, think ahead about their shape. During the vegetative phase, try to encourage the plants to spread more in width than in height and fill the entire growing space. Remember that after switching to flowering, the plants will quickly stretch upwards. To prevent them from growing up to the grow lights, you can trim them, or bend and weave them into nets.
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Are you only just starting with growing and do not know how to match all the components? Come and see us at Higarden.cz. We will help you choose a quiet fan, a tent that does not let light through, and other equipment for discreet growing. Useful tips and advice on indoor and outdoor growing can be found on our Higarden blog.