threes company
Member
Post #1 Renting and growing don't typically go "hand in hand". We researched "stealth" growing techniques and units on YouTube.com and came up with a number of great ideas.
We opted to find some old furniture rather than buy anything as it seems pointless to buy something new, only to gut it and mess with its original design.
We found a 5 drawer dresser (1.5 deep x 2.25 wide x 4.5 high = in feet) and a metal tool cabinet (1.5 deep x 4.5 wide x 1.5 high = in feet).
The game plan is to use the metal cabinet for a two stage grow setup (one side for seedlings and the other for vegetative plants) as this unit was found with an internal wall/separator. Each side of the unit has its own door and breathe grill. Ideal...yes!
Nothing really stealth about this unit. Once equipped, we figure we'll just toss a small blanket over the top and let it hang half way down...let stuff sit on top of it and know one will know the difference.
Metal Cabinet (Seedlings/Vegetative)
The dresser, being the taller of the two units would be used for flowering. We did this so we could allow multiple stages to run, allowing a more constant yield.
Wooden Dresser (Flowering)
We took each drawer out and removed the white face of the drawers. Each drawer was then lined up, in the correct order they'd be used if were attached (i.e. Bottom drawer face was on the bottom, Top drawer face was on the top..ect), then we mounted wooden "brackets" to basically create a single/solid piece.
The faces of these drawers made for an ideal fit. There was visible light leakage, so we opted to seal it with plaster/cocking...a quick white paint job and it'll look normal again (brown was a bad choice of cocking...t'was on sale and non toxic so run with what you see).
Materials Used in Modifying the Unit
- 2 Emergency Blankets (Mylar - Sold at most camping stores or large department store...possibly automotive as well)
- 5 mini fans obtained through old computers I had laying around that I know I would never fix up as they were from the 90's.
- A couple strips of Velcro.
- 6 basic light fixture and clamp combinations (a photo shoot is great one to spew out if asked what you need so many for).
- 6 CFL bulbs of power and spectrum of your choice. We were amazed with what was carried by Wal-Mart.
- Electric outlet timers (got a power bar with one built in for four outlets...pretty nifty!).
- Decent length of extension cord and some power bars.
Metal Cabinet Seedling/Clones Side
Some tomatoes growing. Better to figure out issues on penny seeds right!
Metal Cabinet Vegetative Side
(Not the cords and what not will be hidden once we start moving...testing with tomatoes right now as seen on the "seedling/cloning" images).
And our flowering dresser looks like this
Each unit is equipped with an intake and outtake fan (the old personal computer fans I listed earlier). The outtake fans will be equipped with a holster for some "purifying mix"...or at worst...some dryer sheets.
We have the following concerns.
1. Are our lights to close. Particularly in the red cabinet.
2. Will the red cabinet be too small for vegging plants. We plan on using a "tie down" method to help keep plant height down. Any suggestion would be helpful.
We opted to find some old furniture rather than buy anything as it seems pointless to buy something new, only to gut it and mess with its original design.
We found a 5 drawer dresser (1.5 deep x 2.25 wide x 4.5 high = in feet) and a metal tool cabinet (1.5 deep x 4.5 wide x 1.5 high = in feet).
The game plan is to use the metal cabinet for a two stage grow setup (one side for seedlings and the other for vegetative plants) as this unit was found with an internal wall/separator. Each side of the unit has its own door and breathe grill. Ideal...yes!
Nothing really stealth about this unit. Once equipped, we figure we'll just toss a small blanket over the top and let it hang half way down...let stuff sit on top of it and know one will know the difference.
Metal Cabinet (Seedlings/Vegetative)
The dresser, being the taller of the two units would be used for flowering. We did this so we could allow multiple stages to run, allowing a more constant yield.
Wooden Dresser (Flowering)
We took each drawer out and removed the white face of the drawers. Each drawer was then lined up, in the correct order they'd be used if were attached (i.e. Bottom drawer face was on the bottom, Top drawer face was on the top..ect), then we mounted wooden "brackets" to basically create a single/solid piece.
The faces of these drawers made for an ideal fit. There was visible light leakage, so we opted to seal it with plaster/cocking...a quick white paint job and it'll look normal again (brown was a bad choice of cocking...t'was on sale and non toxic so run with what you see).
Materials Used in Modifying the Unit
- 2 Emergency Blankets (Mylar - Sold at most camping stores or large department store...possibly automotive as well)
- 5 mini fans obtained through old computers I had laying around that I know I would never fix up as they were from the 90's.
- A couple strips of Velcro.
- 6 basic light fixture and clamp combinations (a photo shoot is great one to spew out if asked what you need so many for).
- 6 CFL bulbs of power and spectrum of your choice. We were amazed with what was carried by Wal-Mart.
- Electric outlet timers (got a power bar with one built in for four outlets...pretty nifty!).
- Decent length of extension cord and some power bars.
Metal Cabinet Seedling/Clones Side
Some tomatoes growing. Better to figure out issues on penny seeds right!
Metal Cabinet Vegetative Side
(Not the cords and what not will be hidden once we start moving...testing with tomatoes right now as seen on the "seedling/cloning" images).
And our flowering dresser looks like this
Each unit is equipped with an intake and outtake fan (the old personal computer fans I listed earlier). The outtake fans will be equipped with a holster for some "purifying mix"...or at worst...some dryer sheets.
We have the following concerns.
1. Are our lights to close. Particularly in the red cabinet.
2. Will the red cabinet be too small for vegging plants. We plan on using a "tie down" method to help keep plant height down. Any suggestion would be helpful.