Attic Grow....Need to "Box it?"

Hi everyone, I first want to thank all of you who gave me GREAT info on starting to grow indoors in a previous thread.

At first I wanted to grow in a 5' x 2' closet, but the wife threw a shit fit so that's out. I now have to take it to the attic. I am thinking 400W HID since I might not go up there every single day to move lights around. I plan to grow some auto short ryders from Nirvana to start.

Question is, can I just open grow about 3-4 plants in a 3x3 area, or will I need to box them in for lighting effectiveness? Which presents another challenge-ventilation. I'd like to just open grow them with a fan close by to keep things simple and cheap.

Thank you!

You CAN grow them in the open. It would probably be better to box them in. You would have a little better control over your enviroment. With indoor growing that's kind of what it's all about,...controlling the enviroment.

Its probably going to depend on how stealthy you want it to be. I doubt if anyone other than you will go in your attic but dont forget about the smell. It may be an issue you have to deal with. Ventilating would not be that difficult or expensive. Short ryders get very smelly very quickly because they are an autoflower. You may just want to get a good reflector to focus the light if smell is not an issue. You wont have to worry about heat build up as much if it is an open grow and not in a box.

you get a whole lot of shit floating about in the attic, dust, strands of fiber wool insulation etc etc, i'm just setup in the attic myself and i was looking at just growing openly, but i don't like the idea of having all of that settling onto my plants and such

Thanks guys. I DO like the idea of controlling the environment, because I am retiring (hopefully) from guerilla growing in the woods. I am sick and tired of not being able to control bugs, weather, predators, and neighbors. I have grown perhaps 10-12 crops outside during my lifetime, and lately had a decent outside harvest. I did suffer some bud rot and bug infestation though, so I am ready to take it indoors. Enough is enough.

But I also want to keep things simple because the more the moving parts, the better the odds of me fucking shit up. You know what I mean . Ok now onto the smell part.....hmmmm...perhaps I should avoid the short ryders for now. Any other strains you guys think would grow well? I do want a quick turnaround time, because my stash will only last me another month, and I refuse to hit the streets to buy shwag.

Thanks again!

Topo said:

Thanks guys. I DO like the idea of controlling the environment, because I am retiring (hopefully) from guerilla growing in the woods. I am sick and tired of not being able to control bugs, weather, predators, and neighbors. I have grown perhaps 10-12 crops outside during my lifetime, and lately had a decent outside harvest. I did suffer some bud rot and bug infestation though, so I am ready to take it indoors. Enough is enough.

But I also want to keep things simple because the more the moving parts, the better the odds of me fucking shit up. You know what I mean

. Ok now onto the smell part.....hmmmm...perhaps I should avoid the short ryders for now. Any other strains you guys think would grow well? I do want a quick turnaround time, because my stash will only last me another month, and I refuse to hit the streets to buy shwag.

Thanks again!

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If you want to grow in the attic and you have enough space you should try this

2 boxes. 1 for veg, and the other for flowering. CFL's in the veg box, and maybe a 400w HID in the flowering box.

Have a passive intake at the bottom of each box, maybe with something to filter it over the hole. have the exaust holes on each box routed with ducting to a a single sealed box containing a carbon filter with ducting from the filter contecting to your final exaust ducting with a fan.

that way, you can have both veg, and flowering rooms on one exaust system

I think 3'x3'x5' would be great for both boxes if you have the room for that. All you would need for that is about a 3'x6.5 x 5' space to do that.

I've always wanted to do this but never really had the right space.

doitinthewoods said:

If you want to grow in the attic and you have enough space you should try this

2 boxes. 1 for veg, and the other for flowering. CFL's in the veg box, and maybe a 400w HID in the flowering box.

Have a passive intake at the bottom of each box, maybe with something to filter it over the hole. have the exaust holes on each box routed with ducting to a a single sealed box containing a carbon filter with ducting from the filter contecting to your final exaust ducting with a fan.

that way, you can have both veg, and flowering rooms on one exaust system

I think 3'x3'x5' would be great for both boxes if you have the room for that. All you would need for that is about a 3'x6.5 x 5' space to do that.

I've always wanted to do this but never really had the right space.

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Dude, you rock . Just like everyone else here, I love it.

I have a huge attic. There's no problem there. I like your idea of a veg and flower box. My lifelong goal is to never run out of my sweet homegrown bud. I may have to put more into it now, but it will pay for itself almost immediately. Very cool

Two boxes is a good idea......but.......you did mention growing an autoflower. If you do this you will only need one box as you wont have to ever switch light cycles....just something to think about

00hotrod34 said:

Two boxes is a good idea......but.......you did mention growing an autoflower. If you do this you will only need one box as you wont have to ever switch light cycles....just something to think about

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True dat. I had my neighbor purchase the seeds, and he already ordered the Short Ryders. I tried to catch him in time because I wanted to switch over to Bubblicious, but hopefully the beans (it cracks me up when people say that ) are on the way. So I guess I need to be aware of a skunk running around in my house!

Thanks bro

not too mention its a bad fire hazzard to have an open HID light on in your attic. plus you will need to insulate the grow area from the attic i dunno bout you but i dont heat my attic so it stays whatever temp it is outside

SmokeyMcChokey said:

not too mention its a bad fire hazzard to have an open HID light on in your attic. plus you will need to insulate the grow area from the attic i dunno bout you but i dont heat my attic so it stays whatever temp it is outside

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My temps seem suitable for growing since I live in the southeast.

Shit....fire hazard! I need to think about this further. Thanks bro.

well you need to know your attics temp changes from its highest point and its lowest point if your not going to box it in because if the variation is too extreme your pretty much forced into boxing it in.

colonel cronic said:

well you need to know your attics temp changes from its highest point and its lowest point if your not going to box it in because if the variation is too extreme your pretty much forced into boxing it in.

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So far I have seen 82-83* for the high and 68* for the low. This is without the lights. But yes, if temps swing too extreme, than the box/tent/cabinet would be my next concept.

I would do just what doinitinthewoods suggested. I personally have a veg and flower tent and they work great! I veg in a secret darkroom and flower in a slightly larger Homebox. These are both great tents. I know a lot of people here think tents are a waste of money and you could "build" something cheaper but each tent is only around a hundred bucks and they are very very effective. Buy a couple fans and a decent carbon filter and you'll be all set!

Cheech Wizard said:

I would do just what doinitinthewoods suggested. I personally have a veg and flower tent and they work great! I veg in a secret darkroom and flower in a slightly larger Homebox. These are both great tents. I know a lot of people here think tents are a waste of money and you could "build" something cheaper but each tent is only around a hundred bucks and they are very very effective. Buy a couple fans and a decent carbon filter and you'll be all set!

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That makes a ton of sense. I will very likely end up doing this, but may start off with an open grow just to see if I get any issues. I got laid off (teacher) so I am on severe budget restriction now.

Or, I may have to make one myself since I...uhhhh....have a lot of free time

Yeah, if you are good at building things, why not? I just added up the costs, and figured that if you bought all that stuff separately you may save a little money but would it fit together as perfect as the tent? probly not.. I love my tents and grow killer nugs in them... I highly reccomend.. here is the site I ordered my last tent from. The darkroom I use for veg. www.greners.com they are very nice and helpful. peace

Cheech Wizard said:

Yeah, if you are good at building things, why not? I just added up the costs, and figured that if you bought all that stuff separately you may save a little money but would it fit together as perfect as the tent? probly not.. I love my tents and grow killer nugs in them... I highly reccomend.. here is the site I ordered my last tent from. The darkroom I use for veg. www.greners.com they are very nice and helpful. peace

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Fucking awesome dude, thank you

yeah i really gotta say tents are worth the money. for something easy and quick to setup(10 to 15 minutes) and the ability to take it down even quicker (5 minutes) you really cant beat them. I spent 105 bux for my tent off ebay and dont have any issues other than a little light leakage, but what do you expect for 105 bux.

Tenting is officially in the equation now....thanks to all. I'm still going to start off naked (ok-my plants of course) but will likely progress into my own custom climate tentology.

yeah start off with the plants in the open if they start going downhill then definately invest in a 3x3 or 4x4 along with a higher cfm inline blower or inline fan, but until then we will see.