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    Grow Cabinet questions

    Good morning and Happy Spring!

    As I have mentioned in my first post a few weeks ago, my spouse and I are planning on building a grow cabinet within our garage. My S.O. was able to design this sketch up of the idea and I was wondering if I could get any experience growers' thoughts on this?

    As first-timers, we were thinking of starting with an 8'x6'x3' unit but we could go as long as 8'x8'x3' or reduce the depth if we need to. I looked online and did not see much in regards to how much space should be between the plants for healthy growth, but pictures and videos online seem to suggest that they don't need that much space? Is overcrowding an issue for Cannabis? This idea looks like it could hold up to 8 plants (comfortably?) but we only put in 4 models for show. There will also be doors on the front that we will need to keep locked when we are not present. The two levels of the square gridding are the trellises.

    If you pull up the image, we have also put in notes of the reflective foam lining the interior walls, doors and ceiling and my S.O. is thinking about using UFOs as grow lights. We'll also be able to raise/lower these lights as well. I know Sativa grows tall so this will be a useful feature I believe. If this grow is successful we can switch to box lighting.

    We're still deciding on how to keep the cabinet heated on cold nights, but with it being spring here in the Midwest, we got some time to worry about that later.

    The duct fan at the top would pull the air through, which is why we put 2 intake air vents near the bottom. We were thinking about getting the 4" "AC Infinity CLOUDLINE T4” for this job. The specs for this are on Amazon.

    So my questions are these: are the 2 vents at the bottom enough to allow fresh air (from the garage) to get pulled through and provide enough wind current for the plants? And should we elevate the plants onto a low shelf to assist in drainage? My first thought was leaving a tray underneath them to aide in Humidity but I fear that would attract mold/mildew/pests. Or should I not worry about it and just set them on the floor of the unit like in the picture?

    I know we're probably overthinking all of this. I just don't want to put all this time and money and effort into this project and then fail miserably because of some overlooked element.

    Thank you all!
    Last edited by Cornsage; 03-21-2020, 10:29 AM. Reason: Added extra detail

    #2
    That looks really good. I would suggest something like an oscillating tower fan to keep the air moving around, especially if you're going to fill the space with plants.As far as how many, you could fill that space with 3 or 20 it just depends on how you want to grow and what your goals are.

    As long as those side vents are of adequate size and flow, they should work great but you'll still need that extra fan inside moving air around.

    Most of us that are growing in soil just set the pots on the floor in a tray/saucer. We end up using all sorts of things for risers but that's just to try and keep an even canopy.

    Overall you are definitely on the right track. I can't wait to see how this turns out, custom/stealth cabinets are my favorite. Please keep us updated.

    Comment


      #3
      I agree with funky. It is going to be important to have a fan circulating inside in addition to having the intake!
      Last edited by quietlybinary; 03-21-2020, 07:49 PM.

      Comment


        #4
        I figure 4sq ft per plant when I design...seems to work well as I LST my plants...

        Comment


          #5
          Size of you “tent/cabinet should be determined by your style of grow.. if you plan on growing six foot tall plants you should probably plan on 4x4 area per plant.. if you plan on training the plants you might be able to reduce that to 2 plants per 4x4 area.. sativas are in general larger then indicas but again it’s how you grow them.. how long are you planning on vegging the plants also determines this.. example a 3 foot plant in veg will be a 6+ foot plant by flower depending on training or not..

          as for your ventilation question.. go get computer fans for your bottom holes and that might solve your air flow and save some room..
          also you should consider some type of intake from the outside.. your garage may not have the correct air mixture desired by the plants.. (it would probably still work but may hinder your final quantity/quality..)
          8x8x4 should at min give you four large plant, or 8 medium plants or 12 small.. or 20 tiny plants anything more then these number and you might have “crowding” issues.. when leaves rest on leaves it raises chances for mold, nutes or other issues.. and hinders air circulation imagine being in an elevator with people..
          2 your ok 4 is tolerable 6 is a bit much 8 it really is starting to get stuffy.. 12 breathing might be hard.. same with plants.. your trying to make them comfortable so they grow the best.. air quality is a factor.. and sharing little natural air with bunch of others gets hard if not altered.. I.e. unless your planing on getting a c.o2 system you might not have enough being pulled in so I’d stick with what can comfortably fit.. and have some space.. I prefer plants barely touching

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