New Hidden room for sativa....but too short..?

[Gano]

a friend is building a hidden room in her house that is just goign to appera to be a wall and be unnoticable without a measruing tape.

it is about 5x6 feet but very short, about 4 feet total!

indica is not desired in the least, and seeds are all sativa lines, or at least sativa dominant.

most of her experience is outdoors, so this is a new fairly new venture.

the lighting will be 450 watts CFL and a few tubes, and the room will be used together (all veg/flower together).

one thing that is circling around in the mind is the height of pots (thinking of lining the entire floor and using 100% of the space for dirt...it will be organic, but will there still be a need for run off?)

were thinking 8" is enough, perhaps shorter to try and shorten the plants? will this work? the entire height is exactly 47" and the lights come down from the ceiling 7"cm which leaves 40" for soil and plant.....probably 33-34" for plant (seems real small).

the idea is SOG, but even so, sativa can stretch a lot and are a little concerned.

ideas?

 

[Outportgrower]

Stats are a bit of a bitch, but I know where you are coming from as far as the buzz goes. Just finishing a round, and as seen in the photo needed to bend one twice in a six foot cab. A shorter veg time might put you in the ball park you want to be in, but you never really can tell unless you are going with clones.

 

[ahhhavalanche!]

a space this short would do well with the DrBud method, it is a sog with many small plants. I would not recommend filling the ground with dirt, because it will be impossible to move the plants, and it sounds like it will be difficult to work in that space, the DrBud method grows in small soda bottles so each plant can be moved around if necessary.

If this method is not an option for you I would recommend a SCROG. probably 2, one on each side of the room with an isle down the middle to access the plants (it sound like you are going to be watering by hand?)

Also before you set up with CFL's and tubes, check out PL-L's they are the most efficient fluros, and they are a convenient shape for this type of set up... good luck

 

[Storm Crow]

Get your plants a little drunk!

Get your plants a little drunk!

Well, not really with eggnog! But a 6% solution of alcohol will stunt a plant's stems, but not the flowers! Here's an article about it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12188118/


Granny

 

[FreezerBoy]

In that space forget about SOG with a sativa. Go ScrOG. Keep plant under the screen until buds form. Allow colas through the screen but, keep them tied down to the screen for horizontal growth. My 20 inch colas were only 6 inches "tall"

See the twist tie at 3 O'Clock in pic 1. I untied it to take the pic. Tied to the screen it ran out of room when it hit the door. I folded it sideways and it ran out of room when it hit the cab wall. I folded towards the back where she finished up. She grew into the lower cola in shot 4. 2 liter soda bottle for scale.

All systems require draining eventually. Soil will need to drain after every watering. If it doesn't, it wont suck new oxygen to the roots and they'll drown.

 

[ol briarhopper]

No problem.Just bend them.You have plenty of space.

 

[Gano]

thats awesome folks, thanks for that! got the screen yesterday...actually it was a recycled bed bottom which has 2inch squares made of wire....seems great, and free each pieces is 4'x 2' will run 2 of them, thinking like mentioned above 2 plants per screen....but may run 2 per screen (=4 in the room, not counting a small mother/clone compartment)


although these are nto clones, so cant really judge them yet, they are seed stock from previous grows, and selective breeds...no name because they have been breed thrpough so long.....they were originally roibos (sp?), transekki (SP?) and durban poison 15 years ago in south africa.....but they have been mixed together so much, not sure what to all them.

that said, all this time they have been outdoor crops producing huge bushes....so taking them indoors worries her a little lol. re breeding them for indoors will be fun, hopefully wont take another 15 years!

REALLY appreciate the advice, you folks are super peop[le! those pics also answer so many questions! those are some mighty fine colas!!!

My 20 inch colas were only 6 inches "tall"

what do you mean? the 20" colas were grown on a 6" stock (screen was 6" high)? must say, that is mighty impressive!

and noted on the soil ground....this was a gray area with her. ya know, its not easy being used to almost all grows outside....digging YARDS of soil for root space, then thinking about 2 liter pop bottles....I am listening with puppy dog ears, but old habits are hard to break! LOL!

i am thinking these trays, because hieght is a bit of an issue. these measure 13x9x5(high) inches. think those would do alright?2 L pop bottles are fairly tall.....so was thinking more surafce area and less height would be a good idea....?


on lighting, CFL/fluoro are set and installed.. all bought and done. other lighting options are not readily availble except HID and LED (expensive). but do to space and heat (very hot country here!) cfl was opted for....plus they are so easy to adjust, move around and can take up less height.....which is precious here. the cfl used are 70L/w and the tubes are 92L/W and there is 450ish watts installed on wood board frame.

here are some pics for an idea of whats going on...things are still being built, so mind the lack of completeness. excuse the blurred out spots, security and all...

light stand, almost done.

pot/trays to be used...???

the room, still being built.

 

[FreezerBoy]

what do you mean? the 20" colas were grown on a 6" stock (screen was 6" high)? must say, that is mighty impressive!

Put your elbow on the table, forearm straight up fingers extended. That's shorter than my colas would be had they grown vertically.

Look at shots 2&3. While 3 is upside down, it shows the colas at full extension. The lowest buds would be 22" from the lamp had it grown vertically. Shot 4 shows how it actually grew resulting in a canopy depth of 6 inches. No bud was more than 8 inches from the lamp.

Colas are 20 inches either way but, grown horizontally, canopy depth was reduced by 66.6%. Plant height went from 5 feet to 14inches, a 76% reduction.

 

[ahhhavalanche!]

that looks like a sweet space... you can definitely do some cool stuff with that... i recommend a SCROG if you are looking for something easy, or the DrBud method if you are willing to put in a bit more effort, and want a massive yield

 

[hippie_lettuce]

Secret room!! I wish I had some extra space to make a secret room with a secret stairwell. Listen to Freezerboy..his grows are inspiring.

 

[smoke1sun]

Bend them, top them. If you have the time to veg I would SCROG them. Another option that i use with my mango haze. Is to flower right after the clones root.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I found topping just pissed them off. Made them grow twice as many stems into the lamp at twice the rate. Bending worked very well.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

nice room

 

[Mafutero]

I spotted a previous grow up in my house, when we moved here we were told it was used to grow but I didn't pay enough attention, I didn't even smoke then, now that I know a lot about it by reading from here, I spotted the closet which was used, it even had a hole on the upper wall that went out into the roof, its now covered with a wood panel. About 12 feet high, I'd say 4x3, and divided in two by wood, so I'd say it has one section of 4 feet high and another of 8.

So tempted to use it...

 

[L-Immortal]

grow bushes with...

stuff works great

 

[Tonatiuh]

very nice space you have there,there are a few ways you could attack that and make it real productive...although the desire for sats makes it a little more challenging,with enough of them 12/12 from a young age might make enough smoke to be happy with.id sog or scrog it till the seems pop myself..will be watching this for sure.best of luck.
peace-T-

 

[THC_Decapitator]

secret rooms are the best

 

[Lord Doobie]

secret rooms are all the rage in new housing...just don't use a bookshelf as a door...that's the first place LEO looks because it's all too common

 

[Gano]

just don't use a bookshelf as a door...that's the first place LEO looks because it's all too common

hmm there goes plan A.
the entrance will be on the stairs. ya know the stairs that go up one way, then do a u turn to finish the other half way up as the stairs go to the roof (open flat roof) any other thoughts.... one other thought was a shoe rack.


walls are more or less done, the main things to get done is the entrance, paint, and ventilation....seeds she says are sown....but germ rate is WAY down from last year...uh oh. 25 seeds planted 6 days ago and nothing yet...hopefully just slow.

there is a debate on the 12/12 from seed or scrog. scrog is probably going to be the first one up as clones are chosen and more size is allowed. maybe plant the rejects out in the mountains to do the wild thing.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

hmm there goes plan A.
the entrance will be on the stairs. ya know the stairs that go up one way, then do a u turn to finish the other half way up as the stairs go to the roof (open flat roof) any other thoughts.... one other thought was a shoe rack.

IMO, a shoe rack would look weird. That's not something you typically see on a stairwell landing (u-turn.) A bookshelf would also be a pain if it restricts moving large furniture back and forth. If by chance it's a large enough landing, I'd go with the book shelf. If LEO is already in the house, I don't think a cleverly crafted entry will turn them away. They're likely to go busting through walls if they don't openly see what they expect to find.

Try the diy thread to see if anybody has already done something that will work out for you. Good luck.