The Secret Garden

[testymctester]

I just moved to California from the east coast. I had created a small hidden room in my basement for growing back east. I no longer live at this house, but thought others might find the pictures useful.

In the basement, looks like a normal set of shelves on the back wall


The smaller shelves on the left can be rolled out of the way


This reveals a removable panel on the back wall


Go through the zipper door and here is the veg room


Peek through the next zipper door and you see the bloom room


I ran these two little rooms for about 4 years. One time, I had a home inspection for insurance purposes. The inspector and I were standing 5 feet from this room in full swing. Thankfully, he couldn't see, hear, or smell anything!

 

[testymctester]

Setup Details

Setup Details

Veg Room 3x6
2 110 watt PLL fixtures
Vortex 6" exhaust w/ passive intake

Bloom Room 3x8
600 watt air cooled hood
Carbon filter and Vortex 6" HO fan

I have always used organic amended soil thanks to burn1 and blazeoneup! Usually flowered 9 plants in 3 gallon pots for 12-18oz harvests depending on strain.

Veg fan & duct (connected to reflector in bloom and then out)


Bloom filter, fan, hood, and duct


Solid temp and humidity (77F and 42RH)

 

[zwh]

Super cool and super stealth. I've always been intrigued by east coast/non-medi state growers, because security and stealth is even more important.

So did you cut the basement area in half with the false plywood walls?

 

[testymctester]

I had a 14' side wall in the basement. I built a 3' x 14' room with storage shelves on the other side. I split the space into 6 feet of veg and 8 feet of flower. In hindsight, I should have gone bigger. It was really cramped working in there! I shouldn't complain though, it served me well and nobody knew a thing about it until everything was torn down.

 

[Milhouse]

That is all very well done Testy!! I always love looking at hidden entrances to rooms and the different ways to stealth a grow room! There really should be a sticky on all of the ingenious setups people have posted over the years!! It could really start to get some peoples creative minds flowin!! Thanks again for sharing!! I am sure there are plenty of people looking to build a setup similar to this and you just helped them along the process.

 

[odium33]

very cool for sure, i love planning/seeing stealth grows, they are so neat! But in my personal opinion, east coast or not, its not the location of your room that gets you in trouble, its the people you deal with and how you run your business. if someone rats you out, there are going to find it regardless! but definitely cool if you have to have people over and they cant find out

 

[testymctester]

Thanks Millhouse. I hope this is helpful to someone. I know I researched hidden rooms for a long time before setting this one up.

I agree Odium! I just kept my mouth shut and made sure nobody could see or smell anything. It was crazy to let a couple friends in on the secret during the very last harvest. They definitely know what's up and had NO idea anything was going down at this house.

 

[Yah`mon]

really cool man, was that an illegal op... if so pretty sweet.

You legal now in cali? If so congrats... great feeling not losing sleep... although I'm sure that stealthness helped with that... especially having it confirmed with the insurance dude so close.

thanks for sharing, did u tear it down (the hiddenness) when you moved?
Yah`mon

 

[Hammerhead]

That's what we all need stealth cabs large enogh to grow a decent harvest in Great idea. The first and 2ND pics are with the light on?

 

[testymctester]

Thanks for stopping by!

Yah'mon - it was a very conservative state where every garden is illegal. It's definitely nice to be a legitimate medical user here in Cali. The hollow space is still there, but it looks like a solid plywood wall when you're in the basement. If anyone bothers to unscrew the plywood, they would figure it out pretty quickly.

Hammerhead - i had poly in both rooms and curtains with velcro where the tarp zippers were to make it light proof. There were no light leaks between the veg and flower rooms or the basement in general.

 

[nukklehead]

pretty sweet... any of yall that live in the midwest/east know about coal rooms... they make some of the best secret gardens there is.. will be posting a friends soon.. like said before.. its not the garden its who you deal with it as if they know its there .. they will find it

 

[samba]

Love it!!!

 

[hurdy gurdy man]

I love victory gardens! Great work, and thanks for sharing.

 

[benzo]

tiiight!!

how did you exhaust this?? where did it go