Growing Safely In An Apartment

[I Used To Grow]

What are some precautions I should take when growing in a rented apartment? I know I need to get something for the odor of the plants and that will be addressed soon enough..but what are some other precautions to take when growing in a small one bedroom apartment?

I've already had the maintenance man come into my apt. when I was at work and just left a not on the door saying he had been there and inspected the damage...the dumbass even left the door unlocked and I found it like that at 4PM after I got home from work..it had been left unlocked for 2 hours with a nice computer, PS2, TV, CDs, Concert Tickets, Stereo with XM radio and other stuff inside...what a dumbass!

Any advice would be appreciated. I'm considering taking the plants outside until fall to avoid any problems with smell indoors. I don't know, maybe I'd run into more problems outdoors than indoors?

 

[yourselfimage]

Meet your neighbors, that can really help when it comes to being safe while growing in an apartment.

 

[I Used To Grow]

I guess I should be hanging out in the laundry room if I want to meet my neighbors then.. I don't do laundry here becuase it costs too much so I don't see that happening. Throw a BBQ?

I dunno man..why is meeting your neighbors a good idea? What will that do for me? I'm not being sarcastic or anything..I just don't know what meeting my neighbors would do for me.

 

[GoodbyeBlueSky]

the very bottom line is... you have to be in a position where you can dismantle and hide all your stuff, including your plants. this can be tricky, and you might have to wing it.

i have done 2 successfull grows (so far) in my current apartment... use common sense, and be able to take your shit apart... you might even want to practice to find out how long it takes to take it apart.

good luck, it can be done safely...

 

[yourselfimage]

I dunno, being friendly with my neighbors always made feel more comfortable growing in my apt. Just knowing what they are up to and what they like to do. That way if a DEA agent or a cop or something lives near you, you would know. Its just one thing out of many, i guess, that could help bring piece of mind while growing in an apartment.

 

[GoodbyeBlueSky]

well there's a balance... you want to be friendly, but you don't want to be friends...

it might come to them wanting to come into your place at some point and you'd have to make up some lame and sketchy excuse to keep them out, because that has to be rule no. 1.

a friendly 'hi, how are you' if you come across them should be all the contact you have...

 

[I Used To Grow]

I talk to my landlord once in a while..usually when I pay my rent and she seems to like me. She just needs to tell her maintenance man to lock the door after he inspects an apt...jeez, is it that hard to do?

Alright...I talk to one guy once in a while too and he seems to be pretty cool and doesn't ask many questions.

The thing is, I'm hardly ever at my apartment becuase of my job and I'm always out of town at a different concert in the nearest big city. When my seeds shed their shells and sprout leaves I'll be here more often though to make sure the odor is controlled and keep my grow safe. The odor shouldn't be a problem until they get to the flowering stage though..right? I don't remember weed really causing an odor problem when vegging.

 

[Snowdog27]

I have grown in my apartment for a couple of years now, I think the best thing is to grow in a cabinet like a Mills pride c-13 that way you don't cause any damage to the apartment that would draw attention also you can add a lock so it stays safe while your not home. Keep your light cycle so it runs at night while your at home not only is it cooler at night but it looks better if your at home if your running an air-conditioner plus if maintenance comes into your house while your at work they wont hear the fans running. You might also want to look into some kind of fire suppression system (no grow room should be without one) you can buy one at any kind of boating store they look kind of like a small fire extinguisher with a heat sensor on it. Hydro is better for apartment growing that way your not carrying big bags of soil in and out of your place all the time water can be flushed, And what I think is most important is to keep to your self, I know who my neighbors are but the only time I talk to them is when I pass them in the hall. I also try to fix things myself that way maintenance is in my place as little as possible. Just a couple of things you might want to consider, stay safe.

 

[I Used To Grow]

Thanks for the tips snowdog. I'll take that into condiertation.

 

[Guest]

call and bitch to mgmt. that the maint. man left your door unlocked last time they entered..then demand that they not enter your apt. without an appointment :wink:

 

[Closet Funk]

I plan on getting a studio or a 1 bedroom apartment soon also. I plant on still growing, I don't care. The main thing is to make sure you have odor taken care of. Also talk to your neighbors and see how they are. If they are cool then you shouldn't have any problems. Maintenance is a problem too. They seem to just walk in sometimes (which is bullshit). I'd advise you to take care of the problem yourself if you can. I would only call maintenance is you really need them. I think it's smart to change the lock on your bedroom door. Whenever you leave make sure your door it locked just in case someone does come in. If they happen to ask why it was locked then tell them you got important materials in there. It's not against the law to lock your bedroom door. Keep the grow small. I plan on running a single 250 watt HPS with 4 clones flowering. I'll also have 2 shoplights with bonsai mums under one and seedlings and clones under the other. It's kind of hard to have a bunch of stuff going on in a small apartment. Just be smart about everything and you should be cool. Also when it comes time get growing supplies. Keep them in the trunk until late at night and then bring them in in a box so nosy people don't see bags of soil and other growing stuff. People are very nosy and worry about what other people are doing. It's kind of a dead give away if your bringing in grow equipment in the winter. During the warmer months alot of people don't pay attention. It's better to be safe then sorry. Just remember it's just a plant and as long as you think that way and have no paranoia then everything will be fine. Good luck with your apt. grow.

 

[Jalruza]

I might be renting a one bedroom in a house / or a bed sit sometime soon myself.

WHat i plan to do i plan to get some rubber and glue it to my door so that NO SMELL WHATSOEVER can escape my room into the hall. I think that will solve my odor problem.

 

[Jalruza]

Other thatn that i used to grow back in a college DORM, few years back, lol i bought a jar with some industrial strength ODOR KILLER, that thing was awesome, someone from Overgrow recommended it to me, i cant even remember where i bought it.

It was a big pint plastic jar with white / transparent bits inside, all you had to do was open the jar say in the corridor and leave it there, it would get rid of all odor very quickly and lasts for ages and ages, when it stops just add more water to it and it would be like new.

 

[I Used To Grow]

Yeah, it's good to think of it as just a plant..nothing else. Keeps the paranoia down.

Plants don't get really stinky until the later stages of vegging and into flowering, right?

I remember back in 2002 I had an apt full of plants..well, not full, but the closet had 4 plants and the plants inside my house had little seedlings growing in them all the time..haha..good times. Nobody ever came in my apt and inspected it or anything which was great..my landlord was cool about respecting my privacy. But this current land monster, I call her that becuase she is very obese..doesn't give a fuck about your privacy..she sent her maintenance man into my apt last month to check out damage and the dumbass left my door unlocked. I think I'll tell her not to come into my place unless I'm there..can I do that?

 

[Guest]

IUTG imo plants can definatley get really stinky in veg. I had a single plant in my college dorm last year that STUNK the second you walked in the room and it was only like a foot tall and 3 weeks old. We actaully ended up getting written up and having the cops called because an RA smelled weed outside our door. Luckly the cops never showed up and we just ingnored being written up and went about our business but be careful. This was bagseed too so I'd say different strains would be different.

 

[Closet Funk]

Some strains can be stinky in veg. My two Somango x Lavenders really stunk until I cut them down, now they are tolerable. I bet when I flower them they will stink. These are going to be my first run when I get my place.

 

[Jalruza]

get a low smelling strain for apt grows. ANyone give any recommendations?

 

[Closet Funk]

get a low smelling strain for apt grows. ANyone give any recommendations?

That's smart too. Diamond Head from Sagarmatha is really low odor and perfect for apt. growing.

 

[Snowdog27]

Grapefruit from Female Seeds are very low odder, the only time mine smell is the first 2 to 3 weeks of flowering then you don't smell them unless you stick your nose in them. You can't tell your landlord that he/she can't enter if you read your lease agreement it most likely says that you give permission for maintenance to enter your apartment when your not there, most lease agreements say that in case of emergency maintenance can enter other wise they have to give you 24 hours notice. Every lease is different so you should look into it, its always better to know then to be surprised.

Keep them in the trunk until late at night and then bring them in a box so nosy people don't see bags of soil and other growing stuff.

Closet Funk is right about that I never bring anything into my place unless its in a box or a bag that you can't see through, as cool as my neighbors are they can still be pretty nosey especially in the winter time. It can be done just be safe about it.