Stealth Drying Help Required

Grow Cycle Flowering
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My very first grow is looking like it will be ready for harvest in about 2 weeks. Thank you all for helping me to make it happen. Just looking at the Cola that is now almost the size of my forearm is making me think about the next stage: drying her perfectly and then curing her to perfection.

But here’s the problem…

My wife has invited family to come and stay with us right around the time that I need to be hanging my girl up to dry, and sadly, there’s no canceling or postponing this visit.

Worse, I don’t have an alternate site to dry at. I’ve got no basement, no attic, no garden shed, no easily identifiable options….

I’m wondering if this might work…

The only thing I do have that has near total privacy is my balcony garden that is just off of my upstairs bedroom:

  • It’s about the only spot in the house that is completely private

  • There’s an overhang that would keep any rain off

  • There is good airflow

I’m wondering, seeing that this is a very small grow, might I simply be able to modify a cardboard box by running string through it, venting the sides to allow airflow while still maintaining darkness, angle it so that it get some gentle airflow and then hang my crop inside to let it dry?

Any thoughts on the viability of this would be greatly appreciated!

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Yea building a card board box with a small spot for a 4-6" fan would be perfect, you wanna make sure light isn’t getting to them during the drying process because light degrades thc, and have steady airflow so they don’t mold or mildew.

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Thanks @Majiktoker. I can definitely make it light proof, but have no electricity source. I’d planned on making use of the very gentle cross breeze that this spot gets.

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Perfect! As long as no light gets through and they have airflow, whether a natural airflow or an airflow from a fan it will work either way if it’s natural airflow even better saves electricity :wink: and if it’s a cross breeze sounds like you have it under control once the drying box gets built, and no problem my friend

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Thanks @Majiktoker. I’ve really enjoyed my first grow, but it’s also been nerve wracking 2nd guessing myself the entire way along this journey. I appreciate experienced growers like yourself weighing in with your thoughts on my trouble shooting decisions. :slight_smile:

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I think it could work, but really your main problem here is going to be keeping that cardboard box at a good humidity level! That box will be hard to control that in and you may get too high of humidity and potentially ruin your beautiful buds. I would say to build that box IMMEDIATELY, get it outside where you plan on having it, and run a few test days with a hygrometer in the box, letting you know the temps and humidity levels inside the box. Because if that test tells you the box doesn’t hold its humidity, you might need to create something new.

Treez

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Any time it’s my pleasure, the first is always the hardest grow but that’s the best part is challenging yourself. Now that your first grow is out of the way set yourself up and challenge yourself to do better with less mishaps, granted you’ll encounter problems here and there, but not nearly as much trouble shooting.

Your second grow will be more enjoyable, because you’ll see bigger yields and healthier plants, your in training grounds now, getting out of training grounds is always exciting only catch is your the only one to tell you when your ready lol.

Do you have any ideas for strains in your second grow, and do you have any pictures of your lady (plant) posted up here

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Having cross winds or any airflow flowing through the box will help humidity control, the hygrometer is a great idea @hobbygardener id install a hygrometer in the drying box as well to keep an eye on humidity without opening the box and letting light leak through

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Hi @ktreez420, humidity was something that crossed my mind. As @Majiktoker suggested, I was hoping that the good airflow would combat it, but your suggestion of using a hygrometer and then testing things out in advance is an excellent one. I’ll get constructing my box this weekend.

With that in mind, I’ve got at least 2 options. I have some good quality screens that I could insert into the box and lay my harvest on, or I could do the old ‘string some dental floss’ trick. You guys have any thoughts on that? I was thinking that, given that my harvest is going to be very small, string drying might be better as it completely eliminates any surface contact, thereby not creating an space where moisture can get trapped.

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That and when you hang dry all thc and oils from the stocks run into the buds, so definatly hang dry them

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Hang dry. And the winds will definitely help with humidity, you’re totally right. I just wanted to remind you of humidity control because I’d hate for your buds to get moldy. And I would love to see a pic of this beauty!

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OK, hang dry it is :smiley:

It’s raining right now but I’ll try to add a pic to this thread later today (assuming the weather clears up).

I was also toying around with the idea of strategically placing some moisture grabbers in the box. They are basically an enhanced version of diaper technology used to draw moisture out of the air of enclosed spaces.

Wish I wasn’t tinkering around with a covert dry for my first grow, but given what my situation is, I’m just going to have to make the best of it ;-).

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Keep me updated my friend

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I’m really enjoying this post in the reason that This is what happens to many of us beginner growers, I"ve grown some in the past but at a smaller rate and that I basically Johnny Appleseeded some seeds in the ground and left em.
I will be starting a Commando grow in a couple of weeks, This Whole grow Must be kept top secret in Many ways as I could lose my housing if I’m found!! Now to your post, How am I gonna dry it? I have some ideas, But the fact of the matter Is there are many among us with these same dilemmas.
There is soo much good help on this site , just Amazing, Thanx Treez and Majiktoker!!!

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15

Hi @Majiktoker. I’m already 3 weeks in to my second grow ;-). I’ve elected to continue growing with Northern Lights Auto flower simply because the height and bushiness of this variety is working perfectly for my stealth garden. I’m also really enjoying the variety because it is not overly stinky - don’t get me wrong, I love the smell of some good potent bud, but my neighbors might not… My neighbors are wonderful people, but I’d prefer to keep my girls a secret :slight_smile:

A 3rd plus for my using this variety is that the smell that NLA does give off is subtle but exquisite. The best way I can describe it is that it is almost like a cross between citrus and a really good cup of earl gray tea. Honestly, the smell is so awesome that I wish I could just stick my head in the plant and rub my face all over it the way my stoner cat does with the catnip bush I grew her this year.

PS. If it ever stops raining around here I’ll take a pic and add it to the thread :sunny:

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Hi @FyshhTrap. I understand the need for total secrecy. I’m in a similar situation. Hope you are enjoying the forum :wink:

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I"ll be germinating very soon and going into an indoor two week start, gonna completely freak out for two weeks LOL !!!

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Hell yea sounds like you have a great game plan :smile: I love the smell of citrus plants, I just actually germinated some northen lights seeds, I’m trying to get the garden back in full swing, any ways great choice of strains northern lights has always been one of my favorites, the taste the pungent smell all of it lol.

I can’t wait to see a picture in the thread :smile:, have you thought about doing varieties, if just is a short bushy stout plant great for stealth grows

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I just received one of my first orders( 3 Blueberry , Fem. Autos) seeds. I’m currently waiting on two more separate orders of White Widow , Fem . Autos at 10 seeds each, these will be germinated and have an indoor two week start before being set free (under care) to a commando grow site outdoors. This will take place July -Sept. in upstate NY, . Right now I’m hoping at least one more order (10 seeds) comes in next week for this to take place ,or I"ll be stuck with a three plant crop for this summer.

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Hi @Majiktoker. I’ve given some serious thought to experimenting with varieties, with experimentation attempting to exploit my grow space in 2 distinct manners.

I mentioned in a previous thread that I’ve got a stealth garden on my balcony, with honeysuckle, rosemary, snap peas, sunflowers, strawberries, lavender, basil, catnip, cilantro, wild grasses, ivy… you get the pic.

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The goal was to create a wall of green with which to camouflage my actual grow, and to create a beautiful garden space to just chill out and enjoy, which also gives me a reason for being out there on the tiny balcony with all my gardening tools, without drawing attention to what I’m actually doing.

So in order to exploit this unique space, I came up with 2 new possible plans:

1 - I’ve got about a 1/2 dozen window boxes along the tops and bottoms of the railings, and I thought I might try interspersing a ruderalis hybrid like lowryder in between the plants in the planter. If I select complimentary foliage structure for the companion/camouflaging plants, I could probably get a nice little yield (at the expense of irritating my messed up lower vertebrea) .

The other idea was…

2 - Get an absolute BEAST variety, plant it in the eastern corner of the balcony, about 18" off of the ground, then LST it through the deck railing from east to west (which gets outstanding sun) and actually physically weave my honeysuckle vines, snap peas, and other aggressive climbers all around it (being careful to selectively prune the complimentary plants where necessary to allow light penetration where it matters most. This plan would also wreck havoc on my lower back injury, but it’s likely my best shot for producing a pound from a single plant, which is one of the items on my ‘grower’s bucket list’ (didn’t realize that I actually had one of these until I typed that just now :blush:.

PS. you can actually see my girl directly behind the blue chair, but this picture is about 2 weeks old and she’s filled in significantly since then. The plant slightly to the left was from the same seed stock started at the same time, but there was some root damage during planting (thanks to a pot crazed crow) and that single incident has crippled that plant’s ability to produce a significant yield. Once I stopped wanting to strangle that crow for messing with my grow, I realized that I actually got some incredible insight from that experience - transplanting autos should be done with care and as infrequently as is possible. They don’t handle the shock well, and because they are on a set flowering schedule, they don’t have time to recover if they do happen to experience transplant shock.

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