Questions about smallest micro grow possible.

[gorillaglueaaron]

Hello everyone,
I'm thinking about designing the smallest grow possible just for the fun of it. I don't expect to get any good yields or any quality at all.
I looked through a lot of the micro grow threads and tried searching but there are a few questions that I couldn't find the answers to and I'm hoping someone can help me. If you can answer any of them, it would be great.

1. What would be the absolute minimum dimensions the grow could be

I was thinking 10.5inches (2.5" for soil, 6" for the plant, 2" for the light)​

Anyone think I could go smaller?​

I have no idea for length.​

2. There would be very little smell but is there some way I could minimize it even more?

I have this ona block which is supposed to reduce neutralize smell but I'm honestly not even sure how to use it.​

3. I'm planning on using photoperiods so I'm worried about light leaking from the fan/s. Any ideas?

In my tent I just made a loop in the ducting which works fine so I was thinking something along the lines of a small tub coming from the fan/s but I really don't know how to execute it.​

4. Lighting?

I put 3 inches for lighting because I was thinking I could use some kind of diodes or strip/s rather than a bulb like most micro grows. Ideally, to get the shortest plants possible I'd need a pretty blue spectrum for veg which wouldn't work during flower so is there a way I could make the lights changeable? Maybe a slide in led strip or something like that? I'm also new to building lights in general so treat me like a 100% beginner.​

Thanks in advance!

 

[Treecutter]

Hello everyone,
I'm thinking about designing the smallest grow possible just for the fun of it. I don't expect to get any good yields or any quality at all.
I looked through a lot of the micro grow threads and tried searching but there are a few questions that I couldn't find the answers to and I'm hoping someone can help me. If you can answer any of them, it would be great.

1. What would be the absolute minimum dimensions the grow could be

I was thinking 13inches (3" for soil, 7" for the plant, 3" for the light)​

Anyone think I could go smaller?​

I have no idea for length.​

2. There would be very little smell but is there some way I could minimize it even more?

I have this ona block which is supposed to reduce neutralize smell but I'm honestly not even sure how to use it.​

3. I'm planning on using photoperiods so I'm worried about light leaking from the fan/s. Any ideas?

In my tent I just made a loop in the ducting which works fine so I was thinking something along the lines of a small tub coming from the fan/s but I really don't know how to execute it.​

4. Lighting?

I put 3 inches for lighting because I was thinking I could use some kind of diodes or strip/s rather than a bulb like most micro grows. Ideally, to get the shortest plants possible I'd need a pretty blue spectrum for veg which wouldn't work during flower so is there a way I could make the lights changeable? Maybe a slide in led strip or something like that? I'm also new to building lights in general so treat me like a 100% beginner.​

Thanks in advance!

Check this out

I would mainline it then flip to flower early.

 

[gorillaglueaaron]

Check this out

I would mainline it then flip to flower early.

The video won't load but I'm pretty sure I understand the idea.
I was planning to mainline already but I was wondering what the height would be for a mainlined plant.
If I mainline as soon as possible and flip as soon as possible, then I still need to account for stretching. I could keep tying the plant down which would mean I would need to make the tent wider. I had this idea of repeatedly forcing the plant into the soil up to the first node which the taproot is still young but once it gets older, it will be thicker so I won't be able to do that. I updated my height to 10.5" if you look above which I think could be doable. 6" for the plant height might be a bit too short though.

Edit: It just loaded so I just watched it.

Very helpful, thank you. I will definitely use the tips in this video if I end up doing this.
Theoretically, my height only needs to be as tall as the main cola if I very aggressively and continuously LST all the branches right down to the soil or even under the soil as long as the buds don't touch it. According to that idea, I could probably shorten it to smaller than 10 inches but it would be hard. I may end up killing the first few ones but after some tries I think I will learn the plant's training limits. To do all of this I'll need to grow the plant in a tray that is removeable from the box.

 

[Treecutter]

When I was a kid lol years ago, I made a micro closet out of a cabnet that was 4ft high, 3 ft wide 2 feet deep. Grew plants in it for 5 years before my mom found out what it was.

 

[gorillaglueaaron]

When I was a kid lol years ago, I made a micro closet out of a cabnet that was 4ft high, 3 ft wide 2 feet deep. Grew plants in it for 5 years before my mom found out what it was.

That's impressive.
I have a 2x2x4 and even it smells during late flower with a carbon filter. Didn't she hear fans coming from the cabinet?

 

[Moshmen]

I can’t find it but a farmer here did a grow in a converted computer tower .

 

[gorillaglueaaron]

I can’t find it but a farmer here did a grow in a converted computer tower .

Do you remember what they used for lighting?

 

[Treecutter]

That's impressive.
I have a 2x2x4 and even it smells during late flower with a carbon filter. Didn't she hear fans coming from the cabinet?

Nope bottom was open and vented out the back through a window. She smelt it out side but my bedroom window was on the 2nd floor blocked by a tree. Plus never let the plants get too big. When she finally busted me she found all my trim fist and the search was on.

 

[Treecutter]

Do you remember what they used for lighting?

If your venting in the attic or outside, you may have a back draft issue when the fans off. My current tent I put a backdraft dampner at the end of my fan and the added the duct to it to prevent air from blowing back in and pressurizing my tent.

 

[gorillaglueaaron]

If your venting in the attic or outside, you may have a back draft issue when the fans off. My current tent I put a backdraft dampner at the end of my fan and the added the duct to it to prevent air from blowing back in and pressurizing my tent.

Smells not the biggest issue, I just don't want it to be overwhelming.

 

[gorillaglueaaron]

Here's an update, I am designing my own light using 36 lm301b 4000k spectrum diodes. It will be about 25 ppf which is an average of 500 ppfd with probably a miximum of 800. In such a small space it's probably not best to have that much light so I'm adding a dimmer. Since LED strips come in a minimum size of 1 foot, I am forced to either make my own pcb or wire a bunch of star boards together.
I'm looking into what material I will make the box out of. My top pics right now are plexiglass, corrugated plastic or just make my own fabric tent.
Plexiglass is easily the most expensive and would cost me about $70. Corrugated plastic is significantly cheaper at about $30 and I don't exactly know how I would make the tent but it would probably be the cheapest option.

 

[gorillaglueaaron]

Btw 25ppf will allow me to grow up to 17.5g per grow which I'm expecting is going to be way more than I can handle in that tiny space.

I forgot to say that I decided on 10"x10"x10" (lights at the top, 2.25-2.75 inches of soil at the bottom.)

lm301b diodes are very efficient so I'll be able to have the plants grow pretty close to them without it being an issue.