Cannabis is as an especially pungent plant. One of the first concerns of any grower of medicinal cannabis is the strong odor that cannabis plants produce, especially toward the end of their growing cycle.
Discretion is very important to most growers of medicinal cannabis, thus it’s important to know how to control the odor of your crop. Fortunately, depending on your needs, there are odor solutions for almost all growers of medicinal cannabis.
If you are only growing a small amount of cannabis, internet bulletin boards can be the place to go for cheap, creative solutions to your odor problems. If you’re manning a more extensive operation, you might have to pony up for a carbon or ionizing air filtration system.
[intlink id="25" type="page"]Outdoor Marijuana growing[/intlink] Unfortunately, if you plan to grow outdoors, there is not much you can do to hide the odor of your cannabis. This is why so many outdoor growers either only grow small amounts, or grow in remote places, usually on land where other crops are being farmed.
When you grow outdoors, the trick to keeping the odor from being a problem is picking the right spot.
Carbon Filters for Large Grows
If you are running a large grow, you no doubt have already considered extensive climate control and ventilation options for your grow area. Every ventilation system needs an exhaust and, as you can guess, your exhaust is going to put off a distinct aroma.
Depending on the nature of your ventilation system, filter your air system with either a carbon or ionizing filter.
Carbon filters attach to your filtration system’s exhaust and filter the exhaust with charcoal. This is a relatively simple solution, but it requires the constant changing of filters, as they wear out quickly.
Ionizing filters come without the added maintenance, but require a more sophisticated ventilation system. In order to run an ionizing filter, you must be prepared to recirculate the air in your grow room and add CO2.
Some say that simply extending the exhaust from your grow room up through the roof of your grow facility will cause the smell to be palpable 2-3 buildings away, but not in the immediate vicinity of your grow facility. This method is not as foolproof as filtering your ventilation exhaust.
Inexpensive Solutions for Small Growers
For growers of small quantities of cannabis, there are cheap, homemade solutions to the odor problem.
Odor killing buckets
Many claim that simply filling a 5 gallon bucket with a single container Pine Sol, Febreeze, or other pungent cleaning solution, and water, then ventilating the cover with a small fan, is enough to stop the smell of their small grow operation.
Others claim that, rather than cleaning products, lemon grass essential oil is a better solution and that the smell is much more pleasant.
Homemade Carbon Filters
There are also many tutorials on how to build your own carbon filters for your grow area using activated carbon and common household items like metal pencil cups, duct tape, and panty hose. These filters still work best on small grow areas that are ventilated, like small box operations inside of closets. Simply cut a hole in the top of the box and fix your pencil cup sized filter to the top.
Expect the Worst
Whether your planting ‘low-odor seeds’ or the most pungent buds, expect for the worst when it comes to the odor. It takes a few tries to figure out what solution works best for your grow area, and if you expect the worst, you won’t be caught off guard by just how pungent your plants can be.