How to Grow Cannabis Secretly at Home: Tips for Discreet Indoor Cultivation

Cannabis is a wonderful plant with incredible benefits. It has so much to offer if we just reduce the stigma and study its properties with an unbiased, open mind. 

As users, most of you love cannabis. What’s not to like about it, anyway? Unfortunately, the whole world doesn’t share the same opinion as us. In some regions, cannabis cultivation is outright illegal, and in other regions, cannabis is still frowned upon, thanks to the misinformation surrounding it.  

So, if you want to enjoy some homegrown cannabis, you need to be wary of the risks that come with it. In most cases, it may lead to judgment from your neighbors, eviction from your rental house, or burglary, but in the worst-case scenario, it can land you behind bars. 

Due to these reasons, the cultivation of cannabis has experienced a lot of changes with time as more and more people are choosing to grow it discreetly indoors. Whether you’re concerned about privacy, legal restrictions or simply wanting a controlled environment, there’s no denying the appeal of growing cannabis at home without drawing attention.

You must keep your cannabis operation a secret if you live in any such region where cannabis is not as widely accepted. But how do you do that? You’re in luck. This article will provide various tips to help you keep your cultivation a secret from your neighbors and even visitors. 

Understanding the Importance of Discreet Indoor Cultivation

In a time where laws regarding cannabis differ greatly and social stigmas still exist, most growers choose to grow cannabis indoors. This is especially important if you reside in an area where cannabis cultivation is still restricted. 

Indoor cultivation is better than outdoors as it not only offers privacy, but you also get to control how the plants grow. Control that outdoor growing may not offer. You can manage various factors, including lighting conditions and overall growth with increased potency and specific characteristics. You also reduce the risk of theft, vandalism, or attracting attention that outdoor grows may bring about.

However, before you start cultivating cannabis, it is crucial to have an understanding of the laws associated with growing cannabis at home. The legal status of cannabis varies greatly across jurisdictions., so you should be well-versed with the local laws to avoid any legal consequences.

For example, while one region could impose fines or even confiscate the property, other regions where cannabis is strictly prohibited may press criminal charges. Note that while some regions allow personal cultivation, there are still a few restrictions regarding the number of plants and specific cultivation methods. Therefore, make sure you read the laws to know where you stand. It’s better to be safe than sorry. 

1. Choose the Right Setup 

For indoor cannabis cultivation, the environment plays a crucial role. So crucial that it directly impacts whether you grow good buds successfully or just end up with duds. First, think about the location. Yes, you’re growing indoors, but will any room work? What if your neighbor walks in and it’s the first thing she sees? So, to avoid these problems, select the right location within your home. 

In short, think about the accessibility, ventilation options, and the amount of foot traffic in that area. Ideally, any location you choose should be large enough for your plants to thrive, facilitate airflow, and allow for easy maintenance.

After that, you need to think about the setup. Pick the wrong type and it will serve as a beacon, indicating to everyone who looks at your house that something’s cooking there that shouldn’t be. So, what are your options? 

You have a few options when it comes to growing your cannabis plant at home secretly, such as the following. 

Indoor Grow Room

The best setup for growing cannabis at home secretly is a grow room. This will be a dedicated room in your home that will house everything from grow lights, vents, fans, and your cannabis plant ideally in its hydroponic setup. 

An indoor grow room is terrific because you can grow multiple plants in it and you can always lock it away, but not everyone has the luxury of having a spare room in their homes. So, this only sometimes works for hobby growers who simply want to grow a plant for personal consumption. 

Grow Tents

In that case, you can invest in a grow tent. Such a tent comes with all the necessary equipment you need to grow cannabis, including vents, attachment ports for lighting equipment, and insulated walls made of a special fabric, depending on the brand. 

Grow tents are relatively cheap and compact and can even fit in your attic. But they do tend to stick out like a sore thumb within the house. Your neighbors won’t know about it unless they enter your home. But if you’re willing to splurge, you can get grow cabinets that are an upgrade over a grow tent and can be made to look like a regular cabinet. 

Space Buckets 

If space is not available in your home but you’re adamant about growing your cannabis plant, you can choose space buckets. Here, you grow cannabis in a couple of buckets. It sounds weird but it works brilliantly well for growing cannabis for personal consumption. It’s secretive and easy to set up, making it ideal for beginners. 

Space buckets have become quite popular as it’s very efficient. Of course, this won’t be appealing for people who like to grow multiple plants looking for big yields; however, if you don’t have a lot of choices to grow cannabis indoors, space buckets could be a great option.

A space bucket is essentially a DIY project. In this, you create an environment that allows you to have control over factors like light, humidity, and temperature. To get started, find a suitable bucket from any hardware store. Since the space is super limited, you can line the inside of the bucket with reflective material like Mylar to ensure light distribution and improve growth. 

Next, you need to choose lights. You can either go for low-intensity LEDs or CFLs. Since the bucket is small, you should choose lights that aren’t too powerful or you risk burning your small plants. 

The next step is to select good strains that are suitable for your space bucket. Autoflowering strains are best for this as they are somewhat compact. However, note that the autoflowers released nowadays grow into monsters. Just because they are autoflowers doesn’t mean they remain small. Therefore, spend some time selecting strains that tend to remain small or you’ll end up with a big plant that outgrows the bucket. 

Begin by germinating the seeds and then transplant the seedlings into aerated, nutrient-rich soil. You can make your own soil mix by incorporating perlite or vermiculite into the soil for drainage. As your plants grow, use low-stress training techniques (LST) to maintain an even canopy and enhance light exposure for lower branches.

Balcony 

If you don’t want to fiddle around with a plant in your home, you can grow cannabis on your balcony, too. For this, you would need more than just a cannabis plant along with various camo features to keep the plant discreet. More on that later. 

What’s great about a balcony setup is that it’s dirt cheap and your plant gets to enjoy the sun, so you don’t have to spend money and time on grow lights. It’s an excellent option and somewhat close to a proper outdoor grow, but it does come with its risk. 

To successfully grow cannabis on your balcony you need to consider several factors. First, make sure your balcony receives sunlight as cannabis plants thrive in the sun. Find a spot that gets six hours of direct sunlight each day. Next, choose containers that drain well to promote healthy root development. Fill these containers with quality potting mix that drains well and contains nutrients for optimal growth.

Next, choose a good strain as you’re growing on your balcony. Don’t go for huge strains meant to grow outdoors. Sure, you’re technically growing outdoors, but you’ll still be using containers and you don’t want to attract too much attention. It’s nice if the strain adapts to your local climate as well. 

Choose strains that have quick flowering times. Start by germinating the seeds indoors and then transplant the seedlings to your balcony once they have developed a root system. As the plants grow, start supporting them with stakes or trellises to help them withstand the wind and encourage growth.

Make sure you pay attention to watering and feeding schedules for balcony-grown cannabis. Since they are exposed to various elements, these plants may require frequent watering. Regularly check for pests and diseases and take measures to protect your plants. This way, you can enjoy the benefits of homegrown marijuana even if you have limited indoor space.

2. Select the Right Strain 

Once you’ve figured out where you want to grow cannabis, the next step is to figure out which strain to grow. Ideally, if you want to keep your indoor grow room a secret, you should stick to compact strains, grow fast, and don’t produce a lot of odor. What are these strains?

Your best bet would be autoflowering strains. These strains function on an internal genetic clock to move from vegetative to bloom, and hence, they don’t grow as tall as photoperiod strains. The downside is that they produce a lower yield, but it’s more than enough for personal use. 

If you prefer photoperiod strains, you need to pick strains that are compact and fast flowering by nature. Such strains will be much easier to manage — you don’t want to try hiding a mammoth-sized cannabis plant on your balcony. That sounds like a lot of hard work and headache. 

Here are some excellent strain suggestions for a secret grow:

• Green Crack Auto
• Blueberry Auto
• Tropicana Cookies Auto
• Gorilla Punch Auto
• Bubba Island Kush
• Kerosene Krash
• Mokum’s Tulip
• Red Dwarf 

Sourcing Cannabis Seeds Discreetly

One aspect of selecting the right seeds you shouldn’t overlook is the shipping — ignore this and your cannabis operation will be exposed even before it starts. Chances are, if you are growing cannabis discreetly, it’s not easy to source seeds in your region, so you’ll be ordering seeds from a seed bank. 

Look for reputable dealers or seed banks with high ratings and pick the right strain for you. Go for an option of discreet shipping as most reputable seed banks offer this. What exactly is discreet shipping? They’ll ship your seeds in a misleading package, so no one, including the delivery agent and your nosy neighbors, will know the package is carrying cannabis seeds. 

3. Control the Cannabis Odor 

One of the biggest concerns you should have when growing cannabis secretly is the smell — it’s a big one. Cannabis produces a lot of smell that you may stop noticing if you live with it since your nose will get used to the smell, but anyone walking by your house will smell your cannabis in an instant. 

So, you need to conceal the odor, and you can do so in the following ways.

Grow Herbs or Flowers With a Strong Smell 

An excellent way of keeping your cannabis plant’s smell secret is by simply concealing it with another stronger smell, i.e., strong-smelling flowers and herbs. These companion plants will produce an odor that is stronger than your cannabis, so when someone walks by your window or balcony, all they’ll smell are the plants, not the cannabis.

The plants that work well to conceal the smell of your cannabis plants include lavender, peppermint, basil, and thyme. 

Air Fresheners

Companion plants won’t work for every grower and they are not a sure-shot way of hiding the cannabis smell. So, you can also use air fresheners or odor neutralizers, which can be found in liquid or gel forms. These are extra measures, so don’t rely on them exclusively, but they can come in handy if you have an unexpected visitor at your home. 

Carbon Scrubbers

By far the best option to keep your cannabis plant’s smell a secret is using carbon scrubbers. This device sits in your exhaust system, and it uses carbon filters to remove the cannabis smell from the air that’s exiting the grow room. 

Yes, carbon scrubbers are a bit pricey compared to the other options listed above, but they are very effective. They don’t hide the smell, they eliminate it. In short, they are advertised to remove 90% of the odor of cannabis. 

Grow Low-Smell Strains 

If odor is a concern for you and you want to play it safe nonetheless, you should pick strains that don’t produce a lot of smell naturally. Some of the best low-smell cannabis strains include Ice, Jack Herer, Durban Poison, Northern Lights, and Papaya. 

Yes, we all love aromatic cannabis buds, but sometimes, you have to make a compromise if you want to keep your cannabis buds discreet. 

4. Keep It Quiet

The smell is something many growers worry about, but not enough growers worry about the noise. Equipment like fans, air pumps, and exhaust systems can produce noise. Cannabis grow rooms are loud, so you need to also keep things quiet in the grow room. Where does this sound come from? Primarily from the fans, vents, and grow lights. 

However, air circulation is crucial for the plants, so you need to keep that in mind too. By investing in low-noise inline fans and efficient ducting, you can achieve proper ventilation without drawing attention to your operation. Inline fans help remove air from the grow space while introducing air, thereby keeping temperature and humidity levels regulated.

In addition, the size and capacity of your inline fans ensure ventilation without unnecessary noise. You should find a balance between air exchange and discreet operation. Ducting systems can enhance ventilation effectiveness by efficiently removing heat and humidity generated during the cultivation process.

Here are some tips on keeping your grow room quiet while growing cannabis:

• Invest in sound-proof ducting to dampen the noise of your grow room
• Install foam panels on walls to absorb sound and reduce echoes
• Use grow lights that don’t produce a lot of noise — LEDs are excellent in this case 
• Place equipment on pads that vibrate to decrease noise transmission. 
• Use silent fans 
• Ensure the extractor fan is hanging freely 
• Make sure nothing is vibrating too much against something else — this vibration also produces a lot of noise 
• Use air stones, hydroponic components, filters, etc. that don’t produce sound 

5. Manage the Light and Temperature Properly 

One of the wackiest ways your cannabis grow room can be exposed is if you haven’t dialed in the temperature and lighting setup to match the outside world. You may already know the story of a cannabis grower who got caught because his roof didn’t collect any snow during the winter because of the warm grow room. 

Follow these tips. 

Choose the Right Kind of Grow Lights

For best results, you need LED lights. These lights run cool so they don’t heat up a lot and you can always customize them to make your grow room appear subtle in your neighborhood. 

When it comes to discreet cannabis cultivation choosing the lighting is crucial. Opting for compact LED grow lights offers advantages. LED lights are energy efficient since they consume less power than other lights like HIDs. 

LED lights offer the advantage of emitting less heat, so you can place them close to the plants. However, this depends on the type of light you’ve chosen, so read the instructions carefully to know about the distance from the light to the plant. If you don’t mind, you can invest in CFLs as the lights can be placed near the plants with less risk of burning them. They are ridiculously cheap and many homes still use CFL lights so your grow room won’t stick out like a sore thumb. 

You can position them strategically to prevent leakage and minimize the chances of attracting unwanted attention. However, CFLs will not provide as much yield as HIDs or LEDs, so you need to look for good LEDs that can provide the right balance. 

You can even use HIDs or HPS lights but know that these lights produce intense light in a specific spectrum and they also generate a lot of heat. That’s adding two problems to your discreet cannabis grow room. It’s not worth it. 

Minimize Your Grow Room’s Visibility 

Regardless of the type of light you choose, if you run your grow lights during the night, it’s easy to attract attention. Controlling light leaks is essential if you want the plants to grow well, especially during the flowering stage. However, it’s important for you as well, as light leaks often work as telltale signs that you’re growing cannabis indoors. Also, ensure that there are no gaps or openings in your grow space that could potentially cause leaks. So, you need to minimize the visibility of your grow lights as much as possible, and here are some tips on doing that:

• Use blackout curtains to block the grow light from exiting the windows 
• Keep the lights on during the day and blackout the room during the night
• Inversely, you can also keep the lights on during the night to appear more natural but this will only work with a modest setup 
• Grow cannabis in a location where your light won’t attract a lot of attention 
• Grow cannabis in a grow room without any windows — like the basement or the attic 

Control the Temperature 

Finally, you need to control the temperature of your grow room. We are not asking you to turn the heat too low or high from what your cannabis plant is comfortable with — that will stress your plant out and will affect its growth and yield. 

Instead, you need to time the temperature cycle. No one bats an eye if your HVAC is running throughout the day, but it’s not a good sign if it’s snowing outside but your house is so warm it’s melting the snow off the roof while one of your windows shines bright light out onto the streets. 

6. Keep Your Cannabis Plants Short 

Depending on your setup, you may also need to keep your plant’s size short so that it does not attract a lot of attention. This especially applies if you are growing cannabis on your balcony or near a window — all it takes is one nosy neighbor peeping into your home to catch your cannabis plant. 

So, how do you keep your cannabis plant short and discreet? By training them. There are some excellent training methods that you can use to manipulate your cannabis plant’s shape and keep it short. Here are a few examples. 

Low-Stress Training 

One of the easiest ways to train your cannabis plant is using low-stress training like bending. Here, all you need to do is bend your cannabis plant and secure it using gardening ties. This encourages the plant to grow horizontally as opposed to vertically, keeping it short in height while improving light penetration through the canopy. 

LST is an excellent option and is often recommended for beginners, especially if you are growing plants with small stature and short flowering cycles. Hence, you should also avoid high-stress training as it inflicts a lot of stress on cannabis, and your plant may not have enough time for recovery given its short flowering cycle. 

Pruning 

Pruning is a relatively low-stress training that you can use to manage the size of your cannabis plant. In this training method, you must use gardening scissors to trim and cut off any unnecessary parts of the plant, including some leaves and stems. This can come in quite handy to keep your plant’s size restricted. 

Pruning’s primary benefit is not the size, though. The idea behind this training method is to improve light penetration and aeration of the canopy while optimizing the plant’s energy usage. Instead of supporting the unnecessary parts, your cannabis plant can direct its energy to the parts that need it most. Hence, this training method can significantly boost your cannabis plant’s yield. 

Topping 

Topping is a stressful training method so it isn’t always recommended, but if you are sure your plant can handle it and you have no other option, you can use this method. Here, you need to snip the top cola of the plant, which will break the plant’s apical dominance. 

Doing so will encourage the plant to produce two or more primary colas at the top, which will make the plant broader in shape but shorter in height. This training method is not recommended for beginners as it involves meticulous timing and attention, and it’s not as forgiving as other low-stress training methods. 

ScrOG

Another technique called Screen of Green (ScrOG) involves using a screen or net to manage the height and arrangement of your cannabis plants. This method is particularly effective in maximizing light penetration throughout the canopy. You can place the screen above the plants and train the branches horizontally as they grow. We have published guides on how to ScrOG your plants, so make sure you check them out. 

ScrOG is great for cannabis plants as it allows light to reach even the lower parts of the plant effectively. Better light equates to better buds. As you train the plant, you can remove the lower parts of the plant to reduce the chances of mold and mildew. The best part of this technique is that it controls the vertical height of the plant even during the flowering phase. During this stage, the plants start stretching a lot, so this technique can help control the height. 

There are many other training methods you can use, so explore your options and see which one suits your cannabis operation best. 

7. Camouflage Your Cannabis Plant 

Sometimes, you may need to add additional components to camouflage your cannabis plant, especially if you are growing on a balcony or near a window. We already touched upon a couple of these components above, but let’s dive in further. Here are some of the ways you can conceal your cannabis plant.

Green Mesh 

If you are growing cannabis on the balcony, you should invest in a green mesh. This mesh screen is a common gardening tool that helps prevent birds and pests from coming close to the plant. 

But for you, this green mesh will act as a cover for your plant. It will make it harder to look at your cannabis plant, and from afar, your cannabis plant will look like any other plant — green and short. 

Hide Your Setup 

If you are growing cannabis indoors and want to keep your plant hidden from guests, you need to get creative and hide your setup. This works best the more subtle you try to be. Here are some ideas:

• Use a computer tower to grow cannabis 
• Turn a spare closet into your grow cabinet — works surprisingly well and it’s the perfect size 
• Grow cannabis in a space where no visitor will enter, like your master bedroom’s bathroom, the attic, or under the stairs 

Get creative. The sky's the limit. The internet is full of DIY guides on growing cannabis in just about any indoor space you can imagine, including buckets, computer fans, desk lockers, bathrooms, etc. 

Grow Companion Plants 

As mentioned earlier, companion plants can come in quite handy when growing cannabis near a window or on the balcony. Not only will the companion plants hide the smell, but taller plants will also hide your cannabis plant from sight. If someone does look upon your garden, all they’ll see is a bunch of green plants and won’t notice a cannabis plant tucked away in the crowd.

Companion plants also offer various other benefits, like attracting beneficial insects, preventing pests, improving your plant’s aroma and flavors, etc. Some of the best companion plants for cannabis include the following:

• Lavender
• Sunflower
• Cerastium
• Peppermint
• Marigold
• Alfalfa 
• Dill 
• Lemon balm 

8. Keep Your Mouth Zipped 

You’ll be surprised at how many cannabis grow rooms are exposed because the grower can’t keep quiet. Don’t be that person. Yes, it is exciting to grow cannabis and you want to tell everyone you meet about lush purple nugs you harvested recently, but you never know who might snitch. Jealousy is a major factor. Your friend or acquaintance is probably paying too much for high-quality buds, but here you are, growing purple buds in all their glory. While some may appreciate you, others will not like it. 

So, do not tell anyone about your cannabis plants unless you trust them with your life. In some regions, this is literally the case as they have strict laws that can land you in a lot of trouble and can potentially alter the course of your life. 

And it goes without saying, do not sell your buds. Selling is always worse than possession, legally speaking. You won’t be an illicit consumer anymore, but a drug dealer, resulting in much bigger fines and stricter punishments. 

9. Be Careful With Your Cannabis Products and Waste 

Lastly, be careful how you handle not only your plant but also the various supplements, components, peripherals, and waste. You may have done the best job at keeping your cannabis grow room secret, but if you always drag in bottles of water and CO2 canisters in your house, your neighbors will get suspicious. 

Plus, your cannabis garden will produce a lot of waste. You need to come up with a strategy to dispose of it all. Don’t chuck pruned-off leaves and branches in the bin for the garbage collector to discover in the morning. 

Summary: How to Grow Cannabis Secretly at Home: Tips for a Discreet Indoor Cultivation

This may seem like a lot of effort, but it’s fairly straightforward to keep your cannabis plant hidden and discrete from nosy neighbors. Here are the things you need to keep in mind:

• Choosing the right setup for your cannabis plant, whether it is a grow tent or space buckets 
• Selecting the right strain of cannabis that grows small and flowers fast; autoflowering cannabis strains are perfect for this 
• Opting for discreet delivery while ordering the seeds 
• Controlling the cannabis odor with carbon scrubbers, air fresheners, and companion plants
• Keeping the noise and light levels down or hidden 
• Using training methods to keep your plant’s size compact and short 
• Keeping the entire thing a secret 

Follow these steps and even your best friend will not know you are growing cannabis. More cannabis for you!