Grow Q&A: Help! My Pot Plants Are Too Stinky

Dear Dan, I started growing mainly because I can’t afford to keep buying my medicine. It’s the only medicine that helps with pain and with sleep. I hadn’t slept a full night in years because of pain until a friend suggested cannabis. I slept through the night the first time I took it. I can’t ever give that up. It’s completely changed my life for the better.

I have a small grow room, 14’ x 9’. I’m a first-time indoor grower. I grew outdoors over the summer and got an awesome yield. I’m trying to make my indoor grow just as great, if not better, than my outdoor experience. The problem I’m having is the smell. It’s so strong! You can smell it as soon as you walk up on my porch. It doesn’t matter which strain I plant, they are all very strong smelling. Since I’m growing where it’s not legal, I have to do something about the smell. Any suggestions? – Jamie

Dear Jamie,
I hear from many readers that cannabis is the only medicine that truly works for them. It’s sad that most of the world hasn’t yet recognized the medicinal potential of this wonderful plant but hopefully your area will come around and free the flower sometime soon so the many people who feel the same way as you can medicate themselves without fear.

As for odor control, there’s nothing that can beat the activated charcoal filter. You need to vent all of the air from your growroom using a powerful in-line fan through ducting that goes through an activated charcoal filter. The charcoal captures the odor molecules and keeps your exhaust from smelling. It’s important to vent from a high part of your room, as heat rises and the hot spent air is what you want to clean and remove.

There are other products you can use to mask the odors such as Ona or ozone generators but charcoal filtration is the only thing that can truly eliminate the tell-tale smell. The only issue you will have is during harvest and drying, when the odors are at their highest. Using the charcoal filter, you can certainly keep smells to a minimum but some people like to add more layers to their odor control by burning candles or cooking stinky foods. My friends T and O told me they use their slow cooker for hours of garlicky coverage.

Have a grow question? Ask away at deardanko@hightimes.com

(photo by Felix Green)