Set Up A 4x4 Grow (Almost) Anywhere

My 4x4 Buildout Schematic

Dear Friend & Subscriber -

The more you write about cannabis, especially growing cannabis, the more people ask you for help.

A friend of mine hit me up today to ask for help setting up a grow at his house. He wants to put a 4x4’ tent in his bedroom, and he wanted my insight because he knew I had run a 4x4’ setup before. I’ve mentioned previously that I would share my layout with subscribers, and his ask was the final kick I needed to finish today’s newsletter.

Your First Grow Setup

As many of you may know, my first grow was in a 2x2x4’ tent, purchased from amazon and placed in a closet. 

Most told me this was too small and that I would instantly outgrow it. They were right. But I was still able to grow over an ounce of HAOG x Wookies off of a single plant with nothing but Amazon grow supplies.

You don’t have to go name brand when you start out.

You can, and there are plenty of reasons to do so. But you don’t have to. And you can still grow great cannabis without it.

My friend asked me today if it was worth investing in a Gorilla Tent (one of the more premium grow tent lines on the market).

Yes, these tents are nice and they are durable and they are “better” at controlling your environment. But cheap amazon tents get you 80%+ of the way there. For example, if your tent is going in a basement without any ambient lighting, light penetration isn’t as important and you may not need the high quality light blocking inherent to nicer tents. 

If you have the money, investing in quality equipment will typically ensure a longer lifespan and a greater quality experience during use.

If you are going to invest in something, I recommend investing in your light, then your tent, then your ancillary equipment like fans. Be careful when purchasing “cheap” options as you do not want to compromise safety, but you don’t need a wifi-controlled, temperature-sensing, smart fan to circulate air properly, whereas a nice light will definitely impact your results. 

As you may recall, my first grow setup was fairly basic, and has since evolved. 

Over time, I upgraded and added new tools. I went from my 2x2 tent to a 3x3 tent, and now I have a 4x4 tent. Most people told me to start with a 4x4, but you work with the space you have. 

I recommend starting with a 4x4 tent if you have the space.

You can go smaller, but you will outgrow your space quickly. And, if you’re a regular consumer, you’ll still end up having to source elsewhere if your grow remains small. Starting with a 4x4 allows you a mini room of sorts to contain all of your grow efforts, and scale as needed.

You can start with one plant in a 4x4 just the same as you can in a 2x2, you just have the option of doing more.

It is important to note that I was able to run a 4x4 tent on a standard, apartment power supply, including all of the lighting, fans, and ancillary equipment without blowing a breaker. That said, power and fire are very real threats to your grow (potential danger and drawing attention to your efforts). Surge protectors and spreading things out among outlets/breakers helps to minimize potential problems. 

With a 4x4, you’ll need a light, the tent, some internal fans, and some method of air intake and outtake. 

My setup pulls just under 8 Amps (most breakers are 10, 15, or 20 amp). A good rule of thumb is to stick to about 80% of your total capacity to avoid flipping the breaker. You should be able to run a moderate 4x4 setup without needing to do anything fancy with your power (old homes and buildings would be the exception).

My Current 4x4 Buildout

Equipment: