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Growing Weed In A Closet - A Guide To More Yield With Less Effort

Last updated: 24 July 2025

closet grow

Closets have long been a go-to choice for discreet growers. Since the early days of indoor cultivation in the 60s and 70s, people have been using closets to grow weed out of sight. If you're seeking a hidden and compact space for a small grow, a closet is one of the best options out there. In this post, we’ll outline some benefits, pitfalls, and best practices related to growing weed in closets.

Benefits Of Growing Weed In A Closet

Growing weed in a closet has a lot of benefits. For starters, it’s one of the easiest ways to set up a grow. Closets provide a naturally enclosed space, making it easier to control light and temperature without much setup.

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Another major benefit is stealth of your garden — growing weed in a closet is far less noticeable than using a grow tent or outdoor space. Closet setups draw minimal attention and are easier to keep hidden. Plus, it’s simpler to manage the smell in such a confined area.

Turning Your Closet Into A Cannabis Grow Tent

To convert your closet into a cannabis grow, you’ll need some equipment. Below, we’ll cover what gear you’ll need, and have also included a step-by-step guide detailing how to grow weed in a closet.

Equipment

Before you start growing, you’ll need the following gear:

  • Lights – LED lights are longtime favorites for indoor growers because they generate low heat, which is simply perfect for such a small space as a closet.
  • Light timer – An analog or digital timer is the easiest way to control when your lights turn on and off. This is especially important if you decide to grow photoperiod strains. Get a timer and don’t risk re-vegging!
  • White paint or Panda Paper – This is to cover the inside of your closet. A closet that’s white inside will be especially effective, as the surface will reflect much more light that can be used by the plant.
  • Growing medium – Soil, coco coir, rock wool.
  • Carbon filter – This is to control the smell and not let it out of the closet.
  • Containers – Pots for your plants.
  • Tray – For drainage.
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Process: How To Turn Your Closet Into A Cannabis Grow

Once you have all the necessary gear, you’re ready to build your closet cannabis grow. There are three crucial components to this process. First, you’ll need to get your closet ready. Then, you’ll need to set up your lights. Finally, you need to install proper ventilation.

Step 1: Pick And Prepare The Right Closet

growing weed in a closet

Before you can get started with your closet grow, you need to pick the right closet. You’ll want to choose one with as high a ceiling as possible. This will give your plants room to grow vertically, which is especially important for Sativa strains.

Next, you need to prepare your garden before you can put marijuana in your closet to grow. Your main goal here is to make your closet as close to a grow tent as possible. Therefore, you have some work to do. Paint the inside of your closet white (or line them with Panda Paper) to reflect all of the light inside it. You’ll also want to eliminate any light leaks that allow light to pass in from outside your garden.

Step 2: Pick And Set Up Grow Lights

closet weed cultivation

Now that you have your closet weed grow set up and ready to go, you need to install your lights. Generally, LED lights are the best option for indoor growers. For one, they’re particularly energy efficient. As a result, LED lights are the best bang for your buck.

More importantly, LED lights give off significantly less heat than other commercial grow lamps like HPS and CMH bulbs. That makes it much easier to control environmental conditions using LED lights.

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Installing LED lights is simple – just place one LED light above every plant in your grow. Many LED lamps come with their own installation instructions, so make sure you read any documentation that came with your lights.

Step 3: Install Ventilation

cannabis plants in a closet

It’s impossible to understate the importance of proper ventilation in a closet cannabis grow. Every grow needs good ventilation, but it’s especially true for closet grows. Since space is limited in these kinds of growing environments, you need to choose your tools wisely.

Ventilation has one main job: to get air out of your garden. All you really need to do that is a small fan and maybe some tubes for airflow. One super helpful tool for ensuring proper ventilation when closet growing is a carbon filter. Carbon filters help eliminate the odor that the plants in your grow will generate. As a result, they can be the difference between successfully nurturing your garden through harvest day or getting caught. If you do some drilling, you can also install an exhaust fan in your growing closet. If you want to get your grow closet ventilated with the least effort, simply open its doors and windows in the rooms once a day.

How To Grow Weed In A Closet

how to grow weed in a closet

There are a few things to remember when you’re growing in a closet garden. First, space is at a premium. Therefore, you’ll need to make the most of every vertical inch or centimeter. Use training techniques to keep your plants from stretching upward too much. ScrOGging, SOGging, and low-stress training (LST) are all ways you can encourage your plants to grow wider, not taller.

Another tip for successful closet growing: check on your plant at least once every two days. If possible, check once a day – this may even become necessary as your plants mature. Checking on your garden regularly is the best way to avoid common problems like underwatering, infections, and nutrient deficiencies.

Strains Suitable For Growing In A Closet

One last thing you’ll need to consider when designing your marijuana closet grow setup: strains. Choosing the right strains will make the difference between success and failure. We outline some of the best strains to use below.

Compact

Choosing strains with low headroom will eliminate the headache from closet growing. Indica strains grow small and bushy, giving you plenty of vertical room to grow. In addition, autoflower strains can help new growers successfully navigate their first few grow cycles. Learn more by checking out our collection of compact strains, all ideal for indoor growing.

Low Odor

Aside from space, smell is the biggest problem facing your closet cannabis grow. Even if you grow your weed perfectly and design the perfect closet setup, smell can blow your cover. When that happens, all your hard work results in nothing.

Don’t let a nosy neighbor bust your closet grow because of its aroma. Low-odor strains can help indoor growers manage the smell of their gardens. We’ve compiled a collection of low-smell strains here that, when combined with a carbon filter, can significantly reduce the aromatic footprint of your garden.

Easy-To-Grow

The best way to determine what strains will work best for your closet garden is experimentation. However, there are some strains that are just naturally easier to grow than others. Luckily, we’ve already done the searching for you. Check out our list of easy-to-grow strains to help get your closet cannabis grow off on the right foot!

Perfect The Practice Of Growing Weed In A Closet

This is just a brief overview covering the basics of growing weed in a closet. You can use this knowledge to set up your own garden. However, the only way to perfect it will be through trial and error. Trust your instincts and the information in this post, and you’ll be harvesting your own closet weed in no time.

Herbies Head Shop expressly refuses to support the use, production, or supply of illegal substances. For more details read our Legal Disclaimer.

 
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