Setups
What to build, what to buy, and what you can skip for longer than the internet suggests.
7 pages
Grow kits: what to expect
A pre-colonised block in a box. Realistic yields, what it does and doesn't teach you, and how to get a second flush out of one.
Monotub
The standard bulk setup: a plastic tub with holes. Build dimensions, hole spacing, substrate depth, and the mistakes that turn a good tub into a CO₂ trap.
Shotgun fruiting chamber
A perlite-filled tub drilled with dozens of quarter-inch holes. Cheap, effective for small grows, and largely superseded by the monotub — here's when it still makes sense.
Martha tent
A wire shelving unit in a zip-up greenhouse cover, with a humidifier and a fan on timers. The step where fruiting stops being a daily chore.
Still air box vs flow hood
When a $20 plastic tub is genuinely enough, and the point at which a laminar flow hood stops being a luxury. Most growers buy one too early and the other too late.
Pressure cooker sizing and use
The one piece of equipment you cannot substitute, and the most genuinely dangerous object in the hobby. Sizing, timing, and the safety points that are not optional.
Small-scale commercial layout
Separating clean, dirty and fruiting into three spaces, and the honest arithmetic on what a small operation actually produces and costs.
| Setup | Cost | Build time | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grow kits: what to expect | $20–35 | None | 0.5–1.5 lb total |
| Monotub | $25–40 | 30 minutes | 1–3 lb per flush |
| Shotgun fruiting chamber | $20–30 | 1 hour | Several small cakes or jars |
| Martha tent | $120–250 | 2–3 hours | 6–15 blocks |
| Still air box vs flow hood | $20 vs $350–900 | 20 minutes vs an afternoon | A few transfers vs continuous work |
| Pressure cooker sizing and use | $80–250 | n/a | 4–20 quart jars per run |
| Small-scale commercial layout | $3,000–15,000 | Weeks | 20–200 lb per week |