Hey, I have 2 questions: 1.) I wanted to know, if you have 3 plants in your house can neighbors smell them when its starting to bud. If so what should I use? 2.) How much does the electricty bill usually go up if you have one 400 watt MH running for 18 hours?

Wow fatazz! That's pretty rude hijacking a thread.... start your own.... We will let it slide because it seems to be your 1st post, but in the future be more conciderate.

its quite alright i dont mind at all this thread is for the knowledge of everyone, but i can kinda help you tho my answers are not EXACT.

i have a 400watt MH bulb for my salt water fish tank and its normally on 16 hours a day which made my electricity bill jump roughly 25 dollars, but i also am very conservative with my energy, i.e. turning lights off that arent being used, steroe's tv's computer's, and i do my laundry in town so thats probly a factor as well but the jump in price really shouldnt be TOO much so i dont think you have a thing to worry about if your worried about cops catching you for your increased bill i HIGHLY doubt it, for 5 years now ive had 2 salt water fish tanks running my small 75 gallon one is equiped with the 400watt MH light while my big daddy tank thats 675 gallons has 6 400 watt MH bulbs and 2 400 watt HQI lighting fixtures i have yet to run into problems with the police, and yes ive been late on my electric bill alot and still no problems what so ever..

as for you question about the smell, it depends on how far your neighbors house is from you, what strain the plant is, and wind direction i guess, once again ive heard stories of how stinky a plant can be, but from my experience in growing indoors ive NEVER had a problem with smell other then the room the plants are being grown in my case it was a closet and the smell only went as far as the room the closet was connected too, if your worried about smell get one of those glade plug in things that give puffs of fragrance every few minutes, i use it and it works great.

Hanging plants in trees inst a bad idea as long as sunlight doesnt get blocked too much, as for pests, bugs and such put a fence up around your plants made of chicken wire and paint it black or green to help avoid unwanted atraction maybe even just 2 feet tall and then you could string fishing line around at several levels to keep the deer out, as for bugs and such you can use come kind of pestiside to spray on your plants stuff for use on tomatoes should be fine. If your putting 20 plants in a spot your gonna want them more than 50 yards apart because if one of your spots gets busted/jacked up then that puts all your plants in danger, also from arial decection you would be better off with less plants in a spot and having your spots more spread out.

outdoor grower, about to put some wire up for my plants (i've got problems with hairs or bunny rabbits eating my plants), but i digress.

to answer one of the original questions, "Neem oil" is a bug repellent and a funguscide that is safe to use on your mary. i dont know if they have it at home depot, but i should know by tommorow if they do, and i'll let you know when i pick some up.

GL with your grow too brother, being outdoors can be a worry, but it's still one of the safest ways to grow.

peace