New hobby grower - silly question.

[Nosbod]

Hello all.

I've decided to take the plunge and start (stealth) growing at home. I've done loads of reading from the website and have started to buy some basic equipment (a 2x2x4 grow tent and ViparSpectra 450W LED). The only place I can really have the tent is hidden in the garage attached to my house but it's pretty cold in there this time of year, currently 7 degrees C. I'm hoping, fingers crossed, to be able to establish a good climate/condition for growing in the tent prior to any planting through playing with lights, heaters, dehumidifiers etc. (its pretty damp in there too at 61% humidity)!

However, that aside the problem/decision I keep coming back to is what grow medium to use. The dilemma I have at the moment is that over a 2 - 3 month period it is likely that I will be away from home randomly for 2-3 days at a time and I don't have anybody that can come and tend to the plants for me. My initial thought is that I will probably have to go with a hydroponic setup but can the plants survive ok without any attention for 2-3 days in any other grow medium?

Thanks in advance for any help, I love this community :-)

Nos.

[JDU]

Soil usually takes 3-5 days to dry out & need water in a large pot.....

[SirSmksAlot]

I'd say soil would be your best bet. With hydro you need to check your ph daily sometimes more than once. At least I do

[alltatup]

Good point!

[dropinbiking]

In cooler temps, and smaller plants in larger pots, a good full watering could give you 4-5 solid days away from the plants.\

Controlling climate will be hard, especially in a small 2x2, not because it's a big area, it's tiny, it's a matter of fitting everything to make that happen. You will want as minimal air exchange as possible, to keep the warm air in, but still allow fresh air to circulate. I Wish you luck. I currently grow in a basement that only gets down to 14 at it's coldest. I run a heater part time, and close in my grow area a bit to trap heat, I don't let my canopy temps fall bellow 20.

Curious how much you paid for that Vipar 450? I have the 300, and although I got a smoking deal on it, I don't feel like it's an overly impressive light.

Also, about humidity, if you bring air temp up with an electric heater it will naturally dry the air out and bring humidity down.

[Nosbod]

Thank you all for the replies, i'll certainly try with soil :-)

In cooler temps, and smaller plants in larger pots, a good full watering could give you 4-5 solid days away from the plants.\

Controlling climate will be hard, especially in a small 2x2, not because it's a big area, it's tiny, it's a matter of fitting everything to make that happen. You will want as minimal air exchange as possible, to keep the warm air in, but still allow fresh air to circulate. I Wish you luck. I currently grow in a basement that only gets down to 14 at it's coldest. I run a heater part time, and close in my grow area a bit to trap heat, I don't let my canopy temps fall bellow 20.

Curious how much you paid for that Vipar 450? I have the 300, and although I got a smoking deal on it, I don't feel like it's an overly impressive light.

Also, about humidity, if you bring air temp up with an electric heater it will naturally dry the air out and bring humidity down.

Thanks, appreciate all the advice although you have got me worried now that my area may indeed be too difficult to control (at least for a first time grower) as you say due to its small size and considering the baseline conditions in the garage I have to work with! Only time will tell I guess.

With regards the Vipar 450 it was £119. It seemed like a good idea at the time to buy it, but the more I think about it I may be better off with MH/HPS due to the inherent heat they give that I will probably need >.<

[billyboy]

I grow in the basement and it is a 58 ish degree ambient air for the most part. So I do use and need the heat. Two tents are lit and the ambient air is now around 65ish and by opening and closing the vents I can get good control. I use a small oil filled radiator for "night". https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[alltatup]

I have one of those heaters for my grow room as well and I think it's ideal. I can turn it down really low, and no worries.

[dropinbiking]

yes an HPS or MH would give you the heat you need, and also give you likely twice the light output or twice the potential yield in a larger tent. Best of luck on your journey. Only other thing I can suggest is do a semi-recycled intake and exhaust, where part of the heated exhaust air gets re-exhanged in the tent, helps keep heat in.

You could also route something from the house into the area. Personally for a 2x2 I'd put it in a closet. Not sure how the houses are build in your area, but standard spec around here is 26" deep, and usually a 30"+ opening for any door or access. Could fit nicely.

[FunkyButtLovin]

Just a quick heads up. It would be a good idea to lay down a couple layers of carpet scraps, welcome mats or rugs or something like that to provide some insulation from the cold concrete.

[dropinbiking]

Yes, don't leave the tent itself on the floor of the garage (Assuming concrete?) Or don't leave your plants on the floor of your tent. I broke up some styrofoam sheets to make spacers to raise and lower my plants, and keep the cold away from them. The carpet helps too but it's more for cosmetic effect. Yeah my setup looks ghetto but it works haha Which tent did you go with? I'm thinking about a 2x2 for vegging.

[SoOrbudgal]

I use 2 vipar 450 reflectors been used for nearly 3yrs. I used just 1 in a 3x3 never got above 81-82 at most. I really like them for what i'm getting in return. I now have a 4x4x8 for the both lights.

[dropinbiking]

How close do you run the 450 to the canopy? I imagine two wouldn't be bad at all in a 3x3, is it enough for the edges of a 4x4?

[Nosbod]

I would really love to grow it inside the house, unfortunately it’s not that big and I need to keep this away from my kids and also the mother in law who stays each weekend, hence the garage!!

Great idea about recirculating some of the exhaust air - never even considered that!! Also the insulation under the pots is a good call, cheers!!!

With regards the tent I opted for a budget option in the first instance - the brand is Idaodan - 60x60x120cm.

[dropinbiking]

The partial recirc will help, you will probably still need a heater most of the time. Do you have things setup now that you can take temperature readings with the light on? To see how much you need to warm things up.

[dropinbiking]

Like I said, measure a closet, should get clearance to shut the door with a 2x2 tent in there, worth a shot. Heating is going be be a nightmare and cost quite a bit. If there's any way to get it in the house, you'd be laughing all the way to harvest. You're probably more under the radar in your bedroom closet than in a garage to be honest, just thinking out loud from most 'sneaky' setups I've seen.

[WeirdWiredWolf]

I have my tent in a corner of the dining room, roomie is a photographer so if I need to camoflage it we just close things up and stack some cameras/paper/developer trays on top with a sign "Photographic equipment--do not open" (it also helps that the strain I'm growing now has very little to no odor unless it gets stressed). I managed to find a fanless LED panel that actually works a treat--little to no change in temps compared to my old light and runs completely silent.

[Sledrock]

Welcome aboard Nosbod ! Like SoOrbudgal, I also have a Viper Spectra 450W and I grow in a 3'x3'x6' tent in my basement. I grow in Coco Coir and really Love that stuff! I water my plants about every 3 days (I let them get plenty dry b4 watering - and they seem to love it) I noticed your tent is only 4 foot tall - be careful about switching to flower too late or you'll run out of "head-room" to keep your light the required distance from the top of your plants. Good Luck on your growing!

[dropinbiking]

Agreed. A common mistake is trying to veg plants longer to get a bigger canopy. With proper training you can get that wide thick canopy without stretching too far and eating up your precious height with naked stalk.

[Sledrock]

How close do you run the 450 to the canopy? I imagine two wouldn't be bad at all in a 3x3, is it enough for the edges of a 4x4?

I keep my Vipar Spectra 450W about 17" above my plants (I have 2 but only use 1 in my 3x3x6 tent. It's supposed to cover a 3'x3' area. So far, it's doing a great job. (I just finished week 5 of flowering.)

[Nosbod]

Thanks all. The more I think about ill probably have to go back to the drawing board with this. The 450 led is probably too much for my 4ft tent and by all accounts the cold garage sounds like it’s out of the question too. I’ll continue to do research and see if I can find a compromise.