New hobby grower - silly question.

[dropinbiking]

The light won't be an issue at all, but the cold climate certainly will be, no two ways around that. It's never good to set yourself up for disappoint or an uphill battle.

[alltatup]

Hi Nos, and welcome to the forum! Have you considered a grow box? https://greenrushdaily.com/products/grow-boxes/

They can be locked for stealth, and HPS bulbs will provide heat when the lights are on; you'd have to figure out how to heat it at "night."

I have 2 BCNL grow boxes that I love working with.

[Farmall]

I like a garage, BUT..you simply need a way to keep your “light off” temperature above 60’s the more the better. Where I am, you’d can’t keep a garage above 25 on a true winters day. Summer below 90 at times. But there are most costly creative ways around it if you’re willing to try. Oil filled heater, insulation around the tent, these are more like locations of desperation. Maybe wait closer to spring

’that’s why a more stable environment Removes a few obstacles from the start.... so as dropinbiking says...uphill battle

[SoOrbudgal]

Lots of great ideas coming

[FunkyButtLovin]

Don't give up this can be done!

How about autoflowers and HID? Run the light 24 hours a day and if it happens to get too hot on the odd warm days, turn it off for a few hours or drop down in power until it cools back down.

[dropinbiking]

Even with 24 hour lights I'm not sure if a small HPS or HID or CMH light would be enough heat to bring up near freezing temperatures. I forgot about that but yes a stout autoflower under 24 hours of light would help with heat, with any light you use.

[Nosbod]

Thanks again people. I’m not gonna be beaten on this!! Realistically for me the only place is the garage that I can grow so I’m going to tackle it head on!!!

I’ve been to my local Hydro shop today and have returned my (small) tent and LED light to buy a bigger tent and a swap to HID lighting. My plan is to also buy an oil filled heater to manage/ regulate heat (cost of electricity isn’t a big factor for me).

I really do appreciate all the help on here. Hopefully I’ve made some better more informed decisions based on people’s input here.

Peace, Nos.

[FunkyButtLovin]

Now that's what I like to hear! What size tent did/will you go with?

[Nosbod]

Now that's what I like to hear! What size tent did/will you go with?

I’ve ordered a Roof-Qube 4x4x6 ft which will fit very cosy in the eaves of the garage loft. Picking it up on Tuesday and plan to do some trial temperature/humidity simulations. It’s pretty cold in the UK this time of year!!!

[dropinbiking]

Yesss now we're cooking with fire. A) You don't need to use all that 4x4 for grow space, you can use it as a small climate, store the heater, and make life a lot easier for working on the plants. B) You can slow down your exhaust and trap more heat than with a smaller tent, hard to get the right exhaust flow for a small 2x2 tent, it's almost always too much.

Congrats on the wise choice, I think you may be onto something here.

[FunkyButtLovin]

4x4 is a great size, I'd suggest a cheap 600w MH/HPS wing kit then pair it with a 100cm Secret Jardin Daisy reflector. Since you won't be dealing with extreme heat you won't need an air-cooled reflector. Here's an idea of what one looks like hanging in a 4x4 over 6 plants (and 4 little clones in the front corner).

[Nosbod]

Thank you for the kind reassurance, I’ll get some photos up of the setup when the tent arrives.

Excited to say the least :-)

And thanks to everybody for the warm welcome.

Peace, Nos.

[dropinbiking]

Warmth, that's all plants need sometimes.

[Nosbod]

I got round to clearing the space in the roof of the garage loft in preparation for the roof qube tomorrow.
It measured 5 degrees c in there today so I’ve also acquired an oil filled heater. Hopefully I can establish a good environment!!!