Grow-room set up.....starting point. Any recommendations?

I've posted a few times but haven't really got a definitive answer from anyone yet so I'm trying again in the hope that someone can advise me of what exactly I would need for the grow-room (airing cupboard) that I have earmarked for the event.

My feminised White Widow seeds will be arriving soon and I want to use the next few days to get my 200cm(h) x 60cm(w) x 50cm(D) growing area ready for the main event.

I'm only looking to grow 2-3 plants at any one time due to space limitations but obviously want as big a yield as possible.

I'm a complete newbie to the whole grow-scene but I'm looking for some advice on a decent starter kit with everything that I will need for a fruitful few months until my 1st harvest can go up in controlled smoke.

Greenfields Hydroponics UK - Grow Kit with 600w HPS Grow Light + LightSafe Relay
or
Greenfields Hydroponics UK - Grow Kit with 400w HPS Grow Light +
LightSafe Relay

To work in conjunction with;

Greenfields Hydroponics UK - Micromark 24hr Digital Timer
Greenfields Hydroponics UK - Micromark MM53548 Tower Fan with Timer

Will I also need to opt for CFL lighting for the early stages or will the 400/600 HPS work just as well?

I'm in the UK so the weather is pretty cold right now (about 13 Deg C during the day and approx 7 deg C at night). I would look to use the daylight hours as the non-daylight hours for the plants and vice versa to capitalise on temperatures but would a cooling system be absolutely necessary? Maybe one of the following would work instead?

Greenfields Hydroponics UK - Heat Shield - Small

Obviously I can follow other people's guidelines as to how to proceed with the growth process but I would really appreciate it if someone could tell me whether I have identified a suitable starting point. Will these items, along with the carefully selected seeds, give my set-up a good chance of survival and benefit me by way of a nice, buzzy harvest?

I'm just not sure wether it's worthwhile spending this amount on my first attempt or whether to opt for a more skeletal grow room which seems to have worked really well for so many other fellow cultivators.

Thanks guys, any advice is greatly appreciated.

for a 3 plant grow, the 400 will get you by just fine. cfls are NOT necessary as a 400 rarely will burn a small plant( if you do have problems, use a propagation tray and mist the lid for less intense light) i really suggest air cooled light but, as long as you move the air around you wouldnt need anything else, your temperature will probably be fine.
hope i helped.

Thanks Andy, you're a star!!

So the CFL is not really needed so long as I protect the young shoots in a propagation tray and heavily mist the lid to prevent excessive light and heat? I was initially thinking of running 2 x 42W CFL's for the earlier stages as I don't have a propagation tray and would ideally like to keep costs down at this early stage of my new hobby.

As the temperature here during the night is in single figures (centigrade) I thought that the HPS lighting would actually help me maintain a temperature close to 26+ Deg C and a suitable 20 Deg C when they are off. What are your thoughts?

Did you get the chance to cast an eye over the kit I am looking into buying? Do you think this will give me a good chance of smoking some serious bud in a few months?

Hey that kit looks good, have you ever thought of bato buckets and pvc system? Your going to need a room to grown in and if the walls are flat white is would be 90% reflective, or if you go to the harware store pick up astro-foil. It's 40 dollars per roll here in the states so about 20 pounds. The bato bucket are around 5-6 dollars per bucket. Make sure you use a heat pad to geminate your seeds and if you can buy a started box with the bio-sponges and start under cfl , then move plants in two weeks to the 400 watt light. My first grow with the above yeilded 200 grams of dry bud.

OhGrown said:

Hey that kit looks good, have you ever thought of bato buckets and pvc system? Your going to need a room to grown in and if the walls are flat white is would be 90% reflective, or if you go to the harware store pick up astro-foil. It's 40 dollars per roll here in the states so about 20 pounds. The bato bucket are around 5-6 dollars per bucket. Make sure you use a heat pad to geminate your seeds and if you can buy a started box with the bio-sponges and start under cfl , then move plants in two weeks to the 400 watt light. My first grow with the above yeilded 200 grams of dry bud.

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Hi OhGrown,

Thanks for your interest!

To be honest this kit is about as far as I've got. My seeds are due very soon so what you have seen is about the full extent of my research.

My closet is painted white so should do for now but the kit contains 2m x 5m of black/white plastic sheeting so that might work better. There's also 48 cubes of rockwool included for getting the CFL stage underway.

Can you recommend a heat pad? Will I need a propogation tub in order to germinate or will moist tissue do the trick?

As you can tell, I am a complete novice here!! ha ha

The best way to start is with a bio dome and bio sponges. Also ored a 10 watt heat pad. I got mine from park seed search for bio sponge. Ideally you need the room to be between 70-85 F and the root base at 82 or so degrees, the dome will privide the humidity, then low cfl light after they spout with dome off.