Growing in the Garage in the Winter

So, I guess I chose the wrong time to begin growing. But I think I can make this work.
So, what I have now is a medium sized bucket in a small closet type area. It's pretty small, but I think I can make it work if I train the plant.
My main issue is that it's going to be cold. Like, sometimes dipping to the teens cold. And the garage has no insulation.
I'm going to make some insulation for the little closet. Line the walls with it, a thin layer on the bottom, a strip of cardboard on top of that, then a heating pad on top of that, more insulation, and I'll wrap the cord in plastic wrap.
The light will also produce a small amount of heat.
I would grow in my house right now if it was possible, but as of right now, it isn't.
So, I was wondering if anyone has had a similar issue, and overcame it. Or if someone tried to grow, but it didn't work and they have some advice.
But yeah, hopefully you guys will help me out. Thanks.

I know someone who grows in a garage. They have to keep the lights on 24/7 to keep it warm enough during the winter @ night especially. They use a separate "dark" room. If you have Lights Off @ Night during the winter in a garage,. It can stunt/kill/hermy the plants.

I was thinking of having the lights on over night, and dark time in the day. It's in a garage, in a small closet, and when I close the door, it stays really dark. I'll still have the heating pad on to keep them warm.

That would help, but it would need to be 100% dark during the day.

Yeah, I can pull that off. It closes tightly, and the insulation will stop any excess light from entering.

i have a small ocillating ceramic tower heater i use for day/night differentials that works great.. because its digital you can set your desired temp and it will shut off/turn on when needed, i got it al wal-mart last winter for 35 bucks i think...if space is really a big issue you could hang the heater horizontaly with a few velcros straps and or rope

See, if I used that heater, it would use up a lot of electricity because the garage itself is not insulated. But, I could have a small little radiator/heater near the closet, but I'd have to manually shut it off and turn it on all the time.

If it is a small space, such as a couple plants that would work perfectly.

I'm only doing one plant at the moment. 2 I don't think would be viable in the space. But I'm glad to see my research on how to grow is paying off. I've spent the better part of the last month or so reading and watching videos on how to grow and set it up. Hahaha, this should be fun. It's something to take up my time I guess.

i grow indoors during winter months, i keep some halogen bulbs around for this. yes, im aware the light sucks, and they give off heat, but thats why i got them. id rather get a halogen and add a lil light, then get a heater and add no light. halogens make a decent amount of heat from 6inches to 2 feet or so. from the bulb to 6inches its HOT AS HELL so make sure theres some space there, and add a lil more space, you dont want overnight growth to get a lil burnt. also put them at the bottom, heat rises.
id turn off any fans too, use warm water, the heating pad is great for the roots, but you dont want the leaves freezing over too. think of them as sponges, and the juices of the plant gotta flow, and wont if the leaves are frozen. (halogens are great for this)

Good luck. hopefully you end up with the right kind of 'frosted' buds

This is such a great forum. I don't think I've received this much help from any site community before this fast. I appreciate all of it. xD
After I put the insulation in, I could line that with aluminum foil and that'd retain a lot more heat too.
I'll keep that in mind. (Watering with warm water)
Anything I can do to keep the leaves from freezing besides the halogen bulbs?

i am in a garage in grow tents. last winter i used 1) 600w, this year i will try 2) 600w. (air cooled) in a 4x4. i vent into the attic and pull cold air in from outside.
yes, you have to run the lights at night, i stayed around 72-75F during light cycle. here our daytime temp is in the 50s in winter, so it wasnt too bad during the dark cycle. but yea any colder and heater is needed, prob a 10-30$ wallyworld, will do.

my veg room has t5 so it can get kinda chilly in there, but i run the lights 24 to keep some warmth, heater is usually needed with floros.
and a heat mat for cloning.

i find it much eaiser to keep the heat down when the ambient air is cold...good luck.

Thanks. Also, how deep does soil need to be for growing a plant? Like, what is the shallowest you can use, and still get decent bud?

what light u using?
the larger the pot the larger the plant can get
if you want to just grow a small plant with a small light use a 1-3gal pot

So, I have everything pretty much ready to go. But I don't have a heating pad. It has been lost.
I don't know of any substitutes for a heating pad, so I'm gonna have to save up for a new one, try to find the old one, or if there is a substitute, I could use that.

i simply built a small shelf unit that my electric parofin heater sits nicely under with about 7-8 inches of clearance on all sides. (dont want it to catch fire)
it idles on low and the clones/seedlings sit on the shelf.. the veging plants sit beside it with 4x floros over the whole thing. it stays a nice temp. and i didnt have to buy a seedling heat mat