I moved to Del Norte CO in 82. Knew right away that outdoor would probably not work. Late Spring freezes and early hard freezes in Fall. High Times was the rag then. Crude too. Read that hydroponics was the new rage. Bought a kit that claimed it had everything but the water and seeds.
I got a magnetic ballast, this round reflector like you see in chickenhouses, 400 watt HPS bulb, a few small bottles of concentrated plant food and a huge kitty litter box with bags of red barbecue grill lava. Rinse that shit first by the way. Oh and this cheap shit pump. The box went over 70 pounds for sure. I was pissed. I mean you could have grown 1 decent plant probably if you staked it up in that shallow ass pan. I just filled buckets with soil from the farm I was working on. It sucked. Had to mix more and sawdust was the only thing I could think of that would keep it from compacting into adobe. There was a steep learning curve for this guerilla grower.