Phototrons...SWC/TRON

PhilCuisine · February 27, 2021, 2:22am

Materials I use for my SWC/TRON grows…these materials are well over 10yrs. old except the white square foam and I will be using a new air stone…My old Wally world aquarium pump is still working so I’m gonna use that too.

These are the big Phototrons and it’s about 51" tall…the small P-trons are about 39" tall.

As I said I will be using an old dish pan, net cup, air hose and this old pink foam insulation as the top for my dish pan.

The white foam will be used to hold the clone in place…I don’t use lava rocks anymore or those round clay things in my net cups…nothing but net folks.

These are my homemade strains that I will be using for my outdoor and SWC/TRON grows this year…I will be growing my Matanuska Thunder Head strain for this SWC/TRON grow.

PhilCuisine · February 27, 2021, 5:05pm

Ok, change of plans…I just remembered that I use the white shallow dish pan for my small Phototrons and this bigger black pan for the big Phototrons…on the smaller Phototrons the plant won’t get as tall and big so the white shallow pan should be sufficient enough. On the big Phototrons the plant can/will get bigger and taller, over 3ft. tall so you’re gonna need the bigger pan for the root system.

I won’t be using the garage light just yet and I also have a heat mat for vegetables on the bottom of my big Phototron. This SWC/TRON will be in an unheated mud room in the back of my house with a cement floor.
I might need to use my heat mat so the water won’t get too cold during the grow.

Here she is ready to be fired up, all it needs now is my MTH clone, imported Chicago water and my premixed veg nutes. Btw, that hole by the edge of the cover is a service hole for adding nutes and water. I don’t think I will be using my automatic feed a tron for this grow because I don’t plan on going anywhere. I will be using it on the next grow because we will be going camping for a week or 2 during the warm weather.

PhilCuisine · February 28, 2021, 7:08pm

Well it’s a done deal and no turning back now…I just fired up my big SWC/TRON at noon today. I used a clone that was in soil and after washing off the soil it was good to go…I also took 2 of my smallest cuttings from my cloner and put them in the SWC/TRON. I will not be growing the small clones in this grow, I just want them to get bigger then I will pull them out.

I’m really excited growing this new strain…I sure hope that my Matanuska Thunder Head is at least very good and worth keeping.

LilJonB · March 2, 2021, 11:26am

And we’re off. Looking good. What’s the benefit of the lights like that? Full plant coverage? Do they seem to stay shorter? You ever find yourself running out of room?
It looks pretty awesome tho.

PhilCuisine · March 2, 2021, 4:42pm

Full coverage, on big Phototrons plants can get big, don’t really run outa room with a lil training…plant below was grown in a big SWC/TRON…got to about 3ft+ tall and a lil over 3.5 is. bromigo…

PhilCuisine · March 4, 2021, 10:01pm

@JustSumTomatoes, have you ever seen these plants? Looks like half Pitcher Plant & half Venus Fly Trap…Can carnivorous plants be cloned.

JustSumTomatoes · March 4, 2021, 10:54pm

Nepenthes! They are actually a huge genus and new species are discovered by western culture just by hiking on a unexplored mountain every year. Many different species and hybrids. There are people who only grow those and nothing else. I have one myself but won’t dive any deeper with them cause they’re just too expensive and exotic for me. They are Asian pitcher plants, but unrelated to the North American ones I grow. Genetically, they are closer to orchids than other carnivorous plants.

PhilCuisine · March 5, 2021, 2:01am

How expensive can they be? Are they easy to take care of? If I were to get a pitcher plant I would get that. Can carnivorous plants be cloned?

JustSumTomatoes · March 5, 2021, 2:54am

Mine above is a cut of Nepenthes x deroose alata. It’s a cross between Nepenthes alata and Nepenthes ventricosa. This hybrid is called Nepenthes x ventrata. It’s practically bullet proof. Same with N. x miranda, another hardy asian pitcher. Nepenthes are like cannabis… They’re dioecious and have 2 separate sexes so there are people involved with crazy breeding projects for them too. Prices can range from $15-30 dollars for one like mine to hundreds or thousands for rare species and new hybrids. There are more species of them than any other carnivorous plant genus and they are the largest carnivorous plant. Some can vine 50 feet or more up into the trees. They also tend to have 2 different types of pitchers: ground pitchers and hanging pitchers. And yes, CP’s can be cloned. Flytrap clones/cultivars are my particular kick at the moment.

JustSumTomatoes · March 5, 2021, 3:32am

N. bicalcarata (not a vampire)

N. lowii (the living toilet bowl)

N. ventricosa (another easy to grow one)

N. ampullaria (a vegetarian carnivorous plant)

PhilCuisine · March 7, 2021, 9:15pm

A week later not much growth, looks like the growth has stalled…I think it’s a little too cold in my mud room so I’m gonna have to move this SWC/TRON, that means emptying the bucket or figure something out. The SWC/TRON is directly on the cement floor…I also ordered an aquarium heater but wont arrive till the 3.20.21…I did get my nutes though and also saw a new light on sale for $15 at Menards.

PhilCuisine · March 10, 2021, 5:43am

We had a warm spell the past few days and it seems like the MTH is coming out of her shell so to speak…I’m also gonna have to go Chicago for about a week so I’m gonna have to leave SWC/TRON alone, this MTH is gonna have to fend for herself for awhile. It should be fine without the feed a tron because it’s in the veg mode.

Picture on the bottom was from 3 days ago…the warm weather that we’ve been having sure made a difference in the growth.

PhilCuisine · March 11, 2021, 2:12pm

I just saw this and thinking of getting it from Home Depot. JST, would this be a good beginner project for me? It’s only $25

JustSumTomatoes · May 29, 2021, 4:59am

I almost got one myself for funnsies, but everyone in my carnivorous plant groups said they were a waste of time cause the seeds it came with were long past expired. Flytraps need to be seeded right after they finish flowering in Spring or Summer, and pitcher plants (North American) need to be seeded in Spring after a cold stratification period because of their embryonic dormancy period requirement. I actually have some young flytraps growing right now I grew from seed. If you’re interested I can send you some fresh pitcher plant seeds that are ready for planting. I’m also going to repot in a few weeks and can give you rare flytrap clones/cultivars if you’re interested.

PhilCuisine · March 12, 2021, 2:06am

Do the paper towel method work for sprouting carnivorous seeds?

PhilCuisine · March 12, 2021, 2:23pm

3 days later folks…I am absolutely loving this rapid growth when it comes to hydro once you have everything worked out…btw, this is my set it and forget grow, I use Chicago tap water & Technaflora nutes…I do not use ph up/down, no tds/ppm meters…I just go by the way my plants looks and have been doing it that way since 2005.
I will be leaving today for Chicago and I will bring some of my unknown strains aka Jane Doe 1, 2, 3, 4 to pass around to other growers…I will also be meeting some fellow grow buddies who are using LEDs & different nutes. I will also be importing more Chicago tap water back to my small town of 700 people.
This new kit has some items I’ve never used before and I hope it works out for me…I’m gonna top off my SWC/TRON reservoir because I’m gonna be gone for at 1 week.

JustSumTomatoes · March 13, 2021, 3:38pm

I imagine it could, but it’s way easier to just sprinkle them on top of moistened media (spagnum moss) and let them take off. Use Tupperware containers with lids to keep the humidity up. The seeds are so tiny and it can take 2 weeks to a month for them to germinate so the paper towl method is just not practical for them.

PhilCuisine · March 27, 2021, 8:03pm

I’m back, after 1 week of leaving my SWC/TRON grow this is what she looks like…haven’t added any nutes to it yet but it looks damn good for fending for herself for 1 week…I love this set it and forget it SWC/TRON grow…I also got some more Chicago tap water and a new clones called Oatmeal Raisin & Magic Melon.