Soil-less gardening for urban dwellers

If you’re living in an apartment you can grow vegetables in the windows through hydroponics or soil-less gardening. You can try the simple nutrient addition program or Snap Hydroponics. Its design is based on readily available materials found in a regular household which does not require electricity. If you have your own house, you can use the system right in your own backyard.

There are four simple things needed: a seedling plug, the culture pots, the nutrient solution and a shelter, which can be your house overhang roof. Seedling plugs can be created using styrofoam cups. Plug a bit of coconut coir at the bottom to hold the plant in place. To hold the coir dust and allow the roots to grow downward to the nutrient solution place a piece of net at the cut-off bottom.

The nutrient solution is made up of tap water and fertilizer mix. The mix is dissolved in water (80-90 percent) of final volume of the solution). The solution must be dissolved very well. Submerge the bottom of the cups in the solution while the plants are at a seedling stage. Once the roots become longer, decrease amount of solution in a way that a space is created between the bottom of the cups and the surface of the water. The space allows for passive aeration. This level of water is maintained as the plant grows.

One person can maintain the system which can also be used year-round. Vegetables such as lettuce, sweet pepper, cucumber, and celery can be produced successfully in snap hydroponics. Cost and return analysis shows that this system is profitable, especially with leaf lettuce.

A basic premise to keep in mind about snap hydroponics is its simplicity. A modification of these simple principles allow for large-scale vegetable production that can be done right in your own backyard.

Although hydroponics has been around for sometime, it is only beginning to find its way into the Philippine farm setting. Hydroponics farms are already found in Cavite and Clark Field, Pampanga.

This farming technique is believed to have been practiced in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, considered one of the Eight Wonders of the Ancient World.

In a study conducted by Dr. Primitivo Jose Santos and Eureka Teresa Ocampo of the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) scientists found out that vegetables like lettuce, sweet pepper, celery and cucumber can be successfully grown using simple hydroponics system called Snap Hydroponics.