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HYDROPONICS: A Definite Solution to Urban Farming
By: Eladio “Boy” A. Guevarra

Since I began growing salad crops hydroponically, the only word that pops into my mind, whenever I’m asked on hydroponics Technology, is “magic”.

Hydroponics, funny as it may sound, instilled a childlike excitement in me. It works like magic, though it is precisely science and technology that are working in my very own backyard. The best part is my vegetables are insecticide-free! Simply healthy, fresh and clean vegetables that never come into contact with soil.

The common constraint of plant-enthusiasts is not having enough space in the backyard or most of the spaces are cemented. No problem! You can grow your favorite vegetable in your limited cemented spaces, even along your fence or on your rooftop, all year around! How? Hydroponically!

Hydroponics, the soil-less and pesticide-free farming technology has become a recent craze in Greater Manila and in other key cities in the country. While the technology traces back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (dating back to more than 1,000 B.C.), a history of many scientific studies has recently revived the technology in response to limited space and scarcity of good soil, especially in urban settings.

Health buffs see this as a source of healthy and chemical-free vegetables. Entrepreneurs look at this as a technology that leads to faster investment returns as hydroponics technology grows vegetables at a faster pace with bigger yields, compared to the conventional soil planting.

In my exposure to hydroponics in both the United States and Europe, I was truly amazed at the rapid development of their agriculture because of this technology. In Holland, for instance, we were told that some 80% of their vegetable exports are hydrponically grown. Australia and Israel have been very successful in exporting their hydroponically grown vegetables all year round. Even a small country like Singapore can afford to export hydroponically-grown vegetables all year round.

Due to the controlled environment techniques, anyone can grow their own favorite vegetables all year ‘round regardless of seasonal changes. In the Philippines, we can grow out-of-season vegetables which command a premium at higher prices.

Over the last four years, Mother Earth Hydroponics has been conducting a series of seminars in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and other cities in Luzon. As a result, there has been an overwhelming interest that new schedules have had to be set, as lecture halls were always jam-packed by residents, and even residents of neighboring towns, coming from as far as Northern and Southern Luzon.

During this period, I trained thousands of students in hydroponics in this series of seminars. Many have started their own backyard planting, while others have gone into commercial growing. Today, there are hundreds of hydroponic farms, from the backyard kind to big commercial operations-type all over the country, but most abundant in the Silang and Tagaytay areas.

For more information on scheduled seminars, please contact Mother Earth Hydroponics (Nego Skwela Compound) located at North Avenue near Agham Road, across Veteran’s Memorial Hospital, Diliman, Quezon City. You may call telephone numbers 924-5111, 433-0627 or 426-7940.

Eladio “Boy” Guevarra is the acknowledged “Hydroponics Guru of the Philippines”, having trained in hydroponics abroad. He has then extensively experimented on this technology and has since developed a hydroponics technology specifically suited for the Philippine environment. His hydroponics techniques expounded on in his seminars are custom-made to Philippine conditions. He is likewise the President of Mother Earth Hydroponics and Chairman of Nego Skwela.

Practical and simple Hydroponics at home.

Simple hydroponics systems, for home use, is so unlimited that, practically, anyone who has learned the basics of plant growth can think of so many ways to construct simple equipment that can yield sufficient, fresh, pesticide free vegetables, grown and nurtured by your very own “green thumbs”.

As pointed out in our previous lessons, the basic principle of hydroponics planting is: feed your favorite plants with the proper and balanced liquid nutrients directly to the roots. Voila! You can practically watch your favorite plants grow like magic.

In the previous August issue of Nego-Asenso, we had demonstrated the assembly and use of Nego-Asenso, we had demonstrated the assembly and use of the N. F. T. system (Nutrient Film Technique). I would like to share with you another system that has been favorite because it is a highly effective technique. I have been using this technique for many years with tremendous success, and it is called “Aggregate System”.

THE AGGREGATE SYSTEM

As the term suggests, instead of soil, we will use aggregates (like little stones, pebbles, sand, volcanic rocks) to hold the plants in place and with enough spaces to allow entry of sufficient oxygen into the root level. In figure 1, you can feast on a bed of robust and mouth-watering cucumbers, in full bloom, on an Aggregate tray bed of rocks. Here we go!

MATERIALS LIST:

1. 1 GI sheet, 8’ x 4’, gauge 18

2. 1 length ½” PVC pipe

3. 2 pcs. PVC end caps, ½”

4. 1 pc. ½” T connector

5. 1 pc. PVC control valve, ½”

6. 3 pcs. PVC ½” elbows

7. 12’ of ¾” garden hose

8. 1 pc. Aquarium pump, 15 watts

9. 1 pc. liter styro-box

10. 5 pcs. Plastic channels (or any other plastic material will do that would serve as separators of flowing liquids)

METHOD:

1. It is practical that you purchase the GI sheet from a hardware that has a bending machine, as it is difficult to bend the corners without the appropriate equipment.

2. Firstly, you must have a clear picture of how the tray bed will look like. Make sure that all the edges are bent ¼” to ensure that the edges are smooth and stronger. Then, all the edges are again bent by 3” to form a tray. All corners are then riveted together and sealed with a rubber seal so that no water will escape when operational. When assembled, paint the entire surface with any liquid tile paint. Do not use red lead as the components could mix up with the nutrients creating toxic lead level. Drill a ½” hole to serve as your drain.

3. Assemble the dripper feed. Cut 2 pieces from your PVC ½” pipe, measuring 20” each and connect to the two outward outlets of your PVC T. In the center of the T, connect the conjoined “elbows” to form a “U” and connect to the PVC control valve and insert your ¾” garden hose into your pump. Cut the hose so that the pump touches the base of your styro-box. Underneath the dripper tube, bore 3/16” holes, aligned to the channels.

4. Next, connect your remaining PVC elbow to your ¾” garden hose to end up into the styro-box as your drain pipe.

5. As to the base of the tray, you can use any suitable table or you can fabricate one. You can use coco-lumber, steel or any material within your imagination, ensuring that the tray is very slightly tilted to ensure that the flow of the nutrients is towards the drain pipe, thereby allowing a re-circulating system. The rest I leave to your creativity and imagination.

6. Confusing? Well, not really. Just remember that you want to ensure that the nutrients will pass through all the roots within the tray and that the drained nutrients go back into the nutrient container, which, in turn, is again pumped back into the dripper section, thus continuing the cycle.

ENJOY YOUR HYDROPONICS FARMING IN THE CITY!

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