Science and technology fair in Visayas features SNAP Hydroponics

Joan Arce Jaque, a social worker by profession and a housewife shared her fashion in gardening during the science and technology fair held at Tacloban Convention Center, Tacloban City on 26 September 2012.

“I am not an agriculturist, I just learned a technology – a very easy-to-do technology, which I want to share,” She presented a technology developed by Dr. Premitivo Jose Santos of the University of the Philippines Los Banos called SNAP hydroponics.

Simple Nutrient Addition Program or SNAP hydroponics is an alternative system of growing plants without soil. It uses an inert media and a nutrient solution containing essential elements needed by the plant to grow. This technology is primarily design for urban farming and backyard vegetable farming systems. It can be done in apartments or townhouses where small terraces can be used in growing crops for home consumption. The small space is easy to protect against rain and strong sunlight. Crops like lettuce, sweet pepper, cucumber, and celery are among the vegetables found suitable for this farming system.

“This technology is beginner friendly, and no need for technical skills,” said Ms. Jaque. “Through this technology I have my fresh – organic vegetables for my family. This technology could also be a very good source of extra income,” she added.

How to do SNAP hydroponics

A. Establish the seedlings

Materials needed

1. sowing tray – shallow box/basin with holes for drainage at the bottom
2. growing media –aged (not the new one) coconut coir dust or charcoaled rice hull or their mixture; saw dust (possible with the old stock –not the new ones but not yet tested), fine sand (can be combined with coir dust and or charcoaled rice hull)
3. seeds (buy from your local aggie store)
4. watering solution (water with SNAP nutrient solution)

Procedures

1. Fill the sowing tray with a layer of the growing media (about1 inch thick)
2. Level the media
3. Scatter the small seeds uniformly and thinly (the amount depending on your need)
4. Water liberally as needed (Expect germination in 3to 5 days)
5. Grow the seedlings for 10 days before transferring to individual growing cups (called seedling plugs)

B. Prepare the seedling plugs

Materials needed

1. Styrofoam cups (8 to 10 oz)
2. Cutter or knife or hack saw blade
3. growing media
4. seedlings
5. BBQ stick or the like

Procedure

1. Prepare the Styrofoam cups as shown . Use a knife or cutter to make those 8 holes (about 1 inch long at the side and ½ inch at the bottom).
2. Fill the prepared holding cups with the growing media (about ½ inch thick)
3. Transplant the seedlings from the sowing tray. “Dig” a hole in the middle of the growing media in the cup. . Use the a stick to uproot the seedlings from the sowing tray with care. Transfer only one seedling per cup. Make the transferred seedling stand firmly by replacing the ‘dug’ media to the base of the seedling.
4. Water the seedling plugs carefully and lightly.

C. Prepare the growing boxes

1. Materials needed
2. Styrofoam boxes ( boxes of imported grapes}
3. Tin can (with open top and bottom) of big evap milk
4. Polyethylene plastic bag (20” x 30”, 0.003 mm thick)

Procedure:

1. Make 5-6 (for small styro boxes) or 8 (for big styro boxes) holes on the lid/cover of the box using the tin can as hole puncher (See picture).
2. Use the plastic bag as liner for the bottom half of the box to make it fit to hold the nutrient solution

D. Running the SNAP hydroponics system

Materials needed

1. seedling plugs
2. SNAP nutrient solution (Want to buy nutrient solution email at ebagron@worldngayon.com)
3. growing boxes with 10 liters of water each
4. benches or stand (optional) – where the growing boxes will be placed under a shelter
5. rain shelter (optional during dry season) or roof awning facing east for the earliest and longest sunlight possible)

Procedures

1. For good growth of the plants, locate the SNAP hydroponics where it will best receive the morning sunlight, the earlier the better. It should be under a roof awning if not a transparent shed to prevent the rain water getting into the system.
2. Arrange the growing boxes on the bench (optional) with covers removed
3. Fill each growing box with about 10 liters of tap water
4. Add 50-75 ml of SNAP A to each box stir well
5. Add equal amount of SNAP B to each box then stir well again
6. Put back the cover of the box
7. Place the seedling plugs into the holes of the cover. See to it that all cups are ‘plugged’ in the holes evenly.
8. See to it that the bottom of the cups is touching the nutrient solution by ½ inch deep, not any deeper or shallower. If not, add more water until the desired depth is reached.
9. Examine the boxes for leaks and make some troubleshooting.
10. Visit the set up every morning as early as you can to catch any insect larva that may eat the plants (the larva is visible in the early morning; after that they tend to hide from the sun and maybe harder to find)

Expect the nutrient solution level to recede faster when the plants are much bigger than when they were still seedlings. Replenish using fresh nutrient solution when its level has gone down by more than 1 inch below the cup bottom. However, NEVER allow the level of the solution to again reach the bottom of the cup; replenish until the solution level has reached about 1/2 inch below the cup’s bottom.

NOTE: It is more practical to prepare the nutrient solution in a drum and then just distribute the prepared solution to each growing box and use the left-over solution for replenishing.

You can also download here the presentation of Ms. Joan Arce Jaque [wpdm_file id=7]

or CLICK HERE to see the video on how to do SNAP Hydroponics