How To Home Hydroponics In The Philippines (Part 1)

If you have limited space for gardening or want to be less dirty with gardening then hydroponics might be right for you. Hydroponics is basically a way of raising plants by using water instead of soil. In short, the water provides for the plant's nutrient requirements. Some prefer this over the traditional soil-based method since this is more efficient (plant grows faster) than the latter and that this prevents any soil-borne disease.

In terms of plant size, however, soil gardening can outdo hydroponics. In most cases, though, preparing and conditioning the soil to outdo hydroponics is more meticulous and time-consuming. Not everyone has the luxury of time to do so. With hydroponics, one does not need to go through such tedious process. Most nutrient solutions are as good as “ready for use” when prepared.

Do take note that not all plants can be grown hydroponically. For example, I tried to grow a dwarf variety of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) using hydroponics, since I was unsuccessful in growing it using soil. While it yielded a larger plant, it proved to be an unsustainable practice since the nutrients had to be replenished more often, and that not being able to will immediately lead to nutrient deficiency. It was also able to grow a flower, but its head was much smaller than what is sold by garden shops, grown in soil. As a general rule, hydroponics works best with vegetables, not ornamentals.

Moreover, this is NOT organic gardening (although some organic gardening methods can still be employed in the process). I've read gardening forums wherein attempts were made at making hydroponics organic (by using extracts from organic sources to replace chemical solutions) and it proved to be disadvantageous. Lastly, there is a difference between hydroponics and aquaponics. Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture (raising of aquatic animals). Nutrients are obtained from animal excrement (in short, poop).

DISCLAIMER: I am not paid by anyone to endorse or promote the products I will mention below.

In the Philippines, hydroponic resources are not so accessible to the public. But some locally-established physical and online shops do offer products for hydroponics. Lazada offers the Miracle-Gro Aerogarden for P20,200 (http://www.lazada.com.ph/miracle-gro-aerogarden-extra-led-indoor-garden-with-gourmet-herb-seed-kit-1737450.html) while Craftmill (through their store Grassroots) offers the Urban Farmer indoor hydroponic cabinets for P38000-P90000 (http://www.theurbanfarmer.com.ph/).

If you're the no-frills type like me, you can still do hydroponics. A low-cost option locally available is SNAP Hydroponics, a nutrient solution developed by researchers at the Institute of Plant Breeding, UP Los Baños. It is an alternative hydroponic method that requires no electricity and makes use of recyclables. 

I am selling the solution for only P350. Send me a message at jdiegoroxas@gmail.com or at my Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/jigsthegardener if interested. Payment methods could be through Palawan Express Pera Padala. If you wish to use other modes of payment, you can always ask :) For now, this service is available within Metro Manila only. I am yet to familiarize myself with delivering the solutions outside MM.

That's all! Thanks for reading :) Part 2 will feature how to setup a home-based hydroponics system that makes use of SNAP. 

EDIT: As of February 20, 2017, the links to the products mentioned here no longer leads to the product itself, probably because they are no longer available.