I first became aware of the term Hydroponics way back in 2002 when I was researching for a Free Range Chicken farm that I wanted to establish in Coron. I was looking into vegetable growing to compliment the chicken farm that I was putting up. However, it was my impression then, that a Hydroponic system was expensive to put up so I did not pursue it. But the idea remained in my head. Fast forward to March 2017, I attended an Aquaponics Training in Manila and I came away from it thinking that it was something doable for us. My plan was to put up a small one within the Darayonan compound and once we have learned how to do it, we will put up a larger one at Dipulao. But somehow we were too busy to attend to it. When Covid stopped all tourism activities, I directed my active staff in Coron to start planting and we did Hydroponics using the Kratky method. We had some success however, it is still not consistent enough to my liking.
Last September, after much research and discernment, I finally decided to put up a small indoor hydroponic system in our garage at our home in San Juan. Indoor because we live in a townhouse complex and space is limited. Suking Sy, a fellow photographer, who is also doing indoor hydro, shared with me a YouTube video which led me to Engr Mike Elarmo of Diso's Garden & Hydroponics Supply in Sta Rosa, Laguna. This system can be built on your own (as Suking did), but I did not have the space (to do all the cutting) and the tools (power saw). I also wanted to focus on growing the plants so I bought the system from Mike Elarmo. But the first thing that I had to do was install the needed electrical connections. Fortunately, our property manager and his maintenance crew installed it for free.
Four outlets and a submeter (so that I can measure the electrical consumption)
Next came the assembly of the indoor hydroponic system. It arrived partially assembled so doing the final assembly did not take much time.
All set...
The approximate dimensions of the shelf is 50"L x 32"W x 84"H. This is the standard module of Mike. BUT, you can customize it according to your available space. I also asked him to make me a small Germinating Table measuring approximately 3ftL x 1ftW x 2ftH.
With the system installed, it was now time to germinate. For my seeds, I ordered from Ivan Pagasian Funa, she is in FB and also in Shopee (as Golden Ivan Agri Store ). I chose the following varieties of Lettuce: Xanadu Romaine, Lollo Bionda Evelyn, Sementel Batavia, and Redbat Rarnia. No particular reason, the names just sounded nice.
Following the instructions of Mike, I did the following:
Put tap water in an open pail overnight (to neutralize the chlorine)
Sterilize the Cocopeat for 4 hours
Mix the Cocopeat with Vermiculite
Sow the seeds without covering (Luis and I sowed 40 seeds each)
Spray the sown seeds with water
Cover the sprouting tray and in 24 hours you can expect sprouts.
Twenty-four hours later, I excitedly opened the covers and there were no sprouts whatsoever. I messaged Mike saying that there were no sprouts and that maybe I put too much water. I had an early the following day and before leaving, I checked again, still no sprouts, it was almost 30 hours by now and I was getting worried. An hour later, Luis, messaged me saying, "Dad, I think there are some sprouts". When I got home after another hour, I immediately checked and true enough, there were tiny sprouts! After 36 hours, we had sprouts!!! Yay!
The two sprouting trays. Seedlings hardly visible
Even a closer look does not show much.
Two days later...
Ten days after sowing, this is how they looked:
October 27, 2021, ten (10) days after sowing
According to my research - from attending webinars, You Tube, friends who are doing Hydro, my own staff in Coron, and Mike Elarmo, transplanting should be done between 10-14 days after sowing. On Day 11, I asked Mike if it was time to transplant and he said to wait the full 14 days to allow more roots to grow. But he messaged me later that day to transplant already. So that night we transplanted the tray that contained the Lollo Bionda and the Xanadu because they were bigger. This is how they looked that night just before we transplanted:
Seedlings at Day 11
We carefully measured the water to be placed
Luis carefully measuring the water to be placed in the tank. Then Prima Nutrient Solution A, mix, then Prima Nutsol B, then mix.
Meanwhile, Ella, my favorite daughter and I were doing our best to transfer the seedlings into pre-cut foam cubes and to small cups - hopefully without damaging the roots and stressing the "babies".
Then the cups were placed on the holes of the pipes.
Our indoor Hydro System after we filled all 112 holes. Photo taken on the evening of Oct 29.
To make the operations easier and more accurate, I installed timers for the grow lights and for the pump so that these will turn on an off at the exact time. So even if we are away or asleep, the plants are being cared for. Huwag lang mag brown-out!
And here are my "babies" at sixteen (16) days old from sowing, and six (6) days from transplanting. I was worried that Ella and I caused stress to the plants during transplanting. But after about two days, the plants seemed to have recovered and acclimated to their new home. We have seen promising growth in the last three days.
Xanadu (everytime I read the word, a song plays in my head)
Lollo Bionda
Red Batt
Sementel Batavia
At this point, all that we need to do is monitor, adjust the height of the growlights periodically, to maintain a 2-3 inch distance from the leaves of the plants. And hopefully enjoy our first harvest three to four weeks from now (which I hope will be the subject of my next blog post on hydroponics). Meantime, we will prepare the sprouting trays and growing medium for sowing of our second cycle late next week (Nov 13-14) so that after we harvest at month's end, we will have ready seedlings to transplant.
For those interested to learn more, you can send me a message on FB messenger or viber. I will share all supplier contact numbers and my limited experience. Happy planting!
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