Snap HYDROPONICS
vegetables.
Hydroponics is an alternative system of
growing plants without soil. Instead of
soil, an inert media is used into which a
nutrient solution containing essential
elements is added for a plant's normal
growth and development.
Existing commercial hydroponics
systems vary in terms of form, size, and
type of materials. They need electric
driven pumps for aeration and
irrigation. During a power failure, these
systems encounter water logging and
consequently lead to the death of
plants. Thus, a Simple Nutrient
Addition Program (SNAP) (Fig. 1) was
developed. This system does not
require electricity or aeration, is low
cost, and uses simple methods.
The SNAP hydroponics system is
appropriate in urban areas where soil or
space for growing crops is not
adequate. It may 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. The system requires covered
containers or pots that can hold about 2
liters of water, SNAP fertilizer, and
seeds of chosen heat-tolerant
(Fig. 2) and culture pot. For seedling
Adaptability
Vegetables like lettuce, sweet pepper,
cucumber, and celery were successfully
grown using the SNAP hydroponics
system. The use of this system can
improve household income and
increase the per capita vegetable
consumption.
Effectiveness
In the trials conducted during the cold
months on lettuce, the vegetables
performed better in SNAP culture than
in the field. Economic analysis of
adopting SNAP hydroponics for
commercial lettuce production in a 200
m2 area showed that it requires an
initial investment of P66,925 and an
annual production cost of P65,555.83
($1=P56). Assuming ten croppings per
year at the average lettuce price of
P50/kilo, the return on investment will
be 51%. The investment cost can be
recovered in less than 2 years.
How It Is Done
Prepare materials like seedling plugs
plugs, use 6 oz styrofoam cups with the
center bottom (2.5-cm diameter) cut
off. Place a garden net in the cutoff
portion of the cup. Place 1.5 cm thick
coir dust and 1.5 cm sand at the bottom
of the cup.
For culture pots, use recycled
styrofoam grape boxes (Fig. 3). Make
holes big enough to hold the seedling
plugs by their necks. Line the bottom
with polyethylene plastic sheet (0.02
mm thick) to prevent the solution from
leaking. Place the culture pots inside
the greenhouse.
Prepare the seedlings. Sow seeds in
seed boxes. Transplant seedlings in
seedling plugs 2 weeks after seedling
emergence. Place in shallow trays with
1 cm nutrient solution. If root length
grows from 1-2 cm, transfer to culture
pots. The bottom of the seedling plugs
should be submerged by about 1 cm in
the culture pot.
After two weeks, replenish the water
with nutrient solution. Allow the
nutrient solution to go below the
bottom of the cups from 1-3 cm to
enhance passive aeration.
Index of Images SNAP HYDROPONICS

Figure no. 1

Figure no. 2

Food & Fertilizer Technology Center

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Figure no. 3
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By: Umuhoza, Godlives
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