Pumice is one of the best hydroponic growing medium out there. Pumice is light, inert and porous. These properties makes pumice perfect for hydroponics as these provides high drainage, aeration and promotes healthy root growth. Compared to other hydroponic growing medium like hydroton (LECA) and perlite, pumice is naturally occurring and is thus eco-friendly.
About Pumice.
Pumice is a type of volcanic rock that has a foamy appearance. This is the result of the rapid expansion of gases when material gets ejected from volcanoes and rapidly cools.
Close up picture of pumice stones.
Pumice is a major component of lahar and is plentiful in areas around Mount Pinatubo. Mount Pinatubo ejected millions of tons of pumice when it erupted in 1991. Since then these aggregates has been mined and used as construction materials.
Pumice in construction.
Construction sand sourced from areas affected by the Mount Pinatubo eruption are composed of pumice. Before use, construction sand is generally sieved by construction workers before it is mixed with concrete. The remaining material called “pinagbistayan” (or pinagsaligsigan?) is often just discarded.
Pinagbistayan.
Pumice for Free
One can find pinagbistayan in construction areas. If the construction sand being used in these construction is sourced from areas around Mount Pinatubo affected areas then the aggregates left over when the construction sand is sieved is pumice.
Be sure to checkout those construction areas for very useful stuff like pumice.
Can’t find pumice anywhere? Buy pumice from our shop!
Hydroponics requires a rain shelter or ideally a green house to protect crops from both rain and pests. Central Luzon State University (CLSU) developed the CLSU Type Greenhouse to provide growers with a low-cost and well designed option that performs well in typical growing conditions in the Philippines. It is ideal for intensive growing operations typical in hydroponics and aquaponics food production.
Front Elevation of the CLSU Type GreenhouseTypical Side Elevation of the CLSU Type Greenhouse
The illustrations are based on images available in Production of High Value Crops in Greenhouse from the e-Learning for Agriculture and Fisheries of the Department of Agriculture’s e-Extension Program with the Agricultural Training Institute.
The bill of materials are also provided and taken from the same e-learning course. Prices indicated are from 2007.
The .dwg file, an AutoCAD drawing, is constructed from measurements provided in the e-learning course.
In this video Dr. Santos talks about SNAP Hydroponics. A transcription in English follows.
Hydroponics from the Greek word “hydro” or water and “phonos” that means labor. It is a system of growing plants that uses mineral nutrient solution in water and without soil.
We grow plants in hydroponics in order to avoid using soil. Because, there could be issues with your soil. If your land is flood prone or you don’t own land around your area where you can grow plants, you resort to hydroponics.
That means, instead of soil, you grow plants using for example, coconut coir dust, sand or gravel or a mixture of them. And you grow plants on them. However, the problem is, they are almost devoid of nutrients. Therefore, you need to use a nutrient solution. You use nutrient solutions so that they can provide the nutrients that the soil is supposed to provide the plants in order to grow.
Hydropononics is a very useful technology. Particularly to those do not own farmlands. However, traditional hydroponics is labor intensive and expensive. They require a greenhouse that costs millions.
With the goal of introducing hydroponics to the public, Dr. Primitivo Jose Santos and Dr. Eureka Teresa Ocampo of UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding Developed Simple Nutrient Addition Program or SNAP Hydroponics.
We developed SNAP Hydroponics with the help of Bureau of Agricultural Research of the Department of Agriculture. It has been around since 1999. Many has already benefited from it because, in my opinion SNAP is very simple compared to commercial hydroponic systems that can cost millions if not thousands. But in SNAP Hydroponics, you can do hydroponics in a box that only costs less than a hundred pesos (USD 2).
What makes SNAP Hydropononics system unique is that, you can build it out of materials around you. Just look around and you can get the materials you need.
Just like these. These, as you can see are just styrofoam boxes that were used in imported grapes. You can get them for free or at a very low price. You can’t do the same if you use other hydroponic system.
You even help in recycling. Because in super markets these are just dumped or thrown away. They are almost non-biodegradable.
That is why this is very useful to us in reducing the waste products of imported grapes.
Secondly, because it is very simple, it doesn’t use electricity. It doesn’t use pumps. So you can save on electricity while still be able to grow plants.
Imported hydroponic technologies depends on electricty. You can’t run them without using electricty. Now why aren’t we using electricity when plants require aeration in their roots.
How are we able to grow them without pumps? Well, we discovered that you can train plants to grow on water when you start training them young. That means, plants can develop floating roots. Floating roots because they float on the surface of water. So they are not underwater and they can breathe. In that situation, the plant is able to breathe that is why it grows. That is the secret of SNAP Hydroponics.
Third, SNAP Hydroponics is very low cost and very efficient. For example, one head of mustard such as this uses less than 2L of water until harvest. Whereas, when you grow them in soil, they’ll use at least 50L. Especially during the dry season.
Being soilless, you don’t affect the surrounding soil while you grow plants. Some use fertilizers as they grow plants. That can ruin the soil environment. Because, we are not not using soil, we can say SNAP is eco-friendly. Because soil stays virgin if it is untouched, yet you produce vegetables.
Those are just some of the advantages of SNAP Hydroponics.
SNAP Hydroponics is suitable for growing lettuce, pak choi, mustard, swamp cabbage, tomatoes, melon cucumber, egg plant and many more.
Many are interested in SNAP Hydroponics because they have seen that it is set-and-forget. Once you set it up you are not required to keep an eye on them because you don’t have to water them everyday, you don’t have weeds to remove, you won’t be exposed to chemical sprays, and your harvest therefore will be pesticide free. In addition, even when you are physically challenged. For example, if you are a senior citizen or you have a disability. You can set this up. In fact, we had trained groups of people with disability and senior citizens. They make projects out of this.
SNAP Hydroponics have huge potential to help reduce food shortage, specially vegetables, for our people.
The developers of SNAP Hydroponics regularly conduct a one day training course on hydroponics vegetable production with emphasis on SNAP Hydroponics at the UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding in Bay, Laguna.
HOW MUCH: ₱2,000 (subject to change) per Participant
The training course teaches the participants the theoretical and practical aspects of hydroponics with emphasis on setting-up and running a SNAP hydroponics system; identification of different nutrient deficiency and toxicity symptoms; basic concepts in plant nutrition relevant to hydroponics vegetable production. The training also comes with a starter kit which includes a pair of SNAP A and SNAP B nutrient solution for hydroponics, training manual, established seedlings, coco coir, styrofoam box and styrofoam cups. The training fee is ₱2,000.00.
Upon completing the training course, participants are awarded a certificate of completion, a proof of having been trained and taught by the best minds in the growing hydroponic vegetable production industry.
Completing the training also qualifies a participant to be an authorized reseller of SNAP nutrient solution for hydroponics provided that they practice what they learn in the training course, i.e, a SNAP Hydroponics practitioner.
The cold early morning days are still upon us as February comes to a close. We are expecting a weak El Niño in the following months and the days will be hotter and drier than usual.
There is Still Time to Grow the Perfect Lettuce
There is still time to catch the early morning cold breeze for your lettuce plants. The morning temperatures in the low lands still drops below 25°C. Lettuce thrives in cold temperatures. Lettuce grown in cold environments are compact, crisp and sweet. Most red varieties also show their red color when grown in cold environments.
Different lettuce varieties grown in SNAP Hydroponics.
Take Extra Measures to Protect Your Grow this Summer
The summer heat can warm your nutrient solution which can result in lower dissolved oxygen concentrations and reduce yield significantly. Adding insulating materials to protect the nutrient solution from heat is also recommended.
Plan your grow and prepare your shading net for the hottest part of the day. The summer temperatures can cause heat stress to your plants.
Beware of plant varieties that can bolt and turn bitter when the temperature is too high.
Grow Plants that Can Take the Heat
Lettuce can be a challenge to grow during the summer unless you can find a heat tolerant variety. Mustasa, kang-kong and pechay grows well in SNAP Hydroponics nutrient solution even during the hottest summer months.
With the holiday season ending as January comes to a close the seasonal influx of styrofoam boxes to our country ends as well. As discussed in a previous post the importation of grapes from California, the United States starts around the beginning of ber months late-August. This reaches its peak late December as evidenced by the number of social media posts of discarded styrofoam boxes that made rounds in social media and mainstream media as the new year starts. A number of enterprising and environmentally conscious SNAP hydroponics growers tried their best to make the most of the abundance of styrofoam boxes.
There will be a scarcity of standard sized styrofoam boxes in the following months. And many are asking about alternatives to styrofoam. In this post we’ll discuss possible alternatives and what properties to look for when considering alternatives.
Ideas for Building the Ideal Growbox for SNAP
We will be looking for a readily available alternatives to styrofoam boxes that is used in the default SNAP Hydroponics setup. The recommended SNAP setup is a passive system. The nutsol is kept in the lower half of the styrofoam boxes. Water is prevented from escaping through the boxes ventilation wholes via a plastic lining that is installed in the lower half. Our alternative box or container must be able to hold water. If it cannot, a plastic sheet can be used to line the container to enable the container to hold water.
This discarded crate can be mended and lined with PE plastic so that it may hold water.
We will be working on the discarded crate pictured above. It’s a broken milk crate that has a volume of around 30L.
After cleaning off the mud of our crate, we mend it to restore (a little bit) of its structural integrity using zip ties.
The styrofoam growbox, being opaque, protects the nutrient solution from light. The nutrient solution needs protection from light to prevent algae from growing on the nutrient solution. Excessive algae growth will take away nutrients from your plants or retard the growth of the roots.
Since our crate lets light through, we need to line the crate with an opaque material blocks light and also minimises heat transfer. We need an insulator.
The styrofoam growbox is an ideal insulator which is why it works great in the SNAP Hydroponics system. It’s cheap, it’s abundant , it’s easy to work with and is a great insulator. Most containers can be modified to provide the same level of insulation as styrofoam.
The nutsol reservoir in this NFT system is lined with silvered insulation foam to keep the nutsol’s temperature low.
To protect our nutsol from light and heat in our grow create we will be using a discarded packing material that has an opaque plastic layer, a bubble wrap layer, and a layer of insulating foam.
A crate growbox lined with discarded packing material. This lining provides both insulation and protects the nutsol from light.
We still need the crate to hold the nutrient solution. So we add a plastic liner. We use a 40⨉40 PE plastic bag.
SNAP grow crate lined with a PE Plastic Sheet. We use a 40⨉40 PE plastic sheet for this crate.
Next we need to replace the upper half of the styrofoam growbox. The upper half’s purpose is to hold the seedling plugs in place and of course protect the nutsol from light and heat. For our crate we use a piece of styrofoam panel that was used in a previous project.
SNAP grow crate with a styrofoam cover.
Setting Up our “Grow Crate’
We find an area with sufficient sunlight for our crate and make sure it’s level. We fill it up with enough nutsol:
SNAP Grow Crate Filled with Nutsol.
We add our cover and seedling plugs:
SNAP grow crate with cover
We make sure the nutrient solution reaches the bottom of our seedling plug.
SNAP seedling plug in nutrient solution.
We then drop in our seedling. In this case a cucumber seedling germinated in a rockwool cube.
Cucumber growing with SNAP.
Then we let it grow:
Cucumber growing in SNAP after a few weeks.
That’s it! If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment. Good luck and happy growing!
The developers of SNAP Hydroponics regularly conduct a one day training course on hydroponics vegetable production with emphasis on SNAP Hydroponics at the UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding in Bay, Laguna. The training course teaches the participants the theoretical and practical aspects of hydroponics with emphasis on setting-up and running a SNAP hydroponics system; identification of different nutrient deficiency and toxicity symptoms; basic concepts in plant nutrition relevant to hydroponics vegetable production. The training also comes with a starter kit which includes a pair of SNAP A and SNAP B nutrient solution for hydroponics, training manual, established seedlings, coco coir, styrofoam box and styrofoam cups. The training fee is ₱2,000.00 (subject to change).
Upon completing the training course, participants are awarded a certificate of completion, a proof of having been trained and taught by the best minds in the growing hydroponic vegetable production industry.
Completing the training also qualifies a participant to be an authorized reseller of SNAP nutrient solution for hydroponics provided that they practice what they learn in the training course, i.e, a hydroponics practitioner.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When is the training seminar conducted? Is there a schedule?
According to CAFS’ list of IPB Short Training Courses pictured below the schedule is officially to be announced (TBA). Schedule is subject to the availability of the resource speakers. Interested parties are advised to contact UPLB-IPB to inquire about the schedule.
Details about the date of the SNAP Hydroponics training.
Can the training be conducted elsewhere?
A number of hydroponics practitioner, some of whom are trained in UPLB-IPB conducts their own training seminar on hydroponics in different parts of the country. However, only the ones conducted UPLB-IPB or presented by SNAP developers qualifies as authorized resellers of SNAP nutrient solution for hydroponics.
Screenshot of the IPB Short Training Courses Online Registration Form. To sign up for the SNAP training course, please choose the highlighted item.
What is the training like?
It is a one day training that typically starts at 8:00AM and ends at around 4:00PM with a one hour lunch break. Light snack and refreshments are provided for free. Lunch however is not. You can bring your own meal or your can buy your one in the venue. Please see these pictures from the training for more information.
Where can I get more information about the short training courses offered by UPLB-IPB?
Our holiday celebrations resulted in trash, lots of it. Just hours after the celebrations have ended our city streets are littered with trash. There are news and social media posts about all the litter we generated as the holiday season concludes.
Lots of trash as reported in the Manila Bulletin.
The post above from the Manila Bulletin was shared to SNAP Hydroponics Growers numerous times. It’s a disappointing picture but it is not all gloomy.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
SNAP Hydroponics growers has been actively seeking and picking up these piles of styrofoam boxes for use in their SNAP Hydroponics setups or for sale to other enthusiasts. In doing so, SNAP growers not only keeping trash off the streets, they are maximising the utility we get out of these styrofoam boxes.
A Community Effort
Below are just a few of the conversations our group had about the abundance of the much sought after standard sized styroboxes that SNAP Hydroponics Growers use. As mentioned in a previous post about the availability of grape boxes in the Philippines, the end of December (the last “ber” month) marks the end of the year’s supply of imported grapes from the United States. SNAP Hydroponics enthusiasts are preparing for the eventual shortage of supply and soaring prices of these styrofoam boxes.
PSA. Today and tomorrow is your change to buy or ask for styroboxes that are everywhere these days. Last year, I got 100 pcs. Let’s make the most out of itStyroboxes are scattered everywhere in public markets. Charge! It’s free!Round 1 of merchandise. Get yours in your local market.Last batch of styrobox collected today. Anyone who wants to avail for their hydroponics gardening may contact me anytime. God bless and happy gardening to all.
That’s all for today. Thank you to everyone who collected these boxes for use in their hydroponics garden. May this year bring you happiness and bountiful harvests.
Because of the increased interest in SNAP Hydroponics, I’m often asked: “What is the SNAP Hydroponics training/seminar like?” In this post I attempt to answer this question in pictures. The seminar entitled “Training on Hydroponics Vegetable Production with Emphasis on SNAP Hydroponics” is held in UPLB-IPB every second and fourth Tuesday of each month. It starts at 8:00AM and ends at around 4-5PM.
An introduction by Tita Susan.Doc Boy’s lecture on the principles of hydroponics.Doc Weng’s Lecture on how SNAP works.Trainees working on their growboxes. Imagine how squeaky it is in the room.Trainees working on their seedling plugs.Doc Boy showing trainees plants grown in SNAP HydroponicsDoc Boy and SNAP traineesDoc Boy discussing the importance of sunlight.Doc Boy showing trainees SNAP grown kangkong.Doc Boy showing trainees a couple of NFT systems.Group picture.
The SNAP Hydroponics working solution is the water and nutrient solution mixture that is used together with growboxes and seedling plugs to grow plants. This set of pictures shows how the pH of the solution starts initially and how it performs overtime.
pH checks are not required to run a SNAP Hydroponics system. This grow is for experimental purposes.
We are trying to grow Kale Red Redbor by Ramgo seeds. Seeds were sown on the 28th of June and were transferred to seedling plugs on the 14th of July.
The water from the tap is basic.
The water from the tap is very basic. It is full of carbonates and other materials. Our municipal water supply is of poor quality. It is taken directly from a creek and fed through the pipes often without any filtration. We don’t drink water from the tap.
Measuring cup with 5mL graduationsMeasuring cup with 12mL graduations on the other side.
Above is the measuring cup I use. SNAP Hydroponics nutrient solution is added to water at 2.5mL per liter.
Two liters of tap waterAdding 5ml of SNAP A to 2L of tap waterI dip and rinse the measuring cup to get it ready for SNAP B.Mixing the solution well. SNAP B follows and it is important that SNAP A is diluted well.After adding SNAP A and SNAP B. This is the working solution. It has a slight yellow color.
As you can see from the pictures above. SNAP is acidic enough to pull the pH from 8.2 down to 6.4. A fresh mix of SNAP working solution has a pH of 6.4. This measurement is consistent with the pH of the solution in the growbox I’m growing kale in.
The measurements below are taken nine days after the system is setup.
The pH of this solution was 6.4. Nine days later it went up to 7.6.Ambient temperatureThe temperature of the solution is just 30°C.
I rechecked the pH a couple of days later and it reads 7.2pH. I’ll continue to post updates about this grow.
