Adriana, What do you grow?

If he is quite old we need to get his formulas in writing...if I was nearby I would contribute a bottle of rum or whatever was his pleasure to this effort.

Are you building a commercial scale greenhouse?

As a profession I am a mango ang citrus farmer. I have been doing hydroponics for almost a year but only within the compounds of my home. Right now I am trying to learn mixing nutrient solutions.

I'll let you know about the lettuce once my friend arrives.

Good luck in you greenhouse enterprize and allow yourself plenty of time for research.

Jim Curts

I'll be in the U.S. next week. I hope to be able to visit Epcot's garden this time.

See you all in a month.

whoever your consultant is, he did not explain to you throrougly what he meant by 21 days lettuce. You see leafy lettuce such as lollo bionda, grand rapids, batavia and some fast growing lollo rossa can really be grown in 21 days under the Philippine tropical condition. But here is the catch, those are transplanted lettuce seedlings. They transplant it in the NFT gutter 10 - 14 days after sowing.

These are the actual performance of these varieties in different growing areas such as Tagaytay, Silang, Manila, lowland Cebu, Batangas, laguna and Pangasinan. In Baguio and Bukidnon area such as Lantapan and Manolo Fortich, you add 7 more days for the same variety till maturity.

It is true you can grow it in 21 days, but you add 14 days to that. However, the weight of the green leafy lettuce harvested this young will be very light (70 to maybe 80 grams only and 40 - 60 grams for the triple red lollo rossa). You wait one more week and it will be about 100 - 120 grams per plant depending on the variety.

If you are growing in the hot lowland area in the Philippines and using those 2.5 x 4" rectangular PVC pipes, good luck. Your plants will surely die during the summer months. Have you asked around about it before you constructed your NFT system?

The nutrient solutions does play a very important role in the growth of the lettuce plants in the Philippines, However, I have seen all these lettuce being grown by several growers using their own secret formulation growing in different hydrdoponic system but the average growth rate is almost the same.

Kangas,

The number of grower in your area are growing at a very fast rate. With regards to the materials (cheaper one) that you may need, it is all available in Manila. I am normally in Tagaytay every Saturday and Sunday, I have a few friends there who doing commercial hydroponics. I am also assisting a few commercial farms in your area on their production. Let me know when you will be there, maybe we can meet and take a look at your farm.

Loyd,

what else do you need to know about hydroponics in the Philippines? What system are you planning to use? where are you planning to grow? keep me posted.

I kinda figured that out already. About the 21 days.
Thanks.

My production is with the customer i deal with. I did construct a few system though. One for the an Agricultural University in Bulacan, 2 others are private owned.

I am a horticulturist and hydroponics is one of my specialty. Where is your production anyway?

regards

i think i've talked to you over the phone and i've met rowena. i bought a set of nutrients from your place in cubao. my question about it is regarding the peters hydrosol. there is another website saying that the peters mix is mainly for soil based plants.

the greenhouse is not yet ready. my wife and i are doing the work by ourselves, except for the framework of the greenhouse. that is why its taking longer than it should be. it is an experimental greenhouse. we'll find out thru our initial production if we will build a bigger one.

ill invite you to see it when it is ready.

it is true that Peters Water Soluble Fertilizer has about 40 formulation catering to specific crop needs or crop variety. It depends on what formulation the other website is referring to.

Peters Hydrosol is using purely nitrate nitrogen and does not contain any urea N that is why it is suited for Hydroponics. All the elements are properly balanced and chelated.

The other Peters formulations contains a portion of urea and are being suggested for fertigation in soil grown crops. Some formulation are used as foliar spray.

If you plan to grow commercially, you better pick up the phase. The number of growers around the country are growing every month. I'd be glad to visit you when your system is ready.

I am a friend of Mike Caballes (asianhydro) of Allied Botanical and he has been very helpful.

I have prepared a modest website that anyone of you might want to visit. It is basically directed to the beginners in the Philippines where equipment are hard to find. So, my ideas is ... DIY (do-it-yourself). That is exactly what my site is all about.

I've undergone training in AANI-TESDA and NEGOESKWELA. While the information is good, starting an actual setup can be a big task. Hopefully, what I have, will make things easier for those in a similar situation as mine.

I am rather disappointed that even UP College of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture, etc. have only trickles of information. There are a lot in the internet but not specifically for the Philippine situation.

Drop by my site when you can.

And I was an Intern at EPCOT's The Land. Those systems really are not that complicated once you look at them! I am planning on going to Flordia in December for the first time in 8 years. It will be neat to see what has changed and how big those citrus trees I helped plant have gotten!!!

Check this website:

http://www.bee.cornell.edu/extension/CEA/LettuceHandbook/Lettuce Mai n.htm

If Cornell can't grow marketable lettuce in 21 days under perfect control conditions, no one else is likely to.

Forget that yoda. Sira, yun. Almost went crazy myself wanting to prove that it was possible. Btw, yes it can be profitable.

mangojon

is there by any chance the yoda is a certain guy from Laguna by the name of COLLINS ? An ex-instructor in BOY GUIVARRA's place.

Does Boy Guevarra have a website? I'm interested, I'd like to see it, if he has. He was also my mentor.

In case you'd like to see my website, you are welcome. I am no expert, but I compile simple hydroponics ideas for the beginners.

Ed

Unfortunately I hate the peppery taste, but I swear you could cut it every two to three days. I considered growing it this year just for the boost in self-esteem I got from the remarkable vigor it has.

My favorite lettuce is Marveille de Four Seasons.

I have an ultrasonics cloner setup, maybe in the winter when I can't grow anything outside I'll take a shot at Aeroponics Lettuce.

Has anyone done this? How do you go from planting in cornstarch or Agar, and thence to Aeroponics?

Try my website (link below). I have there easy to make low cost systems and the Allan Cooper formula. The information is free. My site is non-profit.

Ed

there are probably a couple of seminars that you can attend. but the best way to go about it is thru the web. read on this forum and other internet sites. if your family is in landscaping and you understand the use of fertilizers that will help you a lot. kahit iba ang application makakatulong pa rin kung naintidihan yun.

send me your cell number thru email. i might be able to point you to the right direction regarding the seminars.

are you plannning to do this as a hobby?

im a friend of mangojon as well as edurink. If you need help on starting up. you can contact me at my mobile phone 0919-2651433.

regards,

mike caballes

I am thinking of going into hydroponics on a 70 sq m lot in Quezon City. I would like to do this in order to have extra income and eventually quit my job if the income from it is sufficient.

My concern right now is what crop can give me the biggest revenue and profit per square meter and at the same time be simple enough for a non-agriculturist and hydroponics newcomer to manage? In order to decide this, I need access to information on farmgate prices and wholesale prices of vegetables at different times of the year but I don't know where to get these. I also need technical information like planting densities, cultural practices, etc. Can you help me find the information I need? Or if you already have suggestions on which crop is best for me, I would appreciate it very much if you can help.

Thank you and Mabuhay po!

stef, a pinay in Northeast US

Im trying to get the contact number of Boy Guevarra. We meet in boracay last month and discussed about hydrophonics way of planting,unfortunately, i mis placed his contact number, and i really need to contact him desperately since i'm also interested in hydrophonics and i understand that Mr Boy Guevarra can help me with this. I really need your help. Waiting for your positive response.
Thank you very much.

John Cann/Tonglen

NEGO-SKWELA, North Ave.
(across Veterans Memorial Hospital)
Diliman, Quezon City

If he is not there you can ask the person where he can be reached.

It's not really "done in 21 days" if you start counting in the middle - like buying plants someone else started.

There's just no way you're getting a mature plant in 21 days from seed. I've seen some pretty big plants at 35-40 days, but they were still probably a week from really being "mature". Worth harvesting then, sure. But another week would pay off dividends.