Hydroponics in Vietnam!
by guy
(Vietnam)
Very interested in doing some hydroponics in Vietnam; a selection of vegetables, as well as growing orchids for profit, in an area about 5 meter x 5 meters. I already do gardening on a 1/4 acre, but have some large areas that are cement covered and would like to apply hydroponic gardening methods to them as well. Also as a room in the house (to control climate) for the orchids.
There are very few supplies for hydroponics here, BUT there are some things (fish tanks and their accessories) large amounts of plastic containers, and many things can be custom built on the cheap here (if they are very simple in concept). Mediums: I use a Coconut soil with a very small amount of N-P-K in it for some various crops and it seems to be basically a hand watering systems with quite nice results. Which bring me to the next question...Nutrients?
I currently order some hydroponic nutrients from Holland. In small amounts they are cheap, but when I am considering a larger vegetable crop, price becomes an issue. I have read that it may be possible with some help to actually mix your own nutrient solution. This is one of those things I could get a couple chemists to do on the cheap for me as well.
Regardless, great site and thanks for the help. Got a few books about hydroponics on the way, but this site is very informative! Thanks, guy.
Answer: guy- Making a compost tea would be one solution to your problem. Since I've written about that in a couple of other posts (making compost tea), I would like to talk about the other solution to your problem....making your own nutrients from scratch.
Below is a basic nutrient formula. I am told that many of the chemicals can only be bought in 20 or 50 pound bags. The cost of buying all that is needed would be substantial.
Hydroponic Nutrient Formula
•10 ounces Sodium Nitrate
•10 ounces Calcium Nitrate
•10 ounces Potassium Sulphate
•15 ounces superPhosphate
•5 ounces Magnesium Sulphate
In a separate container, combine the trace elements below and mix well, then use a mortar and pestle to grind them to a very fine powder:
•1 ounce Iron Sulphate
•1 teaspoon Manganese Sulphate
•1 teaspoon Boric acid powder
•1/2 teaspoon Zinc Sulphate
•1/2 teaspoon Copper Sulphate
Once mixed, add this powder to the formula and combine. Use 1/2 teaspoon per 100 gallons of water, or dissolve teaspoon in one quart of water and use one liquid ounce to 3 gallons of nutrient solution. Left over mix should be thrown away, since it is no good after the first day.
Either way you look at it, you have some tough decisions to make!
Comments for Hydroponics in Vietnam!
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AffordableGarden Design&Setup
Hi everyone, Jason from Jason's Indoor Guide here. When I got started with hydroponic gardening more than 24 years ago, my first garden used rockwool cubes and B.C. Nutrients....and I remember thinking to myself yeah, sure, there may be a lot of advantages to gardening with hydroponics, for example there are very few pest problems, therefore very little pest control, no weeding, no plowing or tilling the soil, no soil testing or having to add things into the garden soil, no watering the garden....but for someone who just wants to grow their own vegetables and have more control over their food supply and the quality of the food that they eat, the cost of constantly having to buy grow media and hydroponic nutrients makes this an expensive hobby for most people...
Epic Nutrient Change
I suppose when you take into consideration how much money you save NOT
having to buy food at the grocery store, it is surely cheaper to grow
your own food hydroponically even with the cost of high quality
nutrients. Nevertheless, I didn't have a whole lot of money to work with
and I needed to make my efforts as affordable and effective as
possible....and in the last 24 years I HAVE learned a thing or two!
As you browse through Jason's Indoor Guide, you will notice all of the
systems that I use personally are homemade systems. As I got 3 or 4
years of experience under my belt, I quickly adopted a preference to
standing water systems and systems that use expanded clay pellets or
lava rock, because the media is re-usable and it eliminates a huge
operating expense. So once a hydroponic system is built, garden
maintenance is minimal- check and adjust the nutrient solution daily,
and to change it completely every 2 weeks....and the biggest operating
cost is the hydroponic nutrients. (and the electric bill, lol)...
Homemade Cloner
And, regarding the cost of the nutrients....I experimented for about 3 years with making different compost teas and nutrient teas, but there is still a lot of expense $$$ associated with making high quality nutrient teas....like kelp meal, liquid seaweed, rock dust, bat guano, un-Sulfured molasses, worm castings. You can eliminate a lot of this expense by becoming an expert at making high-quality colloidal humus compost, and use your properly made compost as the basis of your hydroponic nutrient solution.
Unfortunately, I have been gardening for over 24 years and I have only
just recently mastered this difficult skill....and even then, only
because I happened to find a very easy to follow, high quality technique
and decided to follow the instructions to the letter. I produced more
high quality compost in just one week than I was able to use in a whole
year! If you can master the technique, I highly recommend it. It is one of the top 3 things you can do to
increase the productivity of your food production efforts, while at the
same time decreasing the amount of effort required to grow all of your
own food, and decreasing the total cost of operating your food
production system.
And when I say decrease operating costs, I mean decrease them to almost
ZERO, especially if you are producing your own nutrients...
High Efficiency
Hydroponics
The ultimate solution to eliminate the cost of your hydroponic nutrients: Imagine a hydroponic system that does not require you to buy any nutrients, does not require you to make your own compost, and does not require you to brew your own nutrient tea. Seriously! No cost and no effort as far as providing nutrients to your plants! Plus, at the end of the gardening cycle you harvest all of your garden vegetables, PLUS YOU HARVEST FISH from the system--->
Aquaponics
This solution is aquaponics. If you are serious about producing all of your own food and being self-sufficient, this is the ultimate solution for reducing expenses (as much as possible), reducing the total amount of work required, and maximizing the productivity of your gardening efforts. I have been gardening for over 24 years, and it is the perfect food production solution in my opinion.
Besides mastering how to make high quality compost, learning aquaponics is one of the top 3 things you can do to increase your garden productivity, reduce your total costs, and reduce your total work. The product that I learned from is called Aquaponics4you. With all of my hydroponic gardening experience, the first time I came across the Aquaponics4you product I knew immediately that it was something very special! Place an aquaponics system outdoors and use the sun instead of grow lights, and you have reduced every garden expense to nearly ZERO!
The Same System/ 10 Weeks Later!
