Soil-less gardening in Siquijor

By Rizalie A. Calibo

SIQUIJOR, June 15 (PIA) -- People in Siquijor find hydroponics--growing plants without soil--strange and not applicable. Why, indeed, does one need this kind of technology in a place with land aplenty? 

"We are so rural that we still have plenty of land available for planting,” an agricultural worker in Siquijor said. 

Unlike in some urban areas where hydroponics is highly called for, Siquijor is an agricultural province with areas not so densely populated; it might be foolhardy to advise settlers to use this method. 

But this did not prevent Cyrus Garzo, a 33 year-old Silliman University graduate of BS Agriculture in Agronomy, from trying out hyrdoponics for himself. 

Already intrigued by the method as a student, Garzo decided to give it a try after attending a seminar on on hydroponics conducted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) last year. This was sponsored by the Provincial Farmers Information and Techonology Services (FITS) Consortium. 

Reinforced with new learning from the seminar, Cyrus immediately started his project in September last year in a very small space fronting his house in Caipilan, Siquijor where he and his wife Rona grow vegetables and fruits like lettuce, pechay, tomato, sweet pepper, eggplant, and papaya, to name a few. 

“I was happy with the result,” Cyrus said showing the healthy vegetables, the flowering eggplants and sweet pepper and the fast growing papaya he grew using spare tires, recycled empty containers, or pots with inert growing media such as coconut husks, rice hulls, and water. 

In his almost a year of applying what he learned and from these healthy vegetables he grows, Cyrus said he was able to establish a local “suki” (regular buyer) from resort owners in the island. 

“Aside from the income, it’s self-fulfilling,” he said beaming with pride as he discussed the project of growing a vegetable garden without having to use the soil. 

It did work in Siquijor. I sampled this to prove that even in this island, soil-less technology can be a very good source of income, he added. 

The good thing about hydroponics, it was learned, is that you don’t have to worry about too much or too little water, or how much fertilizer and when to fertilize, or the labors of cultivating and weeding to provide just the right soil consistency and texture, and how much space to give each plant to avoid competing for food and water. 

All required food elements for the plants are called snap hydroponics nutrient solution that are dissolved in water and fed directly to the roots. 

And what makes it even good for Cyrus is that he now formulates his own snap solution that makes it even easier and less costly for him. 

Hydroponic vegetables are healthy, vigorous, and consistently reliable. Gardening is clean and extremely easy, requiring very little effort. A green thumb is not required, it was also learned. 

In soil, vegetables grow a large root system to search for food and water. In hydroponics, food and water are fed directly to the roots. 

This enables the plants to spend more energy growing in the part above the surface, thus growing two times faster. With small roots the plants may be grown very close together conserving space. 

In general, hydroponic gardens require only about 20 percent of the overall space required for soil gardens for the same vegetable production. 

If you haven't seen it for yourself, you will be amazed at how the vegetables grow in Cyrus’ place. They are but proofs of his initiative and industry going together. (MBCN/RAC-PIA7, Siquijor)