HOW TO SET-UP SNAP HYDROPONICS

In DWC (Deep Water Culture) System

I. MATERIALS NEEDED IN SOWING SEEDS:
1. Sowing Tray : shadow box/basin, seedling tray with holes for drainage at the bottom.

2. Growing Media : sterilized coco-coir dust, aged (not the new one), vermiculite and coco-lite (mixture
of coco- coir dust and perlite)..

sterilized coco-coir COCO-LITE (mixture VERMICULITE

dust of coco-coir dust
and perlite)
3. Seeds : green leafy vegetables (lettuce, pechay, mustard, kangkong, etc.), herbs, fruiting vegetables (toma
pepper, cucumber, etc.)

4. Tap Water

II. PROCEDURE IN SOWING SEEDS

1. Fill the sowing tray with moist coco-coir dust, vermiculite, coco-lite or fine grade perlite.

2. Level off the medium with a straight edge DO NOT tamp down (consolidate).

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 HOW TO SET-UP SNAP HYDROPONICS
In DWC (Deep Water Culture) System
3. Sow half the area keeping hand low to prevent bouncing an uneven broadcast.

4. Turn tray through 90 degrees and sow the remaining area.

5. Lightly cover the seed with DRY medium. A sieve will assist.

6. Water the seeds using a watering can or a soft spray nozzle. Label the tray with both type and date
of sowing.

Seeds need water to loosen up the outer layer of the seed so it can break open. Also the seed needs to absorb the water so cellular
metabolism can take place. When the seeds are formed, the plant stores nutrients and starches inside the seed so when the seed
needs to germinate, the plant will use up these nutrients first. These are all the nutrients that the seed needs to begin life and shortly
after sprouting, the plant will need to find another source of nutrients other than just its shell. Water activates all these changes and
will begin the process of life.

Seeds need oxygen also to start the process of germination. The seeds will use up oxygen for aerobic respiration until the plant
grows it leaves and can absorb CO2 naturally. This is a main source of energy needed by your seeds. If you submerge the seeds and
they can not get any oxygen, you can prevent the seeds from germinating.

Temperature affects cellular metabolic and growth rates. Seeds from different species and even seeds from the same plant germinate
over a wide range of temperatures. Seeds often have a temperature range within which they will germinate, and they will not do so
above or below this range. Many seeds germinate at temperatures slightly above 60-75 F (16-24 C) [room-temperature if you live in a
centrally heated house], while others germinate just above freezing and others germinate only in response to alternations in
temperature between warm and cool. Most seeds like to germinate in the 75-90 degree temperatures.

Most seeds will germinate quite easily in the dark. Some seeds, however, need to be exposed to the light for a certain time before they
will germinate. For example, the seeds of the birch tree need 8 successive days of about 10 hours of sunlight before they will
germinate. This "tells" the seeds that the days are long enough. This means that there will be enough sunlight energy for the growing
seedling once it starts to feed itself by photosynthesis.

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 HOW TO SET-UP SNAP HYDROPONICS
In DWC (Deep Water Culture) System
III. PREPARE THE SEEDLING PLUGS

1. Styrofoam cups (8 to 10 oz)

2. Cutter or hacksaw blade
3. Seedlings
4. BBQ stick or the like

PROCEDURE:
1. Prepare the styro foam cups as shown below, use cutter or hacksaw blade to make those 4
or 8 holes (about 1 inch long at the side and ½ inch at the bottom)

2. Fill the prepared holding cups with growing media about ½ inch thick.

3. Transplant the seedlings from the sowing tray.”Dig” a hole in the middle of the growing
media in the cup. Use the stick to uproot the seedlings from the sowing tray with care.
Transfer only one seedling per cup. Make the seedling stand firmly by replacing the “dug”
media to the base of the seedling.

4. Put the seedling cups in a styro fruit box with plastic liner as shown below and water with
mix nutrient solution at least ¼” from the bottom of the cup.

5. Seedlings are now ready for transfer to growing box after 5 days.

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 HOW TO SET-UP SNAP HYDROPONICS
In DWC (Deep Water Culture) System
IV. PREPARE THE GROWING BOX

MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. Styrofoam boxes from imported grapes (available in supermarket and fruit stand)
2. Tin can (with open top bottom) of big evaporated milk
3. Polyethylene plastic bag ( 20”x30”x0.003” thick)
4. Packing tape

PROCEDURE:
1. Make 8 holes on the lid/cover of the box using the tin can as hole puncher.
2. Use the plastic bag as liner for the bottom half of the box to make it fit to hold the nutrient solution.

V.RUNNING THE HYDROPONIC SYSTEM

MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. Seedling plugs
2. SNAP nutrient solution
3. Growing boxes with 10 liters of water
4. Benches or stand where the growing boxes will be place under a shelter
5. Rain shelter ( optional during dry season or roof awning facing east for the earliest sunlight possible)

PROCEDURE:

1. For good growth of the plants , locate the hydroponics system that will best receive the morning sunlight ,the
earlier the better. It should be under a roof awning if not a transparent shed to prevent the rain water getting
into the system.
2. Arrange the growing boxes on the bench with cover removed.
3. Fill each growing box with about 10 liters of tap water.
4. Add 25ml of SNAP A to each box and stir well.
5. Add equal amount of SNAP B to each box and stir well.
6. Put back the cover of the box.
7. Place the seedling plugs into the holes of the cover. See to it that all cups are plugged in the holes evenly.
8. See to it that the bottom of the cups is touching the nutrient solution by at least ½ “ deep,not any deeper or
shallower . If not, add water until the desired depth is reached.
9. Examine the boxes for leaks and make some troubleshooting.

Nutrient
level

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 HOW TO SET-UP SNAP HYDROPONICS
In DWC (Deep Water Culture) System
10. Visit the set-up every morning as early as you can to catch any insect larva that may eat the plants
( the larva is visible in the early morning; after that they tend to hide from the sun and maybe
harder to find).

11. Expect the nutrient solution level to recede faster when the plants are much bigger than they were
still seedlings. Replenish using fresh nutrients solution when its level has gone down by more than
1” below the cup bottom. However, NEVER allow the level of the solution to again reach the bottom
of the cup; replenish until the solution has reached about ½” BELOW the cups bottom.

NOTE : It is more practical to prepare the nutrient solution in a drum and then just distribute the
prepared solution to each growing box and use the left-over solution for replenishing.

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