Blog #152: The First Hydroponic Garden in Medellin Cebu | Paulen Hydroponics Garden

Happy Tuesday Hivers!

Have you tried hydroponic gardening? What have you planted? Today, I'm going to share with you the first hydroponic garden in Poblacion, Medellin, Cebu.

Honestly, I've already heard this modern method of gardening but I haven't seen it yet in real-world. Until one day, I've read an article about hydroponic gardening published by Sugbo.ph and that article mentioned that there is a hydroponic garden somewhere in Medellin, Cebu. The contact number written in the article helps me to locate the place and see the hydroponic garden thru my own two eyes. Welcome to Paulen Hydroponics Garden.

I understood what is hydroponic garden but I can't explain it well here. You may read below (from the cited source) for the detailed explanation on hydroponic gardening.

What is Hydroponic Gardening?

Hydroponic gardening is method of growing plants without soil. A hydroponic system doesn't take a lot of space, it will work just about anywhere, and plants will actually grow faster than if you were growing in-ground. So why is it called hydroponics? "Hydro" is the Greek word for water, and "pronos" means work. In hydroponic gardening, the water does the work, in this case, the work of delivering nutrients to the plant roots. In order to grow, plants need water, sunlight, carbon dioxide (usually from air circulation), and nutrients. In a traditional garden, plant roots have to seek out nutrients in the soil. In hydroponic gardens, nutrients are dissolved in the water that surrounds the roots, so plants have even easier access to the nutrition they need. The result? Plants tend to grow big and beautiful very quickly.

Reference:

Miraclegro-Hydroponic Gardening

Since the greenhouse is just 20 minutes away from where I stay, I texted the owner if I could visit. Luckily, Ms. Louilen replied my message.

I was in awe as I first sighted her garden. There were many fully grown lettuce. Since the place can't accomodate yet for a large number of different varieties of plants, the main focus of the couple this time is to grow different varieties of lettuce. As of now, the Paulen Hydroponics Garden has 3 varieties of lettuce.

_{Evelyn Lollo Bionda}

_Lilique

_Romaine

Since I was amazed how those lettuce have beautifully grown, I shared my own story to Ms. Louilen about my failures I'd experienced of growing lettuce. The owner explained to me the proper method of planting lettuce. The ph level of the water is considered as an important factor that contributes to grow a healthy lettuce. Since it is sensitive to the extreme weather, it should not be exposed from too much sunlight nor be exposed from the heavy rains. It also requires an extra care. That was another thing I've learned from Ms. Louilen.

How it started?

It all started when Paul- a Licensed Engineer (Ms. Louilen's partner) has passion of planting. He has great fascination to bring hydroponic gardening to his own backyard. So he studied it thru watching youtube videos. At first, it started from a simple hobby. The original plan was to grow a homegrown vegetables for their personal consumption last April of 2021; however, it was abruptly changed. The lettuce planted using Hydroponic gardening system was fully grown. The first harvest was successful and that made the couple decide to continue planting using the hydroponic system. The greenhouse is now slowly known to its neighboring baranggays and towns.

The lettuce seedlings will be placed in a cup with very little soil. Only running water with nutrients inside the plumbing pipes will help the plants grow.

But since the hydroponic system is a bit pricey they have experimented an alternative using styro boxes. They called it Kratky Method. Fortunately, the lettuce is also fully grown using that method. It has the same result with the hydroponic gardening system.

They'd personally sowed the lettuce seeds and now the lettuce is already sprouting.

These lettuce seedlings are ready for planting.

Since the couple have found it lucrative, they've decided to expand the greenhouse in a more wider and huge lot. The expansion is now on-going.

If you wanted to pay a visit to the greenhouse, you can find the contact information below.

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Roald Dahl

_{Discord: kellyane#0924}

_{Some photos were edited using Canva

_{Namaste! I am fond of reading books, watching korean, american and filipino series/movies and I am also fond of gardening. I love listening to different life stories and I am always captivated with the beauty of nature so travel is my escape when life turns into blue. But hey, how could I forget my photography hobby? It is one of the best, so follow me as I will be featuring my experiences of the stuff that I am passionate with.}}