Mr. Truong Binh Son (Ho Chi Minh City) grows clean vegetables "super effortlessly," without having to fertilize, water, improve the soil, or weed, yet he still has a thriving garden of fresh, clean vegetables to eat all year round.
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| Truong Binh Son, 34, living in Ho Chi Minh City, became interested in growing clean vegetables when his wife was pregnant. He researched many different vegetable growing models, and was most impressed with NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) space-based aeroponics model. |
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| He compiled information from NASA's website, then used Google to research and grasp the basic principles. Mr. Son said that he had previously been in the ornamental plant business, so he grasped this knowledge quite quickly. |
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| The tree roots will be entirely suspended in the air in cavities placed on the pillars. Each pillar, which he designed himself, is about 1.9m high and has 56 cavities for planting. |
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| According to Mr. Son, the cost of manufacturing a vertical vegetable growing tower is around 2-2.5 million VND, including: the tower, solution tank, windproof base, shower head, pump, water pipes, and insulation tarp. |
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| The hydroponic solution will be pumped by a timer from the solution tank below to the plant holes and then automatically returned to the tank. Mr. Son shared that there are many different types of hydroponic solutions on the market. He buys them and mixes them himself according to international standard formulas. |
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| Mr. Son's garden is 27 square meters, but the area for placing the vertical garden towers is only about 10 square meters. Each square meter can accommodate one vertical garden tower. Mr. Son believes that the aeroponic model is very suitable for urban households who want to use clean vegetables. This model can be applied to households that receive 5 hours of natural sunlight per day. |
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| First, he sows the seeds in a thick layer of foam until they have 3-4 leaves. Then, the seedlings are placed in holes with hydroponic baskets, from where the automated aeroponic system will take care of them. An automatic float pump will activate when the water level drops. |
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| Mr. Son affirmed that aeroponics is a superior method, overcoming many limitations of conventional vegetable growing methods. Initially, users have to invest in installing the system; however, after that, they will be quite "relaxed," not having to worry about watering, soil improvement, fertilizing, weeding, etc. |
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| He used netting to cover the pillars to protect them from insects and diseases. |
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| In addition, the growing time for vegetables using hydroponics is about 30% shorter than other methods. Water spinach and cabbage can be eaten after one month of planting. |
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| Despite using 100% chemical fertilizers, thanks to internationally standardized processing techniques, Mr. Son's harvested vegetables still meet the standards of clean vegetables. He has verified this using a Soeks food nitrate residue meter from Russia. |
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| Mr. Son started implementing the hydroponic model in March 2016. A little over a month later, his family harvested nearly 100 kg. He said that each harvest has to be shared with all eight households in the neighborhood. He estimates that a family of five only needs four hydroponic towers to have enough vegetables to eat year-round. |
According to Ngoisao.net
