Simplified hydroponic floating systems for vegetable production in Trujillo, Peru.

Simplified hydroponic systems are a sustainable way for fruit and vegetable production in/for the cities. Small scale farming, both on a family and a community basis, may allow to achieve the goals of both improve nutrition and reduce poverty. A project for the development of soilless cultivation in mother groups was carried out between 2002 and 2004 in Trujillo, northern Peru. In this work we will present some results of a simplified soilless floating system, adopted for the cultivation of radish, lettuce, baby leaf lettuce, leaf beet and garden beet. The growing system, composed by a 1 square meter wooden structure, made waterproof through the application of a plastic film, and filled with nutrient solution hosted the floating alveolate polystyrene panels where plants were grown. The growing substrate was rice hulls. Yield of cropped species was about 3.8 kg m-2 cycle-1 (radish), 8.5 kg m-2 cycle-1 (lettuce), 5 kg m-2 cycle-1 (baby leaf lettuce), 3.5 kg m-2 cycle-1 (leaf beet), 4.6 kg m-2 cycle-1 (garden beet). An analysis of the economic value of gardening is also provided.