Hydroponics in Costa Rica

My future mother-in-law had the idea of cultivating a hydroponics farm on my boyfriend's lot in Costa Rica.  Since I am currently without a job, I was nominated by her and my boyfriend to learn as much as possible about hydroponics and report back to them.  After reading some introductory material online, I began investigating the extent of hydroponics in Costa Rica.  What I found is that is just beginning to take hold here, and that although the government and private organizations are trying to encourage farmers to switch over to this earth-friendly way of growing crops, that hydroponics in Costa Rica still has a long way to go towards gaining acceptance.

Realizing that now might be a good time to get a jump start in this field here in Costa Rica, I signed me and my boyfriend up for an one day "introduction to hydroponics" course.  I only found two individuals offering the course, and after looking at price and content of the courses, I decided to go with Hidroponia Costa Rica (website: http://www.hidroponiacr.com/).  The 8 hour course was $65 per person and is only offered in Spanish.  (The other course was with a company called Corazon Verde.  Their website is http://www.corazonverdecr.com/index.html).

Our course, which we completed about 2 weeks ago, included lunch and a certificate of completion at the end.  I thought it was well worth the money - although the instructor was extremely monotone and flat in his delivery.  We learned the basics of hydroponics theory in the morning.  And then in the afternoon, we learned about the various substrates, germination, feeding, different hydroponic systems, transplantation, and much more. Although, the pictures below may show what looks like dirt, the brown substrate matter is actually coconut husk fiber.  We also learned about growing in a straight water solution without any physical substrate matter.

Towards the end of the class, we were each given a starter kit to plant our first seedlings in.  My lettuce seedlings have just germinated at home, and I will be able to transplant them to a hydroponics system of my choice within about 20-25 days - if they survive my cat's appetite, that is!

If you are looking for hydroponic supplies in Costa Rica, you can find these at at least these two locations close to the capital city of San Jose:  Pachamama and Ever Green.

It appears, from an initial google keyword search, that hydroponics Costa Rica is a popular search term.  I'll venture to say that there is a lot of interest in growing, let us say, "non-legal" mind-altering substances rather than actual food crops.  My boyfriend and my interest in hydroponics is, and will remain, completely legit, however:)

Our Hydroponics Class Instructor

My Boyfriend With His Hydroponics Kit

Me, Planting My Lettuce Seedlings in my Kit

Basil growing in Coconut Fiber

Celery growing in a hanging hydroponics system

Tomato and other vine plants growing in hydroponic substrates

Kits to Start Your Own Hydroponics Garden at Home: