Small area farming

Small area farming is a relatively new phenomenon existing in urban areas since this has the
compatibility with small places for planting. Many say, it possibly offer a solution in the issues
consociated with food production and distribution systems (McArdle, 2014). The necessity of urban
planting is seriousy increasing in the present scenario; this is because it can help to decelerate global
warming, desertification, water shortages, and oil shortages and to run with globalization as cited by
analysts.

Birkby (2016) stated that this form of agricultural farming technology can ensure continuous plant
production as supported by the following statements:

1. It is much more efficient than land-based farming.

2. It permits discounting or total elimination of using chemical pesticides due to the controlled growing
conditions in an urban garden.
3. This can protect plant production from weather related variations because crops are grown under a
controlled environment.
4. It can also conserve 70% less water than usual land agriculture in example of hydroponic growing
technique used in vertical gardening which is a subset of urban farming.
5. It is climate friendly that it could result a significant reduction in air pollution and in carbon dioxide
emission if urban gardening deploys on a large scale.
6. Small area farming avoids risk and hazard since it avoids operating large and dangerous equipments
and exposure to poisonous chemicals.

Hydroponic

Hydroponics is a widely and frequently used technique for growing plants without soil, providing for a
considerable degree of control of the elemental environment surrounding the root. It was used since
mid-18th-century, although the growing of plants in nutrient rich water may have dated back into the
early history of man (Jones Jr., 2018). As mentioned by Heredia, this was already practiced long ago in
the evidence of the hanging gardens of Babylon, the floating gardens of Aztecs of Mexico, and in older
Chinese cultures (Resh, 1995; cited by Heredia, 2014). It was named and promoted by the father of
modern hydroponics, Doctor William Gericke of the University of California Berkley in year 1929. The
first and most successful demonstration of hydroponic planting happened in Pan American Airline's
hydroponic farm on Wake Island in the middle of Pacific Ocean (Sandall, 2011). Since 600 BC up to the
present, this form of growing exists and still under development (Danko, 2016).

This type of growing is slightly different from aquaponic planting, it is the combination of plants and
fishes in the same ecosystem but all are still under the class of small area farming. There are also six
classifications of hydroponic planting namely: wick systems, deep water culture, nutrient film technique,
flood and drain, aeroponics, and drip system. Building this system should be located at enclosed
structures with floors in level to ensure the coverage of water and nutrients in the plants, if it is placed
outdoor then the hydroponic system should have protection equipments and should be placed indoors if
it is cold outside (DIYNetwork, 2018). Some believe that hydroponic gardening can also be the next
popular type of growing plants but there is still the main reason why hydroponic farms cannot replace
the conventional farms for now, this costs a high amount to start up. This also requires a high amount of
technical knowledge to be successful (Heredia, 2014).

Hydroponic systems have been utilized as one of the standard methods for plant biology research and
are also used in commercial production for several crops, including lettuce and tomato. The use of a
hydroponic growth system is most advantageous in situations where the nutrient media need to be well
controlled and when intact roots need to be harvested for downstream applications. It takes advantage
of the fact that plants are among the few organisms that can synthesize all the required metabolites
from inorganic ions, water and CO2 using the energy captured from the sun, by providing all of the
nutrients, in their inorganic form, in a liquid solution with or without solid media. Hydroponic systems
have been extensively used by scientists for exploring nutrient requirements and also the toxicity of
some elements in other plant species although hydroponic cultures offer clear advantages over soil-
based systems, there are some considerations that must be acknowledged when interpreting the data.
For instance, hydroponic systems expose plants to conditions that may be seen as non-physiological or
non-comparable (Nguyen, McInturf, and Cózatl, 2016).

Hydroponic Raft System

A floating raft system is one of the simplest hydroponic systems to build. This method is ideal for raising
fast-growing, leafy greens such as lettuce and spinach, and can provide you with a constant source of
fresh vegetables for your table ("Hydroponics Floating Raft System", n.d). Commercially, float systems are
used to produce vegetable crops such as lettuce, herbs, and other greens. They are also used to raise
field transplants. These systems allow growers to evenly water the young seedlings while feeding them a
well-balanced nutrient solution that can be adjusted in composition and strength during the critical
stages of development before seedlings are transplanted out in the field.

On a smaller scale, mini raft systems can be set up with as little as a plastic container, some polystyrene
sheet, and a well-balanced nutrient solution, making these systems ideal learning tools for younger
students and those with restricted space. Float, raft, and pond systems are methods of solution culture
where plants are supported by a sheet of lightweight material, typically polystyrene, that floats on the
surface of a large pond of nutrient solution. While float or DFT systems may seem like simple methods of
growing a wide range of crops, solution culture has several principles growers must adhere to (Morgan,
2018).

Tomato

According to FAO or Food and Agriculture Organization 2012, Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) or Kamatis
is the most popular fruit vegetable in the world. It is one of the most profitable crops in the country and
it is the second most important fruit vegetable in terms of area and volume of production (Altoveros and
Borromeo, 2007). In the Philippines, the main vegetables are cassava which occupies about 34 percent of
cultivation area, sweet potato (20%), eggplant (3.4%), yumpotato (3.0%), tomato (2.8%), onion (1.6%),
and asparagus (0.4%). The tomato in the Philippines, having a production volume of 203,573 metric tons
with an estimated price of 6.44 billion, was planted to 17,343 hectares in Bukidnon (11.4%), Tarlac
(8.5%), Nueva Ecija (7.9%) and Ilocos Norte (7.8%) as the major tomato-producing province (Bureau of
Agricutural Statistic, 2014).

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the important crops used as fresh vegetable as well as a variety
of processed products such as juice, ketchup, sauce, canned fruits, puree, paste, etc. Tomato and tomato
products made its attention even in terms of value of micro-nutrients existing at low concentration
(Bureau of Agricultural Statistic, 2014).

This plant can be erect with short stems or vine-like with long, spreading stems. The stems are covered in
coarse hairs and the leaves are arranged spirally. The tomato plant produces yellow flowers, which can
develop into a cyme of 3–12, and usually a round fruit (berry) which is fleshy, smoothed skinned and can
be red, pink, purple, brown, orange or yellow in color. The tomato plant can grow 0.7–2 m (2.3–6.6 ft) in
height and as an annual, and it is harvested after only one growing season. Tomato may also be referred
to as love apple and originates from South America (FAO, 2007).

Tomato is a day neutral plant. It needs different temperatures at different growth stages as follows. In
seed germination, it requires 26 ºC to 32ºC. In seedling growth it requires 25ºC to 26ºC. In its fruit
setting, it requires 18ºC to 20ºC and lastly in fruit ripening requires 24ºC to 28ºC. High temperatures
such as 40ºC above can abort the flowers due to physical destruction of its pollen grains. It can be
planted in many soil types and it grows best in fairly fertile, well-drained sandy loam (Phil Rice, 2007).