Sunday, January 4, 2009

Tucked away behind a strip of hardwood hammock lies a quarter-acre farm that is more science than art -- or so Richard Meister might tell you.

The lean and focused 76-year-old scientist has been fascinated with hydroponic gardening since 1946, when he read how U.S. troops had grown tomatoes without soil on Japanese islands to avoid being poisoned.

He since has amassed a collection of college degrees in biology, chemistry, economics and genetics. Hydroponics -- foregoing soil and providing nutrients in a water solution that continually flows over the roots of plants -- has been his life's work.

Meister worked as a researcher in the Northeast, where most of his hydroponic work was done indoors, until he retired 12 years ago and moved to the Florida Keys. Soon, he began to experiment with year-round, outdoor growing.

Now he is conducting a pilot research project to test the commercial viability of hydroponic farms.