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.

On a recent afternoon Meister looked over rows of lettuce -- "five or six mixes," he said -- which he has identified as best for the local climate.

"When I was at Rutgers [University], they were growing lettuce in greenhouses, but that was too expensive," he said. "I knew it would be less expensive if I could find the right outdoor environment. In the Keys I found the perfect year-round growing climate. There's five times the amount of light needed to grow and the humidity is just right."

For the past few years Meister has been growing salad greens and tomatoes in enriched water and providing the tender 3-week-old sprouts to local restaurants. He charges about $4 for a 2/3-pound bag of greens that cost $1.25 to produce.

"Every penny profit we make goes back into the project," Meister said.

He estimates that a one-acre hydroponic farm, set up like his smaller operation, could produce up to $385,000 per year.

"I have studied hydroponics all my life and I believe I know what it takes to be successful, to grow enough vegetables to make it profitable," he said. "You need to be a biologist, a chemist, have an understanding of physics and be an economist. I have all of those."

His elevated, waist-high garden consists of rows of greens, some extending about 200 feet. Each row contains trays of spring mix, arugula, endive, kyuna and tatsoi.

"After I was doing this a while, word got out to the restaurants and they came to me," Meister said. "Now I'm providing 15 restaurants from Key Largo to Islamorada. I use no sprays of any kind. I cut it and they get it within one hour."

Chef Michael Ledwith of Kaiyo has been serving Meister's hydroponic wildfire mix and baby arugula lettuce for several years.

"It's clean, delicious, some of it soft and tender, some crisp. Did I mention delicious?" he said. "It's really a delicious product."

Supporting a local grower with a fine product appeals to Chef Andy Niedenthal of the Green Turtle, too.

"I know it's fresh and it's a good product. It also has a good shelf life," Niedenthal said.

Encore Chef Peter Tselikis agrees with Niedenthal and praises the uniqueness of the lettuce.

"They have a great shelf life, more than other greens," he said. "I specify to our customers that they are hydroponics raised in Islamorada and our customers seem to be amused by that. I've been using his lettuce for six or seven months."

Meister is not satisfied with simply growing lettuce.

Two long rows on the outside of the lettuce rows hold 5-gallon plastic containers planted with tomatoes. Though planted in soil, they are constantly fed with a slow flow of nutrient-rich water.

"I get these seeds from Hazera [Genetics], an Israeli seed research and development company," Meister said. "These are called 3057. They're just going into bloom."

Meister said he knew bugs eventually would invade and he was prepared with an organic pesticide, but he does not claim his foods are organic, which must meet certain production standards, such as no conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers or genetically modified produce.

"I use potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate as well as ammonia phosphate, all minerals found in nature, but the organic people are picky," he said. "We will not call these 'organics.'ââ"

sgibbs@keysnews.com