Hydroponic Farmer Produces Year-Round Harvest, Technique involves growing food plants without soil

Mary Ellen Taylor sells her produce at weekend farmers markets near Washington, D.C. The heads of lettuce, still attached to their roots, are popular and she has many repeat customers.

“The lettuce just tastes fabulous," says Betsy Kulick, one of her regulars. "We can come here year round even in January, February and March. The lettuce is very green and tastes just as good then as it does in summer.”

Taylor grows the lettuce and other salad greens on her family farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, about 80 kilometers from Washington. She grows the food plants in a greenhouse, without any soil, on a diet of nutrient-rich water.