Shoppers Browse Island Farmers Market (BradentonHerald.com)

The Hydroponic Garden--A Guide to Hydroponics
Hydroponics allows us to grow the plants, fruits and vegetables of our choice--even in limited space--without using soil. It's an amazing way to produce perfect specimens and offers TONS of advantages that traditional gardening can't come close to touching!

Shoppers Browse Island Farmers Market (BradentonHerald.com)
Georgia Brown

It was one of those Anna Maria Island days when the weather teased beachgoers.

The clouds were looking decidedly grey by midmorning at the Farmers Market hosted by the Historic Bridge Street Merchants Association on Saturday.

But the shoppers browsing a half block from the roundabout in Bradenton Beach were in fine shape. Tents in the grassy lot next to the stores that line Bridge Street were brimming with beaded purses, jewelry and crafts of all kinds.

Green market displays of fresh and locally grown vegetables and fruits included corn, leafy red beets, Florida mangoes and Georgia peaches.

"Hydroponics will be the way of the future," said Norm Whitlow, who brought a selection of heirloom tomatoes, green peppers and Swiss Chard grown on his farm in Palmetto. Since February, he and his wife, Kathy, have grown several varieties of heirloom tomatoes using hydroponics - foam growing pots containing crushed coconut shells, not soil. Shoppers find them delicious.

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