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YourHub.com \\ Port St Lucie \\ Stories \\ Business \\ General Business

U-Pick Returns to Area - No Kneeling or Bending!

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Contributed by: Dean Dekker on 12/16/2006

"I used to pick at Neill's all the time," says 91 year old Julius Van Der Slick. "What a great idea this is!"

With the closing of Neill's,the Treasure Coast lost a community favorite: the U-Pick farm. At the intersection of Midway and Okeechobee Roads, Hydro-Fresh U-Pick Farms recently opened its doors with an updated version of the venerable U-Pick. Grown completely hydroponicaly, over 60,000 plants, including 50,000 strawberries, are grown vertically, negating the need for bending or kneeling.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil and feeding them with a liquid nutrient mix. Housed in durable Styrofoam, the units offer enormous advantages to aid in both the growing process and the picking experience.

"By eliminating the soil, we just eliminated soil borne diseases and bugs," reveals owner Dean Dekker. "Thus, we don't need to spray for them. Staying off the ground, the plants stay cooler, allowing us to extend growing seasons and expedite the growing time. Plus, it makes for an extremely easy and clean experience for the customer."

Using just over an acre, the hydroponic system minimizes the impact of a farm on the land. "The system is not only easy to harvest from, but it uses approximately one-fifth the land and around 10-15% of the water a comparable size farm would," continues Dean. "With each vertical unit being fed directly, we can precisely control the plant's intake and make sure we are feeding the plants and not watering the surrounding area."

Open Monday through Saturday, from 9 till 4:30, Hydro-Fresh U-Pick Farm is hoping to continue the tradition of U-Pick farms while enhancing and simplifying the experience. "Hopefully the 'No Bending, No Kneeling' will attract people who might normally avoid a farm. It's clean, easy on the back, and obviously as fresh as it can be. We are about 5 miles from I-95 and the Turnpike on either Midway or Okeechobee, right next to the County Fairgrounds."

Located at 4823 Shinn Rd, Ft. Pierce, Fl 34945
For more information, call 772-468-9682 or visit the web page: www.hydrofreshfarms.com.

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Submitted By: Tonya Wismer

posted on 2/21/2007 @ 9:17:41 PM

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Wonderful place I can not recoomend it enough .We go with our 5 children one of whom is 13 and Autistic and he LOVES it . You dont have to bend and the planters are eaisly turned. You use scissors to clip what you want.Give the kids the smaller buckets and let them have at it.my kids bet who will get the largest strawberry or weirdest looking one.good to get outdoors and enjoy the Florida Sunshine for a while.

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Submitted By: Dean Dekker

posted on 12/16/2006 @ 10:41:00 AM

Rated Story

This is incredible!! It is so easy to Pick

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