"We're using water and a nutrient rather than dirt and the stuff you put in the dirt, like fertilizer," Rocky Fowler said.

On their Gaines Township farm, Rock Fowler and Maurice Strong market Styrofoam and plastic towers -- the "hydroponic growing system." The system is designed to grow more fruits and vegetables in less space. A third of an acre will grow 30,000 strawberry plants that will produce 10 tons of fruit. Normal methods require 10 acres to grow that much.

"On a stack like this, you can probably get 20 pounds of strawberries in a week because they keep coming on, because they keep coming on," claimed Fowler.

Mass production should bring massive savings. Rock says the days of spending $4 a pound at the grocery store could soon be gone. "You'll have so many strawberries that you'll be able to fill your freezer and your family's freezers."

Individual planter towers run between $100-$200. With proper care, the planters should keep growing for years. You don't have to be a farmer or master gardener to figure out this at home system. Mid-Michigan residents have even been using these planters indoors.

"They're living in apartments, condos and so forth," Maurice Strong told our Marc Jacobson.

Carrots, lettuce, strawberries, peppers and tomatoes are the most common items grown, but the hydroponic system can't do everything. "You can't grow sweet corn or potatoes in these small pots. There are some limitations," Strong pointed out.

Fowler estimates that growing strawberries during the summer in one of these stacks at home could save you upwards of $500. It's a concept that he can see spreading across the nation. "In my opinion, this is the future of produce farming. This right here."

For more information on the Hydroponic Growing System, call (810) 635-3259.

Contact Rock Fowler at (Hyrdroponic Growing System Distributor) (810) 836-2609.

Link to original story: http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=6812881