At first glance, the structure of poles and pots in the backyard of Slidell resident Carlton Conaway looks like something out of a science fiction movie.

A closer look shows that these white pots mounted on plastic poles are just brimming with plants that are sprouting tomatoes, celery, bell peppers and various herbs and spices.

Conaway is trying his hand at a unique method of growing vegetables — hydroponics. The word is Greek and means water-fed, and it is a farming system that uses just water and nutrients with no soil to grow plants.

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Conaway has had the garden for a month, and has already harvested a crop of tomatoes, lettuce, celery and bell peppers.

“It has fed me and my daughters so far,” he said.

Hydroponics is not new, but Ron McCloskey, owner of Flavor Farms in Picayune, Miss., that distributes the gardens sees hydroponics as the wave of the future for everybody. He likes to call his system the 21st Century “Vertical Victory Garden”.

McCloskey said hydroponics is economical, uses less water, feeds people, is almost maintenance-free and because it is not ground-based can be placed in small areas.

A vertical victory garden consists of five poles, each with four pots, a 35-gallon water barrel, water pump and timer. A pipe runs along the top of the plant poles, and three times a day, the timer turns on the pump and water with special plant food feeds the plants for two minutes. Though the system works with no soil, the plants’ roots are in a mat of coconut fiber that McCloskey said holds the water and nutrients for the plants to feed on.

Conaway says maintaining the garden is very simple. He just has to make sure the barrel stays full of the nutrient mix.

“I have to fill it up every 3 to 5 days, depending on the weather,” he said.

McCloskey said because there is no soil, there is no need for hoeing, weeding or cutting.

“This is a great system for senior citizens,” McCloskey said. “You could maintain it, even if you have a walker.”

The nutrient mixture is economical too. McCloskey said an 8-pound bag of nutrient feed will last a person one year. You mix 1/2 - ounce of feed for every gallon of water.

McCloskey said he got started in hydroponics a year ago. He wanted to grow tomatoes, but didn’t want to do a lot of work. He discovered the hydroponics system being sold in Florida. Since that time, he invested in 750 hydroponic pots, which are at his Picayune home. He claims to harvest 50 to 70-pounds of tomatoes every week, and at least 30 pounds of squash every other day. He said the garden will grow every type of vegetable except for root vegetables like potatoes and turnips.

Conaway is Flavor Farms’ first Slidell customer, but McCloskey said he sells a lot of systems in Mississippi, and even as far away as the state of Washington.

“It uses 85 percent less water than ground crops,” he said, “Plus one garden can grow 25 percent of a family’s food budget. He says it is also good environmentally, because the gardens put oxygen back into the atmosphere, use less water, and don’t destroy the soil.

McCloskey said a kit with 16 pots cost $375, and he will help set it up and be there to help with troubleshooting and advice.

“People love it because it is so easy,” he said. It takes about an hour to set up.

“I like it because you’re not on your knees weeding,” Conaway said.

For more information on hydroponic gardening, call McCloskey at 788-8128 or e-mail him at flavorfarms@gmail.com.