When Scott Beylik's grandfather started the now four-acre Beylik Family Farms in Fillmore in the 1970s, it was a radical idea to grow tomatoes indoors without soil. Back then, they were pioneers of what has since become a growing trend in the agriculture industry: hydroponic farming.
Since Beylik mostly grows tomatoes, it made more sense to grow them in a place where they'd thrive year-round. In the fall, when his outdoor competitors sell the last of their summer tomato crop, Beylik keeps making money.
"In a way, it balances out. We're able to grow 365 days. With crops in the field, you're only going to do maybe one a year because it's seasonal," he says.
On a typical day, Scott Beylik walks between rows of tomato vines that climb wires strung in a greenhouse. He reaches down and checks on a water dropper that drips some life into the plants' stunted roots every second.
As the drought drags on, the future of water-loving crops like tomatoes hangs in the balance. And as water in drought-ridden California gets more scarce and more expensive, that option isn't just good news for the planet — hydroponics seems more affordable for some farmers than ever.
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