Hydroponics (derived from the Greek ‘hydro’ and ‘ponic’ meaning water labor) and its cousin, aquaponics, are methods of growing plants without soil. Inside the greenhouse at Buttercrunch Farms where nutrients from the fish barn are sent to the water the plants are growing in. One farm putting this to practice right here in Eagle County is Buttercrunch Farm in Eagle. Buttercrunch Farm primarily sells to local restaurants, though they also sell to individual customers. It also allows for year-round growing that can help ensure stable production even with unstable and short growing seasons.