Although the popularity and availability of organic fruits and vegetables continues to grow, for many consumers the whole thing still comes across as a bit of a fad a movement created by stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods to get even more of their hard-earned cash.

Why pay $4 or more for a bunch of asparagus at Fresh Market, after all, when you can pay half that at Publix? Who has the time or patience for a 20- to 30-minute trek to a local produce stand when theres a two-for-one sale at the Wal-Mart down the street and you can pick up those razors you need as well?

Even for those ready to embrace a healthier lifestyle, there are lingering doubts about safety, taste and, of course, cost.

With all of these uncertainties floating around, the big question is this: Is the extra effort and money really worth it? And if so, how can organic food providers make it a little easier for the average person to get their hands on the good stuff?

I think for most of us, we want to know that what were eating is pure, said Cathy Hume, co-owner of Urban Oasis Hydroponic in Tampa. Logic tells you that eliminating as much false product in your system is bound to have a healthy effect on you.

Hume and her husband, Dave, have been naturally growing produce for eight years on a seemingly barren concrete slab on Linebaugh Avenue. They specialize in vertical hydroponic growing, a soilless technique that uses a nutrient solution to turn out sustainable produce.

They are not certified organic, Hume said, but they practice organic principles. We are not certified. We dont need to be. Our customers appreciate that they can come here and see their food; they can talk face to face with the people who actually go out there and plant it. We have relationships with these people.

Just down the road in Town N Country, Sweetwater Organic Farm abides by the strictest rules of USDA Organic certifications.

In the beginning, we went through a pretty intensive audit, said Kaitlin Hennessy, program director at Sweetwater. They look at land use, what fertilizers and insect repellent you use, and then every year afterward we are audited again to make sure we are continuing to do those practices.

For example, an acceptable fertilizer might be the use of liquefied seaweed. Its super high in nitrogen and is an organically occurring substance.

Read more:
Growers say organic food worth extra effort, cost