growing hops on the east coast

[roypitz]

Time to grow my own, planning on purchasing a decent amount of rhizomes from hop union soon. Anyone know what grows well in or around Gettysburg, PA? Lots of available land around these parts. I want to start small, maybe 200 rhizomes or so. Any tips on cultivation, planting techniques, spacing between plants, soil ph, cheap and efficient ways to dry them, and types that grow well on the east coast, please let me know. Thanks

Ryan Richards
Roy-Pitz Brewing Co.

[palmer89]

Check out this book

Hey Ryan,
I'm working on growing some hops for my farm brewery in NH. I found "The Homebrewer's Garden" by Joe and Dennis Fischer to be very helpful. Also, they are doing some research at the University of Vermont on the subject and I know that Rebecca from Crannog Ales in BC-Canada has been quite helpful on the forum page with their experience growing organic hops. Good Luck!
Cheers,
Paul Davis-Brewer
Prodigal Brewing Co.
Somewhere in NH

[Mach2]

Growing

Hops will grow anywhere (productivity, that is another subject) and there is plenty of info on line how to grow them.

Here is a basic list of what you need:
Rhizomes (healthy)
Land (right soil)
Good weather
Water (plenty)
Irrigation and watering system
Herbicides (you can keep removing weeds by hand)
Pesticides (unless you do not care about the yield and dry aphids and other bugs in your beer)
Fungicides (unless you do not mind mildew and other fungi in your beer)
Tractor sprayer (or hand one with a long, long lance)
10-20' posts
Cables, wires and other hardware
Cable guys
Post hole digger (you can dig by hand, hole after hole)
Tractor with man lift (you can use 20' + ladders)
Hop dryer with some kind of furnace
Hammer mill (you can use whole if your brewing system will take it)
Conveyers
Pelletizer (you can use whole)
Cold storage (large enough freezer)
Packaging material (right one - moisture and oxygen)
Packaging equipment (capable of purging and pulling vacuum)
A lot of time year around
Plenty of seasonal people for picking and processing
Plenty of money to invest

One more thing, you have to have everything ready real soon, not just the rhizomes. They have to be in the ground in early spring, otherwise you will not have the full crop in 3 years.

3 years from now when hops situation will be back to normal, you will have your own hops. They will be very, very expansive but hey, your own. So what that you could buy commercially grown at the fraction of your own, you will be a proud hop growing gardener or farmer.

I,d rather be brewing and fishing when time and my lady permits

Cheers, hoppy growing.

[AlexisScarlett]

The definitive manual is Rebecca Kneen's

http://www.crannogales.com/HopsManual.pdf

and check out her update which details costs pretty darn well.
The only question that is not answered is the why?
Because then they are your own and yes it is work but it seems like more work right now to run around and find someone to give you some of theirs.

[Ayla]

Current value per harvested acre?

Thank you for posting the link to Rebecca Kneen's manual!! It was just what I was looking for!

A couple of farmers from our local Farmer's Market have approached us to ask about growing hops.
I have found that here in NW Arkansas' Ozark's Mountains, Cascades grows well--and they seem to like a lot of water and harvest them early...but that is the extent of my hop knowledge.

Where can I find current value per harvested acre to include in the farmer's presentation?

Local hops sound good to me!
Thanks!

Cheers,

Connie
Dark Hills Brewery~can't start up without hops...

[AlexisScarlett]

Apologies but I find all info for the American West-
But:
Hops Production up 4%:

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/hops//2000s/2007/hops-12-18-2007.txt

better looking:

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/hops//2000s/2007/hops-12-18-2007.pdf

from of course the ever exciting National Agricultural Statisitics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_...Hops/index.asp

Sniff. . doesn't anyone want info on barley ever?

[nohandslance]

Barley aroma!

I do! Everyone is too focused on hops. Must adapt!!!

[Ayla]

Thanks!

Sniff. . doesn't anyone want info on barley ever?

LOL! Not us!

Thanks for the hop info--I'll put it to good use.

Connie

[SRB]

Great link to the manual Alexis!! We are plunging rhizomes very soon.
thx

matt g.

[AlexisScarlett]

A couple of farmers from our local Farmer's Market have approached us to ask about growing hops.
I have found that here in NW Arkansas' Ozark's Mountains, Cascades grows well--and they seem to like a lot of water and harvest them early...but that is the extent of my hop knowledge.
Local hops sound good to me!
Thanks!

Cheers,

Connie
Dark Hills Brewery~can't start up without hops...

It is time to give out the money in Arkansas. It all started out here with a little hopyard in 2004 with a Sustainable Agricultural research grant. Now they are giving the money away in your region. www.southernsare.uga.edu/callpage.htm

Extra points if you get females to grow too!

[Gael]

growing females

er... as a growing female, can I get a grant?

I'm purely jealous of all the funding available for agriculture in the USA. We don't get money from the gov't up here since NAFTA. Which is one of the reasons we have to re-start our hops industry...

happy hopping, everyone!

[AlexisScarlett]

Yep! On the score card for grants sometimes they add points if you have disadvantaged or minority producers. Females count though they don't say why they count they just do!

Canada has the one thing that would make farming better here and it is not grants and loans-- it is healthcare

Happy Spring all!

[grs]

Canada has the one thing that would make farming better here and it is not grants and loans-- it is healthcare

That's assuming you can actually find a family doctor that's taking new patients. Nevermind the fiasco with hospital wait times...