New 100 Rhizome hop farm

Your basement has to smell heavenly with those Columbus drying down there

How are things looking? Do you have hops coming out of your ears?


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Wow, very nice Hop Farm!! I used to live in Stafford (Aquia Harbor). I'm up in Lorton now. I would love to buy some hops from you. Please let me know if you have any to sell.

I will let you know when we are done harvesting all the varieties


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Crop has been devastated by Jap Beatles. They have been chewing on the cones and all this year. Not going to be able to sell the ones that have been chewed on to the brewery because they don't look good and I don't want to put out a product that looks sub par. The ones we have harvested,even those that have been chewed on, smell great and are full of lupilin. I will still use them just can't sell them. Next years pest control will be back to the drawing board.


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That is too bad; sorry to hear. Japanese beetles are a pain in the ass to control on food crops.

Was considering planting some hops next year until I read that they love them!


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basementbrewbrad said:

Crop has been devastated by Jap Beatles. They have been chewing on the cones and all this year. Not going to be able to sell the ones that have been chewed on to the brewery because they don't look good and I don't want to put out a product that looks sub par. The ones we have harvested,even those that have been chewed on, smell great and are full of lupilin. I will still use them just can't sell them. Next years pest control will be back to the drawing board.


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That sucks. What was your current method of pest control? also which local brewery is buying your hops?

We were trying not to use pesticides. We have been using soapy water and neem oil... Neither is the slightest bit effective.

Adventure brewing was going to buy our hops.


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That's terrible to hear. We have had some serious jap beetles this year but we are just burring. Have to last approx another week or so according to some sites. Have to wait and see. Milky spore powder I hear works wonders if you apply next month. Just $$$$$ to do any type of acreage.

That sucks man. Never had em chew on cones before just leaves. Yours must be lupilin addicts. Good ur not using pesticides. I use organocide. It works pretty good against everything. Can be purchased in bulk for acreage application. Idk if it'll be cost effective at that level though.
Good luck.

Milky spore powder does work but you have to treat the WHOLE area. Those things can travel a good distance.

There are other chemicals that can be used to get rid of the grubs. That breaks the cycle. You could also bring in skunks to dig up and eat the grubs, but then you have skunks to deal with.

You can follow my wife's treatment plan. She has rose bushes at the corners of our yard. When the buggers come in from a neighbors, she catches them there and kills them off before they get to more sensitive plants. You can do the same. Plant a few rose bushes around the property and poison the hell out of them at the first sign of outbreak. Of course this destroys any "organic" rating you may be trying to achieve but that's the problem when dealing with non-natives.

GVH_Dan said:

Milky spore powder does work but you have to treat the WHOLE area. Those things can travel a good distance.

There are other chemicals that can be used to get rid of the grubs. That breaks the cycle. You could also bring in skunks to dig up and eat the grubs, but then you have skunks to deal with.

You can follow my wife's treatment plan. She has rose bushes at the corners of our yard. When the buggers come in from a neighbors, she catches them there and kills them off before they get to more sensitive plants. You can do the same. Plant a few rose bushes around the property and poison the hell out of them at the first sign of outbreak. Of course this destroys any "organic" rating you may be trying to achieve but that's the problem when dealing with non-natives.

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If you don't mind me asking. What other chemical have you guys used and also Ive been trying to find out if turning the soil over helps at all. Or would you have to turn it over then treat. About to be expanding next year to another 15 acre plot and trying to find any other way that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! !!

Of course the disclaimer...what's legal in our state may not be the same as in yours...but let me check with our field manager as to what he's found most effective.

I'm not sure about turning the soil. I'll ask our horticulturalist. Its an interesting idea, though.

Any update. Did the beetles take the entire field or are you going to be able to salvage a harvest.

We harvested some before they got to them and I hit all of the plants with a massive amount of phosphorous and magnesium and now they are all covered in flowers and cones again


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Well that's good to hear!

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basementbrewbrad said:

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Beautiful!

Plants look very good and healthy. How much you yield so far?

Only like 20 lbs. the Japanese Beatles really hurt them. A lot of the first flowers died before they became cones after the Beatles decimated the leaves


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This is a bit late for this year, but after reading about your plight this year it got me thinking about something I read years ago that involved trapping the beetles.
Try this:
Banana trap:
Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp yeast and 1 cup of water, pour mixture into a clean 1 gallon milk jug. Now add 1 mashed banana to the jug. The beetles are attracted to the bait jug (like we are to beer) and since they can't fly very well they can get in but can't fly out.
I personally cannot say how effective this trap is but I have heard 9th this same basic trap for years and since this trap is very cheap and keeps you organic it is worth a shot.
I have also read about other plants that repel the beetles some of them are catnip, garlic, onion and tansey. Catnip is considered a weed and may pose its own set of problems, tansey is considered a noxious weed by some states ( Washington) and my get you in some trouble. I also do not know how effective low growing plants would be at repelling bugs from a plant that reaches 20 ft up in the air. Do a search on traps for Japanese beetle. In my opinion it is best to kill them rather than repel them. Repelling them may lead to more problems down the road. For example they get use to the repellent plants and go for the good stuff or the get so hungry that they go for the good stuff. There is also the height issue.
Have you called your county extension office? That may be a good place to start. They will have more detailed information about your local conditions and what works for your location.
Best of luck, hope this helps

basementbrewbrad said:

Only like 20 lbs. the Japanese Beatles really hurt them. A lot of the first flowers died before they became cones after the Beatles decimated the leaves


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Neem oil would have completely prevented that.

And:

1) neem oil is not a chemical, it's a natural, organic liquid that comes straight from a neem tree, which grows in India.

2) although neem oil stinks like hell and works systemically, it only affects flavor if you harvest within a week from the most recent treatment, i.e. it's not a long lasting agent.

I picked up 2 litres of neem oil from an agricultural supply store last time I visited India. I mixed small amounts of it into a 10 litre jug and treated my army of chili pepper plants with it once a week for many summers. Never affected the taste of my chilis in the least and the plants didn't get attacked by aphids ever again. Prior to using the neem oil, one year I suffered complete crop wipeout due to aphids.

Neem oil did absolutely nothing last year


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basementbrewbrad said:

Neem oil did absolutely nothing last year


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It needs to be mixed with water to the right level of concentration. As well, it needs to be used for watering the plants once a week, every week. It is incredibly effective when properly utilised systemically and even moreso when additionally utilised topically via spray misters.

But, did you buy 100% pure neem oil or was it some "preparation"?

I have loads of Japanese Beetles that used to ravage my garden. One day five or six years ago, my oldest son got some Morning Glory seeds from his school and wanted to grow them. So we grew a couple vines, and wouldn't you know it, those Japanese Beetles abandoned my garden and gorged on Morning Glory leaves. the top sun-facing leaf would usually hold 10+ beetles, which were easily knocked into a mason jar of kerosene. In all the years since, I have grown Morning Glories with the main purpose of attracting the beetles away from the rest of the garden, and without exception, it works every year.

The foliage looks like crap despite being munched by dozens of beetles, but those flowers are prolific and I've never lost one yet.

Here's a quick pic I just snapped.. My wall of Morning Glories. They're growing next to my deck, across the yard from the garden. The foliage doesn't look too bad.. I think I've murdered the majority of Japanese Beetles in my neighborhood, because I don't see nearly as many lately.

The flowers sure are beautiful in the morning, but by noon they are closed up.

podz said:

Neem oil would have completely prevented that.

And:

1) neem oil is not a chemical, it's a natural, organic liquid that comes straight from a neem tree, which grows in India.

2) although neem oil stinks like hell and works systemically, it only affects flavor if you harvest within a week from the most recent treatment, i.e. it's not a long lasting agent.

I picked up 2 litres of neem oil from an agricultural supply store last time I visited India. I mixed small amounts of it into a 10 litre jug and treated my army of chili pepper plants with it once a week for many summers. Never affected the taste of my chilis in the least and the plants didn't get attacked by aphids ever again. Prior to using the neem oil, one year I suffered complete crop wipeout due to aphids.

Click to expand...

Neem oil is not a systemic insecticide, and is not taken up and stored in plant tissues (like imadacloprid, for example). The most active of the compounds isolated from the neem tree seed is azadirachin, which functions as a feeding deterrent and hormone/growth disruptor. It may slow their feeding down, but neem oil will not kill adult Japanese beetles unless you are drowning them in it. Since their numbers snowball quickly (yay sex hormones...), it won't really have an effect on a growing or established infestation in a hop yard.

Also, even though it is naturally derived, it is still a 'chemical'.

Some additional reading: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05601.html

That hop farm is ridiculous Brad. Seriously one of the coolest things I've seen. I hope you have better luck with those jap Beatles next year


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Thanks man. We have put a lot of work and money into this bad boy so I hope we can get a good harvest out of it next year. I'll be selling off some rhizomes next year when we ready the ground in the spring


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I'm really digging your setup. I plan on starting about 20 plants this spring.

Have you tried diatomaceous earth for your beetle problem? It is 100% organic and probably already in the grains everyone is brewing with anyway. I have no idea how you would effectively treat plants that tall, but the stuff does work.

Good luck!

Thanks man. No I haven't tried diatomaceous earth yet. That might be my second line of defense after the milky spore next year


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