Budding Hops Grower

[sweetbotanicals]

I own several acres of land in Granby, MA. We have farmed about 25% of it currently with a truck garden, orchard and berries. A buddy of mine is a brewer. She suggested we grow hops, which is why I'm here. I have a lot to learn!

 

[mashdar]

I own several acres of land in Granby, MA. We have farmed about 25% of it currently with a truck garden, orchard and berries. A buddy of mine is a brewer. She suggested we grow hops, which is why I'm here. I have a lot to learn!

Have you been in touch with your extension? IDK about MA, but NY has a bunch of resources for hop growers.

Do you have any questions or ruminations regarding your intended system? Make sure you consider wind loading. A full crop in gusty weather can pull pretty hard.

Have you done soil testing? Like anything else, there are ideal ph, mineral, and perc rates.

How do you plan to sell them? Have you looked into testing options? Do you have a plan for drying/pelletizing?

Do you brew and are you familiar with the important hop properties for testing/labelling?

(Disclaimer: I read a bunch re small commercial crops a while ago, but I'm just starting to do a back yard crop.)

 

[T Murph]

Welcome to the community. I dabble in hop growing but I am no professional. I'm in North central Alabama. My soil and climate are not ideal for hops but I keep trying. I have good luck with Nugget and Columbus but I have little luck with others. I have 10 varieties in one location and 3 in another. Last years draught played havoc on my larger crop as they are located on my families farm about 20 miles from where I live. There i planted 5 new varieties last year with 4 failing to survive and the one that is still alive is struggling to do so. At home I have a similar situation although I was able to keep them watered throughout the season. At home again Nuggets grow and produce well. But I also have Saaz and Cascades that struggle to grow. I did get about 6 oz of Cascades but in 3 years my Saaz has yet to fully developed and grow to produce cones. Hopefully you will have better luck than I but I'm hopeful I will get better yield this year. Hoping you have success with your adventure into hop growing, if nothing else it is somewhat entertaining. Good luck.

 

[JohnSand]

I own several acres of land in Granby, MA. We have farmed about 25% of it currently with a truck garden, orchard and berries. A buddy of mine is a brewer. She suggested we grow hops, which is why I'm here. I have a lot to learn!

Welcome aboard!
There are some young hop farms on Long Island that supply local breweries.