Let's Have a Hops Grower Meeting!

Within the next month we would like to have a hops grower meeting so we can all share our 2012 experiences (good and bad), plan how we can work together in the coming year, get input on the varieties to be included in our next two year research project, and outline our needs for future research and outreach.  The goal is to help grow a healthy North Carolina hops industry!  If you are not yet a grower but interested in becoming one, you might also find this interesting.

I have provided a link to a Doodle poll so we can select the date that most of us can make a meeting in Mills River (my building, right next to the Asheville airport and the Sierra Nevada brewery under construction!).  We can probably link some folks in by conference call, too.  So if you can’t make it in person, write in the comments section on the Doodle poll that you would like to call in (I’ll see what I can arrange-you will incur the long-distance phone charges).  If neither of those work for you, you can send in your comments to me in an email (Jeanine_Davis@ncsu.edu) about the past season and what you would like to see done in the future. We will share those during the meeting and then send a transcript of the meeting to everyone on this list who wants it.

Also, I will be giving a presentation on organic hops production at the Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Greenville, SC on Sunday, October 28. I would love to have some of you in the audience!  Here is info about registration:  http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/sac/.

Here is the link to the Doodle poll to indicate what dates you are available, or not, for the hops grower meeting

http://www.doodle.com/q747fpdf2757takk

(PS, we apologize if you are getting this multiple times by email, FB, blogs, etc.)

Thanks!  Jeanine Davis and Kelly Gaskill

Looking for Co-presenter on Organic Hops Production

2012 harvest at the Research Station in Mills River

I will be giving a presentation on organic hops production at the Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Greenville, SC on Sunday, October 28th. Last year, Scott King and I covered the basics of organic hops production. This year I will focus on what is working for growers and what the big challenges are. I am hoping a number of organic hop growers are planning to be at the conference already and will attend and share their experiences during this session. You are welcome to send me photos ahead of time that I can incorporate into a Powerpoint presentation. 

I ALSO HAVE AN OFFER TO MAKE; IF THERE IS AN EXPERIENCED ORGANIC HOPS GROWER THAT WOULD LIKE TO BE A CO-PRESENTER WITH ME, I CAN OFFER A FREE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IN RETURN FOR HELPING ME DEVELOP AND GIVE THIS PRESENTATION. You would have to cover your own lodging (not particularly cheap in Greenville) and travel. Check out conference details on the website. I can only offer this to one person, so tell me about your interest in doing this and about your organic hops growing experience!

Here is the link to the Conference Information (PS, this is one of my most favorite conferences to attend every year!).  Please email me at Jeanine_Davis@ncsu.edu if you are interested.

Post by Jeanine Davis, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, 455 Research Drive, Mills River, NC 28759. 

Monster Vines Planted By Hop'n Blueberry Farm Produce Record Crop

Cascade bines at Highland Brewery

Highland Brewery in Asheville ask me if I would plant and manage some hops in front of the brewery this year.  I agreed to do so and got to work organizing the planting beds for their landscaper.  They got it all prepared by March and I ordered up some cascades and some zues rhizomes. 

The plants struggled early in the season, part of the problem was that we received a bad batch of rhizomes that were shipped out.  I pulled most of them out and replaced them with rhizomes with my Hop'n Blueberry rhizomes.  I spent several days watching the growth and adding some secret ingredients that I have learned over the years.

Then the spurt began, after the last prune in May.  It was non-stop growth.  Almost unnatural.  The soil and additives seemed to all kick in at once. 

Zues vines are monsters

After looking these monsters over, I decided it was time for harvest.  I didn't know how many hops I was looking at on their vines.  I knew for sure it was over two pounds, and thought it could be more.  Highlands wanted to make a "wet hop" beer, but are not completely set up for it, so they decided on an end of boil aroma saturation.

We decided to add hops form the Hop'n Blueberry for the bulk and and then to add the rest of the amount from Highlands hop vines, at least I thought.  Cascades were the only variety picked.  Tasting Room Manager, Grant DaSantos, and master brewer John Lyda, came over to the farm Wednesday afternoon to help me harvest.

Grant DaSantos shows off 5 lbs of HnB's hops including a 3 incher

We harvested five pounds from my ancient four-year old cascades in the grueling hot afternoon sun and celebrated with a few of Highlands famous bottles of brew. That ended Wednesday's work. 

The following day, Grant and a small crew proceeded to harvest cascade cones from 3 vines.  That's when the phone call came in from Grant.  I had requested that Grant weigh the hops from each vine separately.  "You won't believe this", he started off.
"We got seven pounds off of the first vine!" 

Yep, I have never heard of this kind of output from any bine planted in WNC.  In fact, our standards have only been around 12 oz. per bine.  Wow, I am still wondering if the scales are right, but, even the smallest looking bines were still producing two pounds apiece, and they also looked spectacular.

More to come!!

NCSU Hops Field Day Drew a Big Crowd

On Saturday, July 14th we held the first Hops Research Field Day at the NC State University Lake Wheeler Facility. When Scott King, Rob Austin, and I first started planning this, we didn't know how many people to expect to show up. The crowd exceeded our wildest expectations. It was standing room only and people came from all over including Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky!

Natalie Hampton wrote a great article on the event complete with pictures. Check it out here!

Posted by Jeanine Davis, NC State University

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Mills River Research Hop Yard "Open House"

We are holding a Research Hop Yard “Open House” on July 5, 2012 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station, 74 Research Drive, Mills River, NC 28759.

Last year we established a high-trellis research hop yard to help the new hop industry developing in western North Carolina.  There are ten popular varieties planted in a replicated trial. The trellis system demonstrates two methods for lowering the top wire so the use of ladders or cherry pickers for stringing, maintenance, and harvest is not necessary.  There is a drip-irrigation system and a landscape fabric mulch weed control system.  This is not a full-fledged field day this year with speakers and a set agenda.  This is a casual “drop-in” event and an opportunity for hop growers and potential hop growers to view the ten varieties before we start harvesting and talk with the researchers, Jeanine Davis and Kelly Gaskill.  The differences between the varieties are pretty dramatic this year. We have experienced Downy Mildew, spider mites, and now Japanese beetles and we will tell you what steps we have taken to control them.  We’d love for you to share your experiences, too.

Directions:  From Interstate 26, take Exit #40 (the Asheville Regional Airport exit). At the top of the exit ramp take NC Hwy 280 South (go towards the airport). Drive past the airport and take the first road on the right, Old Fanning Bridge Road (just after the big curve to the right and marked by a green and white sign for the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center. After about one mile you will cross the French Broad river. The research station is on the right but directly across the street from the entrance to the research station there will be signs directing you left onto Butler Farm Road. Follow the signs out to the hop yard.

This project is funded by a USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant administered through the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  The project is in the NC Alternative Crops and Organics Program of Dr. Jeanine Davis, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Horticultural Science, NC State University, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, 455 Research Drive, Mills River, NC 28759.  More information on her program and the companion Hops Field Day being held in Raleigh can be found at http://ncalternativecropsandorganics.blogspot.com

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