by Miles Wilhelm | Jun 9, 2015 | Hop Trellis, Year 2 - Construction
We made our decision in 2014 to go with a full-height hop trellis and to try and produce as much volume as possible. The initial investment convinced us not to waste any ground space with a shorter structure and hop varieties that would prefer a height of 10 to 14...
by Miles Wilhelm | May 27, 2015 | Year 2 - Construction, Year 2 - Growth
Last week I was a bit frustrated. Our super cool wooden platform that we built to save money on having to rent and transport a scissor lift had failed. Our second year hops were laying on the ground and not growing vertical like they should be by this time of year. I...
by Miles Wilhelm | May 12, 2015 | Year 2 - Construction
So when deciding what size hop trellis you want (or should) build, one of the first questions you might ask yourself would be: Do I have a way to reach the top so that I can run cable, attach ropes, and harvest my crop? If you decide to build a small trellis, and by...
by Miles Wilhelm | Apr 27, 2015 | Hop Trellis, Year 2 - Construction
What does it take to build a hop trellis? That’s a great question with quite a few facets, sub questions, and answers. Let’s take this one step at a time. Some of the questions you need to ask yourself are: Q: What varieties of hops do you plan to grow? A:...
by Miles Wilhelm | Apr 15, 2015 | Year 2 - Construction
Planning out a full acre hop yard requires several steps before putting a single rhizome or even a single pole in the ground. Our hope was that we could install the entire hop trellis system…poles and hardware…before we planted the newly cut rhizomes. This...
by Miles Wilhelm | Mar 25, 2015 | Year 2 - Construction
The life of a hop farmer isn’t always a glamorous rock star job. More often than not, it is rough and tough gig that most people think we are crazy for doing. Rock removal is a perfect example. All of our fields have rocks the size of a coconut up to the size of...