The Hop Haus is taking on a if all its own. Today we entertained our first tour. The guests were interested in hop farming, both for themselves and for the use of our future crop.
New adventure. New, new, new.
May we find the gumption, the wisdom to navigate this blessed chapter.
We are currently doing some homework regarding the expansion of our hop yard. Our intuition is telling us to switch from aluminum poles on the trellis system to timber. Our hearts were first captured by the hop fields of Europe. Though the aluminum seems to fit the bill structurally, it does not bring the old world feel to the table. Call us romantics, but there is something ethereal, something soulful about using as many natural materials as possible.
So... We hunt for economic timber that will last, that will survive the winds and won't fill the ozone with excess fumes due to transportation.
The hunt is on.
The remaining components of our trellis system have truly delighted us. No changes anticipated there.
The rhizomes, as a whole, have come through. The cone production, as advertised, is not overwhelming this year. Which is ok. We quietly hoped for a bumper crop but, in truth, it has been a 'productive' year for our household. A massive harvest and marketing campaign may have actually been too much for 2013.
We have a couple buyers lined up that should take our harvest off our hands. Better to meet the expectations of a few than to come up short for many, is our belief. Next season, we have been told the harvest should be upwards of 75% of our potential! Exciting prospect!
In the weeks and months ahead we will decide the capacity of our expansion as well as fine tune the rhizome compliment for the year ahead.
We are dazzled at the progress we were able to make through the 2013 growing season and we eagerly anticipate the improvements we would like to impart for 2014.
Thank you again to everyone who loaned equipment, contributed sweat and brain cells to this undertaking! It has been so much fun to share the journey!
