What Are You Doing Right Now
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@g.jacobse said:
@coliver said:
Got our first hops harvest ever out of the family farm last night. This is just one row of 1st year plants. Next year we should have ~30lbs of hops per plant.
Interesting... Might need to plan a trip north next year... I'll trade some labor for some fresh hops!
Haha, the amount of labor that it takes is staggering.
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I've never seen a hops plant... are they low on the ground? i.e. back breaking when picking?
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@Dashrender said:
I've never seen a hops plant... are they low on the ground? i.e. back breaking when picking?
Quite the opposite actually hops grow on bines (vines) that grow up instead of out. This year we unwound the bines from our guide ropes and picked them that way. This will be impossible next year as the quantity will be crazy. Generally you cut down the bines at the top and bottom of hand pick on a table.
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This is when they were still fairly young but gives you an idea of how our hop yard is setup.
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That is so cool. Never saw anyone growing hops before. Is there much of a hops harvest in NY in general?
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@scottalanmiller said:
That is so cool. Never saw anyone growing hops before. Is there much of a hops harvest in NY in general?
In the early 1800's our area was the hops capital of the world. Unfortunately blight and economic downturn caused that to go away.
In another few years (I think 2018?) 90% of all hops used in NYS have to be produced in NYS. So there will be demand very soon.
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This is just 400 plants. Early spring next year, as soon as the ground thaws, we will be planting 400 more.
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@coliver said:
In another few years (I think 2018?) 90% of all hops used in NYS have to be produced in NYS. So there will be demand very soon.
That's a weird law. They are limiting the consumption based on the production that people can and/or want to do?
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It's amazing how well adapted NYS is to making wine and beer.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
In another few years (I think 2018?) 90% of all hops used in NYS have to be produced in NYS. So there will be demand very soon.
That's a weird law. They are limiting the consumption based on the production that people can and/or want to do?
Agreed it is a weird law. Not sure what the purpose was other then allow another source of income to farmers. Although hops are super labor intensive so most farmers that I know won't jump on it so you have hobby farms picking up in that area.
NYS is really friendly to micro-breweries right now they just passed a bunch of laws giving them tax breaks and not requiring them to meet certain guidelines that other types of facilities do.
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@scottalanmiller said:
It's amazing how well adapted NYS is to making wine and beer.
Grain is really the only thing that can't be grown well in our area. We don't have acreage to make a profit on it.
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@coliver said:
Agreed it is a weird law. Not sure what the purpose was other then allow another source of income to farmers. Although hops are super labor intensive so most farmers that I know won't jump on it so you have hobby farms picking up in that area.
I don't think so. A law that ways you have to buy NYS hops first would do that. This is more a law to limit the production of beer.
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@coliver said:
NYS is really friendly to micro-breweries right now they just passed a bunch of laws giving them tax breaks and not requiring them to meet certain guidelines that other types of facilities do.
Really friendly.... except restricting their access to needed supplies and forcing a law that increases the cost of them to make local production less valuable.
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Taking the kids to the beach. We only have a few days left in Panamá. Will be back in NY by Sunday afternoon!
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@scottalanmiller said:
Taking the kids to the beach. We only have a few days left in Panamá. Will be back in NY by Sunday afternoon!
Wow - doesn't seem like it's been that long since you got there.. But I suppose it's nearing the 90day mark.
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Changing a bit of a 'hack' job I did.
Took some parts from this and that and a pair of boards from Amazon and how have a solar/USB battery charger for some USB devices (phone, GPS, Mi-Fi, MP3 player).
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Documenting, far too much documenting
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@g.jacobse said:
Wow - doesn't seem like it's been that long since you got there.. But I suppose it's nearing the 90day mark.
Because it hasn't
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@g.jacobse said:
@scottalanmiller said:
Taking the kids to the beach. We only have a few days left in Panamá. Will be back in NY by Sunday afternoon!
Wow - doesn't seem like it's been that long since you got there.. But I suppose it's nearing the 90day mark.
34 days
Only in Panamá for just over a month. Have to be in NY on Sunday evening for a meeting and SpiceWorld in Austin. So stuck in the US for September. Then right back to Central America on that Saturday after SpiceWorld is over.
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just because?
