Chalfont Hill Hop Farm

Hops are growing for the 2021 production year! They're 18 feet up the trellis, the first of the Comets are at the wire, Chinook are well on their way, and this is shaping up to be a good year

Things are pretty quiet now and the yard is put to bed until March. Cables are slacked, fertigation is flushed, and it's a waiting game to see which crowns are going to send up shoots in four months first.

And another huge shout-out to Hop Hill Brewing for supporting us! Hope the Comet, Cascade, and Chinook work out and we're all pretty excited for October here.

A huge shout-out to these guys for doing what they do and being really good at it Warwick Farm Brewing. Can't wait to taste the IPA they're making with our Cascades!

2020 hops harvest = sold. Already looking forward to the 2021 growing season and I can't wait for our brewers to finish up now so we can all taste the flowers of our labor!

The 2020 hops harvest is in the books and our hops are almost completely sold! Super exciting and I can't wait to pick up a case from all of our new friends!

The first harvest of hops are drying.

*Child not included.

Its almost harvest time! Who's coming to help?!

It was a hot one in the Hop Yard today, but they don't seem to mind. Just 7/8 weeks out from harvesting!

The Chinook hops are beginning to mature...Comet's coming along nicely too. The yellow resin inside the hop cone is called lupulin and carries the oils and aromatic compounds that give beer its flavor and smell.

We're placing our 2020 T-shirt order...$15 gets you a sweet lime T! Taking orders now.

...of course the rain stops 10 minutes after I'm finished.

So it's 11:30pm and I'm out here re-guying one of the poles in a downpour. We've had so much rain over the last 72 hours that the 6" earth anchors on 3 poles gave way and pulled out. I bored 12" holes to the hardpan/rock layer at 36" and casted the anchors in 8" of concrete, but I'm hesitant to tension everything until the concrete cures for a couple days. Hoping the increased surface area on the anchors will do the trick...Until then...cabled off to nearby trees.

Twas a dreary day in the hop yard. The chickens seemed to enjoy it.

Just a typical Tuesday night in the Hop Yard.

The Comet and Chinook are above the top wire!

Some of the hops are almost 16' up already! They've grown 16 feet since March 24th...The new fertigation system is in place and we should see the last four feet as they crest the top wire!

Quick update, the Comets and the Chinooks are eight feet high already...Cashmere and Cascades are shortly behind. Should be a great year!

HELLO GROWING SEASON! The hops emerged in mid-March and we've been working hard to get our small hop yard back into shape following a (thankfully) mild winter. Some cultivars are showing more vigor than others, but all are forming bines and growing tips are all looking solid.

Chalfont Hill Hop Farm updated their website address.

Chalfont Hill Hop Farm updated their business hours.

Now that's a hop cone...

We're legit now!

Here's a great resource for the other hop growers that might be following along. It covers common nutrient deficiencies in a trial done through Ontario Specialty Crops. Especially helpful for those just getting going with a couple plants in their back yards: https://onspecialtycrops.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/hopnutrientdemo-update-2/

#HopNutrientDemo Update 2

Pretty good growth for less than two weeks I'd say.

Doesn't get any fresher than that.

Hops are in the ground!

It's now easier to email Chalfont Hill Hop Farm

The trellis is complete, drip irrigation is done, and its time to plant.

84 new plant starts just arrived...cashmere, comet, chinook, and cascade hops are going in the ground on Friday in preparation for the 2020 growing season...super excited.

80 new seedlings are coming on Tuesday.

Water to the yard is running! Now...for the 160 drip emitters and 240' of irrigation loops...