September 22, 2014: Numbers: A Way of Knowing

1st Season of the Hopyard

48 larch poles, 19 ft tall (4 and 6 “ in diameter) pounded 4 ft down – Summer 2013.

 4 working days with 6 people = 24 person days to construct hop yard. 800 rhizomes; 5 varieties of hops transplanted – Fall 2013.

4 days with 4 people to string up of 11,200ft of cordage – Spring 2014.

138 day growing season at 53.53 degrees latitude; hops need 120 frost free days and 55 degrees.

Drip irrigation at 2 litres/hour for 4 hours every 3 days when hot. July 2014 = warmest on record.

Harvested kg’s of hops! Wet weight, dry weight, 20-25% dry matter.

Centennial – harvested 6 bins. Sold in 2 and 4 oz packages dried. Golding – 124 plants in 2 rows; Fuggle – just 5 plants this year. First frost September 8, plus 5 cm snow.

September 15: half the hopyard harvested; just Sterling and Cascade left.

And now thinking about planning for next year!