beginner ’ s corner
“ WORKING out of an 1,100-square-foot
greenhouse , the trio got to explore what was , for them , the unknown . Selecting some 15 different varieties of hops , 100 plants found new homes in peat substrate and the race was on .”
A common problem to the handful of hops adventurers taking a leap into the unknown is exactly that , the unknown . “ Much of the available literature dates back to the 1950s and 1960s and the growing techniques described pertain to field production . Hydroponics isn ’ t going to replace that , but wet hop beers that are brewed directly off the vine within 24-48 hours , breeders are interested because of the multi-cropping freshness . They ’ ll pay a premium price and that helps offset the capital costs of setting up the necessary infrastructure to conduct research and production .”
The newest kid on the block is a 90-day-wonder named Myles Lewis , owner of Arizona Vegetable Company and a researcher at the University of Arizona ’ s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center ( CEAC ) in Tucson — known for its vertical-grow tomato production . In June , Lewis got the opportunity to build a shortterm , low-cost , what-do-we-have-to-lose 90-day hydroponic hops experiment . “ We knocked out our first product in short order , pondered some of our lessons learned , then planted a second crop in September with the intent of moving forward beyond that ,” he says . Although the interest has been there for some time , “ A whole bunch of variables came together at the correct time and we said , ‘ We ’ ve got critical mass , let ’ s do it .’” Utilizing a mere $ 18,000 in start-up funding , Lewis and two plant science students moved forward . “ It was challenging because none of us had ever grown hops and although we received a lot of informal advice , we were basically flying blind .” While growing hydroponic greens is his usual forte , Lewis says , “ In my mind as a grower , hops production is just another crop offering and the way we ’ re growing them is very similar to growing traditional high-wire tomatoes using Tomahooks , tomato clips , gutters , and drippers . It ’ s reminiscent of tomato production in a large-scale greenhouse , not reinventing the wheel , but adapting known technology , inserting a new crop into an existing system , and figuring out the variables that play into that .” Working out of an 1,100-square-foot greenhouse , the trio got to explore what was , for them , the unknown . Selecting some 15 different varieties of hops , 100 plants found new homes in peat substrate and the race was on . “ Let ’ s just say there were a couple of malfunctions that will become more humorous as time goes by ,” Lewis admits . “ Like an operator error that almost destroyed the project on day one by overwatering the crop . Then , a mechanical failure of some of our pumps . And toward the end of the first harvest , a pest management problem involving some severe white fly and spider mite infestations .”
104 grow cycle