So, once upon a time Ron’s son Gregory lived in Pullman WA and he grew up five lines of hops to home brew. So, when Ron & Beth bought out their brother and started to think about what to do with 12.5 acres, Greg suggested they grow hops, Hops are a simple crop he said.

So, a “test” bed was started to see what might grow in western PA and it was a small scale since none knew exactly how to grow hops. The variety that grew well initially was Cascade so after a good year, six (6) 50’ rows of Cascade rhizomes were planted, and the Perle variety was planted in the test bed. They did ok and so a 50’ row of Perle was added, and the Chinook variety was added.

The Cascade didn’t do so well in the new hops yards and we learned a little more because someone told us to send a sample to the AAR lab in WI to be tested. That led to having the soil tested by Penn State Extension and the process of learning what was in/what wasn’t in our soil. So we found Seven Springs Farm in VA who helped us understand nutrients and supply us with organics.

In 2024 we expanded to now six (6) rows of Cascade, a row of Perle and two (2) 50’ rows of Cascade. But 2024 saw a lack of rain at precisely the worst time of the growing season. That lead us to find DripDepot in CA who helped us understand how to irrigate and what equipment we needed. So Ron & Beth’s nephew Ed helped put in the irrigation lines - too late for 2024 actually but they are now in. The water came from 150’ of hose from the house - not a long-term solution.

The water issue led to “uncovering” an old spring house on the farm - renovations underway - and the led to finding FuturePump in the UK for the solar pump that will - hopefully - supply the water to irrigate the now 1000’ of hops…five bites and simple & east crop to grow…