Independence Kansas

Spring cleanup has started in the hop yard. The barley cover is greening up. The deer are loving it. Tracks everywhere. Also seems to have been a wild raccoon party. Not sure what was going on there. Hops will be

Darbro Farms IPA on tap

This amber IPA is brewed with 100% Darbro Farms hops and fresh Midwest malt from: https://www.rootshootmalting.com/ it has a warm balanced taste that I’d challenge anyone to get from standard off the shelf ingredients. The recipe is posted below. Comments

Fresh Columbus IPA

With the help of my expert brew assistant weighing hops, the fresh Columbus IPA is in the fermenter. Recipe: 11 lbs 2 Row Malt 4 lbs Vienna Malt 1 lb Carafoam 1 lb Aciduated Malt 1oz Magnum Hops 60min 1oz

Alley Cultivation

Years ago our good neighbor Norman loaned Dad and I a chisel plow. I hate to say, it sat for way too long on my dad’s farm. Today I got the tires fixed and the plow ready to go. Ran

Uncouth Native North American Hops

The Multihead Neomexicana hops are a little uncouth and not as cultured as their European cousins. I think they might fit right in here at http://www.darbrofarms.com We are working to get a good row going. Native to the Southwest U.S.

Growth spurt

Dry sunny weather in the http://Darbro Farms.com hop yard brought on a little growth spurt. Side arms starting to branch out! We went right back to the rain though. Hopefully we can keep the growth going.

A little weeding

We got a little weeding in, but of course it’s raining again now.

Bugs

The leaf hoppers and spider mites have launched an attack. It’s been a hard spring for hops with all the flooding. My neighbors who depend on farming for their livelihood are really being challenged. Not many fields have been planted.

Hop Yard Time Lapse

My and Owen’s first attempt at a hop field time lapse video. We hoped to capture more bine growth. We will keep trying. Pardon my lack of YouTube editing skills. Will have to study up on that! Try the YouTube

Done with 2019 planting!

We are done with new planting for 2019. Three new full rows with hundreds of plants added. New varieties Willamette and Columbia added and our Crystal Hops have been more that doubled. Time to work on irrigation, weeding and 18