Work on drainage was done in the upper field last month. I have photos somewhere... then work had to be done on drainage in the lower part of the field, as the pool was getting a bit large. ( field photos here )
And here we are! Jimmy, one of the guys who worked on unplugging the drainage pipes and pumping some of the water out, said the local blue heron stopped by while he was working, speared a frog and then took off. The heron often hangs out up at the lake, but he likes fishing in the river that circuits the field here.

And a couple of pictures of hops. The first is me standing by the hops, in front of our little plot of corn. The second is a closeup of some interesting hop flowers (called cones), with a possible explanation for calling them leaf hops. The person who wrote up the information/instruction booklet on growing hops mention that he doesn't know why they're called leaf hops when it's the flowers you're harvesting, not the leaves. I was thinking maybe it was because the flowers are green ("leaf" green?) but maybe not....

( Hops )

Well, apparently I stepped into it bringing up hops and brewing! I guess I should have realized this could be a hot topic, but I'm not a brewer or fan of beer in general. I'm just looking to find useful niches as a small-time farmer/artisan. That's why I grow dyer and medicinal plants and suchlike -- to make sure useful plants continue to exist. I've never had enough land to even consider making a go of growing anything for even a farmer's market :P

Now we're working on having that opportunity, so to me, hops is just another possible plant to work with. I'm personally more interested in heirloom plants than hybrids, but sometime you work with what you can find. I found a couple of heirloom hops (both aromatics), and think I'll try one of them this year. I think they're German...Strisselspalt and Hersbrucker.

Hops also has the virtue of being useful (some types) for more than brewing. I'm a big fan of two-fers, and multi-purpose are even better :) Originally hops were used for their preservative value. One page I looked at mentions having German sausage recipe that uses it as a natural preservative. Here's the text on uses from this site:

...Substance prevents gram-negative bacteria from growing in the beer or wort. Amount of essential oil varies from 0.2–0.5%. Oil of Hops also used in perfumes, cereal beverages, mineral waters, and tobacco. Stems are source of fiber like soybean stalks, cotton stalks, flax shives and similar agricultural residues and have been suggested for pulp or biomass production. Fiber has relatively high lignin and low pentosan content, with a cellulose content lower than any of them. ... Young bleached tops used as a vegetable, especially in Belgium. Romans ate the young shoots like asparagus. Chopped very fine and dressed with butter or cream "the young shoots are excellent" (Fernald et al., 1958). Alcoholic extracts of hops in various dosage forms have been used clinically in treating numerous forms of leprosy, pulmonary tuberculosis, and acute bacterial dysentery, with varying degrees of success in China. Hops extracts are said to have various biological activities (antimicrobial activities due to the bitter acids, especially lupulone and humulone), strong spasmolytic effects on isolated smooth muscle preparations; hypnotic and sedative effects (disputed by one report); estrogenic properties were not observed in a more recent study; and allergenic activity on humans, causing contact dermatitis due to the pollen. Extracts are used in skin creams and lotions, in Europe, for alleged skin-softening properties. Extracts and oil are used as flavoring in nonalcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts, candy, baked goods, gelatins, and puddings, with the highest average maximum use level of 0.072% reported for an extract used in baked goods (Leung, 1980). According to Grieve, hops steeped in sherry make an excellent stomachic cordial. Leaves and flower heads have been used to produce a fine brown dye (Grieve, 1931)...

Note that some people can get contact dermatitis from the plant. The web site noted above goes into more detail on folk medicine, plant growth habits, etc.

NOTE: I mentioned Pilgrim Brewery in Hidson, MA in a comment on yesterday's post, but have since found they're gone. Buzzard's Bay is still going strong though, and grow their own hops (Westport, MA). From what I can tell, most breweries here import still. These folks though, are amazing. They started with 140 acres and are now up to 300. They use the land for hops for the brewery (altho' they also import hops), but also for a winery and agriculture. Check them out Here.

Other Plants
I had to leave half my garden behind, and have only fragments of some of what I used to have, so I'm in the re-building stage now. And since we'll prob'ly only be in the apt for 1-2 years, there's a limit to how much I can do to re-build and add on... I may put most new stuff (except things like tomatoes and lettuces) into large pots in the ground, to make the next move easier... depends on where we end up going, I guess.

Meantime, I can experiment with heirloom veggies, like the carrots from Old Sturbridge Village (OSV). They don't have a large selection of seeds, and I'll definitely be looking at Richter's online (high quality!), but OSV has the virtue of being from the same general area as us, and have similar soil too, at least from what I've seen for myself.

One plant that might be worth pursuing for the local market is peppermint. Ashfield used to be a major producer, and it still grows wild here. An enterprising person could probably make a modest living making peppermint oil, and perhaps other oils, as the cost of shipping goes up.

Many fine crops were grown here in the past, only to be outcompeted by places with vast amounts of flat land, which combines and other large machines prefer. Other products went overseas, or ceased to be popular in the early age of plastics. As fuel costs increase over time, and interest in buying locally grows (we have groups here that support this), and interest in natural fibers and foods increase, the smart and creative small farmer may come into his/her own again.

Much of the existing farmland here (except maybe in Hadley), is in better health than land in the Midwest -- direct result of being glacially created and indirect result of not being used as heavily as the Midwest has been. If farmers ou there can change their methods, they'll be able to preserve the land -- but it will take some big changes.

Meantime, having the ability and luxury, I'll keep experimenting. I might even consider growing indigo, for the local dyers...