Stillpoint Farm Notes

August focuses mostly on harvesting and maintenance. The second cutting of hay has started but will be very light due to lack of rain. We are hoping to get both some round bales and small square bales for sale and for our own use. Hopefully more rain will come and we will be able to do a third cutting in the fall.

The Chinook hops have been struggling after 2 years of drought but there are some nice bines that we will be hand picking this month. Harvesting the hops entails cutting each individual string at the top and bottom, and then transporting them to be picked. It is important to get them picked as soon as possible and not have them sitting in the hot sun so this really takes a team of folks. Hand picking, while dirty and tedious. does eliminate the need to pass the hops through the sorter so less of the Lupulin is knocked out. At this point the hops that are to be used in a wet hop beer are taken directly to the brewery to be added to the brew. The cones that are to be preserved are taken to the ‘oast’ or hop dryer where forced warm air dries them until they reach 8-10% moisture (This can be a challenge in humid Maryland weather!). They are then either pelletized or vacuum sealed and frozen. The new Monocacy Hops that we put in this year as starts, and have been irrigating, are doing well . One of the unique things about them is that the cones form much later. Harvest will be around the end of September.

Meanwhile, other things that are ongoing are monitoring the sheep and managing the weeds. Lambs will be weaned and the ram lambs separated from the ewe lambs this month (boys will be boys!). Two years of drought have given the weeds a distinct advantage! Some of our biggest weed challenges are thistles, Johnson Grass, and Mare’s Tail – all of which are considered noxious weeds in Maryland which means we are required by law to manage them. This is done primarily by mowing to prevent them going to seed.

And please be sure to squish any Lantern Flies! So far we have been lucky and have not seen a lot of damage from them. But we have seen a notable increase in nymphs.