![]() “Our first year, our tomato harvest was almost a complete loss,” Breitenbach says. recounts that his first harvest was “zucchini in the late spring.” Having a beautiful first crop was “certainly motivating,” he says, but each year is a new opportunity to learn what works and what doesn’t. Since that first harvest, and after building a successful business, Van Bourgondien says he and business partner/cousin Peter Barraud now use a “mechanical hop harvester and have improved drying and processing techniques as well,” leading to a better yield and more beer for all of us.Īlthough a relative newcomer, Breitenbach Farms has emerged from a family history of farming that goes back nearly 35 years. Having learned that timing is everything, and to watch as different varieties mature at different times, Van Bourgondien now has his sights set on trying to use some of their hops in traditional English styles that Farm to Pint hasn’t brewed before. He notes that the process was “painstakingly slow” but that it gave him a strong appreciation for the hop farmers that came “centuries before in England and Germany.” would harvest as many hops as possible then dry them on screens in the greenhouse,” he said. Given that it was the family’s first, many friends and family came to help with harvest that year. laughs when recalling his first experience harvesting hops in 2013 with his cousin’s company, Farm to Pint. Ian Van Bourgondien of North Fork Brewing Co. But as the growers we talked to have assured us, there’s always something to learn from it. The harvest can be fruitful or riddled with a diseased crop. It’s part research, part science and part hope. ![]() Months before harvest, planting or seeding is an exciting time for farmers whether they grow traditional vegetable crops, grapes, hops or even oysters. One can be involved in the fields or on the water working in a lab or at a farm stand. But for North Fork farmers and growers, there’s also a first harvest. There are many firsts in life: first home, first job, first love.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |