Turtle on a Post Farm's New Venture is Growing Hops
By Julie Perine on June 15, 2024
After being established in growing a variety of produce, Turtle on a Post Farm on Middletown Road has ventured in growing hops. They will be one of only a few farms in West Virginia harvesting the crop.
“My husband is a farmer and anything he puts in the ground, he can make it grow,” said Jennifer Brown, who owns the farm with her husband Bryan. “We did a lot of research on hops. It is super big in the northwest and even Ohio and Michigan. We were a test site for different varieties, but this is the first summer we will have a large enough harvest to sell it.”
A nanobrewery in Charleston will be purchasing some of the hops. The Browns’ small operation, however, will not harvest enough to sell to a major brewery.
“So, with a specialty crop block grant (through the West Virginia Division of Agriculture), we started a Mountain State Co-Hop – which is a cop-op of hop growers in the state trying to build up their crop,” Brown said. “It generally takes three to four years to get established and actually have enough hops to supply a brewery.”
In the meantime, the hop growers will combine their harvests and make it available for purchase.
Hops are the flowers or cones of a plant called Humulus lupulus. A vigorous, climbing, herbaceous perennial, it contains oils and resins that give beer its signature flavor and aroma. It also keeps the beer fresher and helps it retain a head of foam.
On a quarter acre, the Browns are growing six different varieties: Comet, Centennial, Cashmere, Triumph, Zuce and Saaz72, the latter grown in a limited basis in the U.S. They plan to soon increase their hopfield to include another third of an acre.
Hops isn’t something the Browns ever planned on growing.
“We didn’t really know what it was,” Brown said. “And we don’t even drink beer.”
The family has been gardening on their
farm for the past five years.
farm for the past five years.
“We did some practice farming in Virginia, where my husband was a firefighter and did bomb tech work,” Brown said. “Then we moved back here and took over the family farm which had just been sitting for about two years. It was previously a cattle and dairy farm. We have an old dairy barn which is over 100 years old.”
The farm is three miles from Middletown Mall, running parallel with I-79. It is accessible from Middletown Road, just around the corner from 4-T Arena on Corbin Branch Road.
Tomatoes, squash, zucchini, onions, garlic and peppers are a handful of the crops currently grown and available for purchase on the farm.
Turtle on a Post Farm is one of six farms hosting the Mountaineer Country Farm Crawl July 27 and 28. Also including Wild Goats Farm, FernFaye Farm, Stone House Lavender, Operation Welcome Home and Mountain Harvest Farm, the farms stretch across Harrison, Marion and Monongalia counties. They will all be open to the public free of charge from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. both days and will host a variety of workshops, scavenger hunts and other special events.
Read more about the Farm Crawl HERE.
