Most of the hops grown on our farm are used for crafts. We also dry several BINES to be sold for event decorations.
After harvesting we put the hop cones in our hop dryer trailer. We have a two stage drying process utilizing fans, heat and humidity control. The hops are tested throughout the drying process for moisture content. Hops are dried to 9-10% moisture range to be stable for storage.
We grow Phenomenal, Edelweiss, Hidcote, Sensational, Super Blue, Big Blue, Munstead and Melissa Lilac lavender varieties.
Keep the plants clear from weeds!
Drying times vary according to environmental conditions, however, ours dried in our open barn with fans typically is complete within 1.5 to 2 weeks. Because of high humidity this year, we utilized our hop dryer as a second stage to fully dry our lavender. Be sure drying has finished—if not you will get mold!
This year we started distilling our lavender for essential oil. We are using a steam distillation method. It takes a lot of lavender to make essential oil!