If you have questions about your farm, home, or garden, I encourage you to speak with your local Extension agent so that you can foster a working relationship with them. Communicating with your agent helps them determine which agricultural needs are important in your community.
However, I would love to answer any questions you may have on topics that you view on this page or practices that the featured farmers use. Please leave comments, or send an email to laurab08@vt.edu.
I am looking for a hop trellis wire and hardware (anchors, bolts, eye screws, etc) retailer in Virginia. Want to buy local for our new hop yard. Any ideas? Thank you!
Tom, sorry for the late reply. I did not see your comment at first. Many of the hop growers around here could point you to some resources for cable, twine, and other materials. Where are you located? Based on that, I could give you names of some yards near you, but otherwise, I’d strongly recommend visiting the grower directory for Old Dominion Hop Coop for contact info for many of the yards (http://www.olddominionhops.com/home/Directory). I have posted blog stories about Piedmont Hops and Huguenot Hops in Chesterfield and both of those growers would be happy to offer some insight. They have provided a lot of insight to potential growers nearby. Stan Driver, chairman of the coop, is also a grower with years of experience and he may be able to help and could also discuss the coop with you, if you are interested in joining for the education and networking opportunities. His contact information is first on the list in the grower directory as well. I hope this helps! I would be happy to discuss this more, or help you get resources for any other hops questions, so feel free to email me any time at laurab08@vt.edu. Thank you! -Laura Siegle
Do any stores in the Northern Virginia area market sorghum?
Hello Frank!
My apologies for the late reply. I am not sure if you are looking for sorghum syrup/molasses, or just the grain. Either way, we are getting close to sorghum season, so hopefully there is still plenty of time for you to look. Right now I am not sure of any actual stores selling it-I am the agent for Amelia and not close enough to know which stores in Northern VA could have it, but if you can comment here or email me to tell me which county you are in, I can get in touch with your local ag agent and see if they might know (my email is laurab08@vt.edu). Now, if you are willing to look elsewhere, there are some options: First, the Virginia Grown directory from VDACS. If you go here (http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown/) and type “sorghum” into the search bar, a few farms pop up. Try contacting those to see if they might have any. One of our own Extension agents, Brad Jarvis, works in Madison and he also personally grows sweet sorghum and makes syrup. If that is what you are looking for, try contacting him at bjarvis@vt.edu or (540) 948-6881. If anything, he may be able to provide you with some ideas of where else to look or other growers to contact. I hope this helps! Feel free to contact me or comment here with more questions.
I am beginning harvesting hops and would like to send off a sample for alpha testing. Please send me a link for the form and sample requirements.
Thank you,
Charles Dull
Hello Charles! I am sorry that it has taken a few days for me to realize that you commented. I am so glad that you are interested in the testing service! I have sent the flyer to the email listed on here with your name. If you have more questions, feel free to send them to Ken at hops@vt.edu. If for some reason you do not see the email from me, comment back. Thank you!