South Africa: A rooftop hops farm in the city
Hops are traditionally grown in the Western Cape, but on a rooftop in Johannesburg, Khaya Maloney has shown it is possible to grow hops in the city using a hydroponic system.
By Pieter Dempsey
Farmer’s Weekly
January 21, 2022
Excerpt:
“One of the reasons I chose hops is because I realised they use tons of water, a lot [of hops]aren’t sourced locally, and they degrade over time.”
This meant that there was a market for his product, particularly amongst craft brewers. Maloney uses the Dutch buckets system of hydroponics. He started small, with just 10 buckets to experiment with the crop, and realised hops are a crop that are very sensitive to temperature changes and the elements.
He says they are better managed in a temperature-controlled environment, using sensor-operated precision farming and a timed hydroponics system. The hops are grown in nutrient-rich water, which nourishes the roots directly, resulting in multiple harvests a year.
After growing 10 buckets of hops successfully, Maloney contacted various suppliers to help him build a greenhouse according to his specifications.
The greenhouse is 30m x 10m x 7,5m, and is temperature- and moisture-controlled. Maloney has already harvested twice in 2021, and while hops are mainly known as an ingredient in beer, Maloney says they are a versatile crop that produces essential oils, which can be utilised in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
