In search of a food dehydrator...

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone,

I'm growing hops on my balcony this year, and I'm in need of a food dehydrator to dry them out after harvesting.

Is there anyone who is looking to get rid of one cheaply? (Or alternatively would let me borrow one for a while...)

Thanks!

Comments

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I don't have one, but just out of curiosity, is it a particular variety of hops you're growing, or was it more of an unlabeled/we'll see what comes up thing?

I have a deck garden and am definitely considering growing hops at some point. Are yours in a container? How big?

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

I have one you can borrow - or swap for, since the fact that you're growing hops gives me an inkling that you have the means to produce a satisfactory exchange medium!

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

I got 4 varieties from this company (http://www.freshops.com/) back in the early spring.

This was the scene right after planting. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsquires/3395519545/) I don't have a picture of what they look like now, but imagine a jungly knot of vines.

I'm growing Cascade, Nugget, Sunbeam, and Kent Golding. Right now, the KG are getting close to being done, but the others have some time to go.

I got the idea for the container and rope system out of a homebrew magazine. The idea is that as the hops grow up the rope, you keep letting rope out to accommodate the growth. I don't plan on doing this next year - the vines are growing all crazy and are hard to deal with in this way. Instead I'll try to grow them in the ground with a taller trellis.

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot! I'll send you a private message to talk further.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Cool! I love Cascade. :)

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

Well, according to in inimitable Alton Brown (in his episode <ahref="http://goodeatsfanpage.com/season11/dried_fruit/witheringbites.htm">Withering Bites) you really don't need to buy a dehydrator. You need to buy a few dehydrator trays then stack and bungee-cord them to a box fan. (See the transcript to the episode above.)

Second, and almost utterly unrelated by still a case of happy serendipity, your post appeared on my Google Reader right above a post from Homegrown Evolution about... growing hops in containers on a porch! (http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2009/08/hops-in-containers.html)

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

Ah yes - I did hear of the Alton fan hack, but I recall him using furnace filters. When I went to see how much filters cost, it seemed that the filters and a fan would run me about the cost of a dehydrator.

However, it would make sense that dehydrator trays should also work! Thanks for the idea.

Also - that blog you posted is pretty sweet - I try to read it when I remember.

[warlord-mit.livejournal.com]

I might also be able to donate a dehydrator... Depending on your yield I'd maybe ask if I could use some in my own brewing ;)

[o0dano0o.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your offer Derek! If the dehydrator from the post above doesn't do the trick, I'll get in touch with you.