A rooftop hops farm in the city
FAST FACTS
Hydroponics allows farmers to directly dial in the nutrients to the roots of the crop, which increases the growth cycle and yield of the hops to produce four harvests per year instead of one.
Yield capabilities differ between hop cultivars, but can reach 500g to 1kg per plant.
The set-up mimics the longer days of sunlight in the Western Cape through compact fluorescent lighting in the temperature-controlled tunnel.
Khaya Maloney grows hops using a hydroponics system under cover on 300m2 of space on a rooftop on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. The space is leased to him. Using this set up, he can produce four harvests a year, instead of the single harvest that traditional hops growers achieve.
While Maloney doesn’t have a formal background or training in
