Dr. Ray Ediger was the guest speaker at the Lewistown Ruritan meeting on April 4. His presentation covered the rare hop plant he found growing on his farm. At first he used this invasive plant to help create a fenced in area for his peacocks. Ediger explained that this aggressive plant can grow from 6” to 12” in a day.
With the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Clonal Germplasm Repository, it was discovered that his hop was not only unique to Maryland, but also to the hundreds of other hop varieties stored at the USFA repository. Ediger called his hop plant the Monocacy hop since its origins are unknown. According to Ediger, there are 40,000 different varieties of hops.
Ediger’s hops have been used to brew beer and will be available at several local breweries.
