Hi Blossom,
Since none of us seem to know the answer to this, maybe you could contact the brewery to see if they've added any chemicals, or additives to the spent hops. That should give you a good idea of how beneficial they will be to your soil. Good Luck.
Colleen

Considering that they're using the hops to produce a product for human consumption, I can't imagine them using anything that might be harmful....but then again, stranger things have happened. Something else to consider is how to get it from the brewery to your home. Sounds messy! LOL

Dave
Franklin

Thanks for responding. I am yet to contact the Breweries and see if I can use that.

-Thanks,
Blossom

Did you ever check on this? I'm curious, because I have been getting a by-product from another food product and love it. I get "mint waste" for free from a local grower. When the mint is harvested it is chopped into speically designed wagons, that are then filled with steam which extracts the mint juice (very concentrated!). The remaining chopped plant material is dumped out to cool, and eventually spread back on the fields. I get a load of it every spring and it is black and chopped very fine, so it's easy to handle. No need to worry about the mint growing again--it is cooked at 600 degrees! It has only a slightly minty aroma if I get it right after harvest; otherwise it just smells like hay. But the best part--it is free.

interesting......you're SURE it's dead?...:)

Dave

Hi Dave,
If you are asking if the mint is really dead, it sure is! The plants are cut like hay, chopped into 1-2" pieces and then steamed at 600 degrees to extract the mint juice. The mint waste is dumped out to cool and then later spread back on the fields. I've been using this for several years and it totally decomposes in a couple seasons, so its a great composting mulch.

If you've never smelled as mint plant on a beautiful late July evening, it is heavenly.

So, Blossom, what about the hops?

Becky

Blossom,
I think the best thing to do would be to get at least a pickup full and drop it off at my house. Do this for a few years and I will check to see if it is o.k. for the garden!!! Might take a really long time to be sure, so just keep bringing it!!
Seriously, throw it in a compost pile and you should have no problems. Not sure I would want to just throw it on my garden, except in fall where it can sit all winter and be ready in spring.

Lee

Not on the same scale by any means but we "mulch" with the spent grains from my husband's homebrewing of beer. The birds LOVE it and it is good mulch. We turn it in to the top several inches of ground. It's super.