Anyone Else Growing Hops This Year?

[Otto Von Blotto]

They should die back to the roots after the harvesting season is over, i.e. autumn/winter. I'm not sure what mine will do being in a hotter climate than where I bought them from. Will just have to wait and see... my plan is once they've died off, cut them off at the ground and set fire to what's left on the mesh to get it off there so I can put a Cascade rhizome in that pot later in the year.

[Loch Brewer]

What a learning experience my first year of growing hops has been!

Lost 3/4 of my goldings because i was waiting for them to "fill" .... then they dried off (which i thought was because the dripper i set up when we went away for a week stopped dripping)

So they don't "fill" , the goodness is the waxy yellow stuff at the base of the petals.

 

The Goldings also appeared to be very nitrogen hungry. Leaves burning off like a plant hungry for N. After posting a pic on Facebook, my boss, who used to manage a hop farm, told me "more N". I was thinking it was more a lack of water and hot dry winds, but in hindsight i'm wishing i put more nitrogen on.

 

Cascade's going great guns. Lots of cones, plant always looked healthy. Madly getting ready to do some brewing with them.

 

Saaz were the first out of the ground (or pot more accurately) but they got about a meter high, then we copped some usually dry hot wind in October i think it was and they burnt off and did hardly anything since. No flowers at all on them still........

 

I like Kelseys idea of a raised bed for them. I've been wondering wether to stick with the pots or put them in the ground - which would mean they could look after themselves a bit better.

 

Raised bed could mean they can look after themselves better and give options of relocating easily if required.

[Beeblebrox]

Those aren't ready to be picked yet by the look of them. They should be browning off slightly and feel quite dry and papery' date=' that's pretty much when they're ready to pick. It may or may not produce more flowers this season. I'm guessing it's a first year plant?

 

From my limited experience of only growing this season, they don't seem to flower much at the bottom half of the plant. I've used this stuff called Maxibloom over the last month or so which seems to have had the effect of slightly bigger and healthier cones.

 

Next year (or this winter I should say) they're going in large raised garden beds and I'm gonna build a 3.5/4 metre high trellis for them. Hopefully get more off them next season.

 

As for packaging/storing them, they need to be dried first. I've got a drying rack under construction at the moment but the last two micro harvests I did I simply dried them on a small plate. They should weigh about a quarter of their original weight when sufficiently dried out, and then placed in a bag in the freezer. Vacuum sealing is the best option for this, but you should get away with sandwich bags if they aren't stored too long. [/quote']

 

Not growing hops yet, but thinking about it.

So far as drying, I suspect you could get away with putting them in a brown paper bag, as this should allow evaporation, whilst keeping them sealed & out of direct sunlight.

It would also make it less likely that any insects or nasties would get to your precious flowers whilst you're drying them.

[Otto Von Blotto]

They don't usually recommend drying them inside something like that. Normally a screen type thing is recommended in order to get air flow all around them, top and bottom, otherwise there's more risk of mould. I've been drying mine inside the house this year but dunno what will happen next season when I have the drying rack finished (been lazy getting that done since I don't really need it yet anyway). It's probably a little big to be able to be used indoors, in this house anyway.

[Frosty Chop]

Harvested mine today, they looked like they were drying a little and sounded crackly when I gave them a squeeze so I stripped them off. They only produced from the top to down about half way, one bine was pretty strong and went up over 4 meters, the weaker one only a little over 2 meters.

 

Total wet weight 135 grams Cascade 1st year crop from single rhizome pruned to three bines.

 

Pics from today.

 

 

 

 

[Canadian Eh!L]

Hey gang,

 

Spring has come!!!

 

I discovered the first signs of life from my Cascade and Centennial bines yesterday! I've got a Fuggles and a EKG rhizome coming in the mail for this season.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Good stuff Chad I'll keep an eye out in a few months time for some pics of your harvests.

 

On this side of the world it's coming into autumn; my Hallertau plant is still producing burrs although it appears to be winding down. Only a handful of new burrs are on there now. My Fuggle plant didn't produce enough flowers to even bother harvesting this year but hopefully next season when they're in their bigger homes with a higher trellis set up I'll get some more.

[Otto Von Blotto]

I've just finished doing the last harvest of the season (hopefully) on my Hallertau plant. The Maxibloom must have done well because this time I got 82g wet, so should work out about 20g once dried. Didn't bother with the Fuggles this year as it only produced a handful of flowers (I didn't Maxibloom it either, but next season I'll be looking for a crop from it too). Once the plants die off I'll be constructing the raised garden beds and higher trellises for next season.

 

Unfortunately my hop drying rack is yet to be completed since every other thing seems to keep popping up on weekends and getting in the way of it so these are having to be dried on dinner plates.

 

I'll be using these in a German lager style beer after I brew my stout next Saturday, looking forward to seeing how that turns out.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

[RussellB5]

I picked my Goldings 2 weeks ago and dried them on a screen door. I picked a washing basket full. Dried and vacuum packed I got 500g and a lot of lupalin on the garage floor. Still have the Cascade to pick but they weren't as prolific (southern end of trellis maybe?)

 

these were second year plants but were transplanted to their current home last year so first crop in this spot

[headmaster]

That's a significant haul Russell!

 

My cascade bine first season haul was only 38grams wet, about 9g dried.. I vac sealed and froze anyway, will use them for part of a dry hop this year. The spot I can use where I can train it horizontally along a fence doesn't get full sun, probably only 2/3 of the days sun, but was impressed with the growth of it in any case.

 

Looking forward to a bigger harvest next year.

[MarkC]

One of my friends is an enthusiastic member of Diggers Club, and being well aware of my new brewing um, addiction, has procured Golden and Cascade varieties for me. I think the Golden variety is better known as an ornamental, and have heard it's also known as Sunbeam and is used as an aroma hop. I'm planting them in a protected semi-sun area with plenty of organic matter, so next year I hope to give the home-grown hops thing a run.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Well this is what is left of my Hallertau plant now

 

I cut the bines off at the ground a few weeks back after that final harvest with the intention to burn them off the trellis, but it didn't work well (I had to re-fill my Zippo 3 times), so in the end I just decided to rip them down first. What a PITA that was. Glad I'll be using straight steel wires for them next season instead of mesh.

 

The silly thing has started sprouting new shoots now too.

 

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

[headmaster]

So after you've harvested, is that the best time to cut them back to the ground?

 

Because I'm training mine along a fence, I didn't have to cut them down to harvest. Have not cut them back yet, I figure soon is the time though..

 

I just used my entire first year harvest of 10g of cascade to dry hop a golden ale on the weekend :-)

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeah, I didn't cut mine down to harvest either, as the framework was short enough not to need to, plus I have ladders. I cut the bines off about a week after I harvested from them I think. Being in a warmer climate I wanted to make sure they died off over winter although there are shoots popping up again, so at least I know I didn't kill the roots. Will chop them off at some point soon too.

 

But yeah apparently any time after harvesting they can be cut down.

[Waylon]

I havnt cut mine down to the ground yet...

 

Is it ideal too cut everything right down to the ground?

[headmaster]

I believe so Waylon. Looking forward to a few more than 10g's next summer!

[Waylon]

Same here bro,

I got some from Cascade and Perle,

A tiny bit of east kent goldings!

but nothing from nugget, Mt Hood,

So hoping next spring is going to go off

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yes I'll be transferring the Hallertau crown from its current pot into a large raised garden bed over the coming weeks. I'll also be constructing an approx. 4 metre high trellis for it. This trellis will basically just be two poles or whatever at each end of the garden bed with a horizontal one running across the top, and 4 or 5 lines running down into the soil from that, using that steel rigging rope stuff.

 

Should make it a bit easier to burn them off the trellis next year if they're all bunched up on it

[josho1525228560]

Hey fellas . Where is the best place to buy

And best time to plant thanks

 

I understand i might be early from what i am reading but i would like to get in front. Will thay send them from the states?

I have a half acre block so id like to use some of the land along with my vegie garden

 

Is there some where i can go and read about the varietys and what flavors and aromas they can provide

Thanks

[headmaster]

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/101/hops/ is a good start.

 

I've only got one cascade plant, even though our block is 1300m² rear NE facing, there's a rainforest going on back there with a lot of gum trees so not much light for hops growing. They like full sun, which our front yard has, but SWMBO is not into hops plantations near the roses and hedges etc..

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Not much point getting them sent from the States, their seasons are opposite to ours, so they're only just starting their growing season while ours is just finished harvesting. Keep an eye out on forums like AHB, there's a lot more guys on there giving away or selling rhizomes; you should see them become available around June/July.

[josho1525228560]

Thanks headmaster and otto

 

Ill just sit patient and hopefully it works out for me

And i can get ahold of some

Cheers

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

You will get some. I managed to get mine in October which is when there are hardly any left available anywhere. But yeah June/July would be the time to start looking for them. They can be found on eBay as well.

[josho1525228560]

Thanks for the advice

Ill keep a look out

Cheers

[Frosty Chop]

I bottled my first pale ale made with the home grown Cascade hops today, it had a nice flavor to it sampling it from the test tube.

 

My plant has lost all its leaves now and pretty much dried up right back to the ground. I'll probably cut down the baling twine this weekend and dump the lot. I sure wouldn't like to try and get the dead bines off of anything, they really get themselves attached to whatever they climb.