Homegrown Hops 2018

The 3C blend - I like that :-) These plants love compost. Other than that, and water and sun, they need little extra care, except for cutting them down in the Fall, and leaving a few inches (mostly to show where the stalks will come up in the Spring).

 

A pal of mine grew the 3 c hops and nugget. He quit brewing but loves growing the hops. They get all mixed up so I call it glennies mix. Good for 15-10-5 and FO additions since I can't harvest all varieties at peak levels.

 

That's what happened to mine - they got so mixed up, I could barely differentiate one from the other (the leaf patterns are slightly different, but when several different stalks climb up the same vine, when I harvested them, they became a mixture). After taking the rhizones out a few years ago, and passing them to other brewers, some kept coming back, and they still do to this day. They are almost impossible to get rid of after you decide to stop growing them. Very hardy plants. They are also supposed to be great for sleeping if you have problems getting to sleep. Just make a cloth bag of the hop leaves and leave them under your pillow.

 

@OldBrewer you bet!!! My guy now has a hedge of hops over 40 feet long. So many bines coming up its just wild. Very cool.

 

40 feet! The most I ever got was about 34 feet. I wonder what the record length of these bines is? Most sources suggest they only grow 25 feet, but I know that's pretty short.

 

Yep, less than a quarter acre to start and slowly grow over the next couple years to about 1 acre. I realize it is in no way a size that will support much from a large scale brewing facility side of things. But if it is received well, and they sell, then I can start thinking about expanding and getting more land.

 

All of mine go in at flame out or whirlpool.

 

I now try to plant alternating hops...high AA, low AA, high AA...that way as they grow closer together I can still tell what is what...except for the CTZs...I never have a problem picking them out of a medley

 

Ah, so that's why you don't have to worry about the IBU content! I agree, there's no need to worry. But I was referring to using the hops as boiling hops.

 

Funny. This is exactly what I did. Putting my plants in the ground today, in fact. You can see my trellis in the background, through the window.

 

Good luck with your buisness, local breweries may use your local hops for a special "locally sourced" brew. Then you,ay have enough next year. also check if they want them organic or not.

 

Thanks! There are a couple who have expressed a real interest. But I am waiting on questionnaires to come back before getting too high hoped. Two got back to me within a day and said I could reach out to them for help. One literally said he would buy anything to pull the local card more, even if it was only a few special brews. Fingers crossed that they are serious.

 

Also, if you have a decent harvest in a year or 2 expect 1.5 to 2 lb per plant dry weight. Storage and harvest will be your next challenge after growing.

Last year my cascades averaged over 2 lb dry verses chinook which was 3/4 of a lb. times 146 and I hope the breweries want to make a few fresh hop beers

 

This.

 

Hops are starting. Stringing begins Saturday.

 

Same here. Put everything out side and over half now are just starting to poke through the soil. Hopefully in the next few days the rest will follow.

 

Mulched and fertilized last night as well as some training plants all looking good.

 

My hops are growing like weeds. I have to go out almost daily to cut all but the main growths I have training up. These are third or forth year plants by now (Cascade and Chinook). I am debating about uprooting them after this season, as for me, they are just more hassle than they are worth anymore. If I did them again, I would try to isolate them in the ground so they don't grow so crazily.

 

I love growing them and. Looking forward to the. Harvest