The Homegrown Hops Thread

Agreed. I have 4 Cascade plants currently. If you have one, a home food dehydrator is the gentlest way to dry them. Otherwise, just putting them on a wire rack in the September sun/breeze will generally do the trick.

P.S. - I've totally used Simcoe for bittering.

 

I've been thinking about it for a while but my project this year has been finishing a corner in our basement and making it my brewing room. Im kind of un-patriotic meaning I always favor foreign things but I would definitely recommend doing an aroma hop because, "One study reported that the myrcene (which contributes to flavor intensity) level of casade hop pellets decreased from 329mg/l to 7mg/l after 12 months of refrigerated storage" goes to show how important fresh hops can be, Ill send you a link to the book you need to read.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guid...8&qid=1431110876&sr=8-2&keywords=growing+hops

 

Have you discovered a way to grow fresh hops year-round in order to avoid refrigeration? (Though most would freeze, not refrigerate.)

 

Greenhouse...timed lights...HI tech...hops are not really a cash crop, though...sigh : )

 

I was going to respond but than I realized what I was going to say applied to wine grapes

 

One plant has 3 bines at 3 feet, the other has 3 bines at almost 5 feet. I'm gonna make a teepee for em.

 

I'm sure he's gone hydroponic, in a hothouse, harvesting all year long...

 

Good idea...I did nothing for mine and they survived/thrived through 3 hard freezes here...some of mine were 8' tall aready when the "hard freezes" (22-26*F) hit in earnest. Are you a "helicopter hop grower"? : )

 

I presume you mean like helicopter parent? Always worrying about the plants? Not really. I'll worry a bit until they pop up, and when I'm starting to train them on the strings going up, but mostly I do leave them alone. I'll make sure they get watered come the middle of summer, and obviously keep watching for when they start producing cones, but ones they are established, I let them do their thing. This year is a little different than most I've been growing, since I moved last fall, and had to tear up and replant my rhizomes.

 

I grow Cascades down here in the desert-if you water them they do great. I also have a couple of Centennials that have survived 3 years, but they haven't produced anything yet. I have 2 Cascade bines that already have ripe cones. I tore one open yesterday and the smell was wonderful already.

 

Although hops can be grown pretty well anywhere it's worth remembering that different varieties grow best in different conditions and in different soils.Try to analyse the conditions where you will be planting them and try to match this to the variety.
"“The position of the grower is not enviable. He is entirely dependent upon the nature of the soil in his garden as to what type of hop he can grow. For instance, the heavy clays of the Weald of Kent are not suitable for the Golding type, yet produce a large crop of Fuggles. On the other hand, the lighter loams of East Kent are not suitable for Fuggles."

 

Mine are second year as well, although I didn't get a freeze here in Ohio - far from it!

I did cut mine back almost completely, and the bines were at about 5 ft high already (cascade and centennial). I hear cutting back the first growth of the year makes them grow even hardier, so even if you lost your first bines of the year from the freeze, it shouldn't be a problem. They'll come back full force

 

Already cut mine back once this year, that's what has come up a second time. Prior to this we have been in the 70's for a couple weeks. My centennials are voracious and aggressive. Nothing can survive that tries to take root in their domain. I covered them and the first year chinooks until tomorrow. Can't wait for harvest this year.

 

A trellis. You can find stuff like that at most decent, large gardening stores. However, if you're planning on growing hops to get any sort of real harvest you'll need a much taller setup.

 

Second year Centennials in my backyard are doing great, had to cut back some of the lower growth as it was going crazy.

This year I've had a few bines that have offshoot of bines growing from them. So there's the main bine growing vertically and these arm-like bines growing horizontally to the side.

I cut those back too because the leaves on the offshoots were so far apart it didn't seem like they would produce many cones. Should have taken a picture now that I'm trying to describe it, but does anyone know what I'm talking about?

 

Yeah, my first years went over 12 feet last year. I have 20 feet of pole for them this year.

 

Those laterals are where the hop's cones form. Leave them be.

 

Just a photo of this year's plants. Some bines are ~10 feet high.

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Probably too late for anyone to worry about freezing, but one of my plants lost the tops of their bines. I cut them back and am starting over.

 

Thanks for the tip... Didn't have any of these offshoots last year and still got a pretty good crop. Definitely good to know!