Growing Hops??

[Dronfieldbrewer]

When are the the flowers ready for picking??

My Bramlin has got flowers all over the place but they still seem a bit little, about the size of little fingernail, do they get longer??

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

love the drier unit, very smart

Cheers Pete!
Strangely though, the book I got the design from puts the heat in from the top!

Were you reading the book upside down Jim? :grin:

 

[evanvine]

Were you reading the book upside down Jim? :grin:

My name isn't George Bush!

 

[evanvine]

RW, hops are normally ready circa 1st week of Sept.
They lose their bright green colour and go a bit papery.
The acid test is to cut a cone open and the "Lupulin" should be a rich golden yellow.
If the tips of the bracts start going brown, you've blown it, harvest immediatly!

 

[The Goatreich]

Lovely to see hops being grown out of pots and up trellis. I'm in the middle of landscaping my garden and would love some hops growing somewhere. What sort of height do they need to get to in order to produce good hops? Would I need some sort of catenary wire across the garden, or would growing them from the floor to shed height suffice?

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

RW, hops are normally ready circa 1st week of Sept.
They lose their bright green colour and go a bit papery.
The acid test is to cut a cone open and the "Lupulin" should be a rich golden yellow.
If the tips of the bracts start going brown, you've blown it, harvest immediatly!

Might be a week or so yet then. i have crushed a flower between palms of my hands and no real hoppy smell as yet

 

[kwakamat]

Lovely to see hops being grown out of pots and up trellis. I'm in the middle of landscaping my garden and would love some hops growing somewhere. What sort of height do they need to get to in order to produce good hops? Would I need some sort of catenary wire across the garden, or would growing them from the floor to shed height suffice?

I'm interested in this as well! Would love to get some in for next year!

 

[Mark1964]

the cones need to feel papery and if you gently pull back some of the cones petals you should see yellow lupulin under them thats when they are ready for picking

 

[Dronfieldbrewer]

the cones need to feel papery and if you gently pull back some of the cones petals you should see yellow lupulin under them thats when they are ready for picking

Brilliant, cheers. I think I will have enough for a little brew, if I combine em with a few cultivated ones from the local farm....( last year I had over a kilo of Northdown from the farm)

 

[evanvine]

Hops will easily grow 30' or more!
They don't actually need to grow up anything, but doing so makes for a better crop.

 

[shearclass]

First year hop grower here. My hop feel papery, but are still also a little springy. I read somewhere that they are ready when you pinch them and they do not go back into shape. However, living in the north east, the nights are getting cold and damp, and i don't want my hops to spoil. The 'leaves' on the cones are getting a little brown in places. Pulling back these leaves reveals a pollen like substance which I assume is the luplin glands. There is a slight aroma from one hop, though it doesn't appear to be very strong.

Should I pick them now, or give it a few more weeks? I think due to the lack of summer up north, these are probably a bit late this year

It is cascade that i am growing, by the way.

 

[evanvine]

If the cones are showing signs of browining get them picked and dried.
Mine were ready 1st week sept, got my best crop so far (3rd season).

 

[Muddydisco]

This years harvest all packed away ready for freezer!! Not great amount as I didn't tend to them much this year and they grew how they wanted. But got just under 1kg out of 4 varieties of hops.

 

[evanvine]

Very nice flat packs Nick.
Mine tend to look like spikey mud balls!

 

[Muddydisco]

I manipulate them as it's being vac'd squashing the cones out to all corners, that way saves room in the freezer.

 

[Northern Brewer]

My hops that I planted this year suffered badly from the constant wet weather and are covered in mildew. Not sure if they will survive, especially the fuggles that didnt really take off that well.

Anyway, assuming they have put what little energy they got from the sun this year into root growth and the mildew hasn't killed them, when do you cut them back to the base and cover them in FYM? (farm yard manure)

Cheers
NB

 

[Asalpaws]

Anyone planted rhizomes for this year. I planted two cascades just before the weather turned cold. Hopefully as I covered up the growing crown well they might survive! Last years hops have already got nice chunky growing tips poking out of the ground, trying to keep them away from the frost and snow as much as possible.

 

[evanvine]

Last years hops have already got nice chunky growing tips poking out of the ground

Where are you located? :hmm:

 

[DethApostle]

I have just taken delivery of three Hop Rhizomes (East Kent Golding, Bramling Cross and Target) to grow in pots in my back garden!
I'll be planting the pots with 8' cane pyramids and hope to traing the hop around this up to top. Fingers crossed it'll work, but if not i'll re-design the 'plantation' for next year!

 

[Asalpaws]

Last years hops are budding out of the ground in North Wales, also got daffodils coming up! Weather was pretty mild in December which got everything confused.