Growing Hops??

[BarnsleyBrewer]

How do you know the hops are ready for harvesting :wha:

Good point....Anybody???

John

 

[Aleman]

I go by smell . . . and the level of lupulin development (The yellow powder at the base of the bracts), the cones also start to feel papery/leathery to the touch, and spring back when compressed.

 

[Toast]

Aplus say mid Sept for harvesting. They also recommend you prune the old growth down to ground level late autum/winter to prevent disease.
Pests are usually aphids and red spider and mildew. Aleman's right when he says remove the bottom leaves once well established.
Here's a useful reference I found and have used
hopclick

 

[Aleman]

Just to point out that the best time to order from APlus is November through to about February. They tend to be somewhat uncommunicative, and if you order before they have lifted your card is charged and they dispatch when they have lifted . . . so if you order in June it can be Mid November before you get them.

Deacons Nursery on the Isle of Wight is a very reliable supplier, and I did post earlier about a supplier from Germany, that I've used in the past.

I got 2.5 Kg of Fuggles from my plant . . . Currently spread out on a sheet suspended in the loft to get them drying.

While harvesting in Mid Sept is a good guide, You find that it varies with Latitude . . . . This year those in the south were able to harvest much earlier than I could . . . and I've got a lot of little cones rather than the nice 3cm cones that I've seen others post pictures of.

 

[Muddydisco]

Having spent all day trying to clear the bottom of my neighbours garden, which he's letting my use for growing my hops :thumb: I managed to get to the old hedgerow which is now hawthorns about 30ft high. This land hasn't been cleared for 20 years !! I find some bine growing around everything and up the hawthorns :wha: So I looked up and up and fook me it's a wild hop, in the place I'm clearing for my hops DOH!!!!! It has been there along time, the bine is about 1" thick at the base and goes up into the hawthorns for a good 60ft, now I know it's there all I can see is hop cones amongst the hawthorns!

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Having spent all day trying to clear the bottom of my neighbours garden, which he's letting my use for growing my hops :thumb: I managed to get to the old hedgerow which is now hawthorns about 30ft high. This land hasn't been cleared for 20 years !! I find some bine growing around everything and up the hawthorns :wha: So I looked up and up and fook me it's a wild hop, in the place I'm clearing for my hops DOH!!!!! It has been there along time, the bine is about 1" thick at the base and goes up into the hawthorns for a good 60ft, now I know it's there all I can see is hop cones amongst the hawthorns!

Ya jammy sod!! LoL

Got mine in the loft drying, how long is it best to leave them, can they get to dry?? :wha:

 

[russt1969]

Just finished picking the Hops from that mad plant. I've ended up with 7.5 Kilos this year.......
All laid out on a sheet in the loft to dry out.

Does anyone remember how much weight they should shed? Is it 1/3 in weight?

 

[Aleman]

About 80%

I got 2.5Kg wet . . . had a look at them this weekend . . . nice and dry . . . just got to bag and vac em.

 

[fivetide]

All Our Boxshed hops are now dried and stored!

2.5Kg picked, but 833g packed.

Check out the update and a load of other picshttp://fivetide5.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/update-hop-harvest-2009/ if you fancy it.

 

[Aleman]

About 80%

I got 2.5Kg wet . . . had a look at them this weekend . . . nice and dry . . . just got to bag and vac em.

Well a pleasant 45 minutes was just spent Bagging and vac packing my 467g of dried fuggles from this year. . . . Considering just how aggressively inattentive I was to them this year I think that's a great result. . . . Certainly I have enough to do a Durden Park brew, and who gives a stuff about the alpha values :lol: . . . given the stickiness and squeakiness of my hands after bagging them it's a result.

 

[Wez]

Looking forward to joining the home grown hop club this time next year :

 

[Talisman]

This year i got a fairly impressive crop of Fuggles and a slightly un impressive challenger crop (due to creepy crawlies.. bar stewards)

My Q is is it ideal to make a brew and use all your home grown in it?

Im thinking of doing a Black sheep again at the weekend and use the challenger and fuggles i have.

Is this ideal or not?

If you buy your hops from the shops your getting what it says n the tin. Using what i grew myself at home 100% in the brew just makes me ponder...

 

[ano]

If you're completely unsure you could use shop-bought for the first addition which gives you the bulk of the IBUs. Flavour/aroma/dry hopping can come from your own then.

 

[bones]

Hi Guys, pics of year one...
Bought mine from Alpus.
I must say looking at your bines im not sure if i've placed them far apart... we shall see next year :pray:

 

[evanvine]

It is also my first year of growing hops.
I have Brambling Cross, Fuggles and Goldings, got 20/4.2 grams from the goldings.
The reason for the reply is that I come across book that deals not only with hops, but grains and herbs as well (brewing wise).
The Home Brewers Garden
Joe Fisher & Dennis Fisher
Storey publishing
It's a US publication, but I know that Amazon stock it.

Jim

 

[OldGazza]

Just ordered a fuggle ,golding and a northdown, (i think) from Aplus.
Where is this all going to end i ask myself ?
It all started from a woodforde wherry kit i saw in good ol wilkos.

 

[highwayman]

I have 3 pots growing Hops in my greenhouse at the moment. I bought a Challenger Variety from here http://www.aplus-hops.co.uk/product_info.php/cPath/29/products_id/28 I was also kindly sent some Rhizomes (Fuggles) variety from another forum member Aleman :thumb: The Challenger hops are just growing tiny shoots with leaves on and I see that small buds have formed on the Rhizomes which I am hoping will come out of the soil soon. The weather is still cold here and we even have snow forecast later this week :evil: So I will have to leave them 2 more weeks before planting out!!

 

[jonewer]

Is it too late to order hops from aplus now?

 

[evanvine]

No it's not too late, but you may need to have them in a pot.

 

[Springer]

I was thinking of planting my hops at my chief tasters place, lots of room there, but how about using a 45 gallon oil drum as a pot, which would make a nice garden feature. :?
Not mentioned it to Mrs S.
yet :pray: :shock: