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bengerman · 03-21-2011, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassManNate

Awsome. One more reason I will survive the zombie apocalypse.

i really like that this was your first post.

and i'll need to tell my roomate this. she's scared sh*tless of zombies.

daniels · 03-22-2011, 05:53 AM

you could always put them on a fience row between you and the idiot next door. the piece of mind not looking at that tool or the thought of not giving him the beetting he so richly deserves is worth every penny plus you get hops also

**jiggs_casey** · 03-22-2011, 06:06 AM

Simply put, they're yours. It's one more step, at least the way I see it, to brewing your OWN beer...

redalert · 03-22-2011, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yooper

Aside from watering them in very dry climates (not where I live), they require no work.

You don't trim your shoots or anything? I read that for best yields you should train only the first 3-4 shoots and cut the rest. which is the way I've done it for the last 2 years.

**Bobby_M** · 03-22-2011, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElevenBrewCo

Exactly what is the benefit of growing your own hops. Just from looking around ive gathered that on average you will get 1 lb of hops per rhizome. I feel like its a lot of work and time to grow and only get 1 lb. I could understand if you save a bunch of money but 5? dollar avg per rhizome, 1.50 dollar? avg per oz of hops. Im not trying to burst anybodies bubble, just want more info and possible grow some myself. I understand the satisfaction of growing them and sense of accomplishment just dont see a giant benefit in this process.

Thanks fellas

Come to think of it, why brew at all when they sell beer at the store?

***Yooper*** · 03-22-2011, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redalert

You don't trim your shoots or anything? I read that for best yields you should train only the first 3-4 shoots and cut the rest. which is the way I've done it for the last 2 years.

I always start out doing that, and then say "screw it" and let them go nuts.

The halleratuer is out of control completely- up over the telephone pole, over the edge of my garden fence and taking over the world. It's spreading rhizomes all over the place, and new shoots are popping up between the telephone pole and the garden.

I train the cascade up the trellis, but don't do anything else. I start clipping them, but there are so many I can't keep up. It's coming up under my deck, from the side of the deck, etc. I pretty much got overwhelmed by them, and mostly leave them alone.

The chinook are newer, and they go up a fence beside the green house and up and over the green house which is what I planned, to help shade the greenhouse in August.

Hops grow like weeds, invasive weeds, at least around here.

DrJerryrigger · 03-22-2011, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yooper

I always start out doing that, and then say "screw it" and let them go nuts.

The halleratuer is out of control completely- up over the telephone pole, over the edge of my garden fence and taking over the world. It's spreading rhizomes all over the place, and new shoots are popping up between the telephone pole and the garden.

I train the cascade up the trellis, but don't do anything else. I start clipping them, but there are so many I can't keep up. It's coming up under my deck, from the side of the deck, etc. I pretty much got overwhelmed by them, and mostly leave them alone.

The chinook are newer, and they go up a fence beside the green house and up and over the green house which is what I planned, to help shade the greenhouse in August.

Hops grow like weeds, invasive weeds, at least around here.

This is why it's good to dig them up every few years and trim them.... though I guess I'd rather have a mass of hop bines instead of my crappy yard...

DrJerryrigger · 03-22-2011, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

Come to think of it, why brew at all when they sell beer at the store?

That really sums it up.
Growing hops may save some money if you don't take into account your time, and the same it true of most industrious hobbies, like brewing.
Most people just except this and don't think about it. But I do, I'm a cheap skate but I value my time very low, after all; look at what I'm doing right now... if I didn't grow hops I'd spend more time on the computer posting BS, so there isn't really any loss there. So if my time is worth say $0.75/hr (for tasks I enjoy) then I think it's worth wile.
Things work out better if you have a larger hop yard, but then you need to hire some migrant workers to harvest.

**Seabee John** · 03-22-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retrofit

I like to garden.
It's something to bitch about.
I've lowered my cost of brewing.

Best response evah!

I never considered the amount of joy I get from bitching about problems associated with my hops... Japanese beetles for instance!

Also, there's nothing better than walking a friend back to the garden and picking one fresh cone and explaining all the ins and outs, then crushing it and letting them smell the scent of heaven!

**Homercidal** · 03-22-2011, 05:43 PM

It's fun if you like growing things. Plus they can be impressive when you show them to people and say, "Last week this thing was only 5 foot tall!" and they are growing up onto the roof!

It's a bit of a pain to harvest, but it can also give a sense of accomplishment. Last year we harvested 3 plants and it took a couple of hours. But we had fun (just don't ask the rest of the family if they enjoyed it...)

I don't know. I guess I can be saving money since I could finish off a bunch of IPAs with the cascade I grew. But I really only did it for the fun of it. I cannot wait for the sprouts to start. And here we are going to have a snow storm with 6 or more inches.