harvesting hops

Just wondering, how do i know when to pick my hops and how do i dry and store them? thanks

The hops will get kind of papery and lighter feeling. Sometimes you will see a few hops starting to brown, this is a good sign that there are hops ready to harvest. Also, they will smell very intense when ripe. Just go around and squeeze on some hops throughout the season and smell them as they mature. You will get a feel for when they are ripe.

Once you harvest, you can dry them a couple of ways. I prefer to use a dehydrator. I have one that can be set on different temps. You want to dry them on low heat. You can also set up some screens somewhere and run a fan over them. Just spread the hops out and don't pile them up too thick. It helps to turn them once a day and mix them up a little so that they dry more evenly. You want to dry them until the strig (the stem inside the hop cone) snaps when bent. The outside leaves can seem very dry and the strig still be limp, so be patient. Once they're dry, you can store them in vacume bags, jars, or whatever containers you want and then refridgerate or freeze them. I prefer to vacume seal and freeze mine.

I have just harvested, but I have to return home in four days before I can start the drying process.

How do I store my fresh hops until I leave, and we are talking about 1.5 lbs of Cascade, 1 lb of Nugget and 1 lb of Cluster?

Best bet if you can't dry them right away would be to facilitate drying using ambient air by spreading them out on screens or placing them in a large paper bag with plenty of ventilation. What you don't want to do is put them in plastic or in a sealed container as they will likely turn brown, form mold, and be ruined.

Thanks, the score is just to nice to waste!!

Yup, pull the window screens out of the windows and prop them up in the shed or garage and just spread them out. They'll be dry when you get back.