2015 Hop garden photo thread

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When do you know the cone is ready to pick? Any close-ups of what to look for?

Papery feel. They should still be just as green, but dried out for a day or so. Basically the growing stuff is springy when you lightly squeeze the cone. The ready to pick is still green but is a bit more papery and 'crunchy' feeling.

From there you have maybe 3-5 days before they start browning up pretty good. Last year I would find right feel on Monday but not able to get ladder up until weekend. Then I'd end up with lots of half brown ones.

Not really a picture thing, more of a texture thing.
 
you damn southeners have such damn nice cones already, meanwhile finland is having the worst summer in a long time....
first 3 pics are northenr brewer, second 2 unknown so far, something taken from a local farm/brewer of old.

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you damn southeners have such damn nice cones already, meanwhile finland is having the worst summer in a long time....
first 3 pics are northenr brewer, second 2 unknown so far, something taken from a local farm/brewer of old.

The heat index is 112 F (44.4 C) here today so there's a price to living in paradise.

My late father-in-law was the consulate representative to Finland in Mobile, AL during his lifetime and visited your beautiful country about a decade ago. I think you all no longer have a consulate in Mobile but my bucket list includes a trip to Finland at some point.
 
It's a screen I found around the house, I'm building screens with a box fan but these sorta came alil earlier then expected lol I dryer my measly .5 oz on it last year and had no problems it has holes all threw it with smaller holes around the big holes for the small amount on this pick lol
 
Came home from a week on the Cape Of Cod to find the Centennials bucking for a trip to the oast...

hops_25jul2015_01.jpg

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..the Chinook all coned up...

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...and the Cascade getting there...

hops_25jul2015_05.jpg

Good chance there'll be a civilized harvest this year, as those Centennials are so close to ripe I may pick them tomorrow, and by the looks of it I should have at least a week between the Chinook and Cascade.

This all seems way earlier than I remember from the previous four years. Gonna have to go back through my notes/pictures...

Cheers! :mug:
 
Came home from vacation in MI to see everything progressing according to plan. Harvest will be great this year.

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Based on some earlier posts about early harvests, I'll have to start the harvest totals thread for 2015. 😆
 
I have a question. How long does it take from seeing burrs to them forming into hops. And does the process get faster when you have more mature plants or is the weather also more of a factor. Just curious I have flower/ burrs on my first year heirloom cascades but they don't seem to be progressing that much actually I'm surprised to even see this much growth from transplants but they were from really strong heirloom plants so they have a good backbone. Been watering everyday and giving a bloom boost every two weeks to help them along.
 
Came home from a week on the Cape Of Cod to find the Centennials bucking for a trip to the oast...

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..the Chinook all coned up...

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...and the Cascade getting there...

View attachment 292317

Good chance there'll be a civilized harvest this year, as those Centennials are so close to ripe I may pick them tomorrow, and by the looks of it I should have at least a week between the Chinook and Cascade.

This all seems way earlier than I remember from the previous four years. Gonna have to go back through my notes/pictures...

Cheers! :mug:

With all those hops, do you use them all over the next brewing season?
 
With all those hops, do you use them all over the next brewing season?

As I've been pulling in roughly 8+ dried pounds per year of late, typically, no, not all of each strain will see beer before the next season harvest is in the freezer. The Centennial and Fuggles will usually just make it through (Centennial SMaSH is a popular recipe, plus I use a lot of Centennial in pales and IPAs) but I will end up with left-over Cascade and Chinook.

I prefer high IBU brews but I'd still have to double the Federal limit for two to use everything up ;)

Cheers!
 
Harvested the top half of my cascades last night 3lbs wet, and have them drying in the basement with the dehumidifier set to low

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This is how we're getting it done in Southern California. Gotta use the natural environment to your advantage! Hope the picture comes through

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Cones, cones, and more cones, gracing my upper deck.
Centennials and Fuggles to the far left behind the Chinook in the foreground, and Cascade on the right.

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No sign of mites, but I'm seeing very minor random damage from Japanese Beetles, and a few aphids have arrived.
I'll definitely be pulling the Cents and Fuggs down this weekend, and ladybugs will be deployed in a couple of days on the rest...

Cheers!
 
Wow, some awesome looking plants on here! Gives me something to aspire to. I am just starting out with a couple first year plants, a cascade and a goldings. They were off to a slow start but are starting to grow a lot more. And today I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple of these on the cascade. A modest start but still glad to see them.

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My transplanted heirloom cascades in pots now but will get a permanent home next year. I'm surprised to see what I have especially on the runt bine which started out late as a rhizome and amazingly has burrs on it, lost the lead tip at some point otherwise it would've been a lot taller. At this rate looks like prob a end of August/sept harvest time, hitting them with bloom booster for added phosphorus. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438129374.921644.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438129429.299971.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438129469.710567.jpg
 
Got mite infestation on my Columbus that was ransacked by japs and pulled threw but the 2 spotted spider mites are doing bad damage on the lower part thinking about just cutting her down she doesn't look happy has burrs but is odd looking sorta wimpy looking burrs I sprayed some insecticidal soap mixture 4cups water 2 tablespoons soap last night but doesn't seem to of worked
 
.....

;)

I have read that to make effective insecticidal soap mix you need to use real soap - like Castile - not dishwashing detergent - because the former has the fatty acids that do the killing that the latter lacks. I don't know if this is true or not, but it made sense and the cost differential is close to zero.

So I've been using Dr Bronner's Castile soap mixed with water in a 2g wand sprayer the last 3 years. Once the sun is down in the tree line I soak the stems and the underside of the leaves from bottom to top, then do it again 5 days later (<- important, because eggs take 3-4 days to hatch, and eggs apparently tend to survive treatment).

Best as I can tell, this regimen works well if employed rapidly to the first signs of an infestation.
A few weeks ago it stopped the beginnings of a swarm dead in its tracks...

Cheers!
 
I have a question. How long does it take from seeing burrs to them forming into hops. And does the process get faster when you have more mature plants or is the weather also more of a factor. Just curious I have flower/ burrs on my first year heirloom cascades but they don't seem to be progressing that much actually I'm surprised to even see this much growth from transplants but they were from really strong heirloom plants so they have a good backbone. Been watering everyday and giving a bloom boost every two weeks to help them along.

I have two first year plants. One gets more afternoon sun than the other (opposite sides of the yard) and one is showing the burs that will eventually (fingers crossed) become hops. I'll post up some pictures (iPhone sideways) when they start to turn into hops and we shall find out. I think they have been there about a week to 10 days so add that in. I would guess a month. This is my first year growing hops.
 
Wow! Those are impressive! Mine look like crap compared to these....
 
1AM and I'm finally done putting this years Centennials in the oast.
Aaaand finally treating myself to the first beer...of yesterday :drunk:

Cents at the far right...
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Dropped the suspension line to make things easy...
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I dunno how big that is but it's chock full of bearing arms...
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~23' of mature bines left standing...
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198.5 ounces of wet Centennials...
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Oast loaded and running. I also run the shop's 1200cfm exhaust blower to pull all the moisture out of the house.
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I'm so pooped I might not even get to my nightcap stout...

Cheers! :mug:
 
1AM and I'm finally done putting this years Centennials in the oast.
Aaaand finally treating myself to the first beer...of yesterday :drunk:

Cents at the far right...
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Dropped the suspension line to make things easy...
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I dunno how big that is but it's chock full of bearing arms...
View attachment 293641

~23' of mature bines left standing...
View attachment 293642

198.5 ounces of wet Centennials...
View attachment 293643

Oast loaded and running. I also run the shop's 1200cfm exhaust blower to pull all the moisture out of the house.
View attachment 293644

I'm so pooped I might not even get to my nightcap stout...

Cheers! :mug:

That is sexy. Don't forget to add your totals to the running thread.
 
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