Hoppo's Hops Garden

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks Ted. I'm going to to my mini-harvest this weekend. After reading yours and other's threads, I have determined that the cones are ready. They feel tissue paperish to squeeze and the tips of some of the cones are just starting to turn brown. I cannibalized an old entertainment center to build portions of my fermentation chambers and my ventilation hood. The tall vertical door from the entertainment center will now be my drying rack for the hops. I'm not sure when I am going to find time to brew, but I need to harvest the hops, so it looks like I need to dry 'em. I'll post a pic. of the door converted into a drying rack this weekend. It had a recessed panel that I removed and replaced with window screen. I then used another frame with another window screen attached to sandwich the hops between. I will use two box fans on low settings blowing upward through the drying screen for a day or two....flip and repeat. How long do you think it should take to sufficiently dry them?

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here's the make shift drying rack. The bottome panel will lay horizontially across saw horses, the hops will be spread out across the screen. Then the second panel will go on top leaving a 3/8" gap between the screens and will be fastened with screws to the lower frame. I will use milk crates underneath the rack with two box fans blowing up through the drying rack. Here's the pics.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Oh BTW.....how long will it take to dry the hops with a screen drying rack and box fan system????? Harvest is going to be Saturday morning. Also, once dried, should I vacuum seal them or can they just be stored in ziplock bags in the freezer for a couple of weeks until my brew day? Any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Ok.....its 1:00 am my time and I am harvesting these suckers tomorrow. I need feedback asap.....how long does it take to dry these things with a fan/screen drying system? If anyone has any input, let me know.

 

[Phil_geb]

Mine took about a day and a half, I'm no pro but it seems like it worked. They were about 2 pounds wet and ended up at around 6 oz dried so I figured I got more than enough moisture out for tossing them in a freezer. A couple weeks in zip loc bags should be fine in the freezer, I wouldn't worry about vacuum sealing them.

Also, big fan of all your builds keep em' coming!

-Phil

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks Phil. I appreciate your feedback and advice. I'm heading out to the hops garden in a little while, so I'm glad you took the time to respond. I'm new to the hops growing game, so I can use all of the advice that I can get. Also, thanks for the feedback on my builds. I have a couple more builds coming down the pipe for components in my brewery. I'm moving onto a motorized grain mill and a humidity controlled grain storage bin that will be built of the same materials as my keezer and chambers. Thanks again.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Well it wasn't exactly a bountiful crop, but what the hell, it's better than nothing. The largest section on the drying screen is from the first year chinooks, the next largest section is from the first year cascades, and the tiny little section is the handful of first year columbus. No production out of the hallertau, glacier, or centennial. It seemed like a lot more when they were on the vines. I think I let them go a little too long, because they are already pretty dry and tissue paperish. I'm going to dry them on the screen for a couple of days and then take a dry weight of each. Hopefully there is enough to make a 5 gallon batch of IPA.

 

[Gridlocked]

Damn man - you're always building stuff. Don't you work? just kidding, calm yo azz down. want to build me a kreezer through, I'll pay.
You'll know when they're dry. I used ziplocks in the freezer (for a few months) for my first harvest -and then my folks gave me a Vaccuum sealer that they weren't using. It's slick and makes more hops fit into a smaller area. Remember, if you need info asap, call or text me.

I've been harvesting a half to full 6 gallon pail every few days but it's go time now. Having a pickin "party" this Wednesday night if you want to stop by. 4:30ish to whenever. I'm going to chop down the big Cascade and hope to get a guy on a ladder to pull the Chinook cones out of the trees that they overtook.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I know....it's a sickness. My wife dreads the day that I retire, because she says that I will tear off the entire back of our house and rebuild it, just for something to keep me busy. Although I work a sh*t load of hours during the week, I get Tuesday and Thursday afternoons off, and rarely work the weekends. Now that the kids are back in school and don't get off of the bus 'til 4:45ish, I'll have more time to actually finish some of the projects that I have started.

Thanks for the invite to the Hops Pickin' Party at your house tomorrow. I mapquested it and it's only slightly over 700 miles, with an estimated drive time of 11 hrs. 35 min. I treat patients until 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening, so let me know if your going to still be picking at 6:30 a.m. the next morning, because that's about when I will be pulling in.

Any estimates on how many pounds of wet hops your are yeilding this year? A 6 gallon bucket, every few days is frickin' crazy. Send me a bucket or two!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

The final weigh in was not real impressive after drying for my 1st year vines. Here's what I ended up with in dry weight.

Columbus - .3 oz

Cascade - 1.2 oz

Chinook - 2.6 oz

So, 4.1 oz. was my grand total, which is hardly enough for a proper IPA for my liking. I may either go with a lower IBU Pale Ale and go heavier on the back end of the boil or buy a couple of ounces of store bought hops, so that I can hit somewhere in the 60's with my IBU's and still have enough for flavor, aroma, and dry hopping.

What's the concensus.....go with a 100% homegrown Pale Ale or supplement with store bought hops for an IPA?

 

[Gridlocked]

100% all home grown, hands down. You'll be that much more proud of it.
13 lbs 2 row
2lbs Golden Promise
1lb C-20
6 kernels of C-120

.45 oz Cascade at 60 min
.05 oz Chinook at 60 min
.45 oz Cascade at 10 min
.30 oz Columbus at 10 min
.25 oz Cascade at 5 min
.10 oz Chinook at 3 minutes
the rest of the Chinook and everything else left over at flame out

Whirlflock
US-05
send me two bottles!!!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

You talked me into it. 100% homegrown it is! I'll let you know when I'm gonna brew and when it will be ready. I asked a while back, but do you have any of the fish poo brew left from the BTV episode? Have fun with the massive harvest tonight!

 

[Gridlocked]

Morning man! Good call - trust me.
No, unfortunately that fish poo is all gone. Sorry!
That recipe is for a 5 gallon batch, incase it wasn't totally clear...
Good luck man! Take pics and let us know how it goes.

this is for inspiration:

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Doesn't look like I'm going to find time for brewing before I leave on vacation, so I put the dried homegrown hops in the freezer. Is it possible to leave hops too long on the vine? The reason I ask is that after I picked them and dried them for 2 days in the dark in my basement, I bagged them and popped them in the fridge. When I went to put them in the freezer yesterday, I opened up each ziplock to take a smell. The chinooks and columbus had very nice aroma....the cascades did not have nearly the aroma, more grassy, with a hint of skunkiness. Sort of reminded me of a Heineken, Moosehead, etc....

Is it possible that I left them on the vine too long and sun exposure caused the lupulin to turn skunky? The hops were pretty damn dry when I picked them.

 

[B-Hoppy]

I don't know about the skunk because the lupulin/resins are protected from exposure to sunlight while inside the cones. If you leave them too long on the vine they will begin to develop somewhat of an 'off' aroma, BO, garlic, onions etc. These may not be exact descriptors but they definitely begin to go down hill after they reach their peak. Best way to see for yourself is to leave a few on the vines until you cut them back and smell them at that time. I've had some that I couldn't get to until mid-Winter. When I smelled them they still retained the same 'stank' as the ones that were cut back in the late Fall. Live and learn.

 

[Gridlocked]

Nope - you're good. That's just the way the Cascades smell.
This the last addition during my brew night last Friday.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Thanks man....I'll brew the batch of beer in a couple of weeks. I'm leaving for the Caribbean on Saturday, so no brewing til I get back. I've spent all of my spare time lately getting ready for my trip and working on my motorized grain mill. Check it out when you get a chance.

 

[Gridlocked]

No sweat. Their aroma is why I decided to use all of my 1st year harvest in one beer. They smelled nothing like store purchased hops - and I didn't have anyone to ask these kinds of questions. Now, that smell brings me instantly to harvest time in the fall and I love it. I hope to maybe harvest the rest of the Chinooks tonight, but my to-do list is crazy.

Have fun on vacation man! You deserve it.
And if your kreezer is gone by the time you get home, it's in Minnesota - in my basement - filled with my beer.
:cheers:

 

[Hoppopotomus]

It has been a long cold winter and a crappy spring thus far here in Michigan, but we have had a few warmer days over the past week and a lot of rain. Went out to check my 8 hop vines that I started from rhizomes last spring and I'm happy to say that all 8 survived the winter! I have anywhere between 4 and 6 shoots popping up through the ground for each already, so hopefully year 2 will be promising! Is it typical to get any harvestable rhizomes off of 2nd year crowns? Are they even considered crowns at this point? Also, what is the maximum amount of bines per climbing rope before they start competing too much for sun light? Any insight would be great.

P.S. Yes, I realize that I made an error in the topic line of this post, but cannot go back to change it now! Damn, I'm supposed to be edumocated.

 

[Gridlocked]

Congrats on the signs of life! It's crappy here in MN as well and there is a 100% chance of snow on Thursday. Here's what I do - or did my 2nd year with good results.

Rhizomes- I got plenty out of the Cascades by my second year but didn't see any for the Chinook or the Cascade until year three. With the long growing season last year, things might be different for you. If you want to look: Carefully dig around the main part of the crown to find the rhizomes. gently follow them back to the crown and cut them off with a sharp cutting tool. I usually use a tin-snips. This will force the plant to use it's energy to to up rather than out. The rhizomes will be 1-3" below the surface like a shallow-buried spoked bike rim.

I usually run 4 ropes per plant and limit growth to two (sometimes three) vines per rope. If I have an aggressive vine that looks uber healthy, I let it go. I've never had any problem with my plants producing plenty of flowers with the 8-10 vines per crown method. But, they also get a LOT of sun and are on a health watering regiment.
Hope it helps!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Sure does....thanks! As always, I appreciate all of your advice. My bro doesn't brew beer, but wants a couple of rhizomes for a couple of trellis systems at his new house that the prior owners used for grape vines. He transplanted those at my dad's house and wants to plant a couple of hop vines. He has perfect sandy soil and full sun, so his garden always kicks a$$. Not that I will need any more hops than I have at home, but I will go down in the early fall to harvest and have a few beers with him.He has a buddy that brews, so we will likely pass them on to him.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

OK....the 2013 hops growing season is off to a wicked start. Atlhough all 8 of my vines are only 2nd year, I'm shocked at the number of bines per crown already! Here's an update:

Chinooks x 2 = around 25 bines per crown
Cascades x 2 = around 20 bines per crown
Glacier = around 20 bines
Hallertau = around 15 bines
Columbus = around 15 bines
Centennial = around 10 bines

Despite being their first year last season I was rewarded with production from the Chinooks, Cascades, and the Columbus.

Here are a few pics of a few of the vines. I want to take a poll, because I'm getting mixed signals on how to proceed. Some people prefer to run multiple climbing lines per crown and allow 2-3 bines to climb each line. Others recommend choosing 2 or 3 of the strongest looking bines as the climbers and trimming ALL of the rest of the bines down to the ground to allow the crowns root system to focus all of it's attention and nutrients to just a few climbers. I would have room to run another line or two for each crown, but am afraid if I add multiple climbing lines, I'm going to run into a mess at the top with them all balling up together.

I want to know from as many people as possible what method they prefer and what has produced the best yield. I plan on spending a few hours on my hops garden this weekend, building planter boxes around each crown to keep them somewhat contained, running additional climbing lines, trimming the surrounding trees to maximize sunlight, and weeding/mulching the garden. Just want to know if I should go with fewer bines on 1 line and trim the rest back or multiple climbing lines utilizing a majority of the bines.

A couple of more factors to consider is that they receive direct sunlight for the first 1/2 of the day and again for a couple of hours in the evening, so they are not in full sun all day. I do have irrigation to them, so they receive plenty of water throughout the growing season. The soil is well draining loamy sand soil. Not sure if these factors play a roll.

As always, I appreciate any and all feedback from those that have much more experience with this than myself!

Here are a few pics.

 

[basementbrewbrad]

That looks awesome! I don't have enough experience to tell you what to do with them. Seems as though you are dealing with a problem some people wish they had. Your plants are impressive. Good luck

 

[B-Hoppy]

Excuse the delay but it's Spring and lots of stuff going on. Finally remembered to get batteries for the camera. As home growers, I feel we can produce healthier plants than those that get manhandled by equipment/practices that commercial growers use and have proved it to myself by harvesting close to 8 pounds from this plant a few years ago. At that point I ran strings to 5 poles and it was a great growing season. Things have changed and I only have room for 3 poles to run off of this crown but the results are just about as good. Training lines are directed to three poles, the third one is out of the picture but you can probably get the idea. They're actually onto the poles at this point since the picture's been taken. Non-commercialy grown plants are vigorous enough to support many more vines than those grown under commercial conditions and still produce really good yields. 5 or 6 vines are trained to each pole and in a good year, each pole can produce at least 2 pounds of dried hops. And that's just picking the cream of the crop. My problem is finding room to dry them all. The advantage of this system is that you can untie the pole from the support without cutting the vines and lay it down to leisurely pick from the ground. When you're done picking you can tie the pole back up to the support and let it do it's thing until the frost kills them back. In the meantime, all the additional carbohydrates that the foliage produces after harvest is sent back down into the crown to make for a stronger plant for next year. The only drawback is that the crowns become so vigorous that you have to do some severe pruning next Spring or you'll have a monster to deal with. It's worked for me for some years now so that's all I got. Hop to it!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Nice Work! I lowered down my cable trellis system and added additional climbing lines. The 2 Chinooks and 2 Cascades are only in their second year, but look very healthy. I added two additional climbing lines per crown this year. For each of the other 4 crowns (Centennial, Columbus, Glacier, & Hallertau), I added 1 additional climbing line to each. I went through each one and selected the healthiest looking bines to train on the lines. At this point, I am training 3 bines per climbing line and plucked the rest of the bines off of the crown. I'll post some pics later today to show you what I have going. I have been so busy with opening another new practice that my hops garded otherwise, looks like crap. I need to do some serious weeding and get some mulch in the garden. Not enough hours in the day.

 

[Paulasaurus]

Looking great Hoppo! Keep us updated on the growth. Can't wait to see the progress this season.

Once mine are tall enough to start climbing i'll take some before and after shots of the the trimmed down plant as well.

I also need to get to weeding the garden. Mine was all grown over with grass and weeds and I never really cleaned it out well before planting my hops. Doh! Lesson learned there.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I know, it's a lot of work keeping up with it. I do a pretty good job keeping them weeded around the crowns, but between the vines it's starting to look like a jungle. A while back Ted gave me some advice and told me to build planter boxes with pressure treated 2x12's and sink them into the croung around each crown to keep the root systems contained. I may try to tackle this project once I get some free time. I plan on weeding the entire area, putting down several layers of landscape fabric between the crowns and putting 4" to 6" of mulch over the entire area to keep the weeds down. I'll post some updated pics. this afternoon after I run home to mow the lawn. We are supposed to get some afternoon storms, so mowing is my top priority before the storms hit.

P.S. Ted sent my a link to the latest episode of Chop and Brew, which I will try to watch later this evening. Congrats on your continued fame!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Ha! Thanks, hope you enjoy the episode. Its a great time hanging with friends talking beer, hops and brewing.

I used buried 2x12 boxes at my previous house and they worked great, until that 4 year old Cascade decided to escape. She was and is a beast. In my current garden I doubled up some land scaling plastic and buried it to section off my 8 varieties. I buried it around 16" down. So as long as I stay on top of them I don't expect them to reach each other. Now them escaping the garden to the outside, well I fully expect to see that soon if I can't keep the rhizomes cut back.

We've had 4 or so days straight rain here so i'm expecting huge growth once the sun finally comes out tomorrow. Can't wait!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here are a few pics of the updated trellis system. Now that my sprinkler system is up and running, they seem to be growing by leaps and bounds. The Chinooks are beasts and should take the lead in height within the next day or two. They are currently around 6 to 7 ft. The Glacier is leading the way at this point at about 10 ft., but the bines are no where as thick, nor the vegetation as lush as on the Chinooks. The Cascades are also doing really well, with nice diameter bines and approaching 6 ft. The Hallertau is doing better than expected, also at about 6 ft., but not as lush as the others. The Columbus is thick as hell, but not really climbing well at this point. It made it up a good 15 ft. last year and produced, so I'm sure it will catch up soon. My biggest diappointment this year and last has been the Centennial. I may have to move it to a spot where it gets better sunight and isn't positions as close to the base of the cherry tree.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Here are a few more pics from different angles. Finally wrapped up all of my lawn work for the day, so now I'm heading down to basement to rack a couple of lagers over into carboys for secondary fermentation and lagering. I kegged an Orange Summer Wheat Ale and a Monster IPA this weekend. The lagers are a Rye Maibock and my version of NB's World Wide Lager. After the holiday weekend, I'm going to knock out another batch in preparation of summer parties. I stock piled some Amarillo for my Wheat IPA. Can't wait to see what this year holds in the way of hop production.