Just waisting for the soil to heat up

[HawgDaddy]

First attempt, should be cool if it works out!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Umm...do you mean waiting for the wort to boil?

 

[invictusbrew]

Umm...do you mean waiting for the wort to boil?

Or perhaps waiting on the soil for planting hop rhizomes?

 

[HawgDaddy]

Actually I meant just waiting for the soil to heat up. Tried to upload a pic of my hops rhizomes in starter pots but doesn't look like it uploaded.

 

[Yooper]

Actually I meant just waiting for the soil to heat up. Tried to upload a pic of my hops rhizomes in starter pots but doesn't look like it uploaded.

Oh, good, I'm glad you clarified. I mean, I've heard that fuggles hops taste "earthy" and I know some scotch ales taste "peaty" but I was really worried about a dry-soiled beer.

We still have snow on the ground in most places around here, and we had a very very cold harsh winter. But I'm also eagerly awaiting the soil to warm a bit and see my hops come up! I have 8 varieties currently (my willamette have died, after replanting twice, so willamette won't make it here).

 

[HawgDaddy]

First go at it here so I'm staying pretty small. Do yours come up year after year?

 

[Yooper]

First go at it here so I'm staying pretty small. Do yours come up year after year?

Oh, yes. They are invasive plants, and can take over your whole yard!

The only variety that has died for me has been the willamette. I have northern brewer, columbus, goldings, centennial, chinook, hallertauer and cascade doing well.

The chinook and centennial and cascade are doing exceptionally well, and the cascade is popping up all over my yard, running under my deck, etc. Maybe this severe winter harmed them, but up until now they've grown like weeds. Really, really, really TALL weeds!

 

[fearwig]

Oh, yes. They are invasive plants, and can take over your whole yard!

I've been thinking about starting a few in my own garden, and I didn't until recently realize how aggressive they are. We have some overgrown space that isn't really being developed with anything (dead trees, vines, lots of stuff to climb)--would it be absolutely silly to let a few rhizomes go back there too, and then just forage year after year? I kind of like the idea of having my own hops jungle five or six years from now. Maybe I'm overestimating the plant?

This is MD, so temperate but plenty of hops growers out here. I was thinking I'd burn out some of the underbrush first, if I did this, to give them a head start.

 

[Yooper]

I've been thinking about starting a few in my own garden, and I didn't until recently realize how aggressive they are. We have some overgrown space that isn't really being developed with anything (dead trees, vines, lots of stuff to climb)--would it be absolutely silly to let a few rhizomes go back there too, and then just forage year after year? I kind of like the idea of having my own hops jungle five or six years from now. Maybe I'm overestimating the plant?

This is MD, so temperate but plenty of hops growers out here. I was thinking I'd burn out some of the underbrush first, if I did this, to give them a head start.

One of my friends, lschiavo on this forum, had "wild" hops in his back yard in an unmoved area of his yard. I didn't get to see them before he cut some and trained them- but they were all over the place back there from what I understand.

In Wisconsin, when you drive down older roads and see old barns and things with vines on them- those tend to be feral hops! They are hardy, and will grow just about any place in a moderate climate. I know some grow them in Florida and Texas, as well, but they would require some watering and protection from heat.

They probably would need some space (air, light) to get started, but once they poke up they would climb on anything. The only issue I had with one climbing "badly" was when it made it up over my garage roof. The vine burned up there. They go up and over my greenhouse just fine. I have one up a telephone pole, one up a trellis (it's small and not ideal for hops growing, but it's cool!), one along a fence, four along the garage, etc.

None of my settings are ideal for great growth and maximum harvest- but I get pounds and pounds off of them each year and they look nice too!

Here are some photos from 2013:

Chinook behind my husband, on the greenhouse:


Chinook harvest (part of it, only!):


Holding some chinook hops in front of a cascade plant:

 

[HawgDaddy]

Nice to know I have a fighting chance growing these!

 

[fearwig]

Nice!

 

[HawgDaddy]

Questions, answer as you wish....
1. Do you brew with them fresh or dried?
2. How are they weighed out if fresh....oz. for oz.?
3. If dried, oz. for oz. whole, ground? I normally use pellets.
3. Food dehydrator ok for drying?

I may be putting the cart before the horse but oh well it won't be the first time

 

[fearwig]

Not a hops grower (yet?) but I can say you'll have a time drying even a dry pound of hops in a food dehydrator.

I know of a good rig used for drying mushrooms that I was thinking I might try for this when the time comes:

Take a stack of home air filters (cheap kind), layering your mushrooms (hops) in between. Attach to a standard box fan, ideally with bungee cord. Run until "cracker dry", usually 1-2 days (mushrooms lose ~90% weight, hops guessing probably 2/3 that much? 3/4?).

I'm sure there are already threads here about drying hops, but that would be my preferred low-temp way to dry pounds of anything.

 

[Spartan1979]

My Chinook are two feet tall already. The Cascade is still small, but there must be 100 shoots coming up from what had been 1 rhizome 3 or 4 years ago. They're everywhere. I may have to dig some of it up.