2012 Hop Plantations

[ledgenko]

hey all .. glad to see that others hops plants are not exploding in life as yet ... mine are in their second year and barely started the first leaves :0 .... Cascade ... and keen for a greater production of cones the year although the xmas swap this year in perth gets my first crop as aroma

keep it up with the pics ...

matt

 

[adryargument]

I have barley growing in my hop field...
Seems like some of the grains have survived the kilning process and the mash tun

 

[tricache]

I have barley growing in my hop field...
Seems like some of the grains have survived the kilning process and the mash tun

Grow hops, grain and get some yeast going (not going to ask where) and you are brewing "off the grid" so to speak :lol:

 

[pimpsqueak]

Victoria on left. Had the most nodes on the 'zhome yet was the last one up.
Goldings in the middle. 2nd one up and was quite slow, then took off like a rocket. About 7ft high.
Chinook on the right. 1st one up then succumbed to some sort of mite/thrip type beastie. Just coming right now and showing some new greenery.

 

[benken25]

A quick pic of my 2nd year clusters bines its already got a shitload of hop flowers on it i think they will be ready to pick in a few weeks :lol:

 

[Liam_snorkel]

baww.

mine are only really starting to get off the ground!

 

[drsmurto]

Chinook about to feast on an unsuspecting chook that dared enter the root zone. There are 2 chinook rhizomes in there planted 4 years ago as cutoffs from the mother rhizome.

The reverse side where the mother chinook rhizome lives i planted 5 years ago.

Photos taken 10 days ago now. I didn't remove last seasons growth from the trellis. Turns out dead bines are perfect for new bines to climb! Chinook has now reached the top of the 3m trellis.

 

[DJR]

One of my cascade bines started to show burrs/pistils yesterday... nice

 

[Batz]

My Cluster went off early and I managed to harvest a few cones from the first two bines. Lots more coming on now as well, Cascade also has cones but the Mt Hood, Victoria and Goldings have been slow and just beginning to take off now.





I want to do a New Harvest brew so I'm going to need lots more hops, these were vacuumed sealed and put in the freezer until the next harvest. Should only be a few weeks away.

Batz

 

[mikec]

A question for the guys that grow their own hops.
Do you need to do anything to them?
As in, between picking them and boiling them, do you treat them in any way, or just chuck them in?

 

[Batz]

A question for the guys that grow their own hops.
Do you need to do anything to them?
As in, between picking them and boiling them, do you treat them in any way, or just chuck them in?

Nomally we just dry them, I've never done a brew before with wet/fresh hops but I'm keen to give it a try.

 

[booargy]

I like to pick a couple of handfuls and throw them in a stein fill er up and pour from there to glass, top up stein poke with a stick or sumthing pour again. when you get bored with that drink straight from the stein.

 

[hoppy2B]

Nomally we just dry them, I've never done a brew before with wet/fresh hops but I'm keen to give it a try.

You probably could have left your recently picked cones on there for a couple more months no problemo.

 

[Yob]

You probably could have left your recently picked cones on there for a couple more months no problemo.

And would have lost any freshness at all, hops can over ripen, when they start to change colour and go papery it is time to pick them. Do you leave fruit on the tree past ripe? No, you pick them and store/use/eat them.

I left cones on the bine (POR) last year just to see what happened and you start to lose lots of the lupulin and they certainly lose aroma as the flowers open right up.

Christ you type some ****, I would like to some evidence to the contrary.

 

[drsmurto]

@Batz - the cones look quite green. Did they feel papery? Up your way everything is green so I shouldn't be surprised if your hops follow that trend! :lol:

@Yob - has Hoppy2B typed anything other than garbled **** since joining this forum? It's like Speedie after a spell/grammar check.

 

[DJR]

Apologies for the unclear pic, there is a garden behind the hops. The treated pine logs are about 2.1M high. Cascade for most of the bines, furthest from the camera is one of DrSmurto's chinooks, only one bine on that and 3-4 bines per cascade rhizome. Burrs are forming on the cascade closest to the camera, about 3 or 4 at this stage, it'd be another metre of shoot past the top, curling back around one of the posts.

Unfortunately it doesn't get quite as much sun as i'd like as it gets a little shaded by the neighbour's massive liquidambar But it's probably about the best spot to have em.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Batz]

@Batz - the cones look quite green. Did they feel papery? Up your way everything is green so I shouldn't be surprised if your hops follow that trend! :lol:

Yes a bit papery, I'm not real sure when to pick them. They do have lots of that yellow stuff inside the cones.

 

[Yob]

Yes a bit papery, I'm not real sure when to pick them. They do have lots of that yellow stuff inside the cones.

I notice in the image that the edges are starting to go brown, thats generally (in my limited experience) about the same time their texture changes.

I didnt brew with mine last year but was picking them and putting into a jug from the bine, beer in, mash, drink... renewed my love affair with chinook at the time h34r:

I certainly noticed a difference over a week or two, they seem to be bang on and then fade as they open and turn brown.

well, that was my experience anyway

:icon_cheers:

 

[Weizguy]

Yes a bit papery, I'm not real sure when to pick them. They do have lots of that yellow stuff inside the cones.

When the hops really get that awesome aroma, chop those units. It's harvest time!

As Yob says, the cones start to get brown about that time (or just after peak aroma).

 

[kevo]

Hey guys,

Noob hop grower - my chinook is going nicely, really taking off ATM.

Have new 'branches' (can't think of a better term!) shooting out from the main vines currently - what to do with these? :blink:

Do I need to link these up with their own string or are they best left alone?

Cheers!

Kev