billvelek
Active Member
- Joined
- 19/3/04
- Messages
- 34
- Reaction score
- 0
Recently there has been a pretty good rush to join my 'Grow-Hops' group -- 87 new members in the past week to bring the total to 496 members -- with _many_ of them expressing interest primarily due to the impending hop shortages and price increases; that is based on comments submitted to me at the time of their membership application.
Anyway, given the circumstances, I thought I would post this message to let folks know what we are doing -- that we are available to offer help to anyone who wants to start into this extra dimension of homebrewing -- that our group is a valuable resource of LOTS of info on the subject, pretty much _specializing_ in hop-gardening with a tad bit of info about growing herbs as alternatives/supplements to hops -- and that it's probably not too late in most areas to begin important preparations NOW for planting in the spring. Although it is not absolutely essential to do things now, it will be a big help; if you're way up north and your ground is already frozen, you'll just need to prepare your bed in the spring. Also, some of our members are organizing a rhizome exchange (the rhizomes are what you plant instead of seeds), and I also have a database set up on our webpage to facilitate exchanges of rhizomes. And our Links section will lead you to a _vast_ selection of all sorts of information on the subject, plus we have lots of photos to give you ideas on support structures such as trellises and arbors. Without a doubt, 'Grow-Hops' is now the best Internet resource on the subject. Anyone who is interested should visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grow-Hops
Having finally grown some hops myself, I can tell you that it was _not_ difficult (and I live in the south) and I found it rather enjoyable and 'cool' to do. I'm very glad I started. My first-year harvest was only 42 dried ounces, but the quantity increases as the plants get older; in a thread in rec.crafts.brewing Denny Conn said that he gets from 3 to 4 pounds from one plant -- http://tinyurl.com/2q7rlz -- but I'll be more than happy if I can get just a pound from each plant, which is very likely next year.
Cheers.
Bill Velek
Anyway, given the circumstances, I thought I would post this message to let folks know what we are doing -- that we are available to offer help to anyone who wants to start into this extra dimension of homebrewing -- that our group is a valuable resource of LOTS of info on the subject, pretty much _specializing_ in hop-gardening with a tad bit of info about growing herbs as alternatives/supplements to hops -- and that it's probably not too late in most areas to begin important preparations NOW for planting in the spring. Although it is not absolutely essential to do things now, it will be a big help; if you're way up north and your ground is already frozen, you'll just need to prepare your bed in the spring. Also, some of our members are organizing a rhizome exchange (the rhizomes are what you plant instead of seeds), and I also have a database set up on our webpage to facilitate exchanges of rhizomes. And our Links section will lead you to a _vast_ selection of all sorts of information on the subject, plus we have lots of photos to give you ideas on support structures such as trellises and arbors. Without a doubt, 'Grow-Hops' is now the best Internet resource on the subject. Anyone who is interested should visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grow-Hops
Having finally grown some hops myself, I can tell you that it was _not_ difficult (and I live in the south) and I found it rather enjoyable and 'cool' to do. I'm very glad I started. My first-year harvest was only 42 dried ounces, but the quantity increases as the plants get older; in a thread in rec.crafts.brewing Denny Conn said that he gets from 3 to 4 pounds from one plant -- http://tinyurl.com/2q7rlz -- but I'll be more than happy if I can get just a pound from each plant, which is very likely next year.
Cheers.
Bill Velek
