Hop Farming Update

Utter failure.  The hop trellis finally went up after a disastrous attempt at using the jigsaw. We were starting to see some growth and then the damn deer annihilated both plants (and we thought they were deer friendly plants.)  Hopefully the plants are strong underground or else we'll have to figure something out for next spring.

Humulus lupulus

 
If Josh were home I would have made him pose for this - I suppose Grant Wood's original will suffice.

Josh, Chad and I have been talking about growing our own hops for some time, but haven't gotten around to it. Last week I decided now's as good of time as any. Well, it turns out that April is better as it gives the plants the optimal time to grow. Oh well, July will just have to do. Besides, we're just now getting nice weather anyways!

Hops require lots of sunlight (6-8 hours minimum), so we forwent planting them in dismal Astoria and scouted out a prime location at the Myers homestead. Then online I went to HighHops to order two plants that both are used in a wide variety of beer styles - Chinook (pale ale, stout, porter) and Cascade (pale ale, IPA, porter, barleywine.) Because of the late start date, I skipped past the rhizomes and went straight to the plant starts. Hopefully, the rapid growth that is promised will make up for the 2+months not in the ground.

Starts on the left and Rhizomes on the right.

With the plants ordered I waited patiently for them to arrive and procrastinated building a proper home for the creepers. I just couldn't find the right trellis plan. With only two plants we really didn't need an elaborate contraption and finding something simple was becoming frustrating until I stumbled upon Gowanus Brewery's trellis plans. It is perfect!

 
The trellis turned out great and is as basic as can be. It consists of scrap 4×4, leftover closet rod, two six-inch plant hangers, a one-inch flange, an eye-hook, a small rope cleat, and forty pounds of cement. Total cost: $20.

And as I write, I am STILL waiting for the damn hops to arrive. I'll update with photos once we get them in the ground and as they grow. I can't wait for the first brew made from our very own hops!