I wanted to include some pics of the first year hops. We purchased rhizomes back in March but they were not mailed to us until the 2nd week in April so we were rushed to get them in dirt. It is obvious which of the rhizomes was the largest. One of the roots is already creating a 12" bine.
The new hop rhizomes for 2009 include Nugget, Glacier, Golding, Mt. Hood (by far the largest) and Cascade. Can't wait to try some of that Nugget in one of our brews.

Read more ...

Last Saturday, May 9th, I went to check on the hops we are growing. There is both first and second year plants that we are growing at a local nursery. The first year plants are still in the greenhouse and the second year plants are on a trellis that we put together outside. The seond year plants went from 12 inches to up to 7 feet in those 12 days of rain. The ironic part is that the hops outgrew the weeds around them, grew across the tops of the weeds and then grabbed on the to first vertical surface they could find to grow upwards. So what did I do for three hours? Seperated weeds from hop plants. I have included pics. I know it is really hard to tell weeds from hop plants but I have to mow around them and put down some kind of weed control.

Read more ...