Nugget Harvest

I harvested my Nugget hops today with the help of my 3 year old daughter. After drying I ended up with a little over 3lbs which is much better than last year, and the hop cones were much larger this year as well.  Can't wait to split up the rhizomes and hopefully double the amount again next year.  More importantly, I can't wait to brew with these hops, they smell great!

 

2011 Hop Crop

My two year old Nugget hops have taken off like gangbusters this year.  It is looking like I may have 10X the amount of hops as last year.  

It's funny to see reactions of people who come to my front door when they see the hops.  Most people wouldn't know what hop plants look like.  But almost everyone seems to know what a marijuana bud looks like. When they see the big hop buds they get a very puzzled/interested look on their faces.  "Can this guy really be growing pot in his front yard?!"   The A/C repair guys came out last week and I could see them eyeing the hops before I got to the door and questioning each other about what they were.  I answered the door and they clammed up.  I mentioned that I saw them looking at the plants and mentioned that they were hops for brewing beer.  One of them replied - "Oh cool.  We thought they were something else - but beer is good too!"

Anyway, here are some photos of my Nugget hops..

2009 Hop Crop

Well, not really a whole crop of hops.  More like a dozen hop cones on my Nugget Hops.  But I am optimistic for next year!  I planted new rhizomes this year in a couple different places in my yard.  In the spring I planted 2 Cascade, 2 Willamette, and 2 Northern Brewer hops varieties.  Last year I had tried to grow in pots, and that didn't work well at all, so this year I put them in the ground.

Here is a picture of the planter I made for Willamette and Cascade:

Both Willamettes sprouted up within a couple weeks, then only one of the Cascades.  Here is a closeup of the Willamette at about 4 weeks (in April).

Initially the Willamette got to about 6 feet then stalled out.  The Cascade went to about 12 feet and stalled as well.  I'm pretty sure that I over watered due to the heat, and got root rot.  The leaves turned yellow then dried prematurely.  But the Cascade is having a late summer resurgence with new side shoots.  I think one other problem is that the stone I used to outline the planter gets real hot in the sun.  I think it is just baking the hops.  For next year, I may have to switch out the bricks with wood, or widen the planter so the hot bricks aren't right next to the hops.

In the front side yard, I originally planted a couple Northern Brewer hops, but they never sprouted.  I dug them up and they were rotten.  Again, I probably over watered. So I planted a Nugget rhizome in mid May and it really took off.  I decreased the watering schedule a bit and added a drip to it.  It seems to really like the Southern California heat because it is up to about 15 feet now, and I even got some hops cones.  Not bad for the first year.  Here is a picture of the Nugget hop that I have strung up to the top eaves of my house:

And here is a closeup of the hop cones.  They are not real big yet, but have great aroma to them already.  Next year when this hop plant is established I hope to have enough of a yield to actually brew some beer with my own hops.

HOP FAIL!!!!

Sad day. My hops have all died. Well, to be more accurate, 3 of the four rhizomes never managed to even sprout. The fourth sprouted and looked promising, but we got a spell of a couple weeks with close to or above 100 degrees, and the young sprout just couldn't take the heat. I'm real disappointed in the ones that never even sprouted. One was from Northern Brewer ( a jumbo hop Cascade) , and the other two were from Freshops.com (1 Newport and 1 Goldings). The Cascade I think was rotten before I even put it in the soil. I'm not sure what happened with the other two - perhaps I overwatered due to the heat.

So I'll try again next season. Though next year I will put them in the ground rather than clay pots. Perhaps the clay pots added to the problem by cooking the rhizomes in the heat. I don't have alot of space in the backyard, but I am determined to grow my own hops for my beer.

Cascade Hops: 2 Weeks

I'm happy to report that one of the two Cascade rhizomes I planted two weeks ago has sprouted! After the first week, the sprouts poked up through the soil, and now are growing quickly. From what I have read, it is advisable to let these first shoots grow a bit, then prune them back and then let the next shoots mature and they will be more healthly and productive.

The other hasn't hasn't started yet, so perhaps I either planted it upside-down, or it is sick.

It's going to be hard to wait for them to produce. Especially since hops are getting hard to find at decent prices. I found some Cascade Leaf Hops available here for a good price for 3oz. I haven't ordered yet, since I still have some on hand from previous batches.

Cascade Hop Rhizomes

I received my cascade hop rhizomes from Northern Brewer this week!! I'm a little worried because they had a very funky smell. Almost like a wine or vinegar type smell. And there was a small amount of white mildew/fungus on the rhizomes. Plus there were some critters too - some sort of grub or maggot. I killed what I could see, but I'm sure I didn't get everything. Hopefully the rhizomes will still be good. Who knows how long they were in storage and if they are still healthy.

I planted yesterday in some terracotta pots. While at Laguna Hills nursery here in Foothill Ranch, I got lucky and ran into a real helpful gardener named Brody who also happens to grow his own hops. He said his Cascades are already about 20 feet this season. He recommended a mix they have of peat moss, pumice, sand and some other organic compounds. It should make for a nice acidic soil for the hops.

My plan is to grow the bines up 8 feet and then go horizontal along my patio cover and back awning. That added with my Cabernet Sauvingon grapes already growing up one side of the patio cover should make for some very nice coverage. I'll post some pictures when/if the hops actually start growing.