bunyip
Elite Member
Hops grow to about 30' but we are putting in 18' poles with a pulley sytem so we can run the vines up the string to the wire at the top then try to get them to run across, harvest will be dropping the wire and picking the flowers when they are ready.
The vines wind up the string in a clockwise direction (I don't know if that is the same in the Northern Hemisphere like water down the drain) and sometimes need a help to start them on their way.
We will be planting next to a drain where the soil is always moist and treed to the west to prevent the prevailing winds damaging them, hops do not like wind, to the east is clear and there are deciduous trees that will provide filtered light during summer, we get about an average of 14 hours of light a day from mid spring to late autumn, plant in late winter.
I haven't tried them yet but have read a lot of journals put out by brewers and agricultural departments, we are in a good growing area but only 50km away they wouldn't grow because of adverse conditions.
We are fortunate that there are no insects or diseases that attack hops, I also discovered that they are related to cannabis but will keep that quiet so local kids don't pinch the leaves or heads to smoke, they would be disapointed anyway as they don't do anything as there is no THC content, just distant cousins.
I don't know what sort of yields to expect but hops do go a long way as far as brewing goes, I remember a brewer saying that the addition of hops was only a few ounces for several thousand gallons.
Hops were originally a preservative but the bitteness was found to be pleasant, some are more bitter than others and some are quite aromatic like the ones I plan on growing, a distinct European flavour in lagers and ales although I like the citrus and bitter characteristics of the citri/citra, I have seen it spelled both ways so which is right?
There are plenty of home brewers who will buy fresh hops, which are dry when they are ready to be harvested.
The vines wind up the string in a clockwise direction (I don't know if that is the same in the Northern Hemisphere like water down the drain) and sometimes need a help to start them on their way.
We will be planting next to a drain where the soil is always moist and treed to the west to prevent the prevailing winds damaging them, hops do not like wind, to the east is clear and there are deciduous trees that will provide filtered light during summer, we get about an average of 14 hours of light a day from mid spring to late autumn, plant in late winter.
I haven't tried them yet but have read a lot of journals put out by brewers and agricultural departments, we are in a good growing area but only 50km away they wouldn't grow because of adverse conditions.
We are fortunate that there are no insects or diseases that attack hops, I also discovered that they are related to cannabis but will keep that quiet so local kids don't pinch the leaves or heads to smoke, they would be disapointed anyway as they don't do anything as there is no THC content, just distant cousins.
I don't know what sort of yields to expect but hops do go a long way as far as brewing goes, I remember a brewer saying that the addition of hops was only a few ounces for several thousand gallons.
Hops were originally a preservative but the bitteness was found to be pleasant, some are more bitter than others and some are quite aromatic like the ones I plan on growing, a distinct European flavour in lagers and ales although I like the citrus and bitter characteristics of the citri/citra, I have seen it spelled both ways so which is right?
There are plenty of home brewers who will buy fresh hops, which are dry when they are ready to be harvested.
