New Link!

I've added a permanent link to Pantsville. Brian is a regular listener to the podcast and is tracking his own hops growing project on his blog. He also keeps logs of all his brewing...this blog is completely worth the read. Check it out!

Hops Rhizomes are in! (the ground that is...)

So finally, (way later than planned), all my hops rhizomes have been planted. After taking a long look at the space issues in my yard, I decided to split the rhizomes and have my father plant some in his garden.

The 4 Brewer's Gold rhizomes all went into my father's garden. He built 4 single post trellis with a "T" at the top of each. There are 2 lines going up in a "V" to the T's.

The Cascade rhizomes were planted in my yard. I planted them as planned, but did make one change...Since I had trees very close to where I wanted to put the posts, I decided to use the trees as posts. This decision was made for 2 reasons. 1. - to help the system "blend in" with my yard more and 2. - because there were too many roots and rocks to get a deep enough hole in the ground. I am happy with the outcome though...

As previously promised, and this time I mean it, pictures will be up shortly. I'm in my last couple of weeks of work (did I mention I love being a teacher?) so time is suddenly on my side!

Another Gallery!

Check it out! JJ from Carrboro, NC has sent in pictures of his Hops growing project. I wish I had a NC growing season. Now we're just looking for people from a few more regions. Anyone growing Hops outside the US? That would be awesome...

New Slideshow

I've added the first "Hops Project" to the blog. Many thanks to Mike from Collinsville, IL for the pictures. They will be running as a slide show in the sidebar. Mike has agreed to send me updates throughout the summer to track his progress...hopefully we will get a few more people from different regions to do the same. I guess this puts some pressure on me to get some of my pictures up. The only problem is I'm feeling a little depressed because Mike's plants are so far ahead of mine...

I'm busy today...

Normally I would say I love sick days, but in this case I was really sick...regardless, I was able to get some "promised" pics onto the blog.

This is my drip irrigation system...pretty much a bunch of hoses with small "drip" adapters. It hooks right to my current outdoor spigot. As a side note, if you are running this to more than just a few hops plants, the basic kits will not have enough adapters...so buy extra! I need to go out and get more.

This is the timer I bought. It is the easiest timer I have ever used. I would say just spend the money on a timer...that way you will never forget to water! Also, for those tough mornings after drinking too much of your home-brew, you won't have to get up to water your hops!

Some Pics...Finally

This is the garden soil I use as an amendment to my "dirt"

Irrigation Info (and retractions!)

Hopefully at this point, you have all listened to the irrigation piece on the Home Brewing Perspectives Podcast. While I thought everything was set and ready to go, I have gotten some solid feedback with information and advice....this feedback convinced me to make a few changes to the plan which I discussed on the podcast.

I am using a drip irrigation system. The system that I got ended up being a different brand than planned. I went with a product by DIG Irrigation Products. It is a very simple to use/install system. The only real change is the company name (this system was simply more available & affordable.) I won't consider this a retraction though...

Retraction #1: "Powdery Mildew is not a problem in my area." Wow, do I feel stupid. Powdery Mildew was arguably the sole reason for the destruction of the Hops Industry in the Northeast. Thanks to Mike from Dallas and Melody from Oregon for urging me into a little more research. What makes it even worse is that I've actually treated tomato plants for powdery mildew, and for some reason (I'll call it a brain fart) didn't put 1 and 1 together.

Retraction #2: "I'm going to run misters up my trellis structure" (this is a direct result of retraction #1.) I spoke with a friend of mine who has been a farmer, landscape architect, and runs the agriculture program at my high school; his advice was to just go with the drip system. The theory behind drip systems is that they water the root system directly. Since plants get water through the roots, we don't need misters...the use of misters would simply lead to the chance of powdery mildew.

I'm installing the system this week and finally transferring the rhizomes into the ground as well. I do think I'm a little behind as far as planting goes, but my main goal for year one was to ensure survival and development of a healthy plant. Whatever yield we get year one will be a happy bonus...