dharsh
User
Expert Boarder
| Posts: 27 |  |
Karma: 3
|
Re:Planting Hops - 2008/02/08 02:37
Bryan-
I grow nuggets because I was given a couple of rhizomes years ago. They are extraordinarily healthy, although last year really sucked in comparison with previous years.
Hops spread horizontally just below ground, so be prepared to dig up and cut off shoots every year. I'll probably have more Nugget starts this spring. The first year, you really won't get much greenery, I recall having shoots around 10-15 feet long and not very many. By the second year, they were growing like mad. Every year since, I've been digging up 10-20 shoots and donating them to the cause.
I've brewed with the hops I've grown a couple of times - they seem fairly low alpha and I've ended up with majorly underhopped beers - a CAP recipe came out as an American Premium Lager, a pale ale was a beer I took to parties where there were people who don't like real beer....
The actual growing is straight forward - lots of sun, lots of water, good drainage, proper fertilizer (high P and K if I recall correctly) and a tall trellise to grow them on. Beyond that, stay out of the way because they grow fast. You can also cheat on your trellise - I just built a triangular thing about 8' tall with strings running vertically to give the bines something to grow on. They grow to the top easily, and then start their way back down. It isn't "authentic", but I don't live in Tettnang either...
Arthur: What's so bad about being drunk?
Ford: Ask a glass of water. |
