How's everyones hops plants doing so far?

[imark]

Fuggles -
How far from harvesting?

Cascade -
Quite a different looking flower so far. Hope it's ok.

[imark]

If all them furry f*ckers turn to cones I'll be making a tasty wet hop ale. :-D

[johnrm]

Mine must be Cascade then (thought they were fuggles) I have a few little flowers like above.
@Brewbilly, apparently it is possible to grow from cuttings or an offshoot as well as rhizomes
Lookie here...
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/propagating-hop-cuttings-68429/

Some interesting stuff.

[imark]

Was concerned they might be male. Fuggles formed straight into cones. I presume these will develop into cones too.

[imark]

Willingham nursery. I'd say it's female... Right?

[johnrm]

They're female.
Them tassly bits are to attract males  :
Mine are the same, just waiting to flower!

[brenmurph]

must get some pics of the hallertau in the polytunnel, cones inch and half long and thousands of them.

target beside them smaller cos they mature later thousands on that too.  Delighted with the progress.

My outdoor Saaz doin great few hundred healthy cones and saphir, taurus and hersbruker doin ok as well but not a fruitfull as the others

[delzep]

My fuggles plant have both cones and burrs at the mo

[brenmurph]

My fuggles plant have both cones and burrs at the mo

just pick a few every day as they mature.

Im almost ready to harvest the hallertauer but its still throwin out new flowers on other parts of the plant so I presume I will be harvestin over a couple of weeks as they mature

[Shanna]

Some questions re the hops.

1. How do you know when the cones are ready for harvesting?
2. Once you harvest what is the procedure for drying out the hops?

I have fuggles, goldings and Hallertau. Green fly got them while I was on holidays unfortunately so my crop is smaller than it would have been otherwise.

Shanna

[brenmurph]

Some questions re the hops.

1. How do you know when the cones are ready for harvesting?
2. Once you harvest what is the procedure for drying out the hops?

I have fuggles, goldings and Hallertau. Green fly got them while I was on holidays unfortunately so my crop is smaller than it would have been otherwise.

Shanna

Ahh shame bout greenfly.. get some ladybirds in, mine took care of the white fly, aphids and greenfly..theve been partying all summer..the produced a great new crop of new ladybirds in june and they all set to work. heres a passage to consider for nect year:

Probably the most familiar of our beetles, ladybirds are one of the few insects widely regarded with respect and even affection. This friendship is an old one.

Ladybirds have long been connected with good fortune in myths and legends, and from an early age children still learn to treasure them through storybooks and rhymes. Such high regard is well-earned. Most ladybirds and their young (larvae) are carnivorous, feeding on and helping to control large numbers of insect pests, particularly greenfly. They can also eat mites, scale insects, mealy bugs and small caterpillars.



ATTRACTING LADYBIRDS INTO THE GARDEN
As one of the major natural predators of greenfly, ladybirds have a special place in the garden. Here are some ways you can make your garden ladybird-friendly.


Cultivate a patch of nettles (Urtica dioica): The nettle aphid (not a garden pest) is one of the earliest to appear in the spring. It is a favourite food of hungry ladybirds coming out of hibernation and looking for somewhere to lay their eggs. The nettles should be in a sunny spot. Cut them back in summer to encourage ladybirds to move onto other plants.



Don't panic and spray as soon as you see greenfly: Give natural predators, including ladybirds, a chance. Be patient! Ladybirds and other predators will only settle in if there is a plentiful supply of food i.e. greenfly.



Avoid pesticide sprays: Even approved organic sprays can harm beneficial insects. Both derris and pyrethrum have been shown to be harmful to adult ladybirds, their eggs and larvae. If you get desperate use soft soap or insecticidal soap to spot spray pest colonies. Try to avoid directly spraying ladybirds or their larvae, removing them first whenever possible. The organically approved fungicide sprays - Bordeaux mixture and sulphur are relatively safe for ladybirds (but sulphur can harm other beneficial insects).



Rescue lost ladybird larvae: Ladybirds do not always lay their eggs near a food source and the larvae are not very efficient at finding their prey. They do not use sight or smell - just move up the plant hoping to bump into a tasty morsel. If you find them wandering aimlessly move them to an aphid colony.



Leave hibernation sites for ladybirds: Hibernating ladybirds shelter in dying vegetation/plant debris, so delay cutting back or clearing up borders until spring. Dead-head plants with hollow stems to give ladybirds easier access, or cut stems back then stack them in a dryish sheltered spot. The hollow stems of plants such as angelica and fennel (Umbellifer family) make favourite hibernation sites.

[delzep]

Can anyone recommend what to do next with regards when and how to harvest cones, and how they can be used? I have some cones and some burrs....should I pick the cones now or leave them be? Some of them are getting a wee bit brown around some of the leaves of the cone (its a fuggle plant by the way in its first year)

[delzep]

Once dried they can be frozen yeah?

[Ciderhead]

Or just make a brew and chuck em in wet. But you'll need about 6 times the dry weight.

Wow I thought it was only double weight, 6X thats a lots of hops.

[Tom]

In terms of cones though, it's exactly the same quantity. Commercially dried hops are about 8% ish mositure and fresh are about 80%. The moisture content won't bitter the beer, unfortunately.

Figures not exact.