how to grow and harvest hops (humulus lupulus)

[Cakes]

Hops (humulus lupulus)

'a wicked weed that will spoil the taste of the drink and endanger the people'
-excerpt from a petition made by the English Parliament





The soil can be similar to marijuana. It likes well drained soil at least 20 inches deep (5dm). It can grow well in a sandy loam but either way, the soil
should be rich or food level high or else the vine will just stay small. This fast growing vine needs high levels of phosphates to be able to utilize all the nitrogen it is capable of consuming. The latin name of hops is humulus and that name might come from the plant's affinity for moist humus>> it likes plenty of water except for the time between germination and the first few sets of true leaves<<at that time let it be a bit dry, similar to the cultivation of poppies.

Clockwise twining habit. 15 - 30 feet long (10 metres). Easily climbs and covers a trellis or porch by mid-summer but to get it to twine horizontally, the grower must twine it by hand. The English name hop comes from the Anglo-Saxon hoppan (to climb). The hop's other name, lupulus, is derived from lupus (a wolf), because when hops is grown among osiers, it strangles them by its light climbing embraces, as the wolf does a sheep.


Some places consider hops an invasive.
This a pic of a Japanese strain.

Hops can come as an annual or as perennials. The perennial(s?) need frost before it can resume flowering the next year. Usually dies back to the ground in the winter. Mulch can be applied to protect the roots over the winter. The vine will continue to develop it's yielding capacity over the course of a few years (2-4 years).

The various strains have different flavors and different active ingredients and the Japanese one is supposed to have white on it's leaves but maybe not all plants exhibit it? because the above pic has no white. "Variegatus" is an ornamental, that means it is not favored for beer but "Cascade" is, and Cascade may also be one of the heavier producers. A typical low yield for some strains might be one ounce dried hops per foot of vine length (3dm).

It comes male and female like mj. The female grows the hops for beer.

Seeds are viable when produced but many/most commercial varieties are sterile due to blind busybodies. Males may not be needed for pollenation. Sometimes clones, rootcuttings/rhizomes or suckers are preferred to seeds because growers can propagate just the girls that way. The time to plant rootstock is after winter die back. Keep rhizomes in plastic bags, moist and cold in SWIY's refrigerator until they are planted. Seeds need a cold stratification treatment in order to germinate. Soak them for 1 -2 days and then put them in a plastic bag with some damp peat moss and put them in the fridge for 5 - 6 weeks. They will take 10 - 28 days to germinate at room temperature after that but don't let the peat dry out during germination.
The active ingredients are on the inside of the hop's buds and those crystals are yellow like marijuana pollen. The crystals can be extracted by bursting and/or shaking the buds.



Starts alternate leafing when going into flower, just like mj. Ripens in late Aug to Sept; probably that means April/March in the southern hemisphere. Has a harvest window of 3 - 10 weeks. Some harvests are done while the buds are ripe but still green in color and then the buds are quickly dried without using high temeratures; not above 140 - 160F/60 - 71c. Some harvesters wait until the buds turn brown on the vine before they process it further but this may decrease it's potency. The hops loses it's potency VERY quickly and immediate storage is recommended. Oxygen and heat will degrade the hops to 10% of their former potency in a few months if the cones are not protected. Vacum sealing is good or replacement of the air with a blast from a beer/co2 tap. And then either the fridge or the freezer would be a good place to keep it. If storing whole, then don't burst the cones and let the yellow crystals out or else it will just degrade that much quicker. and that yellow stuff might come out when picking the bracts too, so be gentle. and besides it might not be good to get it on SWIY or anyone who is unprepared; I will include a warning section below. When the active stuff inside is dark yellow like highway lines (in the US) then it means the bud is ripe and light yellow means unripe.

To make beer, an easy water extraction is done on the hops buds.

Spent hops after extraction are about 4.5 pH. They can be used/spread like manure on the soil or composted first. When dried, it's value is approximately 2.5 to 3.5% nitrogen and 1% phosphorus and it will last a long time as a top dressing. A six inch application can last three years (15cm). Favored as a mulch because they don't blow away in the wind when dry and will not burn if a cigarette or lighted match is applied to them. The mulch can be very stinky for a while but then the smell dissipates. The hops smell piney and fresh while green and on the vine.

Hops contain enzymes/tannic acid in the strobiles (the female buds) and that stuff causes precipitation of vegetable mucilage and consequently the cleansing/unclouding of the beer. Hops also contain compounds that have antibiotic properties which keep beer from spoiling.

Some people use hops as-is. It can be found at alternative herb shops right along with salvia. and hops can be found at brew shops too. Hops has a lot of med/psych applications. It can be taken internally to relieve anxiety or insomnia or to feel good but it may aggravate depression because it can further depress the higher nerve functions. Sometimes it is used to make pillows as a way to administer it's sedating powers. another old time cure is to use hops as a wound poultice. There are many herbal recipes that feature hops on the net and there is modern research being done too>> hops is said to be a possible cancer cure and viral cure (in addition to the bacteria inhibition it does for beer!?! that vine has a long reach!).

here is the gardening general's warnings
a.k.a.
things SWIY may experience if in contact with hops:

BE AWARE: People in contact with hops may experience fever, sleeplessness, sleepiness, a feeling of relaxation, excitability, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, feeling of heaviness, no appetite or aggravated depression, contact dermatitis, known to increase the activity of female hormones and to decrease the activity of male hormones in humans. Washing is recommended after contact for wary pickers and long sleeves/gloves can help protect.

it's a rather oppositional list of activities, isn't it?

plants are trippy.


here is a look into the cultivation of hops with marijuana.