Hops Update - June 26 Growth (Cones!)

Hop Flavor was recently mentioned on Home Brewing Perspectives, a new brewing podcast hosted by Doug and Mike! Mike is also growing hops for the first time, and is tracking his efforts on his blog The Hop Cone Cometh. Mike was very generous in his comments of my hop yard, and I wish him the best of luck. If you haven't already taken the time to check these guys out, you are missing out on some good homebrewing information!

Hops are still looking good. Four of the six plants have reached or exceeded the 8 foot mark, some with multiple bines at that length! The two remaining cascades (left) are doing very well with burrs all over and some cones forming. The OK goldings (below left) is doing very well, no burrs yet but starting to get some lateral growth on the longest bine. The two centennials (below center and right) both have at least 4-6 climbing bines. One has 2 bines over the 8 foot mark and is showing burrs! The other got a slower start but is quickly making up for lost time.
On the right is a picture of one of the larger Cascade cones that has started to form! Still not close to harvest time, but it's good to see those coveted cones starting to grow! Looks like we should have enough cones to brew a harvest ale! Man, I've gotta learn how to use my camera, it took about 20 pictures and 2 cameras to get a clear closeup of that cone!

Hops Update - June 19 Growth

Quick update on the hops this week. I gave up on the small bine on the second chance cascade that wasn't growing and I buried it, so we'll see what happens. Everything else is growing strong, with the 2 remaining cascades (right) both flowering! The OK Goldings (lower left) and one of the Centennials now have bines at the 8 foot mark. The two Centennials are lower right.

Hops Update - June 12 Growth

Another week, another update on progress. Everything is still growing well, except for the second chance cascade. It's still alive, but doesn't seem to be growing. Oh well, 5 out of 6 plants are growing well so no complaints.

The 2 biggest cascade plants (below left) have reached the top of the 8 foot trellis and are still going. The tip of one of the bines in the biggest cascade broke off and that main is no longer growing. I did however wire tie the bine to the twine and it is going crazy with new lateral shoots going everywhere (below center). The second chance cascade (below left) is still alive, not much more news on it though.










The OK Goldings (below left) is now over 6 feet tall and still going. Centennial 1 (below center) is starting to catch up, with 3 climbing bines and it is now around 3 feet tall. The other (below right) centennial is now around 6 feet tall and is beginning more lateral growth.




The other exciting news is that on the 2 largest cascade plants, the bines are starting to flower, and although I don't know much about hops yet, I think this is the beginning signs of cones! The picture on the right is an up close of one of the cascade bines, with the prickly flowers.

Hops Update - June 5 Growth

Another progress update on the hops. The more prolific cascade plants are going crazy. One has a bine almost 8ft tall, and the other is close behind at 6ft. The second chance cascade is still alive but not showing much progress above ground. Hopefully it is building a good root structure for next year. Following are pictures of the Cascades. Left is the 2 big cascades, middle is the biggest cascade crown, and right is the second chance cascade:










The 'OK' goldings is still doing well, and the 2 centennial plants are beginning to grow fast. The goldings now has 3 bines climbing, one centennial with 2 climbing bines and one with 3. Below left is the goldings, middle and right are the 2 centennial plants: