Growing hops

[veggiechicken]

Mine are about a foot high and twining around hazel sticks. I need to tie in some twine and start training them up into their little trees

[The Cobra]

Thanks to VC for putting me onto this thread. Confirmed now that I'll be growing hops on my allotment for my own homebrew beer making. Looking forward to see how this turns out!

[hamamelis]

Does anyone know how well hops respond to being moved? The one I planted two years ago grew tiny again this year (no flowers, and only a few foot high), and I think it's maybe planted somewhere too shady. Should I leave it till spring?

[bearded bloke]

Traditionally in Kent it is done during spring while the plant is dormant,two year old plant will have quite a bit of root spread so start well away from the plant & fork up gently.

[bearded bloke]

A light hearted but serious video of an American home brewer splitting & transplanting ..........

[veggiechicken]

Just reporting back on the Cardiff communal Hops scheme -
Although I had no hops to contribute, others did and "Taff Temptress" has been brewed
I'll leave the tasting for those who gave their hops and hop(e) for some next year

[fishermann]

They stopped picking Hops quite a while ago im Herefordshire, my wifes Gran was one of the last to pick by hand and she stopped around the mid sixties.
When picked by hand whole families used to invade the Hop Yards and treat it like an annual holiday as it lasted about 3/4 weeks.
The hops were picked into something called a Crib ( A large piece of Hessian stretched between a couple of poles ) they were then measured into a Bushell and depending on how many Bushells you had picked determined how much you got in your pay packet at the end of the week.
Now they are picked for the want of a better word by machine.
The Bines are cut at the base of the plant and pulled onto a Tractor and Trailor, then hauled to the Picking shed.
Women usually were on the machine in stages picking out any leaves that had got through.
The Hops were then put into sacks, loaded onto another trailor and taken to the Hop Kilns in readiness for drying. Which is what I used to do.

Dave

the bines are cut down and the flowers are picked off by hand or a machine on a commercial scale,only the flowers are used in beer,the job sometimes made pickers in the sheds sit on one legged stools so that they woke up quickly when the strong hop smell made them fall asleep.the remaining bines were composted,burnt or made into festive wreaths by coiling and tucking.hop pillows are good for sleep as is hop tea.