Hop Growing Season

Well, to kick off the brewing expeditions, I thought it would be appropriate to try and plant some hops in my backyard. I decided on two different kinds; the Saaz and the Liberty. The Saaz is a Bohemian soft bittering hop, with a famous bitter aroma, without any harsh qualities. A fresh Pilsner Urquell is a classic example of the robust aroma that has made Saaz the most popular hop among Czech brewers. The Liberty is an American hop, developed in the early 80s, and is essentially a cross between two hops, whose names I'm not quiet sure about.

From what I've read, general consensus has it that the North American crops do better in North American soil, than the European ones, and vice verse. I'm not actually even expecting to get grade A hop, this is more of an experiment anyway.

Planting:

Ok, so on to the planting procedure. The hops arrived (along with ingredients, which will be explored in a later post) from www.midwestsupplies.com early April. UPS + shipping raped me through the ass on the order. Won't be ordering from there ever again. Anyways, the first step was to dig a 8"x8" hole, and about 10" deep. Filled about 5" with potting soil and put the root (called a rhizome) in. Hops send shoots out of the soil from the root. The biggest problem/concern was where to let it grow. Apparently it can be 30 feet so it was important to let it have room to climb onto something. A patio fence solved this problem. Either way, that was the first step there and I'm pumped to see if this actually grows.

Things to remember: The plant will need lots of sunlight and water. If watered daily, and exposed to sunlight, the plant can grow up to a foot a day!