HOPS!
Good for what ales you! Hops are in the family Cannabaceae. The specific genus species = Humulus lupulus go ahead try to say it.... it is fun. Plants are dioecious and the hops cone is the female flower. Hops are herbaceous perennial plants that die back to the crown every year. Per the ASPCA hops are toxic to dogs (FYI). Most commercial hops are grown between the 35th and 55th latitudes. Bavaria and Washington State get 1h:43m more daylight than us here in San Diego. Apparently, hops like that extra sunlight. Erik is going to try to grow hops in our little plot of land in La Mesa. While we are experimenting, can one of you really smart genetic botanists please make a day neutral hop cultivar?
There are 2 types of hops: bittering hops and aroma hops. What sets them apart is the amount of alpha acids in the hop flower. Bitter hops have a higher concentration than the aroma hops. Park Brau was Erik's beer of choice while stationed in Germany.
There are 2 types of hops: bittering hops and aroma hops. What sets them apart is the amount of alpha acids in the hop flower. Bitter hops have a higher concentration than the aroma hops. Park Brau was Erik's beer of choice while stationed in Germany.
Yield from a hop plant depends on vigor and overall health of the plant. One plant can create 1/2 - 2 pounds of dried hops. It takes 1/4 pounds of hops to make 5 gallons of pale ale. One pound of hops can make approximately 20 cases of pale ale and 1 plant can make 10-40 cases of the same beer.
Who is growing hops in San Diego?
Star B Ranch in Ramona, Hopportunity Farms in Julian and Sunset Valley Farms. Click here to read an article about Star B ranch and their successes with hops. Hopportunity Farms allows homebrewers to pick their own hops on their one acre farm. Click here to read more.
Hops are propagated through underground rhizomes. You can order them from an online retailer or find a friend who has them growing and ask for a root cutting. You might have to offer up a home-brew or two for the favor but they are expensive so it is well worth it! Plant your newly acquired rhizome in a well draining pot or well draining spot in your garden. Spacing can be 3 feet apart if the same cultivar is being used but if you have several cultivars then space them at least 5' apart. You will want to know what cultivar is what when you harvest. Buds should be pointing up and cover them with one inch of soil after planting. If it is going to be a few days before those rhizomes go into the ground or pot place them in a damp paper towel place in plastic bag and refrigeratate.
Who is growing hops in San Diego?
Star B Ranch in Ramona, Hopportunity Farms in Julian and Sunset Valley Farms. Click here to read an article about Star B ranch and their successes with hops. Hopportunity Farms allows homebrewers to pick their own hops on their one acre farm. Click here to read more.
Hops are propagated through underground rhizomes. You can order them from an online retailer or find a friend who has them growing and ask for a root cutting. You might have to offer up a home-brew or two for the favor but they are expensive so it is well worth it! Plant your newly acquired rhizome in a well draining pot or well draining spot in your garden. Spacing can be 3 feet apart if the same cultivar is being used but if you have several cultivars then space them at least 5' apart. You will want to know what cultivar is what when you harvest. Buds should be pointing up and cover them with one inch of soil after planting. If it is going to be a few days before those rhizomes go into the ground or pot place them in a damp paper towel place in plastic bag and refrigeratate.
Hops grow FAST! They can grow a foot a day. When your hop bines are one foot long and you have 3 or 4 bines train them to a string and let them go. A bine is a climbing plant which climbs by its shoots growing in a helix around a support. It is distinct from a vine, which climbs using tendrils or suckers. In July or when you have leaves and laterals you can remove the lowest 4" of leaves to allow air circulation around the base of the plant. We have not found any research that list specific micro and macro needs of
hops. We are using a combination of 2 TBSP of fish emulsion per gallon of water once a month during the growing and flowering season. Additionally, we will also use a slow release synthetic fertilizer 22-6-12.
While growing your hops will need adequate water to ensure good growth and flower production. Most of the water use will come when they have maxed out their height and start making flowers. If you use the CIMIS station reference ETO's then the crop coefficient is 1.0. I use the Miramar station as my reference ETO, historically Junes ETO number is 5.25. I will apply 5.25 inches of water on my hops plants in June based on this reference number. Of course being the great gardener I am I will take into account seasonal conditions like June Gloom or a heat wave and adjust my watering schedule to accommodate for the
current weather conditions.
hops. We are using a combination of 2 TBSP of fish emulsion per gallon of water once a month during the growing and flowering season. Additionally, we will also use a slow release synthetic fertilizer 22-6-12.
While growing your hops will need adequate water to ensure good growth and flower production. Most of the water use will come when they have maxed out their height and start making flowers. If you use the CIMIS station reference ETO's then the crop coefficient is 1.0. I use the Miramar station as my reference ETO, historically Junes ETO number is 5.25. I will apply 5.25 inches of water on my hops plants in June based on this reference number. Of course being the great gardener I am I will take into account seasonal conditions like June Gloom or a heat wave and adjust my watering schedule to accommodate for the
current weather conditions.
Pests
The hop aphid Phorodon humuli overwinters on peach and plums trees. Use dormant oils, post yellow sticky traps and use tangle foot where possible to prevent hop aphid activity in spring. If an outbreak occurs you can spray plant with soapy water to kill the aphids.
Powdery Mildw Sphaerotheca macularis can be very destructive and decrease yields by 80% even with the application of fungicides. Use a Cocide, a copper based fungicide and sulfur immediately if powdery mildew is observed. Hosing down the hops bine in the morning will also help remove the spores from the hops leaves.
The hop aphid Phorodon humuli overwinters on peach and plums trees. Use dormant oils, post yellow sticky traps and use tangle foot where possible to prevent hop aphid activity in spring. If an outbreak occurs you can spray plant with soapy water to kill the aphids.
Powdery Mildw Sphaerotheca macularis can be very destructive and decrease yields by 80% even with the application of fungicides. Use a Cocide, a copper based fungicide and sulfur immediately if powdery mildew is observed. Hosing down the hops bine in the morning will also help remove the spores from the hops leaves.
A few people have mentioned that they grew hops and the first year was fantastic lots of growth and a decent harvest. But, the following spring the Hop plant never came out of dormancy. The plant died back to the crown like it was suppose to but it never emerged the following spring. We are going to apply a low nitrogen fertilizer like 6-20-20 in October to enhance the fall root development and spring flowering. We will keep you posted.
Harvest time
Harvest your hops mid August into September. You should expect a very small crop the first year. A full crop should be yours for the harvesting the second year. The cone is ready to be pulled off the bine when it is "springy" to the touch and has a strong hop odor. There should be a visible thick yellow substance (Lupulin) that is inside the flower cone. Some people hand pick the flowers as they mature and others wait until most of the cones are ripe and then cut down the entire bine and harvest from the ground. Now unless you are wet hopping your beer you need to dry the hops. Improperly dried hops can become moldy and unusable. Dryer temperatures must not exceed 140F and do not dry your hops in direct sunlight. An Oast house is the preferred method for drying hops. What you don't have an Oast house? Well you will have to use a food dehydrator or the oven. We are going to use old window screens and lay them one layer deep in a safe location in our garage. Turn the cones daily and in 2-3 days
they should be dry. The cones will still be "springy" but not wet.
Harvest your hops mid August into September. You should expect a very small crop the first year. A full crop should be yours for the harvesting the second year. The cone is ready to be pulled off the bine when it is "springy" to the touch and has a strong hop odor. There should be a visible thick yellow substance (Lupulin) that is inside the flower cone. Some people hand pick the flowers as they mature and others wait until most of the cones are ripe and then cut down the entire bine and harvest from the ground. Now unless you are wet hopping your beer you need to dry the hops. Improperly dried hops can become moldy and unusable. Dryer temperatures must not exceed 140F and do not dry your hops in direct sunlight. An Oast house is the preferred method for drying hops. What you don't have an Oast house? Well you will have to use a food dehydrator or the oven. We are going to use old window screens and lay them one layer deep in a safe location in our garage. Turn the cones daily and in 2-3 days
they should be dry. The cones will still be "springy" but not wet.
The yellow lupulin will fall off easily and the central stem should
break not bend under pressure. Use or freeze. Vacuum sealing and then freezing is the best method for hops storage. I don't have a food vacuum sealer so freezer ziploc bags are my go to method. We will be using the "whole leaf" style of freezing but there are other methods. You can also make plugs or pellets from your hops. Plugs are compressed hops made into the size of a wine cork. Pellets are pulverized hops that are then formed into pellets.
That is it your guide to growing hops in San Diego.
Hoppy Gardening! ~ April
break not bend under pressure. Use or freeze. Vacuum sealing and then freezing is the best method for hops storage. I don't have a food vacuum sealer so freezer ziploc bags are my go to method. We will be using the "whole leaf" style of freezing but there are other methods. You can also make plugs or pellets from your hops. Plugs are compressed hops made into the size of a wine cork. Pellets are pulverized hops that are then formed into pellets.
That is it your guide to growing hops in San Diego.
Hoppy Gardening! ~ April
