Hops are pretty amazing. Of course their main claim to fame is as a bittering agent in beer, but the uses go well beyond that. There are several claimed health benefits to drinking tea made from hops, and they can be added to meals as an edible as well. Their relaxing characteristics also cause some to add them to sleep pillows.
Personally, I think that they smell incredible!
Hops plants are known to be prolific growers. My brother who sent the rhizomes down to me has his growing up an old telephone pole that he erected specifically for the purpose of growing hops. I raised a long Cedar log for mine last year, and it looks like the may reach the top this year. Check out these beautiful photos of them growing high into the sky!
Honestly, I did not even harvest them all the way to the top. I'll have to get a ladder soon and get back to work!
These fully developed hops cones are ready for harvest. They smell amazing and pluck off with ease. Smaller cones can be left to continue growing and you can get multiple harvests this way.
Just look at the size of this one!
Monster Truck the Pepper came out to help me, and he was a big help indeed. Not being ones for conventional measuring techniques, we picked a "hat full."
Having grown hops for two years now I must say that I really like the plant. Once established, they continue to spread and will return for years to come.
At the end of the growing season, they can be cut back to almost ground level. The rhizomes beneath the earths surface will wait until the following spring to return once again.
Since these plants can grow so long in the summer and still be cut back for the winter, they are a great plant to use for shade. When the plant is trellised and in full foliage, it can block the heat of the sun. By being cut back in the winter, they allow whatever sunlight still comes to shine unhindered. I have a few plans for how to use these hops as we move forward on our and, so we will have to see what happens next year.
@papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-hops-harvesting
