Hops adventure!

I am a fan of frosty beverages.  More specifically, the adult kind of frosty beverage.  Preferably one that is full of hops.  Perhaps a nice pale ale or IPA to get even more precise.  Just typing those words makes me thirsty.  The husband and I were looking for a new horticultural adventure and decided to try growing hops.  Hopefully, after all is said and done, we will utilize our harvest in one of our very own homebrews.  One thing at a time though, because there's a lot to do to get to that point.

Hops is a prolific vine, but it needs a little assistance from a trellis.  I chose two varieties of hops one of which (Cascades) we will grow on our front porch.  From ground level to the top of the porch it's at least 15-18ft which should allow a fair amount of room for the plants to climb.  Since these vines can become quite sizable, it is best to keep them separated if you care about distinguishing between varieties during harvest time.  So - we needed a second location.  We decided to use our back acre for something other than a giant weed patch and tilled a small section, 4'x12', for the second variety, Nugget.

We did a lot of research on hops growing and have decided to treat this plot as a mini-version of the standard used by the massive hops farms in the Pacific Northwest.  We obtained two 15+ft black locust posts from a friendly neighbor at the other end of the holler.  

Skinny sighthounds inspect locust posts.  Apparently they are very interesting.

These will be stripped and scorched on the bottom 3ft (to discourage rot) and sunk into the ground.  Before we do this, we will add hardware for wire to be attached and strung between the two posts.  We will run twine or coir from this wire down to the hops bines which will act as their support structure. 

We still have a ways to go, but in the meantime, I've started the rhizomes I purchased from Freshops in pots so they could get a head start.  

More hops growing progress to follow in the coming weeks!