We have had a ton of rain lately in Sonoma County. With a break in the rain today, I set my intentions to complete what has been a project consuming my mind for months: Hops!
For those of you who don't know what hops are, here is one of my favorite websites dedicated to hops: http://www.freshops.com/. It's the little sumpin-sumpin that makes your favorite beers taste and smell great.
Apparently getting fresh, organic hops is not as common as one would think. Especially given that we are living in a mecca of all things local, organic and fresh. Thus, I have resolved to grow my very own, and have all winter to think about which varieties to grow.
I am leaning toward a few varieties of aromatic hops, and no bittering hops, since the aromatics are the ones most delicate and usable in fresh form. However, I have at least 3 months to research this issue and will likely be limited by what varieties the local folks will let me buy.
My first request for a dwarf hop variety was soundly rejected by the local brew supply shop (http://www.thebeveragepeople.com/), so I will either need to find other less-local sources, or submit to stringing a cable 14ft high. I have plans and materials for doing this, but could plant a LOT more hops around the yard if I can find a supplier of dwarves. (Any of you local folks have dwarf rhizomes? If so, let me know!)
Ok - so about our hopyard!
If you look closely at the photo on the left, you can see the cardboard, chicken wire, straw and compost.
Here are some fairly thorough details for how I did ours, in case any of you out there are curious.
Ingredients:
- chicken wire (keeps the gophers out of your precious roots)
- cardboard (keeps weeds out)
- compost. We used our own household compost/worm pit, plus an organic batch we got from Sonoma Compost Company (http://www.sonomacompost.com/).
- weed barrier
- leaves, hay or yard clippings
- optional: crushed oyster shells
After selecting a cool spot for the hopyard (see view from the hopyard below!), we got to work.
Instructions:
Step 1: dig holes about 3 feet apart in a line.
Step 2: cut and place chicken wire into each hole.
Step 3: cut and place cardboard in each hole.
Step 4: sprinkle oyster shells if you have them. This is optional and I only added the oyster shells to Plants 13-22.
Step 5: toss in your compost, layer each type.
Step 6: throw some yard clippings in.
Step 7: another layer of compost mixed with dirt. You should by now have a nice little mound that is about 6-12 inches above the ground. See photo below.
Step 8: place the weed barrier over each mound.
Step 9: dump a large pile of leaves over each mound.
The photo above shows the three types of garden clipping piles I used. From the right: hay, leaves from the apple tree, and leaves from the oak tree. I secretly hope that the hops that come out of the pile of apple leaves will have a hint of apple flavor.
Now...we wait until spring, when we select and order our hop rhizomes to plant in each mound. Fun!
Two other quick digressions:
1. I just changed the hummingbird water and this little zippy creature came right along and started sucking it down. Aren't his wings COOL?
It's the same bird from 2 angles and you can really see the iridescence of the feathers.
2. Racer 5 appears to be jealous of the attention that the hummingbird is getting.
The rest of the chickens took the opportunity to sneak in the house, but Bella chased them out.Here is an action shot of them getting chased out!
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