I actually harvested last weekend on 9/18. I am just getting around to

Nugget Hop Cones on the Bine

posting about it. This is year 8 for these hops and I ended up with a couple pounds of “wet” cones. They were fairly dry, squeezed easily, were papery dry and bounced back – passed the time to harvest test.

This was an ok year for the hops harvest, but not the best. Each year has it’s challenges, this year was lots of rain.

I re-raised the bines after the harvest as I always do so they can store the sun’s energy in the root stock / crown for next years growth.

In a month or so, the bines will die off.  At that time I will cut them off just above ground level and cover the crowns with compost, leaves and grass clippings.  This will help protect them from 20 below zero temps (and colder) this winter.  Hops are pretty hardy, but I have lost some to extreme cold temps (A large potted Fuggle) that the wind blew away my insulating leaves and snow.

The compost, leaves and grass clippings will help feed the bines next year as well as protect over the winter.  The hops are planted in mounds to keep standing water from rotting the roots.  The mounds do get washed away a bit during rain downpours so it helps to build them back up with organic materials.

That’s it for this season.  Leave a comment about how your hops fared this year.  Hopefully it was a good growing season for everyone.  Till next year, Hop On!

Nugget Hop Cones