Hops in many people are associated with beer; indeed, it is the most famous component of the drink popular on the whole planet. Therefore, often when growing this plant a logical question arises: when to collect hops? Belongs to the Konoplev family, and today two of its species are known: Japanese and ordinary, which is most widely used due to the demand in the brewing industry.
Hop: a decorative good friend or a malicious weed?
Hops, the use of which has found its place in many industries (medicine, perfumery, cosmetology, pharmacy, canning, baking), has historically been considered a native of the Middle East. This plant was brought to Europe by the Greeks and Romans. In the household, in the absence of care, hops run wild and turn into a real aggressor, which is very difficult to breed. Therefore, often its dense thickets can be observed in remote corners of the garden, where a person’s hands just don’t reach, which leads to the constant conquest of new territories by an uncontrolled plant.
Sometimes, in contrast to the question “how to grow hops”, another arises - “how to get rid of it”?
With proper care, hops can become a seasonal decorative element for arches, fences, pillars. Its hanging green cones, associated with original decorative ornaments, look especially impressive. When to collect hop cones?
External characteristics of the plant
Common hops are able to grow in one place for about 20 years and are characterized by a liana-like wriggling stalk and a powerful perennial root system that penetrates the soil to a depth of more than 4 meters and dispersed in diameter about 3 meters. The main rhizome of the bush is an underground shoot, constantly forming buds (the basis for the formation of new shoots), this is especially active in the fourth year of growth. Cultural hops cultivation consists in the regular destruction of numerous sprouts to avoid unwanted bush growth. To understand when to collect hops, you should have some idea about this plant and its features.
Hop stalks are branched, covered with hairs, painted in green or reddish color, reach a thickness of about 13 mm. The plant is able to reach a length of more than 10 meters and in the process of growth clings to the support using hook-like spikes placed along the sides of the stem, on the side shoots, petioles and leaves.
Hop flowers are collected in small inflorescences (20-60 each), are cones and grow on female vines. Male plants do not form cones, for which they are often destroyed. The fruits are small brown nuts. Seeds are also very small: 1000 pieces weigh from 2 to 4 grams. Hop leaves have a heart-shaped shape, in the middle part of the plant they are the largest, at the top and bottom of the bush - smaller. The upper side of the dark green color, the lower side is lighter and contains glands that secrete essential oils and resins. The aerial part of the plant lives for one year and dies in late autumn, in contrast to the perennial root system.
Growing Features
How to grow and when to collect hops? Hops are grown in flat areas. For mass gathering create the so-called hoppers with an area of 20-30 hectares, divided into separate squares, between which 3-4-meter paths are placed.
On each hectare, 145-150 columns (8-9 meters in height) are installed for trellis installation. In order to protect from piercing winds, hop plantations are planted near gardens, forest belts and forests. The open area planned for such a plant is planted in advance (for a couple of years) with 2-3-row protective forest belts from fast-growing trees, placing them from the edges of the plantation at a distance of 20 meters.
Landing: at home and on an industrial scale
The hops are laid on medium, slightly podzolic, sod and forest lands with good drainage; groundwater should not be close to the surface of the soil. Planting is carried out by cuttings or annual hop seedlings grown in nurseries. The landing depth, which is recommended in April-May, is 8-10 cm.
At home, landing is done according to the same principle, only on a smaller scale. So, the plant should provide well-drained soil, a sunny place and support on which it will crawl. As the latter, you can use a fence or a wall of a house with twine stretched over it. After planting, plentiful watering is recommended.
The emergence of seedlings usually occurs 7-10 days after planting. When the plant reaches a height of 50-60 cm, the stem is planted for support, and the aisle is loosened by cultivators (on an industrial scale). During the growing season, 4-5 fluffing of the upper soil layer and one hilling are usually carried out. The growth of the root system of hops is stopped, starting from the second year of growth. In early spring, the crests are plowed open, lateral rhizomes and last year's underground stems are trimmed; on highly developed plants, they are completely cut off; on insufficiently powerful plants, above the first or second pair of eyes.
Dressing and care
When the plant reaches a height of 3-4 meters, it is necessary to fertilize it with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers at the rate of 30-45 kg per 1 hectare. The yield of cones can be increased by pinching - shortening the extra lateral branches at a distance of 3 cm from the main stem.
Along the way, uprooting of damaged or dead plants and planting in their place of new specimens is carried out. On average, 1-16 hectares (for industrial cultivation) accounts for 14-16 thousand bushes. After pruning, fertilizing and application of herbicides is carried out in order to destroy weeds.
Hop propagation and transplantation
Transplanting and planting hops, the upper part of which dies before the onset of winter, can be done in spring or late fall. To do this, you need to dig a plant, select the most healthy roots and plant them in pre-prepared grooves at a distance of 1 meter from each other. When planning a spring planting, it is recommended to put the roots in a bag along with a small amount of soil and sawdust and store in the refrigerator.
Hops can be propagated by green cuttings, which are cut from three year old and older plants. Hop seeds for propagation are used for the most part by breeders with the aim of breeding new varieties.
When to collect hops?
Ripening of hop cones is often uneven; harvesting can be done from late August to early September. When to collect hop cones? For this, it is necessary to correctly determine their ripeness, the signs of which are the presence of a yellow powder similar to pollen, a specific aroma, good density, yellow-green color, brown bract; flakes should be in the straightening stage. It is during this period that the cones contain the maximum amount of essential oil, alpha acids, polyphenols. In hop farms, harvesting ends in late September; being late with the harvest leads to a decrease in its quality due to the rash of lupulin grains.
Features of drying raw materials
After collecting the cones, you need to dry, otherwise the raw material will quickly deteriorate and will not be suitable for brewing. Home brewers often use for this dryer for fruits and mushrooms, or a conventional oven. In a large-scale production, hops containing about 80% water are ventilated with heated air immediately after harvesting and then dried in specialized furnaces. Drying should be stopped when the stalk of the cone becomes brittle.
The dried material should have a yellow-green color and be practically weightless, while the flakes resemble
tissue paper. In this state, the cones need to be wrinkled, put in a plastic bag and placed in the freezer, where they will wait for their turn. On an industrial scale, raw materials are stored in plastic or jute bags at hop-pick-up points or hop-factories, where they are finally brought to standard commodity conditions.
After collecting hop cones, in the autumn, dried stems of the plant are cut, taken out of the territory for the purpose of burning. Hops are thoroughly cleaned of the remains of vegetation, they bring in organic matter (manure or compost) and potassium-phosphorus preparations.
Varieties of common hop
Hops Brewer
The variety is a tall massive plant with a delicate aroma. Cones elongated-cylindrical, medium, fairly dense; there are few of them on the bush. Hops, the use of which in the beer industry and in the preparation of hop-containing preparations is quite wide, is characterized by high resistance to disease, freezing, soaking, drought. The growing season is 115 days.
Hops Triumph
In one place it grows for 15 years or more, and is resistant to getting wet, drought and frost. May be affected by spider mites. It is characterized by a delicate aroma, used in brewing and processing, aimed at obtaining concentrated granules.