Hacksaw Homegrown Hop Halfway Harvest

Finally time to harvest one of my hop plants! Please don't ask if I'm harvesting the Nugget or the Centennial because I still haven't figured out which is which. Harvesting your own hops is one of the most exciting things you can do when you have a very small amount to harvest. My growing technique this year was to cut back all bines and only keep the two strongest. This strategy is going out the window next year. I'm letting them all grow wild and free and I will train any bine that gets long enough up a trellis.

You can see the progress my hops had made about a month ago here.

These are second year hops and I had hoped for a significantly better harvest than I got, but growing them is still so much fun that I'd do it even if this was all I could ever get.

All you have to do is pinch the little cones off and try not to smash them and smell all of them before brewing with them.

I filled up a medium sized bowl and then dumped them onto a 9x13 pan to dry out a few days inside. Once they are dry I will freeze them in a ziplock bag until I decide to brew with them.

Happy Hop Growing! Stay tuned for the second half of the harvest.

--Ben