BeerBorg

berryman wrote:I think I have some ready to harvest. They have a crunchy sound when fondled and some have just a little brown on the tips...Does this sound like they're ready?

Those sound ready to me!

gwcr wrote:Garage smelled great while they were drying. Got them down to 2.7oz and bagged in ziplock freezer bags, anxiously waiting in the freezer for the next brew day. "Vacuum" sealed them with lung power...

Since you're using them soon, you're ok with ziplock, but once you get enough to last a few brew sessions, you'll want to get a real vacuum sealer. I bought a vacuum sealer when I started buying hops by the pound, because that's the only way to keep them fresh. And it has been invaluable in sealing my homegrown hops (as well as bulk purchases). But I find that I use it for so many things that I can't imagine not having it. It makes all kinds of food last much longer, and I've even used it to seal soup (put the soup in the bag, freeze it, then seal). It has paid for itself many times over.

bpgreen wrote: I bought a vacuum sealer when I started buying hops by the pound, because that's the only way to keep them fresh. And it has been invaluable in sealing my homegrown hops (as well as bulk purchases). But I find that I use it for so many things that I can't imagine not having it. It makes all kinds of food last much longer, and I've even used it to seal soup (put the soup in the bag, freeze it, then seal). It has paid for itself many times over.

I've thought for a while that I should own a Vacuum sealer, not just for hops this is the first year I've grow'd them and I don't buy them in bulk, but could use it for other things I do also. So..... where's a good place to start on looking for a good Vacuum sealer?

berryman wrote:

bpgreen wrote: I bought a vacuum sealer when I started buying hops by the pound, because that's the only way to keep them fresh. And it has been invaluable in sealing my homegrown hops (as well as bulk purchases). But I find that I use it for so many things that I can't imagine not having it. It makes all kinds of food last much longer, and I've even used it to seal soup (put the soup in the bag, freeze it, then seal). It has paid for itself many times over.

I've thought for a while that I should own a Vacuum sealer, not just for hops this is the first year I've grow'd them and I don't buy them in bulk, but could use it for other things I do also. So..... where's a good place to start on looking for a good Vacuum sealer?

Walmart, Costco, Amazon. Not necessarily in that order. I think the one I'm using now is one I bought from walmart.com, with the intentions of giving it to my mom, but I goofed and had it delivered to my home. And it would have cost almost as much to reship as to have one sent to her. So I bought another and sent it to her and kept the one I bought for her because it was better than the first one I had. Unfortunately, the one I have doesn't seem to be available now.

The one I had before had fewer features and I donated it. A while back, I thought this one was dying, and Costco had a sale, so I bought a new one, but whatever was happening with the current one seems to have self corrected, so I'm just keeping the new one as a spare.

Amazon sometimes has good deals. Just make sure that you're getting something decent.

My first ever Hop Harvest, I didn't need to use the truck or a tractor to haul them down to the drying room .

Got 2 oz ea. picked weight of Chinook and Nugget. Looks like I will have quite a little more but I didn't think they were quite ready yet. I think it will be another week and I should have some Cascades ready also. The Mount Hood, I don't think so this year but the plants look good.
I spread them out on the drying sheet and in the dehydrator now and I think they are close to being done, going to re-weigh them in a few mins.

Is this first year growth?

Whamolagan wrote:Is this first year growth?

Yes

berryman wrote:My first ever Hop Harvest, I didn't need to use the truck or a tractor to haul them down to the drying room .

Got 2 oz ea. picked weight of Chinook and Nugget. Looks like I will have quite a little more but I didn't think they were quite ready yet. I think it will be another week and I should have some Cascades ready also. The Mount Hood, I don't think so this year but the plants look good.
I spread them out on the drying sheet and in the dehydrator now and I think they are close to being done, going to re-weigh them in a few mins.

If that's a tray from your dehydrator, I'm guessing it's fairly good allows multiple settings. I set mine at 95 for 8 hours.

Picked some more this weekend. Another cascade harvest and all my nugget.

So far, just over a pound and a half total. I should get a little more hallertauer.

bpgreen wrote:Picked some more this weekend. Another cascade harvest and all my nugget.

So far, just over a pound and a half total. I should get a little more hallertauer.

I just realized that I didn't update after my last harvest. I got less than an ounce. I got a total of 25 oz (dried). I saw a few cones developing last week, but I doubt if they'll get far enough along to harvest.

But with the bulk hops I bought from Beer Warrior, I won't need to buy hops for quite a while.

So what was your final take?

Whamolagan wrote:So what was your final take?

If this was directed to me, in the post above, I listed 25 oz as my final take.

But it turns out, that's not the case. I actually got yet another harvest, but it was really small. My total haul for this harvest was 2/3 oz, mostly cascade. Some of them had so much rain that they stuck to my fingers.

So my total for the yeast is 25 2/3 oz.

it's looking better this year (second year). I'm getting quite a lot, but not done yet....

Lookin good, real nice

2 each left to right - Cascade, Mount Hood, Chinnook, Nugget. I haven't figured why the left plant of each variety grew higher except for the nugget they both went over the 18' wire. Was quite dry here early on.