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This week I’ve been worried sick.
I would often find myself lying in bed at 3 am thinking “I wonder if my hops are getting enough water”.
They’ve been in the ground close to 4 weeks, and Roger (my father in law, the bloke that looks like Santa) had been away for a couple of those weeks, so they had to be getting thirsty.
Every day I checked the forecast. Nothing but sunshine… disgusting.
However! Upon inspection, I was delighted to see a few shoots and even a couple of handsome leaves popping out of the ground.
They’re actually growing! My internet rhizomes are happy and doing their thing.
Interestingly, the land slopes downwards to the north. The northern ends of the beds are in partial shade during winter, so the soil was still moist, bordering on wet. Whereas the top of the beds, the part to the right of this photo, the part in full sun and relatively dry soil had the happiest hops.
Brad from Yellingbow hop farms told me to make sure the soil is damp, but not wet. I wonder if the growth was a result of the additional sun, or the dryer soil? Either way, it’s all happening.
One piece of advice – don’t use regular hay for mulch. There’s grass seed all through it…
The next step is to get the trellis’ up. We’re using old cut down trees on the property, and no machinery. This could be a challenge!
