Properly Planting Homegrown Hops

Yesterday, in an amazingly short amount of time, D and I put in the hops.

This is a "hill."  We cut out the sod in four separate circles, then covered each circle with 6-inch tall mounds made of manure and top soil:

 

After we finished the mounds, we staked each of them with a 6-foot stake.

 

Next went on a weed mat:

 

and then we planted the hop rhizomes.  Here's what one looks like:

Each mound then got mulched and labeled.

Here are the four varieties that we are growing:

It is going to be a fascinating summer, watching these come in! We've put them in a bit late, but from what we've read, hops are extremely hardy, so we shouldn't have a problem. And next year they are going to get much taller. We'll see how it goes for Year 1. I'll keep you all posted.

I can't wait to brew with our own hops! Woohoo!!!