The hop plant is not only an excellent raw material for the production of intoxicating drinks, but also a valuable medicinal plant. The decorative qualities of this vine, densely strewn with green cones, are no less in demand. It is often used for landscaping various types of supports, gazebos, pergolas and arches, and planting along the perimeter as living fences. It has been proven that hop leaves and stems are capable of absorbing heavy metal ions.
Humulus lupulus – common (climbing) hops, belongs to the hemp family. The genus is represented by three species of perennial and annual herbaceous vines, usually used for vertical gardening. These are fast-growing vines that shed the entire above-ground part for the winter and are preserved thanks to underground rhizomes.
Here is the description of hops given by Dahl: “Hops are a warlike plant, the pollen of which is used in drunken drinks; cones of this plant, which contain pollen. The state of being intoxicated. The hops overcame him. The intoxication of the heroes will overcome. Mash cannot be brewed without hops,” and so on.
The most interesting thing is that with its current very wide use, despite the fact that “intoxicating” has become synonymous with intoxicating, hops are a relatively recent invention, although it is found wildly in the forests of Central and Eastern Europe and large parts of Asia. It is difficult to say who was the first to brew beer with hops.
This page describes what properties hops have and how to grow them. personal plot.
Healing properties of hops
The first mention of beer with hops is from the Finns, but it is only about 1200 years old, apparently, at the same time the Slavs who inhabited it began to use it in the Baltic states. At this time, they began to use hops in the Caucasus. In Western Europe, hops, judging by the mentions of it in chronicles and medical treatises, appeared even later, around the 8th–10th centuries, in different countries at different times.
Hops are added to beer not only and not so much to increase its “hopiness,” so to speak, but to improve its taste and preservation. Although hops indeed have a certain effect on nervous system. In medicine, it is used as a sedative and is included in many preparations.
Hops also began to be used in medicine around the 12th century, when it was already widespread. They were even paid taxes and tribute, for example, in the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, as mentioned in the chronicles in 967. In the Middle Ages, such tribute became widespread in Germany, Holland and Norway. At this time, hops became the only and main additive to beer, giving it taste and aroma, and completely replaced other additives - wormwood, gravel and others.
In medicine and brewing, hop inflorescences and hop glands, which densely cover the leaves of the inflorescences, are used. When dried, some of these glands crumble, forming a golden, aromatic powder. Mature inflorescences are collected in August, in good weather, after the dew has evaporated. Inflorescences that have slightly yellowed, but have not yet turned yellow, are considered ready for harvest.
In medicine healing properties Hops are used as a sedative for overwork, increased excitability, and difficulty falling asleep. Hops give good results in cases of low acidity of gastric juice and digestive disorders. Together with chaga (birch mushroom), hops are used as a general tonic in oncology. Hops are also often used in cosmetics to strengthen hair.
The medicinal raw materials are infructescences (“cones”) of hops. They contain essential oil (0.3–1.8%), which includes mono and sesquiterpenoids (myrcene, geraniol, caryophyllene, farnesene); bitterness (11–21%) – humulone, lupulone, etc.; flavonoids, coumarins, phenolic acids (chlorogenic, caffeic, etc.), coumarins, vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B6, estrogenic hormones, resinous substances.
Biologically active substances of hops have a calming, hypnotic effect, bitter substances improve digestion, the sum of biologically active substances has a bactericidal effect, has a positive effect on metabolic processes and especially on the regulation of fat, mineral and water metabolism. In scientific medicine, hop preparations are used for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, to stimulate appetite, improve digestion during gastritis, for diseases of the gall bladder and liver, spleen (“Hovaletten”).
They are used as an analgesic, sedative, hypnotic for increased nervous excitability, sleep disorders, neuralgia, vegetative-vascular dystonia, mild spasms of the coronary vessels, tachycardia, early stages hypertension (“Valocordin”, “Valosedan”, “Novo-passit”).
Hop-based drugs are effective for pyelonephritis, kidney stones, inflammation of the bladder, dropsy (“Urolesan”); used for inflammatory diseases of the skin and mucous membranes, allergic reactions accompanied by itching; Decoctions and lotions are used for radiculitis and joint diseases.
The main use of hop cones is brewing; they are also used in cosmetology to strengthen hair.
The use of preparations from the hop plant is contraindicated during pregnancy (disturbs hormonal balance) and lactation, hypersecretion of gastric juice, acute hepatitis, severe dysfunction of the liver and kidneys.
Hop “cones” are collected at the beginning of ripening (late July - August), when they have a yellowish-green color; they are cut off together with the stalks so that they do not crumble.
Hops are often used as an ornamental plant; it climbs well on balconies, verandas, fences and gazebos, decorating them with its carved foliage. The liana does not lose its decorative appearance for 20–30 years.
On plantations, the entire vine is usually cut off, then the inflorescences are collected from it, which are dried in a ventilated, dark place on the litter. If you dry hops without bedding, the glands with essential oils and resins that fall off - the most valuable part of the raw material - will be lost. Hop cones contain up to 1.6% essential oil, and glands - up to 3%. IN essential oil More than 100 substances have been discovered, its composition depends on the origin of the raw material, time of collection and climatic conditions.
With hops, not only the cones used for brewing are used, but also young shoots before their leaves have yet blossomed. These shoots are boiled and served like asparagus. Before the revolution, it was specifically recommended to grow hops for vegetable raw materials, covering young shoots from light, bleaching them, like asparagus. Such shoots are not only more tender, but also grow faster. By pruning the hops and blocking new shoots from light, you can have them almost all summer. Of course, you can’t prune the same bush all the time. Therefore, if you need young shoots, leave a few old large shoots on the bush to feed it. Young shoots are tied into bunches, boiled in salted water and served with breadcrumbs.
Here is the description of ordinary hops given by the famous Russian gardener Steinberg: “Hop sprouts usually appear from the ground quite early, already in April and May, so during the indicated vegetable-free time, you can eat hop sprouts, which are considered very tasty. Since hops are often found in the wild, this circumstance takes on special significance, although, in view of the indicated value of hop sprouts, hops should be bred on a small scale in every gardening and vegetable gardening. In the spring, the hop sprouts are allowed to come out of the ground a little, and then they are broken up and used like asparagus.”
What does the hop vine look like and how does it grow (with photo)
Hops are climbing herbaceous plant, perennial. Stems up to 6 m long, tetrahedral, covered with hooked spines. The lower leaves are opposite, long-petiolate, rounded, 3–5 deeply palmately lobed, serrated at the edges; the upper leaves are entire. Flowers are unisexual: staminate flowers - in axillary panicles, five-membered; pistillate - in pineal-shaped axillary drooping catkins, growing into infructescences.
As you can see in the photo, the fruits of the hop plant are nuts collected in yellowish-green cones:
They, like asparagus and cauliflower, can be eaten in the spring. It blooms in July-August, the fruits are harvested in September.
Hops grow like a vine, its faceted stems twine around the support to the right, counterclockwise. And in order to better hold on, the stems are covered with special anvil-shaped hairs; the hairs below are wide and thick, and on top they have two “horns” directed sideways along the stem, impregnated with silicon salts and very strong. Sticking their sharp ends into the support, these hairs firmly hold the shoot. At the same time, they also play a protective role. Try to make your way through the hop thickets in short sleeves - you will get an unforgettable experience of a lifetime. This method of struggle was used on my advice in one kindergarten– the children immediately stopped all attempts to climb over the fence into the street. Scratches are very painful and take a long time to heal.
Hops are a dioecious plant; male and female inflorescences are located on different bushes. Only female bushes that form inflorescences in the form of cones are of practical importance. Since inflorescences that do not have seeds are more valued in brewing and medicine, only female plants are usually planted on plantations.
Hops have underground branching rhizomes that produce new shoots. Sections of these rhizomes are used to propagate hops in culture. Green shoots die off every year after fruiting, and grow back in the spring.
This is a southern boreal-nemoral-forest-steppe North American-European-West Asian species. Widely distributed in the south of the European part of Russia, the Caucasus, the south of Western Siberia, Altai and Central Asia. In the Ural region it is found in the Middle and Southern Urals. Grows in thickets of coastal bushes, in humid forests.
The most decorative variety with bright yellow leaves - humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’.
These photos show what a hop plant looks like:
The following sections of the article are devoted to how to plant hops and how to care for the plant.
Planting and care conditions for growing hops in open ground
Hop vines are commonly used for vertical gardening. However, when growing hops, it should be taken into account that before winter, the above-ground mass of leaves and branches dies off completely every year, only the thickened underground rhizomes of the hop are preserved. In the spring, after the snow melts, hops begin to actively grow.
An important condition for growing hops is to provide a semi-shaded area, protected from northern winds. In sunny places, hop plantings are more susceptible to disease, attack by aphids and other leaf-eating insects.
For planting and caring for hops in open ground, permeable fertile loam with a sufficient amount of moisture, but not waterlogged, is best suited.
In a vertical position, hop vines quickly climb up the supports; in a horizontal position, the growth rate is significantly reduced. To grow a continuous green wall, plants are planted at intervals of 1.5–2 m. A well-developed hop specimen will form a dense interweaving of stems and leaves by mid-summer. Knowing this feature, you can quickly decorate even the most inconspicuous garden buildings.
How to plant, grow and care for hops in your garden
To plant hops in poor soil, in the fall, holes or ditches 60 cm deep are dug, half filled with manure, and covered with earth on top. Planting is carried out in the spring with both seedlings and cuttings. When planting, ordinary hop seedlings are placed at a distance of 80-100 cm from each other; Japanese hops can be planted even more often (30-50 cm).
Like most vines, it needs support. It consumes a lot of nutrients and water, so to ensure good and rapid development, the plant must be fed and watered. In the first year, common hops can produce many shoots; weak and substandard shoots should be pruned so as not to deplete the plant. Then in the second year there will be fewer shoots and flowering will be more abundant. In the third or fourth year, the rhizomes grow, and if you give them free rein, the hops will become a real disaster for your garden, so you need with an iron hand keep this vine in its designated place. When the shoots reach 60 cm, they are given a support up to three or more meters long, around which they will curl. During the first half of summer, adult plants develop a powerful crown of intertwining shoots with lobed leaves and decorative cones.
After planting, when caring for hops in your garden plot, it is important to protect the plant from pests. Although this is not the most “tasty” plant, it can be damaged by leaf beetles. The old method of spraying with a bitter infusion of wormwood is recommended. Is it easier to buy a modern one? chemical agent to combat leaf-eating insects. In the fall, after dying, the hop vines are cut off.
The plant creates continuous shadow, and twilight will always reign under the “green tent”. This must be taken into account if we plant hops near the gazebo or veranda.
In autumn, holes for planting hops 0.5 m deep are filled half with manure and covered with earth on top. In spring, hop seedlings or cuttings are planted in them. Seedlings are planted at a distance of 1 m.
In the first half of summer, hop vines grow so rapidly that this plant is the very first to entwine pergolas and supports, far ahead of lemongrass, girl's grapes, honeysuckle honeysuckle. During the day, the hops grow by several centimeters. As soon as the shoots grow 40–50 cm, a support is built for them. In the first year of planting, weak shoots of the plant should be removed, leaving the strong ones.
In order to care for hops as proper agricultural technology suggests, timely weeding, periodic loosening and watering during the dry period are necessary. In the first 3 years after planting to ensure rapid and good growth You should regularly water and feed the hops with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer. Fertilizers should be alternated: fertilizer is applied to the soil once, then foliar fertilization is applied to the stems and leaves (fertilizer should be diluted in half concentration). The foliar feeding method is also carried out in the case of nitrogen starvation of the leaves, when they become light and small; in the case of a lack of potassium, the shape of the leaves becomes convex, and the fact that the plant lacks phosphorus elements is indicated by the bronze color of the leaf.
In the process of growing hops, it is necessary to ensure that the roots do not grow beyond the plantings. You can use limiters or bury slate remains to a depth of half a meter.
Hop propagation: how to propagate a vine by cuttings and dividing rhizomes
Perennial hops are propagated by dividing rhizomes, root suckers, and less often by seeds. The rhizomes are separated with a sharp shovel, without digging up the bush, directly in the ground. This is done in the spring, when new shoots appear. For planting, the rhizomes are cut into pieces 10–15 cm long with two or three pairs of buds and planted. Annual roots with a diameter of about 2 cm take root better. In vertical gardening, the hybrid form Aurea with golden-yellow leaf color is often used. It perfectly shades plants with dark foliage and creates a charming ensemble with coniferous plants, which are now in fashion.
Spaces of 2–2.5 m are made between the rows, and plants are planted at a distance of one meter. After the emergence of seedlings, the soil is loosened, systematic weeding and watering are carried out. During the summer they feed with slurry 2-3 times. When the shoots reach a length of 60–90 cm, the plants are sent along trellises. The fruits appear already in the first year; in the second year of life, hops produce quite decent yields. To help the hops winter better, the shoots are hilled up in the fall.
To propagate hops by cuttings, they are harvested from plants 3–8 years old.
In spring (from mid-March to mid-April, depending on the weather), shoots are collected, the thickness of which is at least 4 mm and the length does not exceed 8 cm. They must be light color, from cream to pale yellow. When the shoots turn green, their taste becomes slightly bitter. The tops of the shoots should still be tightly closed during harvesting. In place of the removed shoots, new ones are formed, which can also be collected. The hop cones are harvested in September-October.
Instructions
Hops compare favorably with other climbing plants due to their rapid growth. Already in the second half of June he is able to decorate land plot. It is advisable to plant hops near a fence, gazebo, veranda and other outbuildings. This plant performs not only a decorative function. Young shoots and hop cones can be used to prepare medicinal decoctions and tinctures.
When choosing a place to plant hops, it is important to take into account the fact that when it grows, it can destroy neighboring plants. To prevent the plant from heavily shading the house, it is better to plant it 1.5 m from the window, periodically trimming the grown shoots. Caring for hops involves abundant watering and fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizers. When the plant reaches 0.5 m, it needs support and garter.
When forming a hop crown, it should be taken into account that the plant grows better in a vertical direction. By the end of summer it begins to lose its aesthetics. The lower leaves turn yellow and gradually fall off. To solve the problem with bare stem bases, you can plant other plants next to the hops that remain green until autumn (astilbe, peony, fern, etc.).
It can also be propagated by cuttings, but a more convenient way is through rhizomes. This should be done in autumn or spring. Since hop rhizomes are fibrous, the easiest way to separate them is with pruning shears. The plants are covered with thorns, so you should wear long sleeves and gloves when working with them.
When growing hops, problems can arise in dry and hot weather. These are ideal conditions for aphids to appear. To avoid the invasion of these insects, the plant should be treated with insecticides at the beginning of summer. If aphids do appear, you need to spray the hops more strong drugs. When processing, keep in mind that insects accumulate on the lower part of the leaves.
A lack of nutrients can affect the appearance of the plant. With a deficiency of phosphorus, the leaves become bronze; with a lack of potassium, they become convex. Pale and small leaves are characteristic of plants with nitrogen deficiency.
In general, hops are unpretentious. In a fairly short period of time, he can capture a huge piece of land. With the help of this plant you can decorate unsightly areas of your dacha, make hedge or just beautifully fence the house. Within a few days after planting the rhizomes and watering them, hops gradually begin to grow on any soil, without requiring any specific actions.
Hops (lat. Húmulus) is a genus of spectacular plants of the Hemp family (lat. Cannabaceae). Lianas are widespread in deciduous forests, along river shorelines and near streams in temperate zones. The main purpose of hops is brewing; it is also used in pharmaceuticals. Cultivated since time immemorial. There are records mentioning hops dating back to 736 BC.
Description
Hops is a small genus, consisting of only two species: H. vulgare - a perennial, H. japonica - an annual. Both types are presented flowering plants with flexible, durable shoots. In autumn, the aboveground part of the perennial species, including branches, completely dies. This feature makes it possible to painlessly remove the vines from the supports and put them in order (paint them or make new ones). In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, new shoots very quickly begin to develop from the renewal buds on the rhizome. The growth rate reaches 20-50 cm per week. During the season they can reach a length of 2 to 15 m.
Hops – irreplaceable plant for brewing - female specimen
Hops are a herbaceous dioecious plant whose shoots twine around supports in a clockwise direction. The leaves are located opposite. The leaf blade comes in various shapes, but most often palm-shaped or heart-shaped. Length 7-12 cm. The edges have large teeth. The color of the leaves is attractive - rich green.
Various shapes hop leaves
Male and female flowers are formed on different specimens, so plants of both sexes are needed to produce seeds. Male flowers in complex panicles (inflorescences) consist of a five-leaved perianth and five stamens. Female - collected in cone-shaped inflorescences, consisting of a pistil and a cup-shaped perianth.
Interesting idea– hop pyramid
The bracts grow and form glands that contain lupulin, which is used in brewing. Therefore, only female specimens are grown for brewing beer, which are propagated vegetatively. When a male plant is present, pollination occurs and seeds ripen in the cones, which spoil the taste of the beer. Hop fruits are nuts with a spirally coiled embryo. Flowering starts in July, maybe in August. Fruiting begins in August.
Botanical illustration of hops
Kinds
(lat. H. lupulus) or climber is found in the wild in temperate zones around the globe. Grows in thickets of bushes. Perennial, dioecious plant. Grows up to 6-10 m. A huge number has been bred different varieties. For decorative purposes they grow:
- “Aureus” or “Aurea” – very beautiful variety H. vulgaris with elegant yellow-green leaves that appear golden in bright sunlight.
- “Prima Donna” – fast growing variety with a dense crown and large female flowers, these are the plants that are used for decorative purposes. The variety “Cascade” also has original and large cones.
Common hop "Aureus"
(lat. H. japonicus or H. scandens) or climbing - a species native to Japan and China, in Russia it is found on Sakhalin and Far East. annual plant with leaves deeply dissected into five to seven lobes. During the season it reaches a length of up to 4 m. The stems are covered with hairs. The fruit is a capsule with small seeds. It does not have lupulin glands in female flowers. It does not form cone-shaped inflorescences, therefore it is bred only for decorative purposes. H. climbing has been introduced into cultivation since 1886.
Photo gallery of species
Growing
Location. Hops grow best in semi-shaded areas. It is good when the plant is protected from cold winds.
Growing hops for a brewery
Soils. Prefers fertile loamy soils, which should be moistened, but in moderation. Acidity neutral 6.1 – 7 pH.
Laying out a site and installing supports for growing hops
Care. All types of hops need support. The soil around the plants is loosened and weeds are removed. Young perennials the first few years are pruned: in the summer, frail and weak shoots are removed. Water as needed, generously. Hops need feeding, especially in the first two to three years. Any fertilizer is suitable for this. Perennial hops are frost-resistant. Overall, the hops are very unpretentious plant, not requiring special care.
Advice: the growth of the rhizome should be monitored, its growth must be restrained so that the hops do not spread beyond the allotted limits and do not crowd out other plants. The direction of development can be set: it is enough to remove one shoot and the plant begins to grow in the opposite direction. It tolerates any pruning well.
Male specimen with racemose inflorescence
Pests. When growing hops in a sunny place, they are more susceptible to damage from leaf-eating insects (leaf beetles). To combat them, spray with wormwood infusion or special insecticidal preparations.
Female cone plant (H. lupulus ‘Cascade’)
Reproduction
Vegetative
Perennial species(H. vulgare) is propagated vegetatively. The rhizome is most often divided; sometimes root suckers are used. In the first case, in the spring, after young shoots appear, a part of the rhizome is separated directly in the ground with a sharp shovel. Rhizome cuttings are cut 10-15 cm long; each cut should contain 2-3 pairs of buds. It is best to use one-year-old roots, the diameter of which does not exceed 2 cm. Root in an inclined position in wet sand. You can also use moss. It is the parts of hop rhizomes that are most often sold in nurseries. To obtain varietal hops, use only vegetative propagation. Rooting occurs quickly, the effectiveness of the method is 95-100%.
Rhizome cuttings
Seminal
Only the annual species (H. japonica) is propagated by seeds. Sowing is carried out in May, the seeds are sown immediately into the ground to a depth of 1-1.5 cm. The germination of the seed lasts three years. The seeds do not germinate very well.
Advice: if you need to grow hops from which seeds will be collected, then sowing should be done earlier in April, not in May. Sow in pots with universal soil mixture. Shoots appear within two weeks, the sprouts immediately dive into a separate container. Seedlings are planted in June along with a ball of earth.
One week old hop sprout
Decorative use
Hops are used for vertical gardening. If supports are not installed, the stems will spread along the ground, which can be used for original landscaping on slopes.
Garden decoration in Japanese style
The variety “Aurea” looks good against the background of trees with dark foliage. With its help you can quickly and beautifully braid a pergola, arch or gazebo. When growing hops, various supports are often used, for example, trellises or pyramids. Such compositions look very impressive. The supports are laid immediately, since hops grow very quickly. You can use durable rope structures, with which you can easily create original and unusual configurations for screens, walls, etc.
Decoration of the gazebo
Hops develop very quickly and entwine any supports. Knowing this property, it is often used for decorative design unsightly fences and chain-link fences. Annual species can be planted on trees with tall, bare trunks: in the shortest possible time, the hops will beautifully entwine the support and decorate the landscape with large, bright leaves.
Japanese hops and purple loosestrife – a joint flower bed
These plants are often used to design a site in a trendy Japanese style, i.e. for landscaping characteristic small architectural forms (pergolas or miniature pagodas, or arches). It can also be grown in flower beds in joint landing with various flowering plants, such as loosestrife or heather.
Hops are a very unpretentious plant and resistant to climatic conditions.
Gardeners, as well as potential brewers, will be interested in learning how to grow this plant in the country and what collecting hop cones is like.
Apart from correct landing you need to know how and when to collect hops, and how to store hops.
1 Planting and care: main nuances
Anyone who wants to grow hops first needs to decide on the purpose of planting it, and then choose the optimal type for themselves.
Hops belong to the Hemp family and are perennial. climbing plant with rough foliage. It can reach from 3 to 12 meters in length. It can reproduce by cuttings (taken from plants over 3 years old) and rhizomes. Propagation of hops by seeds is a more labor-intensive process, which is usually used by breeders to create new species.
Two types of inflorescences are formed on the stems - male and female. The first ones are complexly branched, with curls and small inconspicuous flowers at the ends. They are of no value or interest to brewers.
In turn, female inflorescences are cone-shaped, and we know them as “hop cones.” They bloom in mid-summer, and ripen in late August - early September.
Sometimes they have the opportunity to ripen only in the fall, but there is no need to rush into collecting hop cones: ripeness will directly affect the quality.
A few disadvantages of hops as a plant:
- grows quickly;
- capable of entwining nearby shrubs and trees, negatively affecting their growth conditions;
- if planted in the wrong place and not properly cared for, it is a potential breeding ground for harmful organisms and infections;
- "eats" everything from the earth useful material and microelements, as a result of which careful care will be needed not only for the hops themselves, but also for the soil;
- it takes root extremely quickly and adapts to the conditions (if the hops have already grown considerably over the area, and you want to remove them, it will take a lot of time, since the young shoots will continue to grow).
- if you want to grow hops on the balcony, you need to take into account its powerful root system; Growing from seeds is ineffective, so you should purchase hop rhizomes and take care of a pot or box of the greatest possible depth.
If these disadvantages scare you away, but you want decorative vine on your site, then best choice Japanese hops will be for you. There are no inflorescences on it, and the care it requires is minimal. You just need to choose a place where it will not compete for territory with other plants. You can enjoy the blooms in spring. Japanese hops are excellent garden view plants.
1.1 Boarding process
So, you have decided to join the ranks of future brewers. What needs to be done and in what order?
- Selection and purchase of rhizomes.
Many gardeners complain that growing hops from seeds is not so easy. That's why the best option will buy hop rhizomes in accordance with the type of beer you are interested in.
After purchase, care should be taken to ensure that the rhizomes receive required amount moisture. Until transplantation, it is best to store them in refrigeration chamber, carefully covering with rags, gauze or paper towels slightly moistened with water.
- Choosing a landing site.
Growing hops requires a lot of sunlight Therefore, it is necessary to choose a place where direct rays are directed at least 6 hours a day.
In addition, you need to take into account the vertical height of the place and create a support to support the plant. It could be a lattice leading to the roof of the house.
The soil should not accumulate excess water. Therefore, the selected location must be thoroughly drained.
- Preparing for landing.
The area of land must be carefully loosened and cleared of debris so that there are no lumps of earth, weeds, sticks or stones left. After this, you should fertilize the soil with special mixtures, manure, mullein, droppings, phosphate rock or other available options to a depth of approximately 30 centimeters.
- Planting rhizomes.
A small mound is made for each individual rhizome. The distance between embankments must be at least 1 meter. Next, you should dig holes in them, 10-15 centimeters deep, into which the rhizomes should be planted. They need to be laid horizontally and mulched to promote growth. When planting future plants, you need to immediately moisten the soil and be sure to continue to moisten it regularly.
Planting hops is not at all difficult if you approach the matter carefully and in detail.
1.2 Plant care
After the hops will appear from the ground and reach a height of 10-15 centimeters, it is necessary to constantly look after and care for the plant:
- do not let the shoots grow in different directions (regulate the direction of their growth using a support around which you carefully wrap the shoots)
- remove weak or damaged shoots
- cut leaves from the lower shoots to a height of 1 meter
- weed the ground
- water the seedlings regularly
- use insecticides to protect against insects and various infections
Grown hops are unpretentious and require the most basic conditions for ripening and reproduction. With proper care, you should expect your first harvest at the end of summer or autumn.
1.3 What is hop and “what is it eaten with” (video)
2 Collecting cones and drying hops
At the end of August, when cones have already appeared on the stems, you should carefully examine them and determine their maturity. Mature hop cones are not heavy and dry. Having broken one inflorescence, you can see a yellowish substance in the middle.
If the hop cones are greenish, do not rush to collect them, let them ripen. The combination of color and weight is the determining factor in the maturity of the plant.
It happens that you can collect your first harvest only in the fall. However, it will be really high quality.
How to collect grown hops? Ripe hop cones must be carefully unscrewed from the stem. Next, you should properly dry the inflorescences:
- put the cones on flat surface and place it in the shade
- to remove moisture in the cones, you can direct a fan at them for a couple of hours, turning the inflorescences over
- alternatively, the inflorescences can be wrapped in paper and stored in a dry, dark place
After harvesting and drying, you need to store your harvest in a closed package in the refrigerator. If necessary, the option of freezing the product is possible.
2.1 Post-harvest care
After you have collected the cones, shorten the branches to 1 meter. The plant does not bloom in winter, and it must be protected from harsh weather conditions.
Dry shoots should be removed, leaving a couple of centimeters of the stem above the ground. You can add fertilizer to the soil and cover the plants with a tarp to retain heat.
2.2 How and when should hops be replanted?
The optimal time to replant hops is late autumn (after harvest). Another option is to implement new landing in the spring.
When planting and replanting, plants are carefully dug up, the healthiest roots are selected and planted at a distance of 1 meter from one to another. When spring planting It is better to store rhizomes in plastic bag with fertilized soil and sawdust in a cool place, without access to light.
In terms of adaptation to a new place, there will be no problems with hops. The transplanted sprout will soon begin to actively develop. If you need to propagate hops, it will be most convenient to do this by taking a cutting or rhizome, since working with seeds requires special care and is used mainly for crossing plant varieties with each other.
COMMON HOPS
Almost all of us instantly associate the common hop plant with the epithet “hoppy,” but it is used not so much by brewers as by masters of poetry. Intoxicating aromas turn the heads of lovers, evoke philosophical thoughts about the meaning of life, touch, delight, conquer, bewitch, enchant. But in fact, that same ordinary hop has almost no odor, and its appearance It’s also not particularly charming, although it does have some zest of its own. Photo: Common hop (Humulus lupulus)
origin of name
Common hops grow both in the wild and carefully cultivated wherever it is not too hot. You can even find it in North Africa. No one can say for sure where the name “hop” came from; they only assume that it is either Slavic, or Chuvash, or German, or someone else. Each of these peoples has a word that sounds like “hops” and denotes some of its characteristic feature. For example, among the Germans it is “hummeln”, that is, “groping, feeling”, as if crawling and entwining everything that comes in its way, and in Latin it is “humus”, which means “earth”, a plant spreading along the ground . In Russia, common hops are found everywhere, with the exception of regions with a very harsh climate. We call this plant differently - hop flower, beer flower, wild grapes, bitterweed, beer cone.
Botanical description of the plant
Common hops can be described as unusually tenacious, creeping, twining, and very tenacious. This plant has interesting feature- in the fall, its entire above-ground part dies off, and in the spring, new shoots develop from the overwintered rhizomes with fantastic speed, stretching to a length of more than 6-7 meters. These herbaceous vines grow literally before our eyes and in just a month they are able to climb several meters up the supports, weave around a fence or gazebo. Moreover, it wraps around supports and obstacles only clockwise. Its stems themselves are hollow inside, tetrahedral. The rhizome is also long, and also creeping, only underground. Common hops are attractive with their rich green leaves, a bit like grape leaves and creating thick veils. Interestingly, its lower leaves have three or five lobes, and the upper ones, slightly smaller in size, are solid, similar to hearts.
Not everyone knows that the cones, thanks to which common hops are so valued, are female flowers, more precisely, cone-shaped inflorescences. The flowers themselves are hidden under the scales. They, as expected, have a pistil, with the help of which fruit ovaries are formed in all plants.
In addition, these unusual flowers nature has endowed it with special glands that contain the substance lupulin, which has a very rich chemical composition, thanks to which ordinary hops are used in medicine and brewing. And here male flowers The plants are completely inconspicuous, looking like small green panicles, but they cope with their role of pollinating females and producing fruits perfectly. Common hops belong to the group of dioecious plants (male and female), that is, in order to get fruits, they need to be planted side by side. Hops bloom in the second half of summer, closer to August, and its small fruit-nuts ripen in about a month.
Just a little history
Despite its modest beauty, common hops have long been honored by many peoples. What impressed people most of all was the plant’s extraordinary endurance and vitality, its rapid growth and ability in the spring to seem to rise from the dead. Thanks to this, even in the times of paganism, common hops became a symbol of fertility, well-being, resilience and vitality, and later they added flexibility, wisdom, and the ability to cement a union. Therefore, in the old days, newlyweds were showered with hop cones, and huts were decorated with twigs on holidays and weekdays, and girls wove them into wreaths.
Photo: Common hop, vine leaves
The first historical mention of hops dates back to the reign of Prince Vladimir. The oath when he concluded peace with the Bulgarians states that if it is suddenly broken, the hop will sink and the stone will float.
In that era, our ancestors had a very bright ritual deity Yarilo, that is, a symbol of fertility. It turns out that common hops were often present with this Yarilo in the same company, it was even called Yar-Khmel. With his participation, ritually of course, our glorious ancestors organized festivities in honor of harvested, sang songs until the morning, danced around the fires. They had a belief that the guy or girl who Yar-Khmel looked at would definitely fall in love. Hops were also favored by players who were not afraid to risk their fortunes. They firmly believed that the plant, symbolizing well-being and prosperity, would definitely help them become rich. And ordinary hops “saved” honest people from the machinations of witches, ghouls and other evil spirits, so hop cones were always carried in the pockets of clothes, in boots and bast shoes, and of course, hung from front door.
But our ancestors did not use hops as the main component of beer - they did not know that it was an assistant in this matter. In general, the ancient Slavs drank little (according to historical data), they used intoxicating drinks mainly on holidays, so they saw nothing wrong with glorifying a plant that intoxicates the head. Later, when these almost fabulous traditions were broken and people began to drink a lot, common hops fell into the category of plants given to people by devilish powers. It must be said that the ancient Romans and even the wise Greeks, who preferred grape wine and relegated beer to the role of an unworthy drink, were biased towards hops. The Bible also mentions hops as an unseemly plant, because at the instigation of the insidious serpent it helped to drug Noah and destroy his ark. But the ancient Jews, on the contrary, it was thanks to beer with hops that they saved themselves from a terrible disease - leprosy, which was once a real punishment from God.
Hops and beer
Be that as it may, ordinary hops, having lost their significance in Rus' as an aid to fertility and a protector from evil spirits, gained new recognition as a component of the drink beloved by many - beer. They cooked it in Rus', as they say, even under Tsar Gorokh, but they didn’t know how to preserve it for a long time. That is, it was only a seasonal drink. Only when the ancient brewers came up with the idea of adding ordinary hops to beer recipes did things start to improve. Now this plant is used everywhere in brewing. It turns out there are many varieties of hops. The type, strength, taste and aroma of beer depends on which one is used in recipes. So, there are Alpha hops, Aroma hops, Bitter hops and others. It is added to both hot and cold wort, which also affects the quality of the final product. Nowadays they have already learned how to make extracts and compressed concentrated tablets from hops, which are increasingly used in breweries, gradually replacing the original raw material - hop cones.
Photo: Common hop, female cone-shaped inflorescences
Hops in landscape design
Gardeners and summer residents use common hops not to make beer, but to decorate their plots. This amazing and energetically bright plant can extravagantly decorate a gazebo, weave a fence, or cover an unseemly place, for example, a barn or a garbage dump. The only inconvenience it can cause is that in the fall you will have to remove its dried vines to make room for new ones that emerge from the ground in the spring.
Common hops, planting and care
Anyone who is planning to keep hops needs to get acquainted with the simple rules of caring for them. Appropriate place It's not hard for him to find. It can be partial shade or a bright corner, but the sun should not be hot there all day. The soil for hops is loamy, neutral, slightly alkaline or slightly acidic. Of course, common hops grow better on fertile soils. It loves moisture very much, so it needs watering, but you can’t overwater the hops, since an excess of moisture can be detrimental for it. Elements of plant care include building supports for it if it is planted away from them, weeding and fertilizing. As a rule, ordinary hops do not cause any special difficulties. Planting and caring for it can be done even by those who do not understand gardening at all. This plant is so unpretentious that it can grow without any care. In addition, it is quite frost-resistant. Its rhizomes tolerate winters well with temperatures down to -30 degrees. The only difficulty that can await lovers of green hops is the super growth of its rhizomes. To prevent the plant from turning into nasty weed, you need to use available materials (pieces of slate, bricks, etc.) to create a barrier in the ground for its roots.
Reproduction
Photo: Common hop, fragment of creeping rhizome
An unpretentious, unobtrusive beauty, the common hop, planting and caring for which is so simple, and does not cause difficulties in propagation. This is most often done by vegetative methods. It is most rational to use fragments of rhizomes with living healthy buds, and they are separated without digging them up mother plant from the ground. In the spring, as soon as the plant wakes up and the first shoots appear from the ground, small pieces are picked out with a shovel, but carefully, and planted in their favorite place.
You can also propagate common hops by rhizome cuttings, which are harvested before sap flow begins. The rhizome is dug up, divided into fragments with living buds and planted again where they have a place. Anyone who wants can grow these cuttings on separate bed, and transfer it to permanent residence in the fall. By the way, hops live for about 30 years.
A very simple way to propagate common hops by layering. For planting and care in this case, I have the following technology: the selected vine is tilted to the ground somewhere in the middle of summer, pinned and sprinkled with the same soil. The structure is left in this position until spring, when it will be necessary to dig up the resulting new rhizome and plant it in a favorite place.
There are cases when you can only propagate hops by seeds, for example, when you want to grow an unusual variety, or when large plantations are planted at once. The seed propagation method is also simple, but it is better to start it in a greenhouse or at home. To do this, containers (boxes, bowls, whatever you have) are filled with prepared soil and watered. The care for seedlings is the same as for any flower. The grown plants are transferred to open ground and care for them, just like adult hops. Common hops will begin to delight you with their rapid growth in the second year, and cones will appear on it in another couple of years. Not a very convenient growing feature by seed method is that in the end you can get too many male plants, that is, you will be left without cones. To beat this situation, experienced hop growers plant hop seedlings closer to each other, and then remove the excess infertile plants.
How to properly plant common hops in open ground
In order for young seedlings to develop faster (seedlings grown from seeds, or fragments of rhizomes), in the fall, where the place is chosen for hops, they dig holes up to 50 cm deep. They are half filled with rotted organic matter (preferably manure), add soil on top and leave everything this is until spring. During planting, the seedling is placed in ready-made holes, covered with soil, compacted, and watered. If there is no difference, male or female plants are needed, and also, when the “sex” of the seedling is already known, they need to be placed at a distance of about a meter from each other, and the row spacing should be maintained at about 3 meters. If you plan to dig through seedlings, you can make holes more often.
Photo: Common hop perfectly camouflages fences and creates a hedge itself
Diseases and pests
Common hops withstand weather conditions, but suffer from some pests. It is especially bothered by aphids, nematodes and other leaf-eating small things, which are best combated with insecticides.
Unfortunately, common hops are also susceptible to plant diseases. This:
- powdery mildew;
-downy mildew;
- Verticillium wilt of hops;
-fusarium;
-root rot;
- bacterial cancer;
-mosaics (hop, chlorotic, arabis);
- curliness.
All this fungal diseases. They develop under weather conditions favorable for fungal spores, improper agricultural techniques for growing hops, vegetative methods of propagation (many fungi, such as root rot, cancer, fusarium, enter the plant through wounds on the rhizome) and lead to a decrease in yield, and bacterial cancer and root rot can cause the death of the entire plant.
You can tell that common hops are sick by looking at the spots on the leaves. white plaque(at powdery mildew), withering of shoots, their weakening, and other external modifications unusual for hops. Diseases must be dealt with appropriately chemicals, plus strictly follow all the rules for caring for the plant.
Photo: Common hop at flowering time, female plant
Varieties
Breeders do not ignore common hops. Thanks to their efforts, about a hundred interesting varieties with green, red and red-green vines were bred. Red varieties are considered the best. Their advantage is the early ripening of the crop, but the disadvantage is that their cones open very quickly and lose lupulin. Green varieties are late-ripening and easier to harvest, but the lupulin in their buds has a less subtle aroma and lower quality. Both red and green varieties exist regionally and selectively.
Here are just a few of them:
"Brewer". This variety belongs to the average growing season. It will delight with lush greenery for about 4 months. “Brewer” copes well with frosts in the growth phase and frosts in the resting phase, with drought and prolonged heavy rains, and is resistant to many diseases. Its yield is average, but the buds have a refined aroma, which is why this variety is used with pleasure in brewing. The leaves of “Pivovar” are again medium in size, slightly wavy, but if this variety is planted for the purpose of intertwining barriers, it will not form a particularly lush crown.
"Triumph". This variety is equally good for creating landscape designs, and for the production of delicious beer. Its cones are medium in size and contain Alpha acid.
The following varieties are also popular: “ Gaydamatsky", "Alta"(alpha acids in it are up to 12%, which is much more than other hops), "Slav", "Clone-18"(alpha acids only up to 4%), "Zagrava", "Pass it off".
The value of each variety is determined by yield, uniformity of cones, ripening, structure of cones, lupulin content, color and aroma. Less valuable are varieties in which the cones are formed unevenly, ripen poorly, have a small amount of lupulin, spotting and multiple traces of pests.
