Honestly, I've just got too many!
Sure I could try to sell them online, but I'd rather give them away to you, right? So here's the deal. When I found out how many hops rhizomes I actually had, I figured that I better bless some steemians with some. Hops are a very interesting plant that can grow up to twenty feet or longer in a single season before dying back to the rhizomes for winter. They have a number of uses, but are perhaps most famous as a bittering agent in beer.
GROWING YOUR OWN HOPS
The actual plant grows from rhizomes, which are the roots. They send up long vine-like arms called bines. Bines are different from vines in that bines use their tough hairs to grasp as they climb whereas vines use tendrils. Eventually, the bines flower, and produce a remarkable flower called a hops cone. These cones are what people harvest.
These cones have a very interesting and strong scent, and besides being used to make beer, people also use them for sleep pillows and tinctures. According to , the young shoots can also be eaten, which is more good news. Here is a post @haphazard-hestead made seven months ago about five ways to eat hops shoots : https://steemit.com/food/@haphazard-hstead/hop-shoots-the-other-hop-crop-5-ways-to-eat-hop-shoots.
Here you can see a few young shoots. You may also see the tiny hairs on the young bines which they will use to grip as they grow. Seeing plants like this burst forth from beneath the surface of the earth each spring is also exciting for me, and you may be able to watch your own hops burst forth soon enough.
Just a six inch portion of a rhizome like this is enough to start a new plant. The dormant roots will wake up after you plant it, and roots will begin to grow beneath the surface while the shoots begin to sprout up. The do not grow all that long in the first year, but after that, they can really take off.
Eventually you'll have long leafy bines growing high into the sky that will become heavy laden with hops cones. What you do with them from there is your choice. To plant the hops just place the rhizome upright in the earth and create a small mound for it to grow out of. This will help with drainage, since hops plants like a well drained soil. Also, they really enjoy the sun, so make sure they have a location with full sun. Since they are long climbers, provide something tall for them to grow up on. They require at least six hours of full sunlight each day and can grow over twenty feet long, so keep that in mind. Once they produce cones, they can weigh twenty pounds or more, so make sure any trellis or support system is strong enough to support them.
HOW TO GET YOUR FREE HOPS RHIZOMES FROM @PAPA-PEPPER
Laws all around the world exist and can be difficult to navigate. Therefore, I am restricting this giveaway to gardeners in the continental United States only, and i will assume that you have made sure ahead of time that now growing restrictions exist. Some plants are not allowed in some areas, and it is illegal to send some plants to some places. Please do your own research ahead of time before requesting any.
Unfortunately, the varieties that I have are mixed up, or at least these rhizomes are. Most likely they are either Chinook or Cascade. Thankfully, once they produce hops, you may be able to tell which variety they are. If you request some I'll try to ship between 15 - 20 rhizomes, but you can request less if you have more limited space. Also, I'm hoping to ship to at least 10 - 15 steemians, so request yours early.
You can mention your interest below, and then get me a valid US shipping address in https://steemit.chat/ or discord. I'm "papa-pepper" on both of those.
As always, I'm
and here's the proof:
proof-of-hops-rhizomes