Hops - It's Not Just What The Easter Bunny Does

Hopys (Humulus lupulus) Hops The only place I know in the area where wild hops appear every year. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hops (Photo credit: Scout Seventeen)

I am excited to finally be able to grow a plant I have long admired but never had the room for - hops!

Husband is excited too as he wants to start brewing his own beer, with fresh (or freshly dried) hops from our own yard.

I don't drink beer, but I do like to take cheesecloth bags of dried hops and sew them into sleep pillows. The scent of the flowers is hypnotic.

Hops needs plenty of room - during the active growth season (from early May to mid-July) hops can grow as much as a foot per day. By the time the flowers are ready to harvest, you may have a 25 foot long vine.

When selecting a site, be sure that it has plenty of vertical space, direct sunlight for most of the day and easy access to water.

Hops likes a rich, neutral soil so be sure to fertilize the site with plenty of manure or compost.

Hops needs a strong framework on which to grow. You can tie and grow the vines along fences, build a framework or trellises, or use the side of a building strung with heavy-duty twine for support.

At Rainbow's Acre, we're planning to grow hops alongside the wall of the garage (which is oriented to the southwest).

Plant hops rhizomes as early in spring as possible after the last frost. Mulch deeply to retain moisture. When the vine reaches about  a foot in length, choose 2-3 of the strongest shoots and start training them up your trellis or framework. Trim back any side shoots to keep the plant strong and healthy.

The flower cones are ready to harvest when they feel papery and light. You may want to wear gloves while harvesting as some people are sensitive to this plant. Cut cones from the stems to avoid damaging these fragile flowers.

Cones can be used fresh or dried. The drying process can take a few days, depending on the method you use. Be sure that the cones are thoroughly dry before storing them though, or you'll end up with a moldy mess.

Would you try growing hop vines?

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Green Mama Is Going Country!

Working in the Garden (Photo credit: Chiot's Run)Well friends, it looks like our days of urban farming in a rental house are coming to an end. No, wait, this is a good thing - we're in the process of buying a house! A house on an acre of land just outside city limits, where the Green Mama and her family can garden in a much bigger way than we have been.

We call the house Rainbow's Acre, a name inspired by our six-year old daughter whose favorite color is rainbow. She is a rainbow! I'll post some pictures of the rainbow girl so you can see what I mean.

We think the name fits well because we plan to squeeze as much diversity out of our acre as we can - no monoculture here, we plan to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and nuts in every hue.  Oh yes, and chickens too. With bread baked in an adobe oven.


I'm excited and happy to share our plans with you as  they unfold. We close on the house in two weeks, after which you can expect to see us going to work. It's spring in South Dakota, the perfect time to start making our growing dreams a reality.

Now that spring is here, what are your gardening plans? I'd love to hear about them!

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Image via Wikipedia

Blogging has changed the way we live our lives. My favorite blogs to read are those written by my fellow moms. I love reading about their trials, joys and triumphs. I especially love those a-ha moments when I can read about another woman’s life and think; yes, me too.

My family is pretty unique. First of all, we’re poor. Second, we don't care that we're considered poor. Yes, there is a lot of stigma associated with that word so let me say, we’re happily poor. My husband and I are non-traditional students, having chosen to earn college degrees later in our lives than most people do. So you might say we chose poverty, at least temporarily, in the hope that we’ll eventually make a better life for our children.

You’ll never read me writing a review for a brand new product because almost everything we own comes from the Salvation Army, garage sales, or our local freecycle list. We’ve figured out how to be happy with less, how to make do with what we have, how to budget carefully to meet the needs of the five people in our family. A side effect of this is that we’ve learned how to live greener, eat healthier, and be more active.

We grow our own food on windowsills and in the tiny back yard of our rented home. The children help, and as a result they get fresh air, sunshine, exercise and delicious homegrown produce that they pick and eat right off the plants. I’m happy that being poor taught us how to share these gifts with our kids; so much better in my opinion than a life spent eating fast food and walking around the mall for entertainment.

I look forward to sharing our green-living journey with you! I hope that by blogging about my family’s life, others may learn something different, take comfort from our trials, cheer our triumphs and have their own a-ha moments.

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