Defenders Of The Realm

One of the most exciting harvests of the year on my plot are the hops.

For those that don't know, I'm an avid home brewer and there's little as satisfying as brewing your own beer, using hops you've grown yourself.

When I first bought my hop rhizomes, the blurb that came with them mentions about keeping a keen eye out for greenfly. The little blighters can apparently turn the plant black and prevent the flowers (hop cones) from forming.

In all the years I've been growing, I've not had a problem. I'm guessing that these fellows might have something to do with it.

If you're not familiar with these larvae, the next stage of their life-cycle will give you a clue .

Ladybirds - defenders of the hop.

Here's looking forward to a good harvest!

Salad Onions

Okay, so back to the plot.

As it's been a tough growing year, I had several non-productive areas, notably where the parsnips got washed away and the beetroot failed to germinate.

Rather than leave this areas looking bare and sad, I opted to do a late sowing of salad onions. A winter hardy variety that was so new, it wasn't even named.
Referred to as just Hi 08 527

I know that some people like to grow varieties with nice names, but I've never been a mainstream type of guy, and the thought of growing an onion called  Hi 08 527 rather appealed.



They've done rather well too. Good germination, strong, sturdy looking plants with bright white bulbs.

Not only do they look good on the plot and on the plate, they are quite a strong onion too.


All in all, a damned good result.

It's also been harvest time for the hops.

The Bramling Cross variety have done particularly well. They've all been picked and dried, ready for a new brew which will be detailed on my other blog next week.

Homegrown Hops

It will be Squash time next. Of the three varieties trialled, only one came up trumps. More on that soon.

A Tale Of Three Hops

Those that have followed the blog for a while may remember the hop frames I constructed earlier this year.

This frame on the left is supporting (in the loosest sense of the word, as the supports are beginning to give way) the variety, Bramling Cross.

This is their second year and they appear to have done remarkably well. They are just beginning to turn 'papery' so will need harvesting soon. If it stays dry, I'll try and get them in next week.

The right-hand frame is supporting the variety Target. These haven't done so well - largely because I had to reposition the plants at the start of the season to accommodate the new frame. I guess this has set them back and they've probably spent most of their energy growing the roots, just as they do in year one (these plants are also in their second season, just like the Bramling Cross).

I was worried we may not get harvest from them, but they've come along okay in the last few weeks. Not as early as the Bramling Cross, these will probably come good mid to late September.

The opening shot on this post are also the 'Target' and here's a few more.

The real disappointment this year is the First Gold. A dwarf variety, they are in their third year and scramble up the back fence.

There's probably no harvest to come from them at all. A few cones have formed, but not many and they're small. A closer look shows a few dead/diseased runners, so somethings not gone right.

I'm not too worried, but I'll keep a closer eye on them next year to see if they can do better.

So Bramling Cross is this year's winner. It's a variety I've not used in my own beer before but, judging by my friends brew which I had chance to sample earlier this week, I'm going to look forward to them.

I'll also have to address the problem of the collapsing frames over the winter. A bit of strengthening up will be required as I clearly underestimated the weight involved.