Backyard Hop Crop Report, May 2015

Mt. Hoods last year

I had a bumper crop of hops last year, especially for first-year plants. I planted four rhizomes last year, two Mt. Hood and two Cascade. The Cascade were a little slow getting off the ground, but the Mt. Hood exploded. This was a little disappointing because Mt. Hood is a variant of German noble hops, not exactly known for being used in large quantities (though we'll see if my Bitter Pils To Swallow turns out well–it has 10 ounces). Cascade, on the other hand, has historically been the darling of the craft brewing industry, being used in massive quantities in late additions and dry hopping for IPAs, pale ales, CDAs, etc. If I was going to get too much of any hop, I'd rather the Cascades. Looks like this year might be more along those lines.
Despite the fact that they have an inferior plot (more shade), this year the Cascades were the first out of the gate. They rushed right up out of the shadow, and they are growing even faster now that they've hit the sunlight. The Mt. Hoods, on the other hand. Not so much. A couple of malformed shoots came up and went nowhere. I've since weeded out all the grass and other stuff from the bed, recovered the crown, added some fertilizer and crossed my fingers. Here's hoping.

Cascades 

Mt. Hoods, in theory.

The other issue I have this year that I didn't have last year, is aphids. Holy hell, they're all over my Cascade plant, especially the newer leaves up at the top and the top of the shoot (which is kind of important for growing more...).

I was hoping some native ladybugs would take care of the problem, but as far as I can tell there's only one on the plant. A ladybug can eat up to 80 aphids a day, but I think I'll need more than that.

You may not be able to see it, but there's a ladybug in this picture.

I didn't want to introduce a bunch of wild caught ladybugs, so I went with the other option, spraying soapy water on the leaves. My secret weapon cost all of $3.50 at the drug store. Strangely, we still don't fully understand why soapy water kills aphids (and some other pests). It might have to do with messing with their cell membranes, or causing them to dry out by eroding their waxy coatings. Either way, death to aphids.

Aphid killing apparatus

I'll go out to spray off the soap in a few hours, but I hope to have good news by the time of my next hop crop update.