I’m going to be planting some hops in my backyard for my homebrewing hobby. It isn’t like I brew so much beer that growing my own hops will be a significant savings in money, but I think it will give me a way to personalize it one more level, and be able to make something that would be truly my own. I might draw the line at malting my own barley though.

I have been listening to a relatively new podcast called Homebrewing Perspectives. Douglas and Mike are documenting Mike’s amateur foray into hop growing at home, so I have been listening to their progress and using the wisdom to aid my own project. Maybe if I am lucky, I can avoid any mistakes Mike makes before they happen to me. Mike is tracking his progress at The Hop Cone Cometh.

I have my bed cleaned out from last year’s herb garden, and I have the dirt and manure mixed up. My next step will be to test the pH of the soil after letting it sit overnight. Here are a couple pictures of the location I am growing these in.