Waiting...

I was very concerned that I may have lost my hops last week, because immediately after I planted them, we had about four straight days of rain - and while they like water, they don't like that much water. I was afraid that not even a week into this, and I had already killed them.

Well, fortunately, they are doing ok. I think within the next day or two they will finally break through the soil. Yesterday, I put down some organic hummus and cow manure on top of the bed to add some nutrients that could have been washed away from the rain. After the hops reach a foot, I'm also going to put down some mulch to keep down weeds.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I strongly believe in organic gardening, so no pesticides or chemicals will be used.

Anyway, the waiting game sucks, but the fun side is that I've been reading a lot about brewing, and I have a really good understanding of the basics. I've ordered some catalogs to look at equipment and will probably order that in a month or so.

I've decided that maybe making a few batches of beer over the summer will help me out so when it comes time to brewing my own hops, I don't screw it up.

There is so much to learn. I think this is going to be a great hobby.