I purchase some hops from Great Lakes Hops this past week. It’s a little late in the season to plant them, but hopefully next year they’ll be ready to go!

I ordered them on Thursday, Great Lakes says they ship orders on Mondays to reduce the amount of time the plants spend in the shipping container. They arrived two days later on Tuesday. The container was packed to the brim with rice hulls. Great Lakes says they help maintain the moisture the plants have while they are in transit. The plants were nice and green and the roots looked healthy.

Each individual plant (I ordered 6 total) is wrapped in a plastic bag with a rubber band around the roots to keep the bag on.

The plants all laid out and ready for planting.

I tilled up a patch of earth of the plants to go into. I ordered three different types and I planted them in pairs along the backyard fence. I amended the Indiana clay soil with peat moss, top soil, and composted manure.

Each plant will have its own trellis to grow up. I don’t have the setup for a vertical trellis, so the plants will grow along the fence suspended by eye screws and twine.

For the first two week the plants need to be hardened off. I’ll be placing a white cone over each plant to help them get acquainted with the sun.

I’ll keep this post updated as they grow!