Early autumn all the happy cockney families exit the slums of the East End to go and pull hops down in Kent, The Garden of England, A cheery people, they leave Canary Wharf and the Docklands for grueling labour to make a bob or two in the sun, sun, sun. They live in Hopper Huts and enjoy riotous good-humoured home-made cockney entertainment in the long evenings — along with a refreshing sip of the warm nectar they are helping to create. This has been a Public Information Announcement for Americans by The British Public Information Department.
Actually, a quarter million people picking hops indicates the British love beer a trifle too much.
I have a small amount of hops off my neglected plant this year (I’m going I have to move it, it’s being strangled by a passionflower).
Not really sure what I’m going to use them for, I’ve dried most of them and froze them for later, which is apparently the best way to make sure they stay fresh.
They will last a matter of days at most (and some people say they start breaking down in hours). They’ll start to compost if you have them sealed in tupperwear at room temperature. If you can’t use them immediately, I’d put them in the fridge to slow that down. But it’s really best to dry them if you can’t use them immediately.
I thought this post was going to end with a description of how you nearly caught the chainsaw with your face after falling off the ladder and both you and the chainsaw bounced off the tree.
My only chainsaw injury (to date) occurred when I was putting a new chain on. It was a nasty cut on my thumb. I applied a big padded bandage that I changed every few days and it healed up fine.
But when anyone noticed the bandage and asked what happened I’d tell them it was a chainsaw injury and they’d go :dubious:
