By late August, I had to start thinking about harvesting the hops. Farmers apparently just cut the whole bines down. This would be efficient on a farm but probably give a few cones that were unripe, a few overripe, and plenty that were ideal. Being a two-hop kind of guy, I have the chance to take several harvests of whichever cones are ripe, separated by a couple of weeks.
Here the hops are tussling with their roommates, the kitchen herbs.
![_MG_0212_2014_08_17_HerbsAndHops](http://fivefurrow.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/MG_0212_2014_08_17_HerbsAndHops-1024x799.jpg)