Expect the string or twine to hold a lot of weight as the vines grow tall. Hop blossoms start out looking like large sand burrs and then take on a characteristic cone shape and grow in size. The size of a fully developed cone depends on the variety, varying from one to two inches long by one half to one inch in diameter. The hops are fully mature and ready for picking when two changes take place. First, immature hops have a damp, soft feel and when squeezed slightly tend to stay compressed.
Mature hops feel more like paper, spring back when squeezed and feel noticeably lighter.
The second key test is to pick an average example hop and cut it lengthwise down the center with a knife. If a light shade of yellow then chances are the hops are immature. When ready to pick it is best to snip the stems of the cones with scissors or a knife to avoid jarring the hops and knocking lupulin powder out or worse, pulling the center of the cone out with the stem, causing a great loss of lupulin. For proper storage most of the water is removed by drying. A good drying method it to lie the hops on a card or screen in an attic.