Trim the first growth?

Brewer's Friend 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
H

Hopper5000

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2011
Messages
1,282
Reaction score
95
Location
Oakland
Hey All,

Have a couple of hops growing in hops here in the Bay Area, CA. This is their 3rd year of growth. I hadn't been paying much attention to them and then noticed they had really taken off. There were probably about 10 to 15 sprouts coming up out of the ground. I was pruning them back to find the good ones and they were all pretty puny and thin looking. I decided to just cut all of them back and start anew. I had remembered that the first sprouts can be the weaker ones and it can be a good idea to do this. However, I am wondering if it was bad that I cut all of the back instead of leaving a few to take off? I am worried not that I screwed myself.

I was very surprised at how many actually sprung this year. I probably should replant them in a bigger vessel like a half oak barrel or something. I also hadn't taken the roots out and cut them back which probably would have been a good idea. Thoughts?

Thanks! :mug:
 
"I had remembered that the first sprouts can be the weaker ones and it can be a good idea to do this. "

The idea of cutting back the first growth isn't that you're getting rid of the weaker ones. The very first ones that take off every spring are the ones that utilize the carbohydrates that were sent back down into the crown after the hops flowered last year. Those types of carbs (energy) are similar to when a human eats something really sugary, you end up getting a rush of energy that can make you jittery. Same thing happens with the first growth as it takes off like a rocket. The bad thing about this type of growth is that it can be very uneven which can translate to problems like fooling the plants into flowering earlier than they should and at a staggered pace.

Also, if you have any downy mildew in your crowns, those first shoots are normally the ones that will contain the spores, which if left to grow, can increase your chances of that disease becoming a problem. The commercial growers generally make a practice of knocking the first flush of growth off for these reasons.

You didn't do anything wrong or harmful to your plants at all. There will be plenty more shoots to come so kick back and enjoy the ride!
 
Awesome, thanks for the info! Glad I didn't ruin it. Now I have to fine a way to re-pot them. I am assuming that I should probably wait until next year though? Was thinking about going with half oak barrels.
 
They're very durable plants and if you wanted to move them to a bigger planter, now would be a great time being that you have them cut back. This will also be a great opportunity for you to see how much growth has occurred since you planted them. You may be amazed!
 
I am planning to treat mine just like the commercial growers do, and knock back this first growth (if the frost of last couple days doesn't get them first).

Assuming fine to wait till over 6-8" or so? That is what I see in the videos of farms.

I've also heard and read about the downy mildew in the first shoots.
 
sablesurfer said:
Assuming fine to wait till over 6-8" or so?
Click to expand...

That's what I do. The plant may be wasting a bit of energy on those first shoots, but the benefits are worth it. Plus 6-8" shoots are perfect for pickling!

BjjEDBrCIAA7Xjg.jpg
 
Nice! Thats a pretty sweet alternative to use bines for. I am needing to wait to transplant the hops until I can get my hands on some use oak barrels. Until I find those (probably will take a few weeks) I don't want to really move them into anything else. I am a little worried that they will shoot up an bunch again and will get too big for me to logistically transplant. Oh well, there's always next year...
 
B-Hoppy said:
"I had remembered that the first sprouts can be the weaker ones and it can be a good idea to do this. "

The idea of cutting back the first growth isn't that you're getting rid of the weaker ones. The very first ones that take off every spring are the ones that utilize the carbohydrates that were sent back down into the crown after the hops flowered last year. Those types of carbs (energy) are similar to when a human eats something really sugary, you end up getting a rush of energy that can make you jittery. Same thing happens with the first growth as it takes off like a rocket. The bad thing about this type of growth is that it can be very uneven which can translate to problems like fooling the plants into flowering earlier than they should and at a staggered pace.

Also, if you have any downy mildew in your crowns, those first shoots are normally the ones that will contain the spores, which if left to grow, can increase your chances of that disease becoming a problem. The commercial growers generally make a practice of knocking the first flush of growth off for these reasons.

You didn't do anything wrong or harmful to your plants at all. There will be plenty more shoots to come so kick back and enjoy the ride!
Click to expand...


I thought the real reason farms do a early clipping is so that all of their plants grow in unison so that they can harvest them all on the same date. If you have half of your plants pop up a week or two before the other half your harvest timing will all screwed...if you wait for them all to pop up, then clip them all back to an equal level and water/fertilize them similarly they should all be ready to harvest within a day or two of eachother i'd think.

This doesnt really matter on a home scale though...
 
FuzzeWuzze said:
I thought the real reason farms do a early clipping is so that all of their plants grow in unison so that they can harvest them all on the same date. If you have half of your plants pop up a week or two before the other half your harvest timing will all screwed...if you wait for them all to pop up, then clip them all back to an equal level and water/fertilize them similarly they should all be ready to harvest within a day or two of eachother i'd think.

This doesnt really matter on a home scale though...
Click to expand...

I don't pretend to know the reasons why we cut back the first hop growth but I do know that different varieties of hops are ready at different times regardless of whether or not they were all cut back to the ground at the beginning of the season. Some hops are genetically early season while others are genetically late season - you're not going to convince a dog to "meow" :D
 
stpug said:
I don't pretend to know the reasons why we cut back the first hop growth but I do know that different varieties of hops are ready at different times regardless of whether or not they were all cut back to the ground at the beginning of the season. Some hops are genetically early season while others are genetically late season - you're not going to convince a dog to "meow" :D
Click to expand...

I believe most major hop farms cut back at the same time is because they are all the same variety and should be ready for harvest around the same time. They may have multiple varieties, but they can harvest those said varieties when they are ready.
 
So, I trimmed off the first growth on all plants this Monday after work. These pics are from today (Friday) after work.

The planters, so sad with NO hops in em...
20140411_191442.jpg

However, inside the house we have this! I swear they have put on 2-3" since I cut them and put them in bottles. SIGH!!! (Also have a bit of root stimulant in water to see...maybe get another plant or two of the different varieties.
20140411_191521.jpg
 
Huh...actually little rootlets on some of them. Unfortunately, as methodical as I was at labeling my bottles for each plant. Some fell out last night, I can only "hope" the one I put back in the magnum bottle is magnum...sigh. And wouldn't you know, it has the most roots started. GAH.
 
So, just so I'm clear. The consensus is that on a 2nd or third year plant you would wait til you have 6" or so of growth above ground and then trim everything off? Not just the first few shoots?
They will look so happy, hate to trim all that off! :) I assume, though, that the second growth will come on quick and strong?
 
brewmadness said:
So, just so I'm clear. The consensus is that on a 2nd or third year plant you would wait til you have 6" or so of growth above ground and then trim everything off? Not just the first few shoots?
They will look so happy, hate to trim all that off! :) I assume, though, that the second growth will come on quick and strong?
Click to expand...

Four out of six plants had shoots coming up a week later. I have two laggards at the moment, and ironically one of those is chinook which had been my most vigorous todate...weird. Magnum doesn't seem to be happy either...but this is just my one anecdotal data point. (Fingers crossed they both just taking a break and will show up soon.)

ps...the ones already growing back, Willamette, Columbus, Centennial, Cascade.
 
"You seriously pickle them? How do they taste?"

I seriously do.

They are about the first thing to sprout in the NW, a few weeks before the asparagus pops up. As others have mentioned, you can steam or fry them, but I prefer pickling. After cutting all the bines, I bunch them together, trim to the length of the jar, and pack them tightly. Spices and hot brine are added. Then, I throw the jars in boiling water to sterilize for 10min.

They have a great texture and taste like whatever brine/spices you use.
 
FYI - FINALLY getting some growth on the Chinook and the Magnum. These are the tiniest little buds, but it is the first signs of life since I trimmed them back. (Also, after I trimmed them we went through a cold snap. We are only just now about 3days into a >70F period.)

I was really really hoping that some warmth might stimulate them. Let's see.

ps...my little willamette is just going bonkers, got about 8 shoots going at the moment after being trimmed back.
 
Mine have been shooting up more vines which look healthier than the multiple ones it was shooting up last time. They are growing a little slower than the first growth but they are doing fine. Should be ready to string them up in a week or 2 I believe.
 

Similar threads

zactastic
Hop growth
Replies
12
Views
595
redrocker652002
R
x3la
Too late to cut all growth back?
Replies
7
Views
776
kgranger
kgranger
iandanielursino
Sanity check on pole based hop yard design with boxes
Replies
31
Views
2K
Dland
Dland
Shropshire Lad
Pruning young hop bines...
Replies
4
Views
748
Shropshire Lad
Shropshire Lad
kgranger
Multiple harvests
Replies
1
Views
625
JohnSand
JohnSand

Latest posts

Back
Top