Should I be thinning out my Hop rhizomes?

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hoppymonkey

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should I? I have a 4' x 8' x 2' raised bed for my 4th year cascades and they have done quite well for me, but they are just a thick mess of bines by the second week of growth in the spring. I cut back at least half of the bines that break the surface, but they are impossible to keep seperated. I mean I don't really care that much because I just cut them all down on a single day in September and get ~ 3ish lbs which more cascades than I need for a year. Would I get a comparable harvest if I thinned them out this weekend?
 
I stick to industry standard and train 3-4 bines from each crown. Then when they reach 6ft. or so, I cut all the leaves/side shoots front the lower 3 ft.

The yield should not suffer, but picking should be easier. It may actually improve yield with better disease management and easier weed control underneath.

The only ones I let grow freely are first year rhizomes. The need lots of leaves to make lots of roots.
 
hoppymonkey, to make life quite a bit more enjoyable, you can just dig (try to) the whole crown out of the ground and quarter it with a bow saw right down the middle. Stick one quarter back in the ground and give the other 3 away. The only difference you'll notice this year is that it's A LOT easier to take care of. I usually do this about every 3 years to cut down on weeding (thinning) the chia crown. Hoppy growing!!
 
hoppymonkey, to make life quite a bit more enjoyable, you can just dig (try to) the whole crown out of the ground and quarter it with a bow saw right down the middle. Stick one quarter back in the ground and give the other 3 away. The only difference you'll notice this year is that it's A LOT easier to take care of. I usually do this about every 3 years to cut down on weeding (thinning) the chia crown. Hoppy growing!!

Thanks! It just one huge mass of roots now. They actually grow out from under the raised bed.
 
Don't be thanking me just yet. Make sure you have plenty of beer and a spud bar handy. Actually you may not have that big of a job being that they're in a raised bed but it's still amazing what you see has happened after you planted that little rhizome 4 years ago. Have fun~
 
I find the spring time, just after the thaw and just before the bines really start to grow is a good opportunity to manicure the crown.

As some have suggested you can dig out the crown and split it... my experience suggests a much smaller harvest than the previous year while it re establishes itself in the ground. I would do this every 4 or 5 years or so.

You can also get in there with some cutters and a little hand shovel and thin them out each spring too. This will help you manage the bed they're in a little better as the year wears on, its also a good opportunity to take some rhizome cutting to propagate or give to friends.

Either way, expect a lot of digging and cutting.

I have 2 giant cascade crowns in a 4 X 8 X 2 ft bed as well - 5 or 6 years old - which are badly in need of attention. i figure i have about month to decide how much effort i wanna put into 'em.
 
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