Do I need to trim these?

Ok, so each hop plant has at most 3 bines coming out of the ground, but from there they are going crazy

My 2 Willamette


Another view of the Williamette


a single plant in a different container

Heck yeah my junk is trimmed .

Seriously, i've heard that its recommended to trim the lower sidearms so that air circulates and you don't accumulate sitting water that might bring on some mildew.

I thought by the title this would be in the Boneyard.

One of my nuggets did the same thing (The other is a super slow starter. Maybe next year it will take off.)

This year I really only cut off the bines that were covered the ground around the base of the plant. I wanted to let the roots get as much nutrients as possible. Next year I'm going to try and limit the number of bines as I've found that some of them literally choked of the early bines, killing one or two, as the new growth climbed my trellis line.

Wow, I am amazed at how they grow side ways. Do you continue to train them?

ron1guz said:

Wow, I am amazed at how they grow side ways. Do you continue to train them?

Click to expand...

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but they actually have about 5' of rise over a 15' or so run, so its got enough upslope to (for the most part) keep them going up on their own.

Are those all sidearms, or are they new shoots coming out of the planters? It's hard to do, but if they're new shoots you should trim all but the biggest and strongest bines. It will force the plant to make more cones when they finally start blooming.

Most of them are sidearms that come off the main 3 bines. I trimmed them up a little, but will do a more exhaustive search for additional bines this weekend.

I guess that is assuming that sidearms grow very long and want to climb as well.

Why do you have plastic bags over the surface of the containers? That is an invitation for disaster even with your drip irrigation setup (anaerobic soil, mold, root rot, etc.). Unless you were doing that temporarily during a storm/etc. I would remove them ASAP. I wouldn't necessarily cut off all of the side arms near the base since it's a first year plant, but I would trim away a good bit of the LEAVES near the base to allow for better airflow. That's what I did and it allowed for more cone production while still allowing for circulation near the base.

HTH

The bags are there to make a nearly closed system. It is necessary to keep the moisture level of the soil correct. Basically the hop roots are contained in a self watering, self fertilizing, highly aerated environment, sealed off from most outside influence (air is allowed to enter from beneath the roots). I think it is why they are able to do so well in the crappy Alabama climate.

Trimming is over-rated. The main reason harvesters trim there bines is the same reason why they only train to grow two to three bines on a guy line, money. When you harvest a lot of plants for profit you need to ensure the best practice you can. One is simply how to water the plants. With the bases trimmed it will air dry better, preventing downy mildew from attacking the base of the bines. Another reason is in case the hose gets clogged they can easily remedy the situation. The main reason why they train two to three bines to a guy line is harvesting. It is neater and easier to harvest a field of hops when the cones are neatly up the guy lines.

For homegrown gardens it's not necessary to do all this. It is a myth that more cones will be produced if you do it in this manner. I let my plants go hog wild. Only training them upward to 10 feet. At the end of June I only trim about 6 inches from the base of each plant so when I water them I can see how much water each gets and to make it easier when I have to shave them for the winter. I don't trim side arms and I dont cut away smaller growth. I train 3 to 5 bines up one guy line and any side arms as well just to keep them in one location. My harvest begins now and goes on through the end of Sept. I get about 2 lbs of dried hops from 2 plants for the whole harvest season.

Its a very hardy plant. Let it grow!

- WW