Florida first year hops

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Thejiro

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Here are some pictures of my first year cascade hop rhizomes I planted here in fl. If you notice in the third and fourth pic they are flowering. I thought it was to early for the plant to start doing this. Any help would be greatly appreciated

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My Magnum and Chinook started flowering this week also.

You should be glad they did - flowering is triggered by length of day, and our days are only getting shorter now that the solstice has passed. Length of daylight is longer up north where hops are usually grown. I can't answer when hops start flowering in other regions, though.
 
Thanks. I was planning on a wet hop ale in the fall for the harvest but if my plants are going to produce sooner I guess I've gotta drink some beer :) I am also very thrilled that I am going to get some production. I wasn't expecting any production since they are first year rhizomes
 
My question is. How do I know when the cones are ready for harvesting??
 
That is awesome! I am planning on growing some hops but I thought it was too hot down here. You've definitely given me a boost of confidence.
Where did you get them? from a website? Keep up the good work!
 
First year hops should not be allowed to flower/set seed. As soon as one appears nip it out. This will concentrate all the plants efforts into producing a stronger rhizome for next years harvest. You wont have any hops this season but next year you will have a much bigger crop.
 
To Johnnyboy: thanx fir the info I didn't realize it is more beneficial to cut the flowers as they com out on first year plants

To amusedbystander: I got one rhizome from freshhops.com and the other two I planted from a members four year old cascade plant. I planted them late March and they took off so far.

I guess I will be cutting all the burs and the few cones that have produced in the knowledge that it is better fir the longevity of my plsnts
 
thejiro - Those plants look to be doing great! Congrats on the growth so far!
As far as your harvest question goes, that was my quandry last year. My best descriptors is when they feel like a ball of tissue paper. Light, papery and will spring back. Also, if you tear one open, you'll see lots of yellow/gold lupulin.
Here is a quick phone video I made and sent to a friend and harvested the next day:
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g82/SuperTedMaximus/Hops/?action=view&current=video-2010-09-02-18-01-41.mp4
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johnnyboy, I'll never claim to be an expert but I disagree. I got about 11oz from two first-year Cascades last year and they are going absolutely insane this year.

7/6/2010:
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2010 just before harvest:
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6/30/2011
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+1 on Gridlocked's point. I wouldn't cut off flowers of first year plants either.

I just harvested 13 oz. from three, first-year Chinook rhizomes, and signs are pointing to an even heavier second harvest on these first-year plants. Reading "One Straw Revolution" definitely changed my gardening philosophy...
 
Man now I'm not sure what to do. I guess I'm gonna ride it out and see how much production I'm going to get. One of my bines is finally shooting out side arms
 
So I just realized I didn't put enough soil in my planter. What should I do? Should I leave it till next year when I replant IR should if try to fix it now. I'm planning on adding fertilizer tomorrow after I go to the organic gardening shop around the corner from my house.

TIA for any input
 
You should be able to add soil now without ill effects. Regarding fertilizer, I have found that using less fertilizer but more applications is better than adding a lot.
Liquid fertilizers allow for quicker uptake. Compared to synthetic ones, organic fertilizers help maintain soil health, in my opinion.

And if you plant to grow year-after-year, consider starting a compost pile if you have the space.
 
What is the best way to add soil to the planter? By trilingual the leaves on the bines up to where I want to add soil?
 
Well I'm having a slight problem here its been raining all the time here. Pretty much every day. I'm concerned that all this rain is over watering my hops I have plenty of drain holes and I just recently added a 4-4-5 organic fertilizer to the soil aswell as about 4" of soil on top of what I had BC there wasn't enough in my planter?? Anyone have sugestions about what I should do?
 
I tried some rhizomes (Mt. Hood and Williamette) for the first time this year. I was wondering how they would do once the rainy season arrived. Unfortunately squirrels made sure I didn't have to worry about that for very long. They dessimated all of mine as soon as they were knee high or so.

Wish I could give you some advice on the rain. We're getting crushed right now and looks like it will last a good part of the weekend.

Good luck.
 
My advice: sit back and let them do their thing.

Hops have been around a long time and grow in the wild just fine without any human intervention. If given space, water, and ample light, they grow like weeds.

We got a few inches of rain over a couple days a week or 2 ago, thunderstorm after thunderstorm. In my heavy clay soil, the hops were fine.

I wouldn't worry about them being in pots the first year since the main goal here is not harvest, but getting the plant established. I would plan on planting in the ground next year. Remember their roots spread so much that they need to be pruned every few years. Give them room and some sunlight and have a homebrew.
 
Thanks for the input. I was looking into transplanting them to 55g wooden barrels cut in half and also maybe adding another variety or two if it works out good
 
Update:

Its been a few since I added organic fertilizer and more soil to my planter. The bines are loving it. I am having insane side arm growth from all of them.

I do have a question regarding the side arms should I just let them grow wild or try to train them??
 
Per the side arm growth, either way is fine. one thing I've noticed, though, it if you train some of the lower laterals they will tend to climb and get longer than they would otherwise, which means more hops. At the node, where the laterals come out on each side, often there will be one side that is longer and stronger looking. Give that one a few twists around the string and see if it takes off. For me, the lowest laterals, usually ones that you can reach from the ground are the best candidates to climb. Try it on one or a couple and let the others do their own thing and you can compare results.

Glad to hear the fertilizer is working out! You added it at a good time.
 
Thanks for the info yea I'm super excited I'm getting such good growth on the sidearms I wasn't expecting as good of growth as I got here in Florida with the conditions as they are
 
Here is the first harvest from my first year cascades. A small amount but there will be quite a bit more coming around September as my sidearms are going wild.

On a seperate note I have a few industrious rhizomes shooting out some new sprouts.

I can't cease to be amazed at the ability of the hop plant to adapt to unfavorable conditions and still thrive!!!!

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So how do you keep squirrels from destroying your bines? Or do they just not like the taste of Cascade as much as Willamette? Maybe I need to try Cascade next year.
 
To tell you the truth I didn't do anything in particular to stop the squirrels. When my shoots were first coking up I saw some evidence ofthem digging in the planter that I have but it wasn't near the rhizomes I planted
 
The last time I was out in the Yakima valley (3 yrs ago) I stopped by the old house I grew up in and grabbed some cluster rhizomes. My dad brewed with them when I was a kid. Hearts brew shop told me they'd never make it in Orlando but I popped them into 6" raised beds bordering a garden archway and I've watched them grow stronger every year since. I've read that raised beds heat up earlier in the spring and stay cooler in the winter so maybe that helps with possible dormancy issues. They also drain very well. The hops I have this year are just as big, bushy and loaded with cones as any year I remember the mother plant back in Washington experiencing.
 
Here is a photo update of my cascades. The side arms are growing like crazy

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awesome looking vines.... looking at the pics has me wanting and planing on growing some cascade this spring... how did any of your beers turn out that you used the hops in?
 
I got minimal production due to a few mistakes i made but i made an ipa with them that i used the fresh hops as a late addition that came out really good. This year im hoping to get better production and to make a 100% fresh hop ale
 
A tidbit of info on premature flowering on hops in southern latitudes -
Hop plants shift from vegetative growth to flowering in response to 14 hour (or longer) exposure to light. In places like Africa, New Zealand, and India with relatively long days (compared to Northern growers); the growers trick the plants into staying vegetative longer by interrupting the night with about 3 hours of exposure to incandescent light bulbs. This creates a fake "short day". This tricks the plant into staying vegetative until the plants are mature enough. Then they stop the night lighting and Voila!- they set cones! A simple 100 watt bulb on a timer does the trick.
 
Awesome thank you for the info!!!! I will have to figure out a setup for that this year coming up
 
Hey man this Cascade is growing like crazy!!! 4 bines ranging from 10 to about 15 ft and all putting out new cones every day. Figured Id ask since they are now budding...do you switch up the nutes you give them when they are flowering? Ive been going with Plant Tone(5-3-3) and some fish emulsion up until now. But I feel like at this point I maybe shouldnt be spraying any cones with fish emulsion, plus its not vegetative anymore.

I also have a variety of beers waitin for ya :mug:
 
Awesome!!! Im pretty lax in my fertilizing i just added 4-4-5 organic fert to the soil and use that once a month. I wouldnt spray the cones with anything because you dont want that getting in your beer. Also ive got a few varieties ill be bringing down myself to let you try.
 

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