10 straight days of measurable rainfall

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GilaMinumBeer

GilaMinumBeer

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Not a disaster and no Arks seen on any radars but, geesh.

I can literally see the water weep from the raised boxes. Ground is too soft to walk on therefore maintenance has been put on hold. I suppose the bright side is that bugs aren't a problem. And I live on a hill.

10 day Forcast shows a 3 day break in the clouds followed by another round of substantial rainfall. Last rain produced 1.88" inches in 8 hours. Last I heard the top 2 feet of our Red Clay soils is saturated.

Ugggh.
 
You just described spring in Portland Oregon...it gets a little old, but makes the sunny days even better! Plus the drainage here is much, much better so I understand your concerns
 
Yeah, I know it is a bummer. You'll probably end up getting some hail to break up the monotony !! Before you know it, it will be that steam oven dust bowl heat that you enjoy!
 
lrr81765 said:
Yeah, I know it is a bummer. You'll probably end up getting some hail to break up the monotony !! Before you know it, it will be that steam oven dust bowl heat that you enjoy!
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Ha. Had 20 minutes of grape sized hail last Saturday. Literally punched holes through the canvas cover on my sons play hut. I have no idea what it's done to my roof.

Next 3 days will be a steam oven for sure, first day for the clouds to break and it's 80 degrees already.

Worst part about this whole deal, besides the 2 foot tall grass in my yard, is taht it has been too cool to run the A/C for de-humidification of teh house and everything just feels damp. Yuck!
 
lrr81765 said:
Yeah, I know it is a bummer. You'll probably end up getting some hail to break up the monotony !! Before you know it, it will be that steam oven dust bowl heat that you enjoy!
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As long as the bib on the wall don't spit dust, and I can water daily, the hops will be happy. At least until we hit triple digits and the moisture in the plant evaporates before it can reach the top.

Good times.
 
Been raining a bit here as well, but only 1.7 inches in the last three days. I'm not concerned about drainage, but sliding down the slope or getting washed out again is a real concern. Maybe a break for the weekend, then more rain. The first quarter was way below normal rainfall, so the farmers are happy. And I've got two feet of grass on the driveway.
 
You know what I just thought about out there... As a hop grower we kind of ***** about how pests, cats, rabbits, and any other animal gets to destroying what we hold dear in the growing world... After thinking about it... I live in CT and I complain about these animals... BUT.... You all out in the midwest... You have to worry about TORNADOES!! I'd be pissed too if a damn tornado went out and sucked up my hops....

Sorry just a random thought... too many times I've seen that Storm Stories commercial on the Weather Channel...
 
Bowtiebrewery said:
You know what I just thought about out there... As a hop grower we kind of ***** about how pests, cats, rabbits, and any other animal gets to destroying what we hold dear in the growing world... After thinking about it... I live in CT and I complain about these animals... BUT.... You all out in the midwest... You have to worry about TORNADOES!! I'd be pissed too if a damn tornado went out and sucked up my hops....

Sorry just a random thought... too many times I've seen that Storm Stories commercial on the Weather Channel...
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Ha. Last month alone I have seen hail, 70 mph winds, and torrential rains. Things that do just enough damage to stress the plants to near seasonal failure and (hopefully not) potential gender issues without flat out destroying the plant.

And while tornado's do suck (badump dah) at least damages can be claimed against insurance (best case scenario).
 
oh man its crazy all the lakes around be a busting out
a few of the road around here that run along the river are closed
the dam at fT gibson lake yesterday was ripping

look here Tulsa District Water Control Home Page

Ft Gibson Lake, OK

171922 cubic feet a second of water is going in to Robert S. Kerr its a crazy thing to see flowing over a spill way the sound and site is amazing , you shoudl go see a damn during flood time it will make you proud.
 
Wow man, I'm glad you are on a hill, flooding just royally sucks, completely destroys a house yet a lot of people don't have insurance for it.
 
FGIB.pc.png


here is a rain fall for around me 9.5 inch in 7 days
 
hey i will be in OKC all next week for some training
i will be here Crowne Plaza Hotel Oklahoma City
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
mabey one day after class we can hook up and get a beer.
is that far from you, i will be prolly be in a cab
 
Clayton said:
hey i will be in OKC all next week for some training
i will be here Crowne Plaza Hotel Oklahoma City
Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
mabey one day after class we can hook up and get a beer.
is that far from you, i will be prolly be in a cab
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Not too far. ~8 - 10 miles.

I have 5 taps and 67" HDTV. Plus, I own a car too.

In other words, no problem. As long as you don't have issues with kids. I have a 3 year old ankle clencher.
 
nope i have kids too
i will be in a goverment car and will be taking some other IT guys with me up there so i will be leaveing the car for them when i go out.
 
Clayton said:
nope i have kids too
i will be in a goverment car and will be taking some other IT guys with me up there so i will be leaveing the car for them when i go out.
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Make sure you pack your water wings. Supposed to be a wet week next week too.
 
Got another 0.7 inches in three hours.

Now the sun is shining and the greys want a walk. I know it will start raining when we get to the mailbox. That's about a kilometer from the house.
 
david_42 said:
Got another 0.7 inches in three hours.

Now the sun is shining and the greys want a walk. I know it will start raining when we get to the mailbox. That's about a kilometer from the house.
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Dang man. Props to ya'. I'd be grey if I had to walk a kilometer to the mailbox. Sounds like ATV time to me. Put it in neutral and let them dogs pull ya.
 
+1 for StillBrew. What y'all are describing is Portland, Oregon in the Spring. Tonight, however, I'm gonna brew anyway on the back porch!
 
Rain????? Oh yeah! I remember now. Like I tell the young folks out here in L.A. County, at 77 years of age, I have actually SEEN rain. Just kidding folks, cause I do feel for you. But, I have been "there" and done that too. In April 1953 I had to roll up my sleeves and help repair the damage after a tornado struck the Motor Pool at Baker Battery, 59th Field Artillery Battalion, Fort Sill Ok. ( ah yes, the memories ).
 
We are on day number 8 of rain. I've been in MD for 4 years now and havent seen anything like this. I've been on the East Coast for 20+ years and cant remember the last time this happened. Its just one storm after another and cloudy in between. They are calling for sun on Sunday. My hops started strong but have stalled big time. Once that sun finally comes out Im thinking they will go crazy!! Hope so. Cheers
 
The weather guesses are saying three days of sunshine. That should be enough to get all of the hops on the twine, except the Columbus. I replaced the Sunbeam with two Columbus rhizomes, but no sprouts so far.

This is my Fuggle, year 4. Note the stunted growth in the middle. That's last year's bines.

IMG_5059.JPG


Time to do more weeding, if the rain has stopped for a bit.
 
3 days of sunshine?!?!?! It must be nice. Here in PA from what I've seen we won't have sun until SUNday and that after that it will be rain rain rain. My 3rd year fuggles is already 5-7 ft tall and my 2nd year hops are about 2-3ft. I need to get out there to weed and put up my new trellis system. It would be nice to have some dry days.
 
The clouds did finally break yesterday and the temps shot up into the 80's. I forgot to start the A/C before I went to work and it didn't get started until 6:00pm. By midnight the compressor finally cycled off and the house had dehumidified enough to be comfortable.

As I was leaving for work this morning it was comical to see how many people made a mad dash to cut their lawns between monsoons. some even got really creative with their mower wheel rut patterns.

I'll be doing mine this afternoon when I get home. The rains are forcasted to pick back up on Friday.

Hopefully, the humidity and sun will provide some reprieve for the hop yard and motivate some rapid growth. They definitely need it. I am even considering perforating the boxes some with a pitch fork to ensure that some O2 gets back into the soil before the next round of showers.

"Rain, Rain, Go away. Come again another day."
"Rain, Rain, Go away. Cascade and Zues they want to play"

Of course, I say that now. I bet by mid-summer I'll be whining that I haven't seen a cloud in months.
 
I bet by mid-summer I'll be whining that I haven't seen a cloud in months.
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I'm hoping we don't repeat 2005. 89 days without rain and never less than 90F. On the other hand, I have a drip system in place now and all but the Columbus are at least 3 years old. Might get a good crop.
 
More storms last night.

I dunno how fast the winds were but, I woke up this morning to find my sons sand table (10 to 15 pounds of sand inside) flipped over and the news talking about power lines knocked down in the area.

Instinct told me to check the hops.

Yep. Battered again. The 3 plants that had survived the previous storms are now beaten. The winds managed to un-wind the bines thus leaving a large portion of the plant to thrash in the wind.

I am thinking the best thing I can do now is chop them ALL down and train newer shoots. I think there is still plenty of time for the plants to have enough hearty growth and produce a decent harvest. Plus, given that I just recently fed them with very well composted manure I expect they will boom before long.
 
Beating a dead horse here.

Summer hasn't even "officially" begun and my Centennial has already formed hops. I expect all this rain, and cloud cover has it all screwed up. The real pisser is that the 70+mph winds from the previous night managed to whip enough slack out of the drop lines to cause the bines (all 6) to "fold". Meaning all the growth is lost anyways.

Fortunately, the cones are still young enough there isn't much of any trace of lupulin inside them.
 

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