First Year Hop Growers

I had to build a temporary trellis system because my main growing area is under construction. One of my plants has grown almost three feet in two weeks, I'm just astounded by them. Amazing little plants.

Hey all I'm trying to grow some hops this year and they are really taking off. I'm doing it on my roof in Brooklyn and we just had a lot of rain for days.

The leaves are starting to get crispy though. Wondering what I can do to prevent it from spreading if it is a disease.

Here are some pictures.

Any ideas? Should I break off the affected leaves? Some initial googling implies a potassium deficiency.

Thanks for the expertise!!!!

My Willamette is doing the same thing but I haven't done anything with it yet.

Any recommendations on where to place marigolds? We've got a 72' long trellis 16' with three poles set: \.....|...../

The mounds are 6' apart. Would we want to box the mounds (e.g. place 4 plants outside the mount on all sides, perhaps 24" away from the center)?

Thanks... new hops grower. 50 acres to play with in southwest Iowa. We have 3000 aronia plants in their 3rd and 4th years but I really wanted to see how we could do with some hops and convinced the wife that a test plot would be worth the effort.

jamie

marigolds work best in a clay flower pot on the front porch.

Seriously, what pest are you hoping to drive off or problem are you trying to alleviate by planting something that going to rob nitrogen from your hops? Plant a cover of dutch white clover to suppress the other weeds and maybe a rose bush at the end of the aisle so you can scout it for Japanese beetles.

GVH_Dan said:

marigolds work best in a clay flower pot on the front porch.

Seriously, what pest are you hoping to drive off or problem are you trying to alleviate by planting something that going to rob nitrogen from your hops? Plant a cover of dutch white clover to suppress the other weeds and maybe a rose bush at the end of the aisle so you can scout it for Japanese beetles.

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I too had read somewhere that marigolds were a good decoy plant. Can't remember where I saw that though.

Ddubduder said:

I had to build a temporary trellis system because my main growing area is under construction. One of my plants has grown almost three feet in two weeks, I'm just astounded by them. Amazing little plants.

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That's one reason I like growing them so much. It's easy to see results.

specialkaye said:

I too had read somewhere that marigolds were a good decoy plant. Can't remember where I saw that though.

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Buckwheat is good for attracting good bugs that eat the bad bugs that are trying to eat your plants. It also attracts honey bees. Also, it forms quite densely so keeps weeds out, too.

Ash_Mathew said:

Buckwheat is good for attracting good bugs that eat the bad bugs that are trying to eat your plants. It also attracts honey bees. Also, it forms quite densely so keeps weeds out, too.

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Yup, Buckwheat, then White Clover. And, again, I'm not sure where Marigolds fit in.

specialkaye said:

Yup, Buckwheat, then White Clover. And, again, I'm not sure where Marigolds fit in.

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Yep. I have quite a bit of buckwheat growing. With me being Coeliac, I use that for grain. So may hops are protected and I get lots more free grain. Bonus.

Ash_Mathew said:

Buckwheat is good for attracting good bugs that eat the bad bugs that are trying to eat your plants. It also attracts honey bees. Also, it forms quite densely so keeps weeds out, too.

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Thanks. Marigolds are going up by the house near the garage and won't be a companion plant.

IowaAlps said:

Thanks. Marigolds are going up by the house near the garage and won't be a companion plant.

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I didn't mean to sound like I was slamming on your marigolds, I've heard there is some benefits to planting them by...tomatoes?...but I've never seen anything solid showing what they were supposed to do.

With any companion plant, you want to be careful in how you are using them. Obviously because they could be robbing nitrogen from your hops and sunlight if they are too tall. But they may act like those Japanese Beetle traps that actually pull more beetles into an area than they kill.

That said, I like the smell of marigolds and always try to plant them around our house but SWMBO doesn't...so I'm mildly jealous.

GVH_Dan said:

I didn't mean to sound like I was slamming on your marigolds, I've heard there is some benefits to planting them by...tomatoes?...but I've never seen anything solid showing what they were supposed to do.

With any companion plant, you want to be careful in how you are using them. Obviously because they could be robbing nitrogen from your hops and sunlight if they are too tall. But they may act like those Japanese Beetle traps that actually pull more beetles into an area than they kill.

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Yea thats a really good issue to bring up. I've read repeatedly that they repel aphids but considering they may attract something else, and we have a japanese ladybird (aphid eating, biting ladybug looking creature) population that is rather intimidating, they can go elsewhere.

Appreciate all the input. Got the first row all in this weekend and will take pics soon.

Jamie

GVH_Dan said:

I didn't mean to sound like I was slamming on your marigolds, I've heard there is some benefits to planting them by...tomatoes?...but I've never seen anything solid showing what they were supposed to do.

With any companion plant, you want to be careful in how you are using them. Obviously because they could be robbing nitrogen from your hops and sunlight if they are too tall. But they may act like those Japanese Beetle traps that actually pull more beetles into an area than they kill.

That said, I like the smell of marigolds and always try to plant them around our house but SWMBO doesn't...so I'm mildly jealous.

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A lot of gardening sites out there recommend things like Marigolds etc as they attract things like ladybugs. If you have ladybugs constantly in your yard your never going to have to worry about aphids or many other bugs.

Even just potting them and putting them around the yard would work. The idea being just to give ladybugs a lot of places to hide during the day so they dont cook.

Ash_Mathew said:

Yep. I have quite a bit of buckwheat growing. With me being Coeliac, I use that for grain. So may hops are protected and I get lots more free grain. Bonus.

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This is pretty much the direction I want to head too.

specialkaye said:

This is pretty much the direction I want to head too.

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What, beer for practically nothing? Haha That's why I am doing it. Plus, it has got me into gardening. I'm turning into quite he British Gentleman... Haha

Ash_Mathew said:

What, beer for practically nothing? Haha That's why I am doing it. Plus, it has got me into gardening. I'm turning into quite he British Gentleman... Haha

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Well, jolly good for you, old man. But no, not so much for free beer as the freedom from gluten. Now, that would be bully.

Sunbeam is starting to bud!

Here's a pic

After accidentally taking the tips off of my EKG, she came back with vengeance.

Is it normal for the plants to stall in growing? They just kinda seem to have quit on me. Especially two plants in particular

benzy4010 said:

Is it normal for the plants to stall in growing? They just kinda seem to have quit on me. Especially two plants in particular

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Been the same size for about a month. Should I fertilize or mercilessly grow enough?

benzy4010 said:

Is it normal for the plants to stall in growing? They just kinda seem to have quit on me. Especially two plants in particular

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Mine did the same too, I cut them back to the ground and they have already recovered are are bigger than before.

So I child cut them back tomorrow

Did you leave any bines intact or trim them all back?

Honestly i wouldnt cut them back, if they arent growing upwards they are growing downwards with stronger roots, which is what you want to begin with. They likely grew big enough for their current root system and now are spending all their energy building that.

I'm interested in learning a bit more about plant spacing between varieties. This is related to above and below ground issues. From the crown how far would be a typical distance a 3yr plant root span out and pending on the soil make-up and watering, would they go deeper?

I'm considering a test on a particular substrate and like to find out more about the conditions which promote hop rhizomes growth. My interests lie in Aqua, Airo and hydro-ponics. But I also develop Urban gardens, with soil no tillage /cover growth conditioning. The Hop garden in development is inside Berlin/Germany, hence GrowBerlin. We are located next to Marzahner Börsenbräu.

I would appreciate experienced advice on planting close space variety control.

Zulu said:

David
....
On the point about varieties too close - yes, they will spread pretty far , but also easy to control, you just root prune at beginning of a season , using a spade about 3 feet from the crown center, this will also yield new rhizomes that can be sold or planted.

We have our major varieties fully separated, and our experimental ones at least 5 feet away from a different variety .

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I would try to contact the Hop Research Center in Huell to see if they are willing to help you out with some information: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...-craft-beer-market-new-hops-article-1.1561607

Rhizome spread is definitely what you are concerned about under ground. Some varieties can form rhizomes that will creep 3 feet or more away from the crown in one growing season. If you have two different varieties growing 5 feet apart, there is a chance their rhizomes may have grown together by the end of the growing season. It's not a big deal to the average grower, but someone who wants to sell rhizomes of a 'known' variety has to take precautions to keep up a good reputation. The pictures below may help. Canadian Redvine crown that is grown in relatively heavy(clay) soil that gets amended every year with some compost. Once I dig all the way around the crown and remove the rhizomes, I backfill that area with some compost to make digging easier in years to come which actually allows the rhizomes to grow a little better also. The rhizomes are mostly confined to the upper 6 inches of soil and tend to grow horizontally where as the actual roots will tend to grow straight down. One easy way to tell the difference is to look for rings of buds along the rhizome which are usually spaced anywhere from 3-6 inches apart (the roots will not have these).