Looking for One Last Trick to Great Cones

2nd year hop grower.

4) 2nd year plants. 14)1st year plants. All planted in homegrown compost and watered well with soaker hoses.. Working my ass off to keep Japanese Beetles under control.

Cones are starting to develop.

I'm thinking to myself, what's the last trick I can do to produce a great yield?

Or perhaps the question should be- Having got this far, what else can I do to help my hops develop bountiful healthy cones?

Any tips, suggestions, advice, I'll take it all.

at some point you will just need to stand back,have a beer and let them do what they do.

Just keep the bugs off best you can, keep the nitrogen and water coming and you'll be fine.

Don't get all OCD over it. Gardening in general requires some level of "let nature take its course"... gotta know when to apply this.

Oh, and with established plants, you will want to water deeply. Superficial watering won't benefit the plant as much as good deep watering that gets down to the main tap root(s) which will be 1-2 feet deep in the middle of the crown.

Look at the amount of phosphorus you are giving the plants and perhaps increase this essentail nutrient. Ease back on the nitrogen which encourages and supports green leafy growth and up the PK for umbel production and root production and general health.

fertilize, keep the pests at bay, and I recommend trimming back the initial bines to just a few per plant so they get more light, etc. and make bigger cones.

Oh, and what buzzkill said!

Buzkill is such a... well you know.

Minus last week's mini-heatwave, we've had a lot of rain here in Chicagoland so I've been watering light. I can do that, and I can look at the nutrients. Sort of like I said, just looking for 'the last trick'. Thanks for all the advice including having a home brew.

Sigh... where's my fuggle SMASH?