Hop Help

A couple of questions. This is my 1st season and I have no cones and my plants only got about 4 feet tall. I admit my ground is not the best but I fertilized them and watered them quit a bit. They get about 8 to 9 hours of direct sunlight a day. I am not looking to have 20 foot plant with a ton of cones just a little something to suppliment my pellets.
(1) What should I be doing differently?
(2) When should I cut them back this year?

Thanks

Chances are you're not doing anything wrong.

First year growth is almost all roots; stubby above-ground growth is relatively normal. Most likely your second/third years will be very different.

My Cascade bine only had a handful of tiny cones and got maybe 8-10 feet the first year (last year). This year, it sent up shoots in bush-like quantities and grew into the 18-foot range (I'm not sure how tall, since I had some trellis problems).

Cut them off at the ground after the bines die.