Anyone in eastern Ontario growing any hops? Know What varieties grow better? I have 5 options but only planting 2 maybe 3. (Cascade centennial Columbus Chinook and willamette)
I planted Cascade here in Ajax late last June. I got a few hops from them last year, enough for one batch, but not much, as its the first year.
They just came back up about 10 days ago...and man are they growing ! over a foot already, and they're really thick and hardy shoots, not at all like the spindly little shoots I planted last year.
I'll be cutting a few of the shoots off, like I did last year, so the the plant can put all its energy into one or two vines - this is how I've read it should be done, and it seemed to work OK last year. -- why am I telling you this ?
Well, on a whim, I planted one of the shoots I trimmed off last year - when I say planted, I mean I just stuck it in the ground a couple feet away, and walked away, not expecting much to happen. boy was I wrong, a nice strong healthy plant is growing from that now.
So, if anyone wants a shoot or two that I'll be trimming off to try the same thing I did, then I'll be happy to put them in a zip lock bag or something, and put it in the mail to you instead of tossing them in my compost. just PM me if interested. I'll only have a few.