Florida Hops Growing Fail

[xhermit]

This is my first attempt at hops growing in Florida. Maybe not my first, I previously attempted some Cascades and Williamettes from rhizomes earlier this year, I think I ended up planting them too deep... I dug them up since I saw no growth and found two soggy/rubbery roots

This time I ordered hop plants from High Hops, they were already a few inches in height when I purchased them (Cascade and Williamette). The Cascades probably died no more than 5 days after planting!!! They were looking dry and started withering, similar to the photos you see below. Eventually I think some bugs took off with them, I noticed the bine was "cut" from the root.. almost like something bit into it. The Williamettes stayed pretty healthy, but have been looking like this for the last several weeks.

I'm no gardener, but I've got peppers and okra growing fairly decently (those are like weeds, however). My soil is running around 7.0 - 8.0 ph, I only used a good amount of Milorganite (super light "natural" nitrogen fertilizer) when initially prepping the soil. The soil is a mix of my compost + whatever is in the ground. It gets watered about 10 minutes every other day. Maybe a bit more since the hops kinda between two sprinkler zones. Then I come home and spray the plants with a small mix of soapy water and a tiny amount of oil (heard it keeps bugs away?)

You'll see I have some grass clippings, don't be alarmed I just mowed yesterday. You can see I've got a mess going on. Looks like a mix of drying and some kind of disease. You'll notice some small "specs" on the tops of the leaves, that's just a bit of sand because the hops don't hold too well to my rope just yet, so they fall to the ground. I trained them back up for the photo. Also on the back of the leaf you'll see some evenly spaced out "specs" ... I don't know what those are. I don't see any aphids. You'll also notice some new growth at the base. Could someone help me out here? I'm hearing the "rot" could be a sign of over watering, then I read it could be under watering. It's Florida, so I just can't imagine watering every other day being a problem? I am, however, getting a bit of fungus signs from my grass... sometimes develops when it gets too much water.

Thanks.

http://gallery.me.com/kmz850#100007

 

[xhermit]

Ok so I migrated them into a pot, with organic potting mix and some bamboo shoots to grow up. Loosely zip tied them up the shoot. Also placed the pot in an area that gets good morning sunlight, but doesn't get hit with the scorching afternoon sun. The grass grows perfectly in that area, not sure if that equates to good hop growth too.

 

[unionrdr]

The white stuff I believe they call snowy mildew. The black spots look like this fungus my Royal Gala apples used to get. They have sprays for that. I personally wouldn't spray my plants with oil & dish soap.

 

[xhermit]

Went to a local nursery and they recommended a 3-in-1 organic fertilizer to get rid of the bugs and fungus. It's basically neem oil, smells horrible but you only apply it weekly. We'll see if that does the trick.