My plants are growing right along at this time and are starting to throw lots of lower sidearms, is it practice to trim these and the lower leaves off of say the first 12-24" of the bine? I thought I read somewhere that it is so the plant can put more energy into the main bines but I'm not 100% sure or maybe cutting them now would be to early? Thanks for any help.
Trimming the lower sidearms?
- Thread starter olotti
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You're fine to clean the bottom 3-4 feet right off. The majority of the hops are generally produced on the upper 2/3 of the plants and the more vegetation you have near the crown, the longer it will take for that area to dry out. Downy mildew really likes those types of conditions so you'll be doing yourself a favor by helping dry that area out and creating a less favorable environment for the disease.
sub'd, carry on.
I always strip the bottom 3'
I am curious about this too. The below picture is my second year Chinook (rhizome bought from a local hop farm). The three tallest bines are 9', 8' & 7' tall (the other bine or two are just under 6'). From what I have read is to trim the lower leaves and side arms in July. Is that normally the time to trim the lower portion? Or is it more dependent on the hop itself? For example my Centennials are about 3-4' in height, so I can't imagine trimming them any time soon. Also, I am located in Western NY if that makes a difference as to the timing of trimming the lower parts.
Thanks in advance! Cheers!
Thanks in advance! Cheers!
If you have downy mildew in your neighborhood it can infect your plants at pretty much any stage of their growth (as long as the temperatures are above about 55F). Anything you can do to make the conditions unfavorable for that disease to develop is in your best interest and removing that mass of vegetation near the crown is not going to harm your plants in the least. Cultural practices like this are things you should be constantly working on throughout the growing season independent of your plants growth status. Again, if you have the disease in close proximity to your plants, the calendar has no bearing as to when it will rear it's ugly head, weather conditions and plant susceptibility will dictate when it will become active. Ask anyone who's had to deal with it and I'm sure they'll tell you the same.
Here's one article on the topic. You can see that it states that the plants should be trained and about 7 feet tall before spraying a desiccant, but hand stripping can be done at any time for the home grower: http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/DownyMildew.pdf
Here's one article on the topic. You can see that it states that the plants should be trained and about 7 feet tall before spraying a desiccant, but hand stripping can be done at any time for the home grower: http://www.uvm.edu/extension/cropsoil/wp-content/uploads/DownyMildew.pdf
boxofjibboo
Well-Known Member
How long do the sidearms typically get? Mine are starting to get to be about a foot and was starting considered them new shoots
Thanks for sharing the PDF @B-Hoppy! I guess I should plan some time later today or this week to trim back the lower leaves and side arms on the Chinook. Right now it appears all is well with my hops (knock on wood), but I check them every day when I water them to make sure there isn't any issues.
How about on 1st year plants? And then on plant varieties that take 2 years to establish (e.g. magnum)? I'm thinking my 2nd year magnum probably needs cleaned up a bit. Seems like too much around the crown. I'll have to check if it is drying out. The 1st years seem fine, not enough growth yet.
Last year I had bugs do the stripping for me. Ha!
Last year I had bugs do the stripping for me. Ha!
If your first year baby gets sick and never recovers from the infection, what are you left with? Same with second year. If the plants are under stress/attack from a disease issue, they are spending energy to combat that issue and not making healthy growth. If they are kept healthy from the beginning, they can continue to make growth at their own pace. The whole notion of 'leaving everything grow' for the first year is correct in that the more photosynthetic area you allow the plant to produce will allow it to make more energy for itself, but hops are VERY efficient when it comes to making an excess for themselves. After working with plants since earning a degree in plant science way back in '82, I'd much rather have a healthy plant and allow it to grow at it's own pace rather than try to push it, just me though.
Went ahead and pruned the Magnum around the crown. It looked like it possibly had a start of mildew problems. Should have pretty good airflow now. I'll have to watch it, but growth a little higher looks good.
That leads to a second question... How do you clean & sanitize pruning shears that were possibly exposed to an infection?
That leads to a second question... How do you clean & sanitize pruning shears that were possibly exposed to an infection?
soak the blades of your shears in bleach....kills 99.9% of all germs, bacteria, viruses...just do a thorough rinse with water after wards Brewcat.
Shouldn't it be a bleach solution?
it probably could be diluted some and still kill everything...bleach is cheap enough that you don't need to worry if you got everything when using it straight out of the jug. just my 2 cents...
