2016 Hop Growing Thread

[Rypcord]

I really like what you did with the arbor by making it a bit of an architectural element of your home. I wanted to do that over our back porch which gets too much sun to be comfortable to hang out on in midsummer. Once the bines get all up and over that it's going to be really magical. And then you make beer with it. Brilliant.

Yea, and that was the easiest way to sell it to the wife on growing them. She wasn't too keen on the idea of 20ft poles with twine coming down and just tall vines growing up them.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Getting great growth here in MD. Both Chinook and Cascade out to 3-4 bines and lots of secondary bines that I will be making decisions on later this week as to whether they will go, or whether they will stay. Just added some fresh compost to the boxes, don't plan on putting any more in for the rest of the season. A regular watering schedule is just about all I will do from here on in. Let's see how it goes!

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[brewcat]

Put up a new trellis this week, was getting some strings up today. Already thinking about fall planting. Maybe I shouldn't make the backyard a hop farm.

 

[BrandonMH]

I hear you there! I only put into two rhizomes this year with room for a third, built boxes to contain them from growing so far horizontally. Started today on the trellis akin to whomever has them in pots and used galvanized pipe for it. So far I got two ft long 1 1/4" sleeves pounds in and a 10 ft 1" pipe placed...not pounds in yet. Going to get two more 10 ft pieces later in the week to raise the height, but at least I will have it mostly there. I did lose that one centennial shoot that somehow got broken by something. I think some more are coming up. I have to get some pictures up at some point. Time was short lately.

 

[RockyMountainCraftBrewing]

My Cascade is now nearly 3 feet high with 3 bines wrapped around the rope and the Centennial is 2 feet high with 2 bines wrapped around the rope.

Both plants have 3-4 smaller shoots as well.These are 2nd year plants.Should I trim the smaller shoots or let them grow?

Not bad for the 1st week of May in Alberta.

RMCB

 

[DurtyChemist]

That arbor will look cool in a few months.

All of my cascade are poking through the ground. My pacific gem hasn't but it is a first year rhizome. I'm really holding back from ordering a Sorachi Ace and splitting shipping with another club member who said he would get some Sorachi Ace too.

I still need to finish my hop housing. I've been to cheap, lazy and drunk to do it. Maybe when my wife is gone this week I'll do it with the table I get to build.

 

[sukkafree]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1462816075.763990.jpg
From left to right
2nd year perle, 2nd year chinook, 3rd year cascade, 3rd year centenial, 2nd year nugget....... These hops are growing like crazy this year!!!

 

[WilliamSlayer]

View attachment 353700
From left to right
2nd year perle, 2nd year chinook, 3rd year cascade, 3rd year centenial, 2nd year nugget....... These hops are growing like crazy this year!!!

Those hops are enormous already. Got a plan for when they reach the top? Which looks to be in a week or two! Lol.

 

[Robx]

From left to right
2nd year perle, 2nd year chinook, 3rd year cascade, 3rd year centenial, 2nd year nugget....... These hops are growing like crazy this year!!!

Where are you located? How many hours of sun do the plants get? That's some crazy growth.

 

[kev211]

My first year ctz. Other one is off to a slower start but is still happy and healthy

View attachment 1462850554802.jpg

 

[Robx]

My first year ctz. Other one is off to a slower start but is still happy and healthy

Looking good to me - I'm in MA and mine haven't grown much more. What's your watering plan? Must get pretty dry out there.

 

[kev211]

Looking good to me - I'm in MA and mine haven't grown much more. What's your watering plan? Must get pretty dry out there.

Actually we've been getting pretty steady rain/sprinkles every week, but if its warm I tend to give them ~ 1/2 gallon of water each, every other day. Dont know if thats correct, but its seems to be working haha. I need to figure out a fertilizer to give them now

 

[TandemTails]

I've got 4 planters right now with my hops going. There are 2 Cascade and 2 wild Neomexicanus plants. The neomexicanus looks a lot like its more psychoactive cousin, haha.

Cascade in the foreground:

Wild neomexicanus in foreground:

I'll need to get a trellis system built soon since we're supposed to be getting some really nice sunny weather in the foreseeable future.

 

[sukkafree]

Those hops are enormous already. Got a plan for when they reach the top? Which looks to be in a week or two! Lol.

When they reach the top they typically start growing sideshoots

 

[sukkafree]

Those hops are enormous already. Got a plan for when they reach the top? Which looks to be in a week or two! Lol.

When they reach the top they typically grow a little more than will fall back on themselves and start branching out

 

[sukkafree]

Where are you located? How many hours of sun do the plants get? That's some crazy growth.

In oregon the hops get sun from anout 6:30 am till 3:00 pm, then they get decent shade till night time..... I watered these for the first time yesterday

 

[sukkafree]

So its not letting me reply so to answer william slayers? They typically grow a little on the roof and wind will blow them off the roof and back on the plant usually a foot or so grows on the roof....
And to answer robx? Im in Damascus oregon they get sun from 6:30ish am till about 3:30 pm..... Then they get shade. Yesterday was the first time i have watered them this year[emoji482]

 

[sukkafree]

Huh guess it works oops

 

[Yeastieboy]

My first year ctz. Other one is off to a slower start but is still happy and healthy

Mine also are first year plants and looking pretty wimpy. They don't get great sunlight. Hoping the perk up!

 

[kev211]

Mine also are first year plants and looking pretty wimpy. They don't get great sunlight. Hoping the perk up!

Mine get about 10 hours of sun a day so they really enjoy it

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Difference between a crown and rhizomes. Crown on Cascade on the right, Glacier rhizomes on the left.

View attachment 1463009791973.jpg

 

[thaymond]

Growth update: all plants have bines over 6 feet. Many over 8 feet. Here's the results.

Nugget
View attachment 354020
Zeus
View attachment 354021
Cascade
View attachment 354022
Chinook
View attachment 354023

And the Box
View attachment 354024

We also have a honey crisp tree that has some buds in it. Here's hoping for some apples.
View attachment 354025
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And our strawberry patch. We started with 8 plants 2 years ago. It's now taken over the entire garden bed. This side of the bed had 4 plants. Now it looks like this...View attachment 354027

I also started a chinook rootlet. I just wanted to see how small of a rhizome I could get growing. It was only about an inch long. It had a small stem on it in april, which died once planted. I thought it was dead for a week. Here's where she is now.
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[BaylessBrewer]

Growth update: all plants have bines over 6 feet. Many over 8 feet. Here's the results.

Nugget
View attachment 354020
Zeus
View attachment 354021
Cascade
View attachment 354022
Chinook
View attachment 354023

And the Box
View attachment 354024

We also have a honey crisp tree that has some buds in it. Here's hoping for some apples.
View attachment 354025
View attachment 354026

And our strawberry patch. We started with 8 plants 2 years ago. It's now taken over the entire garden bed. This side of the bed had 4 plants. Now it looks like this...View attachment 354027

I also started a chinook rootlet. I just wanted to see how small of a rhizome I could get growing. It was only about an inch long. It had a small stem on it in april, which died once planted. I thought it was dead for a week. Here's where she is now.
View attachment 354029

Looks great!! Things are moving along very well for you.
Are you fertilizing yet? If so what product are you using and at what rate/frequency?
My first year cascade #1 is about waist high and #2 is very weak looking and only 6in tall.
First year Centennial is doing good with 5 bines that are all 12in tall or so and has really taken off this past week after training them.

 

[sablesurfer]

We also have a honey crisp tree that has some buds in it. Here's hoping for some apples.
View attachment 354025
View attachment 354026

- But, do you have any issues with aphids? We had one wild apple tree start up in the yard. (Neighbor cut theirs down last year, and this seed appears to be squirrel buried from that tree.) I thought I might train it and keep it smallish and see what it produces. The problem is that EVERY branch now has aphids and the ants have curled up the leaves to give the aphids homes. I have heard about a ton of DME around the base, I will try that this weekend, but we are in our rainy season in the mid-west.

 

[neild5]

Last year my 2 year old goldings were allowed to kind of go wild due to me getting injured, FIL passing away and starting a new job. My crowns are 3-4 feet in diameter with both bines and a good layer of what looks like a ground cover. I have been cutting off most of the bines but my question is on the 4-5 inch tall ground cover, do I leave it alone or mow it down?

 

[thaymond]

Looks great!! Things are moving along very well for you.
Are you fertilizing yet? If so what product are you using and at what rate/frequency?
My first year cascade #1 is about waist high and #2 is very weak looking and only 6in tall.
First year Centennial is doing good with 5 bines that are all 12in tall or so and has really taken off this past week after training them.

I was using Vigoro 10-10-10 all purpose weekly before. I moved to adding a blood meal slurry last year for extra N. After my low nitrogen soil test, I treated the area with more bloodmeal, then watered the bejesus out of it. Now that I have a soil test, I'll use that to help pinpoint plant needs. I would have been okay with a N reading of 'trace' in July. Now, it is unacceptable. I'll give it a few days before I take another reading.

- But, do you have any issues with aphids? We had one wild apple tree start up in the yard. (Neighbor cut theirs down last year, and this seed appears to be squirrel buried from that tree.) I thought I might train it and keep it smallish and see what it produces. The problem is that EVERY branch now has aphids and the ants have curled up the leaves to give the aphids homes. I have heard about a ton of DME around the base, I will try that this weekend, but we are in our rainy season in the mid-west.

When I find a ladybug I relocate it to my hops. Thankfully, I haven't had any issues with aphids over the past few years. Not that 3 or 4 ladybugs can slaughter an entire aphid population, but they certainly minimize any aphid damage.

A seed from an apple tree may get you more of a crabapple than a honey crisp apple. They work similarly to hops, in that when the flower of a honey crisp is fertilized with haphazard bee pollen, the result could be completely different that your expectation, just like wild fertilized hops from seed. Granted, I'm no pro. I don't play one on T.V. I have never stayed at a holiday Inn express. I'm sure others will disagree, or at least have more experience than I do.

I have heard to use Diotomaceous Earth to kill bugs in gardens, but not so sure about DME. Unless we're talking about the same thing. DME would get sticky and bugs would come and slurp it up, I would imagine.

Time for my early AM hop check.

 

[Rypcord]

Its now been about (4.16 - 5.13) 3 weeks of my hops planted. First is the cascade (4.16) from a friend. The second two are the Chinooks (4.22 and 4.25 respectively) from Troegs/Sunny Brae. Their not growing very fast, definitely not as fast as some pictures I see on here, and not the 'foot a day' that I've been hearing about. Granted we have had only about one, maybe two, full days of sun since April 25th or so, so that might factor into things too. (Location: Central PA)

 

[Rypcord]

These are two cuttings that weren't quite full rhizomes, from a friend. I've been keeping them in water since he gave them to me (4.15). The first is a Centennial, the second is a Chinook.

Does it look like there is any root progression? Should I move them to pots (with dirt), should I abandon hope on them?

 

[DurtyChemist]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463157321.155838.jpg

2nd year cascade. Cut it back about a month ago. Tallest of the three and I had it in a pot last year.

 

[sablesurfer]

These are two cuttings that weren't quite full rhizomes, from a friend. I've been keeping them in water since he gave them to me (4.15). The first is a Centennial, the second is a Chinook.

Does it look like there is any root progression? Should I move them to pots (with dirt), should I abandon hope on them?

Did you treat the water they were in? I had easily over a 90% success rate with cuttings sprouting roots, and they were very clearly obvious. Mine were in tap water with a couple drops of a root simulator. Kept them filled up with water and in a very sunny location.

Less than a month...eh...probably too short at time for full root development. Both of those are very hardy hops, so I would expect them to easily produce a ball of roots up to 1"-2" if treated right.

 

[Terek]

mine are going kinda slow this year. the one on the right is a 5 year old plant. I dug up as much of the root ball as i could from my old house, and moved it to the new house a couple months ago. the other 3 are rhizomes i got this year.

 

[Terek]

These are two cuttings that weren't quite full rhizomes, from a friend. I've been keeping them in water since he gave them to me (4.15). The first is a Centennial, the second is a Chinook.

Does it look like there is any root progression? Should I move them to pots (with dirt), should I abandon hope on them?

put them in the dirt. 99% chance they will grow. Hops are a weed, they grow like crazy and are almost impossible to kill.

My buddy (who does not brew) moved into a rental that has a at least 12 year old plant in the back yard. It takes over the fence and half of the house. He does not want them, so decided to kill it. I took a rhyzome from it, and he dug, and chopped the crap out of it. It still came back, so he dumped gas on it. that was last year. Right now, you cannot see the gate in the fence, and its so tall its already to the top of the house and growing on the roof

 

[Rypcord]

Did you treat the water they were in? I had easily over a 90% success rate with cuttings sprouting roots, and they were very clearly obvious. Mine were in tap water with a couple drops of a root simulator. Kept them filled up with water and in a very sunny location.

Less than a month...eh...probably too short at time for full root development. Both of those are very hardy hops, so I would expect them to easily produce a ball of roots up to 1"-2" if treated right.

I didn't use any root stimulator or anything, I used water from my rain barrell, and have changed it once or twice to make sure no mold/algae, etc. I have also cut a few branches from a willow tree and placed some of that in there (for the first two times of water, after the third water change, I left them out). Supposedly willow help stimulate root growth (so pintrest/garden books/etc. say).

 

[jmill]

Went in to the LHBS for National HB Day to grab a few things and talked SWMBO into buying a trial rhizome. Walked out with 4 varieties for less than I was going to pay for 1. It is late in the season, thus the heavy discounts, but figured we'd give them a try. We've got Williamette, Tettring, Cascade and Goldings. We'll see if any sprout after planting last weekend. Pics to follow if they do.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Just about 1 month since my first year hops broke ground and I think I'm in good shape somewhat
Cascade #1View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463193373.567709.jpg
Cascade #2 not growing the best but I've given it some love today so we'll see how it looks this time next week. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463193493.943290.jpg
Centennial
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1463193543.518239.jpg
I hit everything with a good dose of fertilizer and soil activator today. Hopefully the boost in nitrogen helps.

 

[brewcat]

Just about 1 month since my first year hops broke ground and I think I'm in good shape somewhat
Cascade #1View attachment 354287
Cascade #2 not growing the best but I've given it some love today so we'll see how it looks this time next week. View attachment 354288
Centennial
View attachment 354289
I hit everything with a good dose of fertilizer and soil activator today. Hopefully the boost in nitrogen helps.

Really no need for fertilizer yet. Right now they are using their energy reserves and won't be able to use it. When you do fertilize do so away from the crown. Hops have both deep and shallow roots. The shallow roots form every year and that is where most water and nutrients are taken up. The soil activator would probably be a good idea to prepare the soil for the shallow roots. Wait until the plants are taller (4'-8') before starting a fertilizer program. That's around when the shallow roots are ready.

 

[Rypcord]

Is banana peels a good idea for hops? Just like they are for roses?

 

[Robx]

Really no need for fertilizer yet. Right now they are using their energy reserves and won't be able to use it. When you do fertilize do so away from the crown. Hops have both deep and shallow roots. The shallow roots form every year and that is where most water and nutrients are taken up. The soil activator would probably be a good idea to prepare the soil for the shallow roots. Wait until the plants are taller (4'-8') before starting a fertilizer program. That's around when the shallow roots are ready.

Good info. For first year hops, do you think the rhizome has enough stored energy to grow 4'-8' bines without any nutrients from the soil? Or is this for an older plant? The rhizomes I started with this year are only pinky finger size. Can't imagine they'd get above 3-4 inches without a boost.

 

[brewcat]

Good info. For first year hops, do you think the rhizome has enough stored energy to grow 4'-8' bines without any nutrients from the soil? Or is this for an older plant? The rhizomes I started with this year are only pinky finger size. Can't imagine they'd get above 3-4 inches without a boost.

Established plants can get to 8' just from stored energy. The one thing about new plants is they'll put more energy into deep root development so upwards growth will likely be slower. So, energy probably will be used sooner (1'-3'). Hopefully you prepared the soil before planting to help with some of the nutrients.

I shouldn't have said that fertilizer isn't warranted. I was making an assumption on the amount and type used (e.g. Miracle-Gro). I also was thinking too much about my own growing location. I'll be doing a side dress of compost this week with some bone meal and maybe some blood meal. Something like Miracle-Gro won't be used until faster growth where most of it can be used.

Great Lakes Hops has good info on growing here:
http://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/grower-notes-spring-2016

It seems maybe a granular fertilizer would be a good choice to boost your plants.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Established plants can get to 8' just from stored energy. The one thing about new plants is they'll put more energy into deep root development so upwards growth will likely be slower. So, energy probably will be used sooner (1'-3'). Hopefully you prepared the soil before planting to help with some of the nutrients.



I shouldn't have said that fertilizer isn't warranted. I was making an assumption on the amount and type used (e.g. Miracle-Gro). I also was thinking too much about my own growing location. I'll be doing a side dress of compost this week with some bone meal and maybe some blood meal. Something like Miracle-Gro won't be used until faster growth where most of it can be used.



Great Lakes Hops has good info on growing here:

http://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/grower-notes-spring-2016



It seems maybe a granular fertilizer would be a good choice to boost your plants.

I used a mix of 50/50 compost and topsoil from bags when I built the box but the compost was low rent stuff from HD. For fertilizer I'm using Alaska Fish Fertilizer and Alpha Thrive soil and root drench is the soil activator. I plan on going to the nursery and getting some high quality compost to side dress them with in the coming weeks. I haven't really done much to them other than plant them and water when needed.
I may or may not get a higher NPK fertilizer to use short term and then something with no N if they form burs this year.