Amount of Hops Per Rhizome

[LJvermonster]

Hi All,

Can someone clarify this for me please? I've read that you get 1/2-2 lbs of dried hops per plant.

I've read that you should keep 3 bines per rhizome and cut away anything more.

So does that mean you will get 1.5-6 lbs of dried hops per rhizome? Or is the 1/2-2 lbs for the entire rhizome?

Thanks in advance!

 

[homebeerbrewer]

The amount is for the entire plant, but not for at least three years. You may get some hops the first year, but not much. You'll get more the second year, and should be at full production by the third year. Depending on your growing conditions.

 

[LJvermonster]

The amount is for the entire plant, but not for at least three years. You may get some hops the first year, but not much. You'll get more the second year, and should be at full production by the third year. Depending on your growing conditions.

Maybe I didn't ask clear enough

So does that mean you get 0.5-2 lb per Rhizome planted?

Or is it 0.5-2lb per bine that grow from each rhizome. So if you get 3 bines from a Rhizome, do you get 1.5-6 lbs per Rhizome?

 

[porterpounder]

The more bines the plant produces, the less energy is used to produce hop flowers and the harder it is to manage the harvest as they get all tangled up. A rhizome will produce many bines if not trimmed. Depending on many factors you're looking at .5-2 lbs per rhizome, but as stated by homebeerbrewer it's going to be a few years until you reach max production. Every year you have to cut back the bine to the soil after harvest.

 

[stpug]

Maybe I didn't ask clear enough

So does that mean you get 0.5-2 lb per Rhizome planted?

Or is it 0.5-2lb per bine that grow from each rhizome. So if you get 3 bines from a Rhizome, do you get 1.5-6 lbs per Rhizome?

The bolded and underlined phrase above is how it generally works. And some plants may yield 3 pounds while others may only yield 0.25 pounds; it's pretty plant and climate dependent.

 

[LJvermonster]

The bolded and underlined phrase above is how it generally works. And some plants may yield 3 pounds while others may only yield 0.25 pounds; it's pretty plant and climate dependent.

Perfect! I had a feeling it was this! And I definitely understand that it takes approximately 3 years to produce full yeilds. I was trying to figure out how many rhizomes I should plant. Originally I was going to do one Cascade and one Chinook. Now I am going to do two of each.

Thanks all!

 

[homebeerbrewer]

Apparently you miss understood my answer. Stpug answered more clearly, but each rhizome you put in the ground is one plant. If you are planting multiple rhizomes of the same variety, plant them separately from one another. It will be impossible to know which bine is from which rhizome.

Hope that clears it up for you.

 

[stpug]

Perfect! I had a feeling it was this! And I definitely understand that it takes approximately 3 years to produce full yeilds. I was trying to figure out how many rhizomes I should plant. Originally I was going to do one Cascade and one Chinook. Now I am going to do two of each.

Thanks all!

FYI, with those varieties you will be looking on the higher end of the yields if they like your climate and you provide them the space to grow. I had one cascade plant that produced ~2-3 lbs of dry hops per year; and chinook on year one (last year) is looking to fall just under cascade (maybe 1.5 lbs dry hops per year). With two of each you could be looking at substantial yields. Nugget and Glacier are other varieties that falls into the "ridiculous yield" category.

 

[GVH_Dan]

Let me add my own version of clarity...

A single planted rhizome will become a single crown that will mature out after 3 to 4 years. That said, many of the PNW commercial growers put 2 up to 8 rhizomes in a single hill (hole) at a time. This assures that even if the stock is poor, something will grow in that spot and you may even have enough growth to get a decent harvest in the first year.

Next, when the crown is established (2nd or 3rd year and beyond) you will get a dozen or more bines popping out of the crown. Trim off the first ones as they are probably the "bull" shoots that are just rushing up to get sunlight and don't really produce well.

Of the rest, you can train 3 to 5 up a single piece of twine to get .5 to 1.5 lbs of dried hops, depending on variety and growing conditions. If you train more than that, it basically turns into a giant bush that produces nothing but leaves.

You could also train 4 to 6 bines split evenly across a "V" configuration...in other words, two pieces of twine come down to a single crown. Up each twine, you train 2 or 3 bines. Some believe this will "double" production while others think its bunk. From what I've seen, with many varieties you get an increase in production but not twice. At best, 1.5 times more but now you have twice as many bines to harvest and it takes up a lot more room.

 

[solbes]

Yeah I would think per plant or crown, not per bine. And I think it varies greatly to the individual conditions the plants are in.

I have a Hallertau, Cascade, and Williamette up at our lake place that I can only get to every other week during the summer. So kind of at the mercy of mother nature providing moisture. Maybe get 3-4 oz each and these are 4 year old hops.

This last summer I planted a Centennial and Chinook at my house where it gets watered every other day from the sprinklers. Maybe only an oz or two from the Cent, but that Chinook gave me 5-6 oz in the first year. I'm sure they will yield a lot more in year 3.

 

[thaymond]

With my first year plants (field grade from GLH, not rhizomes) I was able to get just under 4 pounds from 3 plants, and just over one pound from a 3year old Nugget plant. Zeus was my top producer at 1lb 10oz. Cascade gave me 5oz. Dry. Since they were first year in the ground, my intent was to establish a strong root system and fed moderate amounts of Nitrogen fertilizers, blood meal. They were planted in a bed of 1/3 manure, 1/3 mushroom compost, and 1/3 topsoil. I added lots of water on a near daily basis. I used a 10-10-10 fertilizer weekly. This worked for me, but ymmv.

I didn't trim any of my bines after May 1. Zeus and Nugget threw out 8-10 bines each, and I trained them all. Chinook threw 3 bines, and Cascade about 6. As I said, the focus was to establish roots, so I allowed them to grow without pruning or trimming. This year I'll stick to 4 main bines per plant. It's manageable to train this many with my trellis setup. Last year, things got way unruly at the end of July and early August. I gave up and let them go crazy, which I think hindered some yield, especially in Nugget. Some of the strongest bines choked out weaker ones.

This year the plan is to pull rhizomes in March, lay down a mixed bed of manure/compost and soil, and water regularly. I will mix in some blood meal to the soil for slow release of nitrogen. I'll also do a weekly application of vigoro 10-10-10 NPK. This year I'll add in a regiment of weekly bone meal once the spurs show.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

Let me add my own version of clarity...

A single planted rhizome will become a single crown that will mature out after 3 to 4 years. That said, many of the PNW commercial growers put 2 up to 8 rhizomes in a single hill (hole) at a time. This assures that even if the stock is poor, something will grow in that spot and you may even have enough growth to get a decent harvest in the first year.

Next, when the crown is established (2nd or 3rd year and beyond) you will get a dozen or more bines popping out of the crown. Trim off the first ones as they are probably the "bull" shoots that are just rushing up to get sunlight and don't really produce well.

Of the rest, you can train 3 to 5 up a single piece of twine to get .5 to 1.5 lbs of dried hops, depending on variety and growing conditions. If you train more than that, it basically turns into a giant bush that produces nothing but leaves.

You could also train 4 to 6 bines split evenly across a "V" configuration...in other words, two pieces of twine come down to a single crown. Up each twine, you train 2 or 3 bines. Some believe this will "double" production while others think its bunk. From what I've seen, with many varieties you get an increase in production but not twice. At best, 1.5 times more but now you have twice as many bines to harvest and it takes up a lot more room.

Spot on as usual!