Im starting this thread to document my 1st season of growing hops. I started them from a crown that I planted in early March. Im looking forward to drinking a homebrew made with organic homegrown hops!!!!
Cascades in Key West
- Thread starter KeyWestBrewing
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Boris_the_Russian
Well-Known Member
Pictures or it didn't happen.
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These were taken in late march cant remember the date. I do remember the sprouts broke ground on St. Patricks Day. Im using a basic Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil with a mix of organic compost and plant tone. I also water with the water I change out of my turtle tank. Plants love it.
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About a month old here... pic was taken 4-14-12. I picked out the best 4 sprouts and trained the bines up the trellis.
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This pic was taken 5-9-12. I dont have a lot of room in my yard so I got a 5-6ft trellis and put it up against the lattice fencing on my back porch. The bines dont mind though they still grow up, you just have to go back and weave them.
StanJohnson
Well-Known Member
I thought you said in a different thread that you had cones already. Those are the pics I want to see
By the way, I have baby cones on my Cascades now. Aren't they cute :fro:
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Pics from 5-30-12. Cones starting forming on 3 of the 4 bines at this point.
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I thought you said in a different thread that you had cones already. Those are the pics I want to see
They start so tiny and swell pretty quick. Its awesome, you definitely notice daily growth.
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More pics from 5-30-12.... One of the bines stopped growing any longer but is putting out a really awesome cone on the tip. Its like 3 diff cones.
StanJohnson
Well-Known Member
I was wondering for the longest time if I would ever get cones. You're right about noticing the daily growth. My plants are growing like crazy now. It's amazing.
Boris_the_Russian
Well-Known Member
Where did you get the crown from? You
mentioned plant tone. I'm not familiar with this. Could you elaborate a bit. If this is the secret to your success.... well maybe I need to get on board. Do you plan to move to the ground or will pots be the final place?
mentioned plant tone. I'm not familiar with this. Could you elaborate a bit. If this is the secret to your success.... well maybe I need to get on board. Do you plan to move to the ground or will pots be the final place?
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Size comparison
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Theirjo was kick ass and sent it to me in trade for a variety pack of homebrew. If theres any "secret" its gotta be my turtles water from tank changes. The water has perfect ph balance, dechlorinated, and is full of great micro organisms plants seem to love. The plant tone is just a basic fertilizer that I use for my Trinidad Scorpion, Datil, and Charleston peppers. I use it minimally and just have it to make sure my plants are getting a rounded diet. I dont think I will go in ground because you cant dig a foot here without hitting coral rock. So I figure next season I will get it a nice big pot it can be hoppy in. Heres a few pics of the plant tone label.....
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As a side project in hope for bigger future yields..... Once I got the 4 bines I wanted I didnt just clip the new sprouts. When they broke the surface if they looked really good and strong I dug down, very gently following the sprout about 5 inches deep and clipped it there. I then took the clipping and planted it in the ground so that just the part that broke surface was above ground. I did this with 3 but only one survived and is growing into its own crown effectively cloning the plant I was given. I plan on letting it grow then digging up the crown to see how much it established.
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Seems like mine started coning when the bines got near 10 ft. Fun to watch, its become my morning routine.
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I'll see if I can get some good closeups of my cones tomorrow... some of them are starting to get sandy frosty with swelling lupulin glands. They should start smelling wonderful soon.
Southernmost11
Active Member
Last year at Key West Brew Fest the guys from FIU were telling us they have been messing around with varieties to see what grows the best in So. Florida.
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From what Ive read and heard from others the C strains hold up really well in the Southern FL heat.
StanJohnson
Well-Known Member
I also use the same Plant-tone along with some fish emulsion. I'm betting the turtle water is a lot like fish emulsion. I like your pic of the egg/cone size comparison. Nice.
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Yea the 2 are pretty much the same thing. Except the tank water has beneficial bacteria in it that turn the harmful nitrates into a more life friendly form and help keep ammonia levels low. Otherwise, all the same goodies plants love.
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The bine tip I posted a close up earlier in the thread has turned into the pic on the left(pic taken today). And the other pic is of the cone on the end of another bine....
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And more cones.... I was hoping you could see the frostiness starting to form on the cones but it doesnt seem like it came through.
StanJohnson
Well-Known Member
Can ya post a bigger pic? It might work then.
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Tried blowing it up but it just gets blurry. Hopefully I will be able to get some better pics soon as harvest time gets closer. Hoping to get a second harvest since they coned so early.
Boris_the_Russian
Well-Known Member
Blows me away to see hops growing in the keys. Not only growing but, flowering. What ever it is, your nuclear turtle water or just an amazing green thumb, keep doing what your doing.
I agree with you about planting in ground. Next year I wanna make a raised planter box and a better trellis system now that I know it will grow. My soil is terrible and I'd rather not dig it all up and refill it.
I'm using the fish emulsion as well as a low dose liquid feed with the micro-nutrients. Seems to be going well so far. Just rains like crazy lately. Hopefully I'll get some burrs soon.
I agree with you about planting in ground. Next year I wanna make a raised planter box and a better trellis system now that I know it will grow. My soil is terrible and I'd rather not dig it all up and refill it.
I'm using the fish emulsion as well as a low dose liquid feed with the micro-nutrients. Seems to be going well so far. Just rains like crazy lately. Hopefully I'll get some burrs soon.
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Thanks man!!!
...How long are your bines? Like I mentioned, mine seemed to start coning once the bine hit about 10 ft or so. And are you using the fish emulsion as a foliar feed or a systemic? As far as for the planter box, just make sure whatever soil mix you end up using your getting good drainage. That will help make sure the rain doesnt drown out the crown but will also let the soil retain the moisture it wants/needs. If you know ahead of time where youd like to plant I'd set up and feed the soil for a couple months before you put the hops in. If you start enough ahead of time you can make that terrible soil awesome and fertile.
Boris_the_Russian
Well-Known Member
I've got two cascade plants. One is close to 8' or 9'. The other is about face level; say 5'. I use the fish emulsion every other week and some low dose feeding nutrients with a pump sprayer and drench the soil. My soil mix in the pots I have drains quite well so, I'm gonna do the same for the planter. Stole the design from Gridlock, another member here. I really liked the look. I will transplant the cascade sometime this winter when things slow down. That way like you said, they will be ready for next year. It's just been raining hard and steady for the past 3 days. When it clears I'll shoot some new pics. That is if my hops don't go all Noah's ark on me. DRENCHED!
Hope to see the start of cones soon. I'm waiting for the 10' mark. Very close
Hope to see the start of cones soon. I'm waiting for the 10' mark. Very close
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I like the planter box. They should be fine we got about 3 days of heavy rain down here and mine seemed to make it through alright. Though afterwards I let the soil dry a little deeper than usual before I started my normal watering routine again. Make sure to check for spider mites and other unwanted guests because of all the rain. They started showing up under some of my older leaves after the squall.
Boris_the_Russian
Well-Known Member
The girls are hanging in there. Everything seems to be good besides a few leaves that were torn during the wind. I won't be watering for a good bit. I think they need to dry out for awhile.
Through it all, they have held strong and I believe in the last picture.... Maybe the start of a cone. That plant has got to be 10' at least.
Through it all, they have held strong and I believe in the last picture.... Maybe the start of a cone. That plant has got to be 10' at least.
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That last pic looks like a cone starting. The bines look really healthy too, I wouldn't change a thing. Do you have any small growth between the leaves and the bines starting? That's where you gotta watch for cones, though by the look.... Yours are about the length of mine when I first saw cone development.
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