Frost in NE

[sdillow]

What's everybody doing tonight to protect their hops? I have four, some just breaking through and some several inches. Thinking about buckets over each with an old comforter over all. Thoughts?

 

[strumke]

I put my rhizomes in small pots to get them started, I think I'm going to bring them inside and hope for no bugs. Overturned buckets should be good. Maybe put a soda bottle filed with warm water to warm the air before you cover them. I'm not sure if that will do a lot, but the temp is supposed to just hit 32 in DC, so it should help.

Worst case, the ones that are several inches die off an new ones come out in the next couple of weeks.

Anyone have other thoughts?

 

[MichaelsBrewing]

What's everybody doing tonight to protect their hops? I have four, some just breaking through and some several inches. Thinking about buckets over each with an old comforter over all. Thoughts?

I have three first year rooted cuttings. Cascade, Nugget, and Centennial in 5 gallon buckets. I am moving them into the garage tonight. I'll plant them after the last frost.

 

[Wolfhound180]

I have mine in the ground. 1st year chinook. I put a 5 gallon bucket upside down on top of it. It should keep the temps above freezing for the night at least.

 

[TAPPOOL]

A simple piece of cloth, like a old towel over top of it will be fine. That's what I did. Buckets are great too but I don't have that many buckets..

 

[day_trippr]

I pulled the thick leaf mulch back over all my plants. Piled nearly a foot of cover on 'em.

I blame nhwrecker for this...

Cheers

 

[strumke]

Everything has seemed to survive, the temps weren't that bad

 

[RugenBrau]

Down to 21 last night. I covered them with leaves and everything seems fine.

 

[boo boo]

Spray them with water before it actually gets to that temp and the ice should protect them from frost much the same a farmers in Florida protect their orange groves from frost.

 

[tchuklobrau]

I did not cover anything, I had figured if any bines did get damaged from frost I could trim them off since I'm supposed to be triming anyway(which I dont do). Got a pretty good frost here and all seemed to do fine.

 

[wrench]

I did not cover anything, I had figured if any bines did get damaged from frost I could trim them off since I'm supposed to be triming anyway(which I dont do). Got a pretty good frost here and all seemed to do fine.

Same here. I got busy (OK, lazy) and didn't protect my hops at all. They range from 1-3 yrs old and all seem to be just fine after a night in the 20s with wind chill well below that.

Hops are robust plants. They grow like weeds and are very hard to kill.

 

[Greatlakeshops]

Growers Notes: Using water as frost protection.
Sprinklers do work well to provide frost protection. The reason it works is because water gives off about 1 1/2 degrees of heat as it turns to ice. This doesn't sound like much heat, but it is enough to keep the forming ice and plants just above the freezing point. However, this effect only occurs while ice is FORMING - so continuous sprinkling is required to keep producing "heat". Also, ice ABSORBS about the same amount of heat as it melts - so it is equally important to leave the sprinklers on until either the ice has melted off the plants or the air temp has risen above 35 degrees. It doesn't take a lot of water; so adjust your sprinkler to provide a finer, low volume spray. (no need to flood the neighborhood )
I will turn on sprinkling at 34 degrees and leave it on until the ice is melting and crumbly.
Mature hops are frost tolerant and really don't need much protection unless you have really soft green shoots and the temp is going down into the mid-20's.
I also cover young plants with cloth before setting up sprinkling - the ice forms on the cloth, making a self-supporting dome. The plants remain relatively dry underneath.

 

[MichaelsBrewing]

Growers Notes: Using water as frost protection.
Sprinklers do work well to provide frost protection. The reason it works is because water gives off about 1 1/2 degrees of heat as it turns to ice. This doesn't sound like much heat, but it is enough to keep the forming ice and plants just above the freezing point. However, this effect only occurs while ice is FORMING - so continuous sprinkling is required to keep producing "heat". Also, ice ABSORBS about the same amount of heat as it melts - so it is equally important to leave the sprinklers on until either the ice has melted off the plants or the air temp has risen above 35 degrees. It doesn't take a lot of water; so adjust your sprinkler to provide a finer, low volume spray. (no need to flood the neighborhood )
I will turn on sprinkling at 34 degrees and leave it on until the ice is melting and crumbly.
Mature hops are frost tolerant and really don't need much protection unless you have really soft green shoots and the temp is going down into the mid-20's.
I also cover young plants with cloth before setting up sprinkling - the ice forms on the cloth, making a self-supporting dome. The plants remain relatively dry underneath.

Okay... dont want to hijack a thread but simply... for those of us who have first year plants in the N.E. does this mean we can plant them in the ground now or should we wait until after the last frost?

 

[starsailor]

Mine are all up several inches out of the soil and hard frost temps earlier this week didn't do any harm at all.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Mine are about 7 inches tall right now an I'm in Ohio. I think that it is fine to put them in the ground now.

 

[MichaelsBrewing]

Mine are about 7 inches tall right now an I'm in Ohio. I think that it is fine to put them in the ground now.

Thanks for the response. I think putting them in the ground is in the near future.

Cheers & happy growing.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Thanks for the response. I think putting them in the ground is in the near future.

Cheers & happy growing.

If your worried about those last few days of frost, just put a bucket on top of them or something else to shield them for the night.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

I tranplanted my hops from containers into the ground last fall. I didn't take great care in transplanting them and they are really exposed on probably too high of a raised/mulched mound. I also get a lot of wind off of a lake and didn't protect them from the recent cold. It got down into the mid 20's for a couple of nights. I took a walk yesterday to find that they have probably a dozen shoots each and are ready to be trained. I have two kinds: Northern Brewer and Cascade.

 

[vtchuck]

For established plants, I don't worry about them at all. Our brutal winters and
unpredictable spring weather don't affect them.

For new rhizomes, I start them indoors in large pots and transplant in mid-May.
The first year is all about root development anyway.

BTW, I grow Cascade, Fuggle, EKG, Mt. Hood, Magnum, Nugget, NB & Williamette

 

[jessox80]

I planted my new cascade crowns on Thursday. A few of the leaves seem "hit" by the cold temps, but I'm pretty sure they were the leaves that looked a bit beat up by the shipping process. Most of the shoots look great, much better today than they did yesterday.

 

[boo boo]

Growers Notes: Using water as frost protection.
.

That's good info. Thanks.