Growing hops from seed

[B-Hoppy]

Up on the porch roof overhang cleaning out the rain spout and whaddayaknow! Probably blew off of one of the cones from the vines that were climbing up the chimney?

 

[PapaBearJay]

Life will find a way!

 

[nagmay]

I'd brew with gutter hops!

 

[B-Hoppy]

Haha! I'm gonna have to leave that one there, no more rooms at the inn!

 

[ffaoe]

To the hop breeders out there,
A little bit about my setup and process, followed by a few questions.
I currently have 11 seedlings planted in either 4 or 6 inch pots. Each plant is between 1 and 2 inches at the moment. I intend to keep all my hop plants in large pots or buckets for the next few years. The seedlings are currently in commercial grade seed starting mix. The mix I have been using for my crowns is 5 parts miracle grow potting mix and 1 part Bumper Crop soil amendment. During the bine growing period I use standard Miracle-Gro. During the cone development period I use Super Bloom. I also use SuperThrive after transplanting to help reduce shock.

1. Should I keep the seedlings in their current size pots for their first season, or should I transfer them into 1.5 gallon pots once they get a little bigger?
2. Is there anything needed of me to do their first season besides train them up the lines?
3. Is there any special fertilizing schedule I should follow for the seedlings?
4. Any other helpful tips?

Thanks

 

[nagmay]

@ffaoe,

1) You really should move them to bigger pots at some point. 4" pots dry out very quickly. I've lost a few this way. You also need to consider how much the roots grow the first year. Here is a pic of the root system on one of my one-year-olds from seed: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=6718741&postcount=215

2) Re-potting and training is a good start. Given optimal conditions, they very well could flower the first year. Keep your eye out for the male flower pods.

3) Seems like you have the ferts figured out.

My only suggestion is to try to be consistent between the plants when it comes to pot size, sun exposure, and fertilization. This way you can compare the plants to each other. Otherwise, you won't know if that best looking plant is due to superior genetics, or just better care.

Cheers!

 

[ffaoe]

@nagmay
Thanks for the advice. I will definitely be repotting to much larger pots within the next few weeks. I will be sure to plant each in identical sized pots this time to ensure consistency. With any luck, I will end up with a few boys to cross-breed.
That was some amazing crown growth you had for a first year plant. If I was simply shown that picture I would have said it was a third year plant.
Thanks

 

[ffaoe]

I was checking my seedlings out in the greenhouse today and noticed two of them looked a little different. One had two shoots, and the other had three. I must have damaged them when transplanting. Adds character, right?

 

[nagmay]

Checked on the hopyard. They look a little beaten, but some are starting to take off. Several are already over my head. Other ones, whose main bine was damaged, have started popping out new shoots from the soil. Only 6 seemed completely dead. Another load of compost was added to help them along.

I also had time to inventory the plants. It’s interesting to see which crosses were the most prolific. I pollinated all of the female plants in my yard evenly, but the germination/survival rates were anything but: Lot’s of Nugget. Very few Cascade or Sterling. No surviving Willamette, or Mt Hood (not surprisingly).

• 30 x Nugget
• 16 x Chinook
• 13 x Galena
• 7 x Magnum/Cascade
• 6 x Pride of Ringwood
• 4 x Magnum/Chinoook
• 2 x Cascade
• 1 x Sterling

 

[nagmay]

Here are a few pics from the yard.

 

[fc36]

This is one of the better posts out there. I am subbing for posterity's sake. Keep the breeding program going Nagmay. Awesome work.

 

[alane1]

I was doing a little weeding and noticed these along the bases of my bines. At first glance I dismissed them as rhizomes but on closer inspection I realized rhizomes don't have any cotyledon View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432247138.953129.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432247163.792608.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432247182.136027.jpg

 

[PapaBearJay]

Mother nature!

 

[B-Hoppy]

I was doing a little weeding and noticed these along the bases of my bines. At first glance I dismissed them as rhizomes but on closer inspection I realized rhizomes don't have any cotyledon

My guy must have been on viagra last year as I've got seedlings coming up all over the property! Happy Hopping~

 

[ffaoe]

There's something strange with #8.
When I was wrapping this little guy or girl up its twine I noticed something strange about the shoot. That set has three leaves and tiny shoot opposite the middle leaf that is not a new shoot but a small leaf on the terminating end.
I know its nothing to be concerned with, its just strange seeing.

 

[B-Hoppy]

A couple of last year's graduates in their first full growing season showing some impressive sidearm production. It'd be really cool if the hops actually made tasty beer, haha! We'll have to wait another couple months to find out.

 

[DarkCoder]

A couple of last year's graduates in their first full growing season showing some impressive sidearm production. It'd be really cool if the hops actually made tasty beer, haha! We'll have to wait another couple months to find out.

You should call it "Squiddly Diddly" if you keep it. :fro:

 

[nagmay]

I also visited my 2nd year hops a few evenings ago. Too dark for good pics, but the sidearm growth looked promising. I topped the ones that had reached the top of the trellis. My hope is to keep them untangled for ease of sorting/testing.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Second full year after their seedling year? Looks like you're only training two per string? I like loading them up, bigger harvest per crown . . . just me though?

 

[nagmay]

Looks like you're only training two per string? I like loading them up, bigger harvest per crown . . . just me though?

Didn't limit the number of bines - the one on the end just looks that way, since the first two bines were so large. They are probably bulls, but I'll let them go for this year.

You'll notice that the second one is just getting started. All the conditions were the same, but it stayed dormant until the weather started getting really warm.

Overall, the growth of each plant has been quite unique. It should be interesting to watch them progress.

 

[DarkCoder]

Just for the fun of comparing the leaves on my seedling / plants found wild... those pictures are in my HBT album. See comments on pictures in my album.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Do you find that the ones with the red petioles have a more pale-greenish color to them? Also, the leaf in the third picture looks like it's got some light colored lesions developing on it. I'd keep an eye on that one.

 

[DarkCoder]

Do you find that the ones with the red petioles have a more pale-greenish color to them? Also, the leaf in the third picture looks like it's got some light colored lesions developing on it. I'd keep an eye on that one.

Yeah, I know for the plant in the third picture... it's downy mildew spots. I have put a comments about it in my album.

About the red petioles... not necessarily. I have some plants coming from the wild that the leaves are dark green and the petiole / stems are deep red.

Fourth picture is a bicoloured leaves. Very nice looking plant.

 

[nagmay]

Stopped by the hop yard last night and found that many of the plants are starting to display their sex. I pulled a few of the obvious boys, but will need to go back next week for a closer inspection. Doing my best to keep the cones from getting pollinated - as I'd like to get some chemical analysis done.

 

[nagmay]

The second year plants all have burrs, but two of them are really showing off - thousands and thousands of cones starting to form.

This one is NHB015 (Magnum x Cascade). With a little luck, each of those fuzzy-lady-parts will turn into the same beautiful cones I saw last year (below).

 

[B-Hoppy]

Burrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Looks like a blizzard's on the way!

 

[nagmay]

On the 4th, we visited the other hop yard, where all the first-year plants are. I was pleasantly surprised.

The soil here isn't that great, and it's been a month since my last visit. I came armed with fertilizer and ladybugs, but they weren't needed. Most of the 80 plants are dark green. Many have already reached beyond the top of the 16' trellis. I culled a dozen showing male flowers and had a tough time getting them out. The plants have already sent large tap roots into the tough clay.

About a dozen plants are showing burrs. A few have small cones already forming. The nugget, chinook, and galena crosses seem to be ahead of the pack in terms of size and maturity - but it really varies from plant to plant (as expected).

I took extensive notes on a pad of paper, but they got ruined during an impromptu water fight with some of the local kids... So, I'll have to go back out and redo that part.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Those were actually the seedlings you started back in Feb? If so, nice work! I've got a few up about 10 feet and are showing their sex but I guess that's to be expected from letting them come up naturally. They usually don't come up until/around early April. ps: that view somehow reminds me of looking toward the Willamette. Really liked my visits to Portland!

 

[nagmay]

Those were actually the seedlings you started back in Feb?

Yep. This yard was specifically set up for the first years. They are less than 6 months old.

You're very close on the view. These hops are out in Estacada, about an hour from my house in Portland. They are on a steep hillside facing west toward the Clackamas river - which eventually feeds into the Willamette.

This weekend we sat among the hops, drank homebrew ... and after an incredible sunset, we had perfect seats for the local fireworks.

 

[B-Hoppy]

Right on. There's a cool place up the hill from Estacada called Liberty Natural. He deals essential oils and was distilling his own lavender and clary sage the last time I was out.

Definitely a great area to be growing hops!