Growing hops from seed

[Sylvain]

seed preparation for 2023. pollination has begun

 

[Sylvain]

That’s a handsome male!

My best this year.

The mother is the very excellent First Gold (aka Prima Donna).
The father has mysterious origins.

He was born in March and passed 4m.
No signs of disease.
Good health.
Many flowers (good yield?)

 

[Sylvain]

 

[corkybstewart]

Since you told me you don't brew beer yet I have 2 questions. First, ware you crossbreeding for flavors, and if so how will you know when you have the right cross? And second, what do you do with your harvest?

 

[Sylvain]

if, I brew, but not often enough to test all my hops.
with my hops (Chinook, Cascade, EKG etc) the scent of the fresh cone is close to the finished beer.
so I base it on that.
and the following year, when I have harvested enough cones from a candidate seedling, I would brew with it.

 

[Sylvain]

Seedling Baltique

 

[Sylvain]

this 2022 seedling is a cross between the Neo1 variety and one of my males.
The scent is fresh and juicy apricot, I love

(do not take into account the flowers, it is another seedling)

 

[Sylvain]

Monsters

 

[corkybstewart]

My sister in law and me pulling up rhyzomes of wild hops in the Marais of Bourges. If for nothing else I will use them as decorative vines in the yard.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

My sister in law and me pulling up rhyzomes of wild hops in the Marais of Bourges. If for nothing else I will use them as decorative vines in the yard.

I really hope that yard is in France, and that you're not taking random rhizomes across international borders...

 

[Miraculix]

Monsters View attachment 778896View attachment 778897View attachment 778898View attachment 778899View attachment 778900View attachment 778901View attachment 778902View attachment 778903View attachment 778904View attachment 778905View attachment 778906

Wow! How are they smelling?

 

[Sylvain]

there are many genealogical origins.
some are quite hard citrus (typically Neomex), other ultra fruity notes (here again thanks to the genes Neomexicanus), or more subtle notes but on citrus and stone fruits

 

[Miraculix]

there are many genealogical origins.
some are quite hard citrus (typically Neomex), other ultra fruity notes (here again thanks to the genes Neomexicanus), or more subtle notes but on citrus and stone fruits

I meant the giants. Or are these huge cones from different pants?

 

[Apimyces]

Edit: Nevermind, I misread.

 

[Sylvain]

I meant the giants. Or are these huge cones from different pants?

It's a different seedling

 

[willow wolf]

Great detailed thread about growing and breeding hops!

I have been growing some in pots recently, just to get them started but I noticed that some have a lot of leaves and long bines, look healthy but the root system was still very small. I suspect I got too keen and used too much cow manure in the mix and so they had oversupply of nutrients, which might explain the lack of searching roots and therefore small root system.

I decided to repot into soil that I have an established bine growing in, its fluffy well decomposed humus type stuff from decomposed horse manure with plenty of little beasties living in it. the hops that grow there love it.

what is your preferred soil mix for growing in pots up to say 1.5ft diameter? what do you use for compost/fertiliser?
thanks.

 

[Sylvain]

it's time much to move the 2022 seedlings to prepare them for 2023, the selection was tough

 

[corkybstewart]

it's time much to move the 2022 seedlings to prepare them for 2023, the selection was toughView attachment 792433View attachment 792434View attachment 792435

Those look great.

 

[Apimyces]

Cull! There can be only one!

 

[Sylvain]

The first year is a real genocide, many deaths by inoculation of diseases. Then, the second year, an even tougher selection awaits them

 

[B-Hoppy]

So, last Feb I started stratifying these seeds and once they started popping, put out a few hundred. It's kind of like popping pop corn, once they begin sprouting, the majority sprout within maybe a month's time and then you get some stragglers and then nothing. Well, about 8 months after they were done, a few more began to pop in this bag I forgot to take out of the fridge. I'll try to keep these going until I can put them out but wonder if there will be any noticeable differences between these hold-outs and the ones that came up last year?

 

[Apimyces]

Unless a seed lot is particularily small or precious, any seed that don't germinate at about the same time as the first ones is discarded, on the off-chance it's an inheritable trait. Long dormancy is not a practical trait for breeding.

 

[Sylvain]

Seeds for 2023

 

[Apimyces]

Seeds for 2023
View attachment 816074

The Viet Cong would be proud.

What's the point of all those spikes, though? Seedlings can stay upright much higher than those stick's height?

 

[Sylvain]

it’s so I can spot them and know where I am when new seeds germinate and I have to plant them

 

[Sylvain]

a spike = a seedling

 

[Sylvain]

Army of seedling

 

[Sylvain]

 

[Sylvain]

a few white seedlings. this is often the case with the male Neomexicanus who is the father

 

[Sylvain]

Seedling 2021/2022

 

[corkybstewart]

Those cones are magnificent, what varieties did they come from? Have you had it's AA's analyzed? What are it's aroma characteristics? Have you tried to brew with it?

 

[Sylvain]

It is several seedlings. I haven’t brewed it yet, it’s planned for this winter. They’re not analyzed at the moment, it’s very expensive.

 

[Sylvain]

a Neomexicanus hops that I raised. the cones are so huge. sweet lemon flavor and Dank and Dank

 

[Miraculix]

Wow! I'd like to do a test brew with them!

 

[Sylvain]

 

[corkybstewart]

Bonjour Sylvain. Did you try to brew with your hops over the winter? If so how was it?
Have your hops come up yet this spring?

 

[Sylvain]

yes, we made an association "Creators of Hops", and we presented our varieties to professionals. great success

 

[Sylvain]

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071811145469

 

[Sylvain]

Hops !!