Hop crop 2017

Williams 728
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corkybstewart said:
What do you guys use for string? I found a roll of electric fence on clearance a few years ago and use it. It's stainless wire wrapped in UV resistant plastic string so it's strong enough to hold up in our winds and continual bright sunshine. But the roll is almost gone so by next year I may need another option.
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Right now I'm using coconut twine on theses 2nd year hops.

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corkybstewart said:
What do you guys use for string? I found a roll of electric fence on clearance a few years ago and use it. It's stainless wire wrapped in UV resistant plastic string so it's strong enough to hold up in our winds and continual bright sunshine. But the roll is almost gone so by next year I may need another option.
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The first year of my towers I just used rope and twine, but I found the weight of the hops stretched the rope down almost 2 feet so this year I got some wire wrapped in plastic coating.
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I ran the wire from a nail about 5 feet up the outside post, across the top to the other tower and down to another nail. My thinking was that the wire would not stretch like the rope did.
hop%20wire%20top_zpsafzaspea.jpg


As for the actual climbing twine/rope..... I use this. Easy for the hop hooks to grab and climb
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I have been trying to figure out what the big guys use, I can't imagine they use coir. From the videos I have seen it looks like parachute cord.


I myself use sisal, but I get one maybe two seasons out of each vertical.
 
Senormac said:
As for the actual climbing twine/rope..... I use this. Easy for the hop hooks to grab and climb
hop%20twine%20rope_zpsxufzq0fv.jpg
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I tried coir, and I tried sisal, but with our constant high winds they both rubbed through at the top cable halfway through the growing season. My electric fence has lasted 4 or 5 years so far.

I use oilfield 1/4" downhole wireline with a breaking strength of around 12,000 pounds for the top cable. It's going to be there for eternity.
 
corkybstewart said:
I tried coir, and I tried sisal, but with our constant high winds they both rubbed through at the top cable halfway through the growing season. My electric fence has lasted 4 or 5 years so far.

I use oilfield 1/4" downhole wireline with a breaking strength of around 12,000 pounds for the top cable. It's going to be there for eternity.
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Haha did you get that off a log truck? Did they lose something down hole?

Maybe synthetic baler twine for your verticals, I have a ton of that around that I will try.

I can't think of anything "light" in the gas/oil field up here that could be used or I would already be using it.
 
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Minneapolis, MN Cascade and Nugget

Went with a trident style rope system this year. Definately could you some work....trying to max out yield 4 bines per rope/ 3 ropes per hill.

Fertilizing with a organic probiotic mixture with added blood meal and potash.

The ropes are nylon from the hardware store...it costs more but it will last forever...hopefully.
 
corkybstewart said:
Starting over: massive hail storm hit this afternoon. Luckily I picked several ounces of ripe Cascades yesterday.
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Wow !! Is that common where you live ? The largest hail we ever get is about the diameter of a pencil.
 
Senormac said:
Wow !! Is that common where you live ? The largest hail we ever get is about the diameter of a pencil.
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Lucky you is all I can say.In Alberta we can get hit with a hailstorm that produces hail stones up to the size of baseballs on occasion and golf ball sized hail is common though usually it is marble sized.

Last real nasty hailstorm we had caused 800 million worth of insurance claims to both roofs and automobiles.

RMCB
 
Senormac said:
Wow !! Is that common where you live ? The largest hail we ever get is about the diameter of a pencil.
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Every 3 or 4 years we get a hail storm like this one, sometimes worse. We've had softball sized hail before-a couple of years ago all the windows on the north side of houses got knocked out all around our area, luckily we have no windows on the north side. My hops will recover, but my peaches, apples and 90% of my pistachios and pecans are gone for the year. But we got no auto or home damage so that's fine.
 
corkybstewart said:
Every 3 or 4 years we get a hail storm like this one, sometimes worse. We've had softball sized hail before-a couple of years ago all the windows on the north side of houses got knocked out all around our area, luckily we have no windows on the north side. My hops will recover, but my peaches, apples and 90% of my pistachios and pecans are gone for the year. But we got no auto or home damage so that's fine.
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DAMN :( I wish I could grow pistachio's and pecans to hell with hops compared to them.....Pistachio nuts are wicked expensive to buy and so addictive and yummy....my condolences on your loss of nutty yummyness.

RMCB
 
2017 is year two for my hops. I planted 3 Chinooks and 3 Centennials last year, when I purchased the rhizomes from a local hop farm. All of the Centennials survived but only one of the Chinooks made it (the other two were dug up by some creature in my backyard). Last year I let them just grow and they did well and produced some very tiny cones (very few). This year I decided to see if I can get something more out of them, so I chopped the "bull shoots" a couple of weeks ago and below are some pictures of them from this morning after a quick watering.

Right now the Chinook seems to be taking off a lot faster than the Centennials, but I am not worried. Every variety is different in the way they grows too. One question I do have, is 6 bines too many for one rhizome to train? I know people and farmers will have 3-4 (+/-) bines on each line, but with the Chinook, each of the 6 bines could have its own line to grow up (since the other two Chinooks didn't make it from last year). Or should I cut back the two smaller bines and keep it at 4 bines? Picture time!

Chinook.jpg
Chinook

Centennial.jpg
Centennial
 
pshankstar said:
One question I do have, is 6 bines too many for one rhizome to train? I know people and farmers will have 3-4 (+/-) bines on each line, but with the Chinook, each of the 6 bines could have its own line to grow up (since the other two Chinooks didn't make it from last year). Or should I cut back the two smaller bines and keep it at 4 bines? Picture time!

View attachment 401712
Chinook

View attachment 401713
Centennial
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I think it depends on how old your hop plants are. My experience has been younger ones just don't have that much energy and size but my 6 - 7 year old plants have grown so large that I have to cut bines back.

Cool pics btw
 
Senormac said:
I think it depends on how old your hop plants are. My experience has been younger ones just don't have that much energy and size but my 6 - 7 year old plants have grown so large that I have to cut bines back.

Cool pics btw
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Thanks! These hops are already spreading out pretty good. I've trimmed back all the smaller shots and kept just the 6 largest ones for the Chinook. The Centennials (since I have 3 of them) will have 3 or 4 bines each. I'll be curious to see how much more they spread out each year!
 
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1495980172.806486.jpg

Is it just me or what? But I find myself going out to check the hops at least twice a day. Water the in the morning and then go back out later in the day to check on them again. My wife laughs b/c I say I talk to them, wish them a good night, give them pep talks and what not. It's amazing how fast they grow each day. But I go out there to pull weeds occasionally, give them more water if needed, and just enjoy their beauty.

The pic is of my loan Chinook in its second year. Over five feet tall. Woohoo!! The Centennials are growing but so much shorter.
 
I'm in my 1st year and i have 2 chinook, 2 centennial, and 2 nugget. I have them in pots on my deck where they get plenty of sun all day. I'm training 2 per line and i think ill do 2 lines per plant this year since it's the 1st year.
Your plants look good! I can't wait to plant mine in the ground next year.
I check on mine evey morning and again when i get home from work. It is crazy how fast they grow.
 
Year 2 for my Gulf Coast hop yard. I've had many people tell me that you can't grow hops in Houston, to which I reply:
View attachment 402765
Willow Creek, late to the party but more new burrs every day!
View attachment 402764
Saaz is def a smaller plant, as expected. What I didn't expect is how well it seems to be doing down here in the heat and humidity.
View attachment 402761
Cascade has huge beautiful cones, but a few angel wings again :-/
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View attachment 402763
Multihead aka The Beast raised and lowered

Latest Multihead harvest. 1.1oz dry, 3.7oz sofar this season. Smells like juicy fruit
View attachment 402760

Total harvest YTD 5oz
The cascade and Multihead are in the ground, Saaz and Willow Creek in buckets. The ones in ground don't seem to dry out as fast, and def seem to be more vigorous than the bucket ones. I plan to add some low poles with wires btw them in the bed where Saaz is now, to allow me to raise and lower like I do with Multihead.

The Multihead has so many little cones, it would be impossible to harvest if I didn't have the pulley to raise and lower it. Highly recommend for others looking at getting the most from limited space, and able to go vertical
 
In their second year: cascade, magnum, nugget, and willamette. I got nothing from them last year because I planted them a bit too late, and they also only get sun through about 1-2pm +/- so not the ideal location.

Nugget is about 5'5" tall at this point +/- a few inches.

20170601_110111.jpg
 
Took the picture when I got home from work today.Chinook on the left and a Cascade on the right.Not bad for early July in Calgary Alberta.The other pics are before and after pics of the tree from hell.It is on the pie lot property next door and it is collectively owned by 4 people none of which want to be responsible for it.Last year I had enough of the damn thing not only menacing my property but also dropping sap and leaves on it so I had an arbourist trim it back.

RMCB

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5.5 ozs of cascades today, it'll be in a kettle OF IPA Sunday. That's half my current cones, the rest will be ready tomorrow. And there are thousands of burrs coming out. That hailstorm pruning worked wonders.
 
My hops are doing very well. I've got bines well over 30 going in all directions. I had to go in and add support wire to several lines.

Z2O0bR4.jpg
 
Sbe2 said:
NY burrs coming in, a couple bines are over 25' long. Fighting the downy
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One great thing about growing hops in our arid region is that I have no problems with downy mildew o any other diseases. Next month leafhopper infestations will start munching my plants but that's all I have to worry about.
 
Sbe2 said:
NY burrs coming in, a couple bines are over 25' long. Fighting the downy
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Aren't hops poisonous to dogs?
Do you do anything to prevent them from getting to the cones? Or is it just that your pup is too smart and knows better?
 
corkybstewart said:
One great thing about growing hops in our arid region is that I have no problems with downy mildew o any other diseases. Next month leafhopper infestations will start munching my plants but that's all I have to worry about.
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Ha, fought those off last month when they cut hay across the road.
 
HoppyHills said:
Aren't hops poisonous to dogs?
Do you do anything to prevent them from getting to the cones? Or is it just that your pup is too smart and knows better?
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Hops are toxic to dogs, but I doubt a dog would eat fresh hops because of the extreme bitterness. The problems come when hops have been boiled in sweet wort, that's when dogs might eat them.
 
HoppyHills said:
Aren't hops poisonous to dogs?
Do you do anything to prevent them from getting to the cones? Or is it just that your pup is too smart and knows better?
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They are, but my dog doesn't have any interest in them. She has been around them for four years and she hasn't had one. They are too far up for her, and when I harvest she isn't helping. Thanks for the concern.
 

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