Hop crop 2017

[Apimyces]

Well, not everyone has my patience (or zeal?) for weeding. I've worked on farms, I've spent days and days manually weeding fields between plants on the rows, as well as to make fallows cultivatable. Takes time and work, but it's hardly impossible.

People tend to not like weeding, and do half-assed jobs. To win against weeds, persistence is required. Some species can actually proliferate faster as a result of botched weeding.

Rhizomes are food stockpiles. Growth drains these stockpiles. Photosynthesis renews them. You gotta deplete the stockpiles to win, which means *frequent* weeding, otherwise the leaves will make enough photosynthesis to compensate for your efforts. Seeds are of no concern with frequent weeding. Seedlings of all species are fragile. Chop that rootlet, it dies. And since it depends a lot on surface humidity, standard hoeing suffices, don't even need to pull on it.

It's the same principle for all species. Some just require more frequency than others. The only thing that differs between aggressive weeds is what will happen if you fail. In commercial fields, some of these weeds are problematic because the labor required is too expensive. But for a couple of plants in the backyard? Everyone needs a bit of fresh air...

 

[Sbe2]

Well, not everyone has my patience (or zeal?) for weeding. I've worked on farms, I've spent days and days manually weeding fields between plants on the rows, as well as to make fallows cultivatable. Takes time and work, but it's hardly impossible.

People tend to not like weeding, and do half-assed jobs. To win against weeds, persistence is required. Some species can actually proliferate faster as a result of botched weeding.

Rhizomes are food stockpiles. Growth drains these stockpiles. Photosynthesis renews them. You gotta deplete the stockpiles to win, which means *frequent* weeding, otherwise the leaves will make enough photosynthesis to compensate for your efforts. Seeds are of no concern with frequent weeding. Seedlings of all species are fragile. Chop that rootlet, it dies. And since it depends a lot on surface humidity, standard hoeing suffices, don't even need to pull on it.

It's the same principle for all species. Some just require more frequency than others. The only thing that differs between aggressive weeds is what will happen if you fail. In commercial fields, some of these weeds are problematic because the labor required is too expensive. But for a couple of plants in the backyard? Everyone needs a bit of fresh air...

Preach brotha preach:rockin:... I am going to focus on weed management and soil nutrition on this year's hops and see if I can get a better harvest.



Bermuda grass sounds like a PITA though, glad I only have to deal with crab grass and dandelions

 

[corkybstewart]

It's the same principle for all species.

I love the confidence of ignorance! If you have never dealt with Bermuda grass then you are totally clueless and really have no business putting me down for just being lazy.
Every day on my lunch hour or after work, usually both, I pull or hoe weeds in my hop garden. I actually enjoy it. But Bermuda is a different enemy. It attacks from underground, and above ground. There is no way to treat it or kill it from the surface, all that can be done is to trim it. It's underground runner entangle themselves with hop rhizomes so in order to temporarily slow down the Bermuda I'd have to dig up my hops at least once a month to clean out the Bermuda. If I did somehow manage to completely clean my soil of Bermuda roots, I guess I could dig down 3 feet and build concrete walls around each plant, but Bermuda would eventually go under and I'd be back in the same situation.

 

[Apimyces]

Bermuda grass doesn't fabricate energy. Do I have experience with bermuda grass? Honestly, I don't know. In the world of weeds, I don't work in English, and when it comes to vernacular names... It's hard enough sometimes when discussing with vernacular names in one language, translating them between languages is a game of its own.

Stolons and rhizomes can be chopped. Once chopped, they are on a timer to make new energy before they run out. Some weeds are extremely efficient, sneaky, and hardy. But none can create energy out of nothing. And almost all plants require photosynthesis, thus photosynthetic cells exposed to direct sunlight, to accumulate energy. Removing the rhizomes can, in some cases, allow it to dry up in the sun, killing it. Otherwise, unearthing the rhizomes is not always worth it, especially if it means uprooting your crop???

Did I call you lazy? I don't know how much time you've put in your efforts, I don't really care. You might be, you might not be, I'm not judging you personally. Takes time and energy, I said, now I'd add it also takes efficiency. Not all weeding techniques are equally efficient against every different weed, and trimming is rarely an effective weeding technique, especially against grasses. Maybe your problem with bermuda grass doesn't involve laziness at all, maybe you just make a bigger deal of it than I would (or do?). Might just be about attitude. Because honestly, I don't live anywhere near where you do. I might not have bermuda grass. Or it might behave completely different in my parts. I don't know, because I don't know what the English names for the weeds I have to deal with are.

But if you think that New Mexico is in any way special and is the only place that has to deal with noxious weeds...? Because weeds that propagate by rhizomes and stolons and are hard to kill and tend to be multiplied by tilling and disking sounds like a lot of weeds I have to deal with. Whether I have that specific species or not does not exclude the possibility of having equally invasive ones. I frequently hear people say similar things than you do about species that I know for a fact I regularly deal with, so I tend to be rather dismissive of all such allegations.

 

[Senormac]

I just weeded my hop bed today. No Bermuda grass here, thank you Jesus

 

[thunderwagn]

I always cut mine back until May 1st based on the advice of commercial hop growers. It sets them up to start flowering right at the end of June. You're supposed to get a bigger yield doing it this way. Also prevents the hops from going brown in the heat of the summers longest days.

Hmm, maybe I should have practiced the same. Mine are looking pretty rough after the weather we've had the past week. I think another hard freeze is coming tonight. Some of mine are over 6' tall already. I wonder if I should cut back and start over...

 

[rupert130]

Hmm, maybe I should have practiced the same. Mine are looking pretty rough after the weather we've had the past week. I think another hard freeze is coming tonight. Some of mine are over 6' tall already. I wonder if I should cut back and start over...

It's not a bad idea. The idea is for the burrs to form around late June. Then the shortening days are the signal to the plant to flower heavily. I give the plants a drink of full strength fertilizer once a week once they are trained. I stop the fertilizer as soon as I see burrs forming. Then just water and wait for the flowers. I harvest in late Aug to early Sep.

 

[Sbe2]

I just weeded my hop bed today. No Bermuda grass here, thank you Jesus

I am a long way from my beds looking like that, but man yours look fantastic.

 

[Senormac]

I am a long way from my beds looking like that, but man yours look fantastic.

Thx

I really enjoy my yard

 

[corkybstewart]

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.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

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.

Right now I'm using coconut twine on theses 2nd year hops.

 

[Senormac]

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.

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.

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.

As for the actual climbing twine/rope..... I use this. Easy for the hop hooks to grab and climb

 

[Sbe2]

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.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I use the coconut because I couldn't find sisal that wasn't treated with petroleum, and it wasn't too expensive.

 

[corkybstewart]

As for the actual climbing twine/rope..... I use this. Easy for the hop hooks to grab and climb

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.

 

[Sbe2]

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.

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.

 

[corkybstewart]

Haha did you get that off a log truck? Did they lose something down hole?

When I did wireline consulting a friend at Schlumberger gave me a couple thousand feet of bad cable to use in my horse pens. Once I sole the horses I had a huge pile of the stuff.

 

[The_Greenist]

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]

Starting over: massive hail storm hit this afternoon. Luckily I picked several ounces of ripe Cascades yesterday.

View attachment 1495504871592.jpg

 

[Senormac]

Starting over: massive hail storm hit this afternoon. Luckily I picked several ounces of ripe Cascades yesterday.

Wow !! Is that common where you live ? The largest hail we ever get is about the diameter of a pencil.

 

[RockyMountainCraftBrewing]

Wow !! Is that common where you live ? The largest hail we ever get is about the diameter of a pencil.

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

 

[corkybstewart]

Wow !! Is that common where you live ? The largest hail we ever get is about the diameter of a pencil.

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.

 

[RockyMountainCraftBrewing]

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.

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

 

[pshankstar]

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


Centennial

 

[Senormac]

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

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

 

[pshankstar]

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

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!

 

[pshankstar]

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.

 

[bobeer]

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.

 

[bobeer]

Tried to post a pic but the app wont let me...

 

[Texconsinite]

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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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