Hops Destroyed by Hail Storm

[jlindborg]

We had a major hail storm roll through yesterday that completely decimated my hop trellises (as well as punching several hundred holes in my siding). The hops will be a complete write-off for this season, but I'm hoping to get something to survive over the rest of the growing season to get some energy stored into the rhizomes for next year. Anyone dealt with this much damage before? Any tips/pointers?

 

[mirthfuldragon]

How long ago were they planted?

Give it a week to see what is still alive, then trim away anything dead. There is still 2.5 to 3 months of growing season left and hops can be very aggressive. I would not be surprised if you get a semi-decent harvest yet.

 

[jlindborg]

How long ago were they planted?

Give it a week to see what is still alive, then trim away anything dead. There is still 2.5 to 3 months of growing season left and hops can be very aggressive. I would not be surprised if you get a semi-decent harvest yet.

The Cascade (the nearest hop mound, with the two trellises) has been established a good eight years (I've had to split the rhizome twice); the Hallertau in the back I had growing elsewhere, and transplanted it three or four seasons ago. For comparison purposes, here's a photo from a previous harvest (the trellis on the right is partially lowered). I'd harvest and dry one string (and still get 20 to 25 oz dried), and leave the rest for wet-hopping. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get enough for a couple wet-hopped batches later this fall.

I'll keep an eye on things the next couple weeks and see if there are any signs of life.

 

[day_trippr]

Holy cow, what a nightmare.
My sympathies from afar (for the siding - and the hops).

We don't get much in the way of ballistic hail here but it does happen.
I was riding in a VW microbus in the White Mountains (NH) when I was ~12 when we encountered hail that spidered nearly every window on that thing. Scared the crap out of everyone.

Hoping your homeowner's insurance will cover the siding...

 

[allanmorgan]

Sorry to see the wrecked hops, but still very impressive that you are growing your own. Hopefully the bines recover for a decent haul this year.

Not knowing much about growing hops, how does one go about drying the hops?

 

[stella_tigre]

We saw that storm on radar, and some truly ugly green sky pictures were posted on reddit. Totally sucks, but I agree, don't give up! I had basil shredded to sticks two years ago, they came back gangbusters. I'd say a good dose of balanced fertilizers to give them what they need to rebuild, and please keep us posted on their progress.

Edit and oh, yeah, sucks about the siding too....

 

[10_degrees_play-doh]

I wouldn't worry too much about whether they'll come back next year, especially the 8-year established ones. Many people cut the bines back nearly to the ground and pull them down at the end of the growing season, leaving only the bottom of the bine and whatever little shoots come up in the fall to store energy for the next season. Hops are pretty much weeds, they don't need a lot.

 

[jlindborg]

Sorry to see the wrecked hops, but still very impressive that you are growing your own. Hopefully the bines recover for a decent haul this year.

Not knowing much about growing hops, how does one go about drying the hops?

Google information on a 'hop oast' for building a hop drier (I assume there are also threads on this site). Here are some pics of the one I had built. It has three trays, and uses the fan unit from an old dehydrator. It usually takes me 18 - 24 hours to dry three full trays (I rotate trays every 4 hours or so); I'll end up with 24+ ounces dried if I do a full load.

 

[jlindborg]

I wouldn't worry too much about whether they'll come back next year, especially the 8-year established ones. Many people cut the bines back nearly to the ground and pull them down at the end of the growing season, leaving only the bottom of the bine and whatever little shoots come up in the fall to store energy for the next season. Hops are pretty much weeds, they don't need a lot.

Yes, I cut them back to the ground and mulch them over after the first hard frost, but that's after they'd had a full growing season to store energy down into the rhizome for the following spring. I'm worried that the rhizomes will be pretty much spent by the end of this year, and won't have much in reserve for next year. Because of all the leaves getting stripped and so many of the bines getting busted/bent, I'm assuming I won't get much growth off the existing bines. But I'm hoping for a couple new shoots come up that will give me some leafy foliage.

 

[jlindborg]

Holy cow, what a nightmare.
My sympathies from afar (for the siding - and the hops).

We don't get much in the way of ballistic hail here but it does happen.
I was riding in a VW microbus in the White Mountains (NH) when I was ~12 when we encountered hail that spidered nearly every window on that thing. Scared the crap out of everyone.

Hoping your homeowner's insurance will cover the siding...

Yup, insurance will cover, waiting to hear if they'll replace it all or just the two sides impacted. But I just realized that I'm going to need to dismantle the hop trellises so they can replace the siding on that side. So I may just be cutting everything down and let any new growth just mound up on the ground.

 

[brewcat]

Heard about it. Snowplows for hail. Keep us posted on how/if they recover. Stored energy will be a problem if you don't get any new growth. If you need a temporary trellis, a shepherd's hook with rope strung will keep them off the ground.

 

[10_degrees_play-doh]

Yes, I cut them back to the ground and mulch them over after the first hard frost, but that's after they'd had a full growing season to store energy down into the rhizome for the following spring. I'm worried that the rhizomes will be pretty much spent by the end of this year, and won't have much in reserve for next year. Because of all the leaves getting stripped and so many of the bines getting busted/bent, I'm assuming I won't get much growth off the existing bines. But I'm hoping for a couple new shoots come up that will give me some leafy foliage.

You might get lucky with some sidearms shooting out, too. And a lot of that energy absorbed in the main growing season is used about as fast as it's produced for growing more vegetation/cones, especially if it already has an established root system. I know my hop plants tend to keep sending up new shoots all year. I suppose it's remotely possible that the plants simply took too much of a beating and didn't have a whole lot of energy stored when the storm hit, but more likely than not, they're not lost. I'm not an expert, but I do have more education on this sort of thing than the average Joe (several years environmental technology in school).

 

[allanmorgan]

Google information on a 'hop oast' for building a hop drier (I assume there are also threads on this site).

Thanks for the info. The pictures are awesome!

 

[Senormac]

Ouch !! That's terrible jlindborg. As you said, this year is done, but I bet next year they come in super strong !!

 

[Sbe2]

If you cut them back, I would assume they would grow back(second fastest growing plant in the world). There is a lot of nutrient uptake by your hops that would have to go somewhere if you cut them back. You may not get cones this year, but I would cut them back as soon as possible to get new growth started.

 

[jlindborg]

Update: 14 days later, and definite signs of life! The Hallertau is still looking pretty wiped out, but the bines all look to be healthy, and there are new lateral buds that have formed. I'm not expecting to harvest any hops at all, but it should at least finish out the growing season. For the Cascade, the outer trellis took the brunt of the wind damage, and it shows. Most of the bines are withering after about the 5-foot point, and not much in the way of new buds. So I'm pretty much completely cutting that one down. But the inner trellis has a lot of new growth that has developed, even up at the ends of the bines. Several of the bines were showing stress: I traced those back to healthy lateral 'knuckles' and pruned them out (photos are from prior to the pruning). I may not get much of a harvest, but I expect to have enough for a handful of wet-hopped batches. I'll need to start planning some special 'storm survivor' batches to brew: any suggestions?

 

[Senormac]

If you cut them back, I would assume they would grow back(second fastest growing plant in the world). There is a lot of nutrient uptake by your hops that would have to go somewhere if you cut them back. You may not get cones this year, but I would cut them back as soon as possible to get new growth started.

If you are suggesting that they may grow back THIS YEAR EVEN .....

you may be right !!

 

[Sbe2]

If you are suggesting that they may grow back THIS YEAR EVEN .....

you may be right !!

Great to hear 👍