January Hop Harvest - SoCal

[pheboglobi]

Is it unusual to get hop cones in the middle of January? (When you're in the Northern Hemisphere)

I have a Zeus hop that didn't take the hint about going dormant for the season AND and a Tettnang hop. The Zeus has full cones and the Tettnang has them sprouting.

Here's a pic of the Zeus's hop cones:

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing ever.

Cheers
Garrett

 

[GVH_Dan]

Wow, I've tried to come up with a response, but they all pretty much sound like the bitter response of someone sitting in the frozen north wishing he could have a second harvest but never will because right now it just hit the weeks high of 20F.

So instead, I'm just heading out ice fishing. Ever experience that, SoCal boy? You know what the best thing about ice fishing is? You can spend all day on the lake and your beer is still cold.

 

[pheboglobi]

GVH_Dan, not trying to taunt you and other cold-weather folks. (I lived in upstate NY for several years, and I'm quite familiar with cold.)

Just trying to figure out if the hop-cone formation in January - even in SoCal - is just uncommon or just a freak occurrence. Temps are not warm, but not cold or freezing either - Highs are in the mid-50s, Lows are in the low-40s - and those two hop plants keep growing.

And BTW, no, I've never gone ice-fishing. Closest I've got is going scuba diving in a lake below ice in upstate NY. Instant brain freeze. Although it's a good way to keep your beer cold too!

 

[GVH_Dan]

Oh, I know. Its just that this time of year I wonder why I'm living here.

I can't comment for certain, but I would guess this will happen with some frequency. I know we will sometimes get late season growth or re-growth. Without the cold weather, your plant doesn't know that it is time to go dormant.

I'm not the horticulturalist of our group, but my guess is that you'll end up with a stunted plant that doesn't produce as much. Then again, having it in a pot will do that as well. So I guess you will have two small harvests instead of 1 large one. So enjoy and impress your friends with a wet harvest bock in March.