New 100 Rhizome hop farm

[PariahVineyard]

You won't need a harvester this year. Hand pick everything so the bines have as many leaves to promote root growth and are hardier for the winter.

If you do build something, put up what you build. I am debating between building something or trying to find someone close that has a harvester I can take my bines to.

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Yea I most likely will not be building one this year but it might be a winter project for pops and I to take on when I come down and visit on the weekends. I plan on dropping the strings down, picking them, then tying them back up so I can maximize their root growth.

 

[funnycreature]

So jealous! It looks really nice and clean. What I found hilarious is the hops page on Wikipedia. When they show American hops it's all over the place but the German hop yards are neat and all plants look the same. You are doing a great job!

 

[basementbrewbrad]

thank you sir. Its easy to be picky when you work on professional baseball fields for a couple of years... everything else looks like crap. So we try and take good care of our creation

 

[basementbrewbrad]

The marks on the twine were made 10 hours prior to the pictures being taken.

 

[rudds67]

Wanted to do something outside the box that we could maximize our space with as well as have a strong and durable structure that will stand the test of time... Its over the top but it was fun and it shows people another way to do things. To each is their own I guess.

dude thats pretty sweet..thats some pretty heavy duty cross supports.. you could build a patio on the top of your yard! well its better to over engineer then under..........i would train your bines to go all over your support structure..that would be sick..

 

[basementbrewbrad]

dude thats pretty sweet..thats some pretty heavy duty cross supports.. you could build a patio on the top of your yard! well its better to over engineer then under..........i would train your bines to go all over your support structure..that would be sick..

thanks. It would look cool if they grew up the structure but we would have a lot of trouble getting them down come harvest time. I think when they get tall we are going to make them go across the rows at the top so it makes a canopy or something of that sort. It should look like some kind of jungle when we get around harvest time.

 

[Stevo2569]

Sorry drunk in ramblin. What's the longest span between posts? Maybe I missed it. Are the top runners 2X4?

 

[basementbrewbrad]

It is pressure treated lumber. We know what wood does. Thank you for your concern stevo.

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Updated pictures from 5/13. 40+ are now climbing. There are only 4 that are still not showing, we dug them up and all had signs of life but were a bit too deep after we had added the compost and manure so now they are at the proper depth. Hopefully soon all of them will be showing. The willamettes are kicking but, a fair amount of them are 4 ft tall now.

 

[rudds67]

Updated pictures from 5/13. 40+ are now climbing. There are only 4 that are still not showing, we dug them up and all had signs of life but were a bit too deep after we had added the compost and manure so now they are at the proper depth. Hopefully soon all of them will be showing. The willamettes are kicking but, a fair amount of them are 4 ft tall now.

What time today was this picture taken? Looks like you have a lot of shade or blockage because of your framework. Hops need Sun tons of it

 

[basementbrewbrad]

What time today was this picture taken? Looks like you have a lot of shade or blockage because of your framework. Hops need Sun tons of it

Just before sundown. They get a tun of sun. The few you see in the shade are getting shade from the tree that is 20 feet away. It only shades them for about 45 minutes to an hour before dark.

 

[TheDarkChemist]

Umm.... awesome..... that is all I can say. Will be following this. What is your time-window for picking them once it is time to harvest?

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Umm.... awesome..... that is all I can say. Will be following this. What is your time-window for picking them once it is time to harvest?

Well from what I have read there is a 2 week window for harvest once the cones are ready. Judging by the differing growing rates of the varieties and each plant that window could be rather large.

 

[mirogster]

Well, what can I say - subbed!!!
Good luck with that project!
I'm quite slowly thinking about making the same

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Well, what can I say - subbed!!!
Good luck with that project!
I'm quite slowly thinking about making the same

I wouldn't be offended if you built something similar... I could give you all of the dimensions and everything if you would like. There are a couple of guys on here who are not big fans of this structure due to its cost but the design will be extremely beneficial come harvest time.

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Updated pick from early this morning. The largest plant is a Willamette at 6 ft 5 or so now. Every variety is doing pretty well now. The cascades have been coming on strong as of late.

 

[Looper]

Really cool project! I wish I had the space to grow 100 plants..

Not sure if it was mentioned somewhere in the thread, but how much would you say have you invested in lumber?

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Looper to answer your question the lumber, bolts, screws were $1737.00.

 

[Looper]

Looper to answer your question the lumber, bolts, screws were $1737.00.

Not as much as I had thought..

 

[Paulasaurus]

Wow, very impressive build overall. Cannot wait to see how they all do in their first season. Keep the updates coming!

Makes my 8'x12' hop garden seem a bit undersized now. I need a larger yard!!! lol

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Wow, very impressive build overall. Cannot wait to see how they all do in their first season. Keep the updates coming!

Makes my 8'x12' hop garden seem a bit undersized now. I need a larger yard!!! lol

My hopes are starting to go up a little bit. They seem to be doing quite well for first year plants. It has taken every plant a couple of weeks to get to 1ft once they get out of the ground but after that they really seem to be taking off. I expect the largest Willamette to hit the top of the structure in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Paulasaurus]

My hopes are starting to go up a little bit. They seem to be doing quite well for first year plants. It has taken every plant a couple of weeks to get to 1ft once they get out of the ground but after that they really seem to be taking off. I expect the largest Willamette to hit the top of the structure in the next couple of weeks.

Great to hear, just wait until next year when those bines are twice the size and twice as many! Great growth so far though. Here in MN our season had a very late start but hoping they can play some catch up through the summer.

I use bagged compost/manure for my fertilizer. I'd rather keep it as natural as I can so I avoid adding much in the way of chemical liquid fertilizers. I've had great luck with it so far so i'll keep at it.

 

[PleasantValleyHops]

Looper to answer your question the lumber, bolts, screws were $1737.00.

This does seem a little expensive for the amount of plants you have. But def looks like a fun jungle gym to play on. And hey as long as ur hops are happy who cares.

 

[GVH_Dan]

There are a couple of guys on here who are not big fans of this structure due to its cost but the design will be extremely beneficial come harvest time. ...the lumber, bolts, screws were $1737.00.

I will admit that it is an incredible structure that will make reaching the top of the bines easier. But at $17.37/plant, I have to join those that question the economics of it.

I think you will find that it doesn't aid the harvesting process that much. It will allow you to easily reach the top of the plants but you still need to pick, be that up on the trellis or by untieing them and dropping them to the ground for either machine or hand harvesting.

Where you may find some advantage is in leaving the bines up after harvest. If you can pick without damage to the leaves and bine, studies have shown a 6% to 30% increase in yield the next year in mature bines. It would be interesting to see how much better you do.

Again, its a wonderful structure you've built and I believe you mentioned side benefits of blocking the view of neighbors, which I have no doubt it will do. Enjoy.

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Dan thanks for the info. Once again I will say this is what my dad and I came up with. We know it isn't the most cost effective way of doing it. If we expand I am sure we will do everything else in a more traditional way. If nothing else it is something pretty damn cool to look at and it is something my father and I take pride in.

We already have some people who are interested in our product come harvest time. We will take into consideration what the demand in our local area is and we will expand if there are more customers to be had and more money to be made. We will see what happens and where life takes us.

Not advertised as the economic way to build a hop yard. Just a neat looking jungle gym monster of a trellis that makes people say what the hell is that thing?

 

[sok454]

@GVHDan what would you assume a structure that size would cost if you were doing it?

 

[basementbrewbrad]

Pics 5/22

 

[specialkaye]

If you can pick without damage to the leaves and bine, studies have shown a 6% to 30% increase in yield the next year in mature bines.

In all I have read about hops, I had not run across this little tidbit. Now, that begs the question, at what point does the increased hand labor outweigh the increased yield ?

 

[GVH_Dan]

Dan thanks for the info...Not advertised as the economic way to build a hop yard. Just a neat looking jungle gym monster of a trellis that makes people say what the hell is that thing?

I hear you. As long as you are having fun with what you've got, that's all that matters.

I would be interested to see what the longevity of it is and how well it withstands storms. Its not an easy task to re-hang full grown hops when the trellis blows over.

Also, you don't know if something will work until you try. Ignore those that say you can't do it that way. Thats what I was told about my drying methods until I proved it would work.