New Hop Garden 2014 (pic heavy)

[2drunk2]

That is awesome. Let me know about those chinuggets...lol

 

[sumbrewindude]

That Nugget is a monster!

 

[thaymond]

Thanks, all! A hammock would be a sweet addition to it, but would probably make things very itchy.

The first 7 or so pictures only show in my browser as links and they don't work. I'll repost those.

 

[thaymond]

Chinook
enclosure
cones
weird funky cone
male parts

 

[thaymond]

Cascade



Zeus

 

[thaymond]

Your first year plants look amazing! Great job! My 3 plants are absolutely pathetic compared to yours.

What are you using as a fertilizer? I planted mine in a bed of mushroom compost, manure, and topsoil in equal parts. 2 week fertilizer schedule from April to June with a 10-1 slurry of blood meal, and a weekly dose of 10-10-10.

For next year, I'll lay down a bed of the same for it to grow through, and probably keep the same schedule because it works for me.

That is awesome. Let me know about those chinuggets...lol

I hope it's sterile parts, but I guess time will tell. I'm not going out of my way to try and fertilize my cones. I'll have to look up if any of the varieties are diploid, triploid, or tetraploids. If I start seeing seeds I'll drop a line to the breeding thread.

That Nugget is a monster!

It started to encroach into Zeuses enclosure, and I said out loud "I'm not even mad, I'm impressed..." in my best Ron Burgundy impression. As far as I can see one of my Nugget bines is more than 40 feet in growth (it makes a total of 9 turns around the cage, plus the 2 feet from the ground and the little extra after the last turn. Well see how big this crown is next year.

I may be cutting rhizomes in the spring to help limit the amount of bines next year.

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

What are you using as a fertilizer? I planted mine in a bed of mushroom compost, manure, and topsoil in equal parts. 2 week fertilizer schedule from April to June with a 10-1 slurry of blood meal, and a weekly dose of 10-10-10.

For next year, I'll lay down a bed of the same for it to grow through, and probably keep the same schedule because it works for me.

I put my first year rhizomes in containers with a mix of equal parts compost, topsoil, and potting soil. I fertilize every 20 days with Miracle Grow 28-8-16 All purpose plant food, so I expected some serious greenery.

I had battled spider mites on my Tettnanger bines which ended up getting stripped of all leaves and growing back from nothing. That bine is 6 weeks old and about 12" tall.

The other two varietals have just been slow growing and tough to manage watering. Just a bit too much and they yellow up, miss a gallon one day and the plant loses half it's leaves.

I really need to get them in the ground but I have no place to put them.

 

[thaymond]

Update: Never ever ever ever use tomato jute as a line. When I bought the stuff, it was sturdy and felt like it could hold the weight of the bines. I bought 800' of it.

Well, it's biodegradable. Which means that as these guys got to their heaviest with cones, the lines would start snapping. Entire sections would fall onto others. It was a mess.

I fixed what I could and learned from the mistake. I think ill use some nylon or reinforced wire for next year to avoid this. Every day, I have to go out and patch a section with some aluminum wire to hold up a heavy bine.








The good news is that many of the cones are reaching maturity and need to be harvested in the next week or two. At least I get to put the new oast through its paces!

 

[rekoob]

Wow!
Those plants look awesome! and those are first year???
I have a bunch of plants going and none of them look this good. I have them running up a hemp rope which is strong enough but I'm not getting a lot of cone growth, maybe I cut them back early or late...
My current set up isn't going to work much longer and I need to start thinking about what I will do next year. I like your idea, might have to do something similar but maybe keep the same types in groups so they don't grow into each other.

 

[thaymond]

I like your idea, might have to do something similar but maybe keep the same types in groups so they don't grow into each other.

That's my dilemma this year is how to make it so: A - the plants don't encroach on each other, and B - make it so I can access the back and sides of the inner cages. I placed them close together, and I should have spaced them out 2x2...left enough lawnmower space between Zeus and cascade.

All are 1st year except Nugget. Nugget is 3rd year, but first year in the ground.

 

[thaymond]

All plants are harvested. Great turnout by all plants. With the exception of cascade, all plants gave over a pound of dry hops each. Cascade only about 4.4 oz. Now I can't wait to use them in brews!


Chinook


Cascade


Nugget (top) and Zeus (bottom two)

 

[Jack_R]

Awesome! I'd love to hear/see so,e details on your setup. A pound a plant!

 

[thaymond]

Awesome! I'd love to hear/see so,e details on your setup. A pound a plant!

Zeus was the clear winner. As first year plants, I did not cut back any of the growth. I trained all the bines that came out of the ground. Zeus had about 8. Conversely, cascade also had 8, but had some major rooting issues early on. The fact that I got anything was great, let alone 4.4 oz. That was my expectation for all the first years. Nugget had 4 bines trained, and Chinook only had 3 come out of the ground. Since Nugget was a 3rd year plant, I hacked it all to the ground early on, and left all the others to grow and establish roots.

The tomato jute was a mistake I won't make again. It began to deteriorate mid July, just as the plants were becoming their heaviest before flowering. I had to tie down entire sections of bines so that it wouldn't collapse of itself. Next year I'll use a more sturdy nylon or biodegradable coir. I just don't want it biodegrading while the plant is growing.

I'll also add some of the screening I used for the oast to help separate the plants. I didn't have much of an issue harvesting, but about 2 dozen Cascade cones didn't make it to harvest because they were tangled into Zeus. I only found out a couple of days later when they started to dry out. This also could be a solution through restringing the plants different next year. I'm thank no of trying a zigzag on Zeus and Cascade, and helix on the Chinook and Nugget. Most of my cones were ready at about the same time, so I wasn't too concerned about early harvests.

I'm thinking of adding a timer and regulating the water supply through a drip hose. I'll also have to show my neighbor how to train the bines, as my mother in law didn't do it very well while we were on vacation.

Bottom line: I had a great time putting the project together and learning the nuances of low profile trellises. I wonder if the plants would have produced more had the had the opportunity to grow vertically, but I'm happy with first year plants giving as much as they did. Nugget only gave me 4oz. last year, so it quadrupled production this year. I can't imagine that the first year plants would produce quadruple next year, but I can expect at least a pound out of each, which is exciting. That more than covers my brewing needs for the next year. Can't wait until next season!

 

[thaymond]

I took this picture of the freezer. It's a little ridiculous. I also showed off some of the "leftovers" from previous batches. It's over 5 lbs of hops total. I got the work cut out for me in the next year!

 

[2drunk2]

Need some help?

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Great thread/posts! This gives me a ton of ideas! Thank you! :-D

 

[Zekk]

Are you still planning on harvesting some rhizomes this spring? I'm a little interested as I'm sure others on the forums are. This is a great thread and has me wondering if my plan for my 1 rhizome will give it enough space.

 

[thaymond]

Are you still planning on harvesting some rhizomes this spring? I'm a little interested as I'm sure others on the forums are. This is a great thread and has me wondering if my plan for my 1 rhizome will give it enough space.

I'm sure I will have to trim back as they went bonkers last year. What are you thinking about as far as rhizomes?

 

[thaymond]

Let's the Hop Mayhem begin! 2015 Hop Garden is just beginning to sprout.
Nugget
View attachment 1428667273985.jpg
Zeus
View attachment 1428667290674.jpg
Cascade
View attachment 1428667309590.jpg

Chinook won't upload... Will update again.

 

[thaymond]

I really need to clean up the weeds in the garden and add soil. Each crown has some great purple heads poking out. Nugget looks like the only one that would have viable rhizomes.

 

[Arrheinous]

What type of rope did you decide on for this year?

 

[thaymond]

So far, none yet. I'm thinking sisal baling twine or Manila rope it it's cheap enough.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I certainly plan on doing something along these lines this year. Thanks again for the inspiration! I was also thinking about some sort of wire. I was wondering what others were going to use this year?

 

[DU99]

"shouldn't title be "2015"

 

[thaymond]

With all of this rain in Illinois, it's been hard to get out and do some work in the garden. I'm hoping that the next few days with start to dry out so I can get out there and begin weeding the boxes. My cascade is being assaulted by broadleaf something-or-anothers, and those don't need to suck up all my nutrients that are intended for this year's hops. :-\

It also appears that I can get several significant rhizomes out of the Nugget plant, if anyone is interested. There's probably 4-5 major rhizomes sprouting now.

 

[FourSeasonAngler]

I wish I had more space for another plant, I would take you up on that offer for the Nugget Rhizome. Let me poke around my property today after work and see if I can find a decent spot for it.

 

[zarfus]

Love this thread! Just curious how many rhizomes of each did you start with, and how deep are the raised beds? I hope this year is as kind to you!

 

[thaymond]

Love this thread! Just curious how many rhizomes of each did you start with, and how deep are the raised beds? I hope this year is as kind to you!

Thanks! I hope that you have as much enjoyment in following it as I do living it. I started with a gift plant of Nugget, Willamette, and Sunbeam in planters. Sunbeam is ornamental (even though I brewed with it last year, not my favorite.) so I gifted it to my mom. Willamette did nothing for me, so I also gifted her as well. I kept Nugget, which is now a fourth year plant. It is the largest of the crowns, taking up easily 1/2 of the 4x4 square. Cascade, CTZ, and Chinook were all field grade plants from Great Lakes Hops. I cut a small rhizome off of Nugget last year, which survived the summer and grew to be over 8feet tall. I traded her to a cousin of mine who also brews for some HB Belgian Pale. The raised beds are only 6 inches deep, more of a containment marker than anything.

Nugget threw a bull this morning. I had nothing, and suddenly there was an 8 Inch bine protruding from the ground this afternoon. She had full sun today, which she apparently liked. I have two brews in fermenters that have my homegrown Nugget, so I'm excited to try them. Last year I made a SH Nugget India black ale which went over well with my friends. I'm hoping this year gives me another excellent yield! So long as my lines can hold up...

 

[zarfus]

Thanks! I hope that you have as much enjoyment in following it as I do living it. I started with a gift plant of Nugget, Willamette, and Sunbeam in planters. Sunbeam is ornamental (even though I brewed with it last year, not my favorite.) so I gifted it to my mom. Willamette did nothing for me, so I also gifted her as well. I kept Nugget, which is now a fourth year plant. It is the largest of the crowns, taking up easily 1/2 of the 4x4 square. Cascade, CTZ, and Chinook were all field grade plants from Great Lakes Hops. I cut a small rhizome off of Nugget last year, which survived the summer and grew to be over 8feet tall. I traded her to a cousin of mine who also brews for some HB Belgian Pale. The raised beds are only 6 inches deep, more of a containment marker than anything.

Nugget threw a bull this morning. I had nothing, and suddenly there was an 8 Inch bine protruding from the ground this afternoon. She had full sun today, which she apparently liked. I have two brews in fermenters that have my homegrown Nugget, so I'm excited to try them. Last year I made a SH Nugget India black ale which went over well with my friends. I'm hoping this year gives me another excellent yield! So long as my lines can hold up...

Thanks for the details! I'm starting this year, and would prefer to 'future-proof' my design, but plan on going with what you have here. Based on this thread, what do you think of this:
-minor size increase from 4x4 to 6x3...fits my space better
-keeping the boxes separated, not immediately next to each other (ideally with access on all sides)
-using thick twine/wire so it won't break halfway through growing

I have 2 rhizomes of 3 varieties, I feel like this is overkill for this year, but probably worth establishing now!

Edit:
"I planted mine in a bed of mushroom compost, manure, and topsoil in equal parts. 2 week fertilizer schedule from April to June with a 10-1 slurry of blood meal, and a weekly dose of 10-10-10. "

It seems like you have unleashed your hops, so not sure why I would stray too far from this. What's different from your '2 week fertilizer schedule' and the weekly does of 10-10-10?

 

[thaymond]

Thanks for the details! I'm starting this year, and would prefer to 'future-proof' my design, but plan on going with what you have here. Based on this thread, what do you think of this:
-minor size increase from 4x4 to 6x3...fits my space better
-keeping the boxes separated, not immediately next to each other (ideally with access on all sides)
-using thick twine/wire so it won't break halfway through growing

I have 2 rhizomes of 3 varieties, I feel like this is overkill for this year, but probably worth establishing now!

Edit:
"I planted mine in a bed of mushroom compost, manure, and topsoil in equal parts. 2 week fertilizer schedule from April to June with a 10-1 slurry of blood meal, and a weekly dose of 10-10-10. "

It seems like you have unleashed your hops, so not sure why I would stray too far from this. What's different from your '2 week fertilizer schedule' and the weekly does of 10-10-10?

The sizing should be okay from 4x4 to 6x3. The idea being to maximize the growth capacity on all sides. So, if it is a 6 foot tall trellis with 1 foot rise per section of the rectangle, you'd be looking at 45+ feet of possible growth, assuming you'll run your bine across the top of the rectangle of the trellis. Chances are, you'll only need about half of that.

Definitely allow access on all sides! It was I Gigantic hassle in training only having access to half of the sides. Enough spacing to comfortably move is a must. Since my plants are established, I'll have to go through a ton of work to remedy this. I'll address this when I have to start replacing wood supports in the future.

Definitely use a stronger twine/rope. I will be.

The fertilizer schedule looks on par. It reminds me... I need to slurry up some blood meal and top off some soil! Thanks!

Please include pictures of your setup! It's very interesting to see what you come up with.