New Hop Garden 2014 (pic heavy)

[thaymond]

Got the lines up finally and trimmed back all of the excess growth. I'm only using my 4 strongest bines this year as opposed to letting it all grow last year. Root health is great on all, as runners were popping a foot or two away on all plants. I strung the lines differently this year to help keep the sidearms from tangling. Pictures to come when this rain stops.

 

[actionjackson905]

FIL picked up some sisal twine from TSC today in Indiana. Hopefully this will hold up for the season. It seems much stronger than the tomato jute from last year.

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Any feedback on this before I string up the trellis? It has to happen this weekend. Each of my lovelies were hacked to the ground a week ago, and they're already back en masse. It helped that today was 85°and sunny. I'll post pictures when the sun comes up.

Most high end garden centers (not HD or TSC) Like Tera in Canada, sell garden quality twine and also a soft velcro type tie material that work really well with vines of all types.
I'm not at home this weekend, but when I get back on Monday I'll post pics of both.

Cascade showing some growth. Hoping to attach to the string guides this week.

If they don't take to the nylon twine, what do you guys think about using small ties to attach the bines?

 

[thaymond]

Most high end garden centers (not HD or TSC) Like Tera in Canada, sell garden quality twine and also a soft velcro type tie material that work really well with vines of all types.
I'm not at home this weekend, but when I get back on Monday I'll post pics of both.

I picked up a 4 ply sisal rope instead of the baling line. It has an 80 lb. Tensile strength, so it should hold for the season. I'm interested in the velcro ties. My eyelets are going to get replaced next season.

 

[thaymond]

Here are some updates.
Rope setup
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Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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I also have blueberries, strawberries, and a Honey Crisp tree growing in the yard.
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[actionjackson905]

I picked up a 4 ply sisal rope instead of the baling line. It has an 80 lb. Tensile strength, so it should hold for the season. I'm interested in the velcro ties. My eyelets are going to get replaced next season.

The velcro ties and the heavier twine. The regular twine you might use for burlap is a bit thinner and prone to pulling apart.

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[A50SNAKE]

The velcro ties and the heavier twine. The regular twine you might use for burlap is a bit thinner and prone to pulling apart.

hey hey, Burlington eh? I'm just down the hwy from you...

where did you grab your twine from?

 

[Tegra]

Action:

I got that exact type of twine, but it does have some thin sections. Went crazy complicated and showed the kids how to make rope (with a drill and some coat hanger tools) with three strands. Looks about the thickness of the coir I see pictures of.

What about a group buy of coir for next year? Or maybe someone knows we're to buy it? It should not be anymore expensive than the equivalent thickness of sisal.

To

 

[actionjackson905]

hey hey, Burlington eh? I'm just down the hwy from you...

where did you grab your twine from?

Connon Nurseries in Waterdown. Same with the Velcro. Although I think last year I got it from Tera. SWMBO like Connon better so she picked it up for me.

Which way down the highway?

 

[actionjackson905]

Action:

I got that exact type of twine, but it does have some thin sections. Went crazy complicated and showed the kids how to make rope (with a drill and some coat hanger tools) with three strands. Looks about the thickness of the coir I see pictures of.

What about a group buy of coir for next year? Or maybe someone knows we're to buy it? It should not be anymore expensive than the equivalent thickness of sisal.

To

Good idea on the buy. I'll look into pricing. I might have a connection through a friend.

 

[A50SNAKE]

Connon Nurseries in Waterdown. Same with the Velcro. Although I think last year I got it from Tera. SWMBO like Connon better so she picked it up for me.

Which way down the highway?

I'm in a small town called Delhi, its between Simcoe and Waterford, just off the 403 past Brantford before Woodstock.

I'm also a proud member of the London Homebrewers Guild

and I just made my 4th all grain brew on the holiday monday....i'm fully addicted now!!!

 

[actionjackson905]

I'm in a small town called Delhi, its between Simcoe and Waterford, just off the 403 past Brantford before Woodstock.

I'm also a proud member of the London Homebrewers Guild

and I just made my 4th all grain brew on the holiday monday....i'm fully addicted now!!!

I was just in Delhi picking up 12 from Rambling Road. We have family in Port Dover so I'm out that way quite a bit. Lets hook up and do a swap of beer and hop starters maybe. PM me though.

 

[actionjackson905]

For all you hop heads... the mother load!

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[A50SNAKE]

For all you hop heads... the mother load!

hahaaha, I'm literally a 5-10 minute bike ride (bicycle that is, depending how energetic I am) from my place. John has some good beers, I like his DPA - Dakota Pearl Ale...its a sweet ale, from the wort/beer being used to wash over potato chips.

he had a REALLY hard time getting his place up and running...and he's a great guy to talk to.

 

[A50SNAKE]

I was just in Delhi picking up 12 from Rambling Road. We have family in Port Dover so I'm out that way quite a bit. Lets hook up and do a swap of beer and hop starters maybe. PM me though.

hahaaha, no way!!! awesome....for sure man, will do...I don't have much in the pipeline yet, as i'm just getting started, but I am more then happy to share what i've got.

and as for hop starters, I just got my first rhizomes from folks this year and I haven't even gotten them in the ground yet either... oops...LOL.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I think I may have been too conservative in my watering. Heavy rains over the last week have produced about a foot of growth.

The bines seem to be able to grasp the nylon twine I am using, but are not happy with the horizontal path I want them to take for the first few feet. Anyone else have that problem?

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[thaymond]

I think I may have been too conservative in my watering. Heavy rains over the last week have produced about a foot of growth.

The bines seem to be able to grasp the nylon twine I am using, but are not happy with the horizontal path I want them to take for the first few feet. Anyone else have that problem?

That's common. It's a constant battle to keep them from jumping lines.

 

[thaymond]

Update: though the pics are a day or two old, the Temps on Saturday and Sunday barely made it out of the 50s. Growth was minimal. I did go through and trim some lower leaves and sidearms to promote upper bine growth, and weeded out some of the other plants that are creeping in on the boxes.

Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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I also potted some runners from Nugget, Zeus, and Chinook to see if I can't start some new plants for a friend. Time will tell.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I noticed in your pictures that you have plenty of other plants growing in the boxes. Are the weeds a problem in your mind? Do they steal nutrients from your plants? Or do the hops overpower them quickly enough?

 

[thaymond]

I noticed in your pictures that you have plenty of other plants growing in the boxes. Are the weeds a problem in your mind? Do they steal nutrients from your plants? Or do the hops overpower them quickly enough?

I'll go into the boxes weekly and pull all large strays or flowers. I fertilize enough not to worry too much about clover and other ground cover plants. The broadleaf and stray bines all get plucked regularly. I have green onion on the boxes now, which tend to keep larger critters away, like rabbits and squirrels. We have a ton around, and haven't seen them or have any evidence of them actually in the boxes.

 

[thaymond]

These are the plants after weeding and pruning.
Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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[thaymond]

And Chinook View attachment 1433328756590.jpg

There's about 8-10 feet per plant of bine growth now. It's been so mild that they haven't really had the chance to start going nuts with growth. There are some sidearms that are starting to emerge, so I'm hoping we can get some super hot sunny days soon so that these guys can really take off. Last year, there was close to 20-25 feet of growth overall on many plants.

 

[rekoob]

Looking good.

I have a few plants that are into the 8-12 foot range and to the top of my T's. I ran some line from the top of one (with longest bines) to give them some additional length to grow on.

Some of the others I just started training the bines around the top of the T to see how that works out.

This is the first year for my plants in the ground and I was worried I would kill them off with the transplant but so far so good.

The temps have dropped here but they seem to be growing about the same.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I will try to worry less! It appears that we have about the same amount of growth just by eyeballing your picture and mine. I will be weeding the box this weekend just for peace of mind.

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[thaymond]

I will try to worry less! It appears that we have about the same amount of growth just by eyeballing your picture and mine. I will be weeding the box this weekend just for peace of mind.

Looks great! I had nearly a foot of growth today one my Chinook. They're awesome to watch grow all summer. I wish I could get a gopro out there and set it for a week on one bine to show just how much things grow in a week.

 

[thaymond]

Growth record as of 7:00 PM CST. Measures are rounded to the nearest foot and by bine. I have 4 bines per plant on 4 lines.

Nugget 6', 10', 11', 13'

Zeus 8', 10', 10', 10'

Cascade 10', 11', 11', 11'

Chinook 12', 12', 13', 16'

:beer:

 

[WilliamSlayer]

This weeks project! Second 'hop cage' added to the backyard garden area. I am recieving a gift rhizome (sp?) from a co-worker tomorrow. A huge Thanks goes out to my neighbor Todd (beerlover) who is seen in the photos with my youngest daughter.

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[thaymond]

Keep on expanding! It's looking very good!

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Recieved my new hop plant.... it's Chinook!

Planted! Got some water on the roots, and the bines are already starting to show growth/movement.

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[thaymond]

Chinook and cascade are a great ipa combo! You can get that piney goodness with a boatload of fruity goodness from the Cascade. Chinook gives me some grapefruit as well. My red ipa has copious amounts of Chinook, Zeus, and Cascade in it. It's a great journey. WilliamSlayer, how do you plan on drying them? It's never too early to begin building a hop oast. View attachment 1434066601328.jpg
hops are so much fun!

 

[thaymond]

Growth record as of 7:00 PM CST. Measures are rounded to the nearest foot and by bine. I have 4 bines per plant on 4 lines.

Nugget 6', 10', 11', 13'

Zeus 8', 10', 10', 10'

Cascade 10', 11', 11', 11'

Chinook 12', 12', 13', 16'

:beer:

Ugh just over wrote the original post... Dang.