New Hop Garden 2014 (pic heavy)

[thaymond]

Leave it to a couple of nice warm days in February to rouse the interest of the Hop Growing threads again!

This past winter started off like a bear with extreme cold and snow. It tapered off at Christmas, and has been mediocre at best since. Maybe this is the climate change they talk about? Probably not.

The potted plants have some red nubs on them already. The mulched leaves and clippings are still resting on the crowns, and will probably be there until early March. I have a soil test kit that I'm ready to bust out and figure out what amendments I will need to do after hunting for Rhizomes. At the end of the season last year, I had several runners that were poking up at the corners of the bed, 3 to 4 feet from the crown. Some made it under the raised beds (don't tell my wife...) so I should have a lot of viable rhizomes this year from all plants.

I'll probably change up my fertilizer routine this year to compensate for the low N from last year, and get a quick acting high nitrogen fertilizer like a miracle grow to supplement the natural blood meal and soil amendments, like compost and manure. Even after those amendments, I was fighting an uphill battle in getting my Nitrogen levels regulated. They were consistently low in all beds last year. Thankfully it didn't impact harvest in a negative way, but I think about what could have been. There is always this year.

As always, more to come. It was great to see all of the other hop gardens that have been popping up in this thread. I'd love to see updates on those as well. Happy Hopping!

 

[pelop777]

I think HOAs are for the birds. For this and many other reasons. But good on you for finding a way around their regulations and getting great harvests!

 

[PapaBearJay]

@thaymond Where are yours at? Here's yesterday!View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487935330.498165.jpg

 

[thaymond]

I think HOAs are for the birds. For this and many other reasons. But good on you for finding a way around their regulations and getting great harvests!

The HOA serves its purpose, and I understand the reasoning why having tall structures in a residential neighborhood are frowned upon. It's a property value thing, and it's about being a good neighbor. This was a compromise in height in order to engage in a hobby. At the end of the day, I have a structure that isn't permanent and mostly meets the needs of the hops.

The only things I would do different would be spacing out the boxes and crowns further apart so that I can get in between each individual box, and have them on the north side of the yard (southern exposure). When I read this, I planted on the south fence (northern exposure). They still get sun, but not consistently and directly until April. Oh well, the things you learn.

 

[thaymond]

@thaymond Where are yours at? Here's yesterday!View attachment 390208

The few warm days we had gave me some red buds my Sunbeam and Chinook that were potted. We're back to near freezing and rainy again. I probably won't see any growth result for at least another month.

Don't you worry PBJ, the pictures are coming. You'll get your garden fix. ;-)

 

[bonecitybrewco]

If you don't mind me asking, how many rhizomes did you originally plant? Just one per box?

I was originally going to go with a 12 ft trellis system but just read the community bylaws and they likely will rake me over the coals if I do it, hence, I found your thread. I am hoping that the deep frost level here won't kill any rhizomes I plant, but that's all part of learning. I am looking to build something very similar to what you have done here and hope you don't mind if I bombard you with PM'd questions? I have a few about managing sidearms and keeping eye on the main bines towards harvest so you know where/what to cut and what not to cut, but that's all in the future.

Thanks in advance.

 

[thaymond]

If you don't mind me asking, how many rhizomes did you originally plant? Just one per box?

I was originally going to go with a 12 ft trellis system but just read the community bylaws and they likely will rake me over the coals if I do it, hence, I found your thread. I am hoping that the deep frost level here won't kill any rhizomes I plant, but that's all part of learning. I am looking to build something very similar to what you have done here and hope you don't mind if I bombard you with PM'd questions? I have a few about managing sidearms and keeping eye on the main bines towards harvest so you know where/what to cut and what not to cut, but that's all in the future.

Thanks in advance.

Bonecitybrewco, I used one plant per box from Great Lakes Hops. They established after year 1, and have begun to take over each box. I will learn more rhizome management and harvesting tricks this year. Once established, I don't really worry about frosts or deep freezes. Then again, you're in Saskatchewan, so your winter is akin to that in Game of Thrones... up North, past the wall, where the White Walkers roam. I do cover with leafy mulch for winter, but that's about it. If you have questions, feel free to ask them. I'd be happy to share the experience I have in this, even though it's limited.

 

[Texconsinite]

Year 2 Hops off to fast start down here in Houston. One hard freeze and they seemed to reset
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1488614022.684615.jpg
Saaz
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Multihead
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Cascade
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Northern Brewer

Willow Creek is starting to show little nubbins, but not as impressive as the rest.

 

[thaymond]

Year 2 Hops off to fast start down here in Houston. One hard freeze and they seemed to reset
View attachment 391373
Saaz
View attachment 391374
Multihead
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Cascade
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Northern Brewer

Willow Creek is starting to show little nubbins, but not as impressive as the rest.

Man oh man, I can't wait for this growing season. Unfortunately, we just had a dusting of snow this morning. We're not safely out of the freezes and frosts overnight until April.

Are yours are all growing on different small trellises? Which one gave you the best results?

 

[Senormac]

Lookin good papabear. Yours too Texconsinite !

 

[Greatlakeshops]

Year 2 Hops off to fast start down here in Houston. One hard freeze and they seemed to reset
View attachment 391373
Saaz
View attachment 391374
Multihead
View attachment 391375
Cascade
View attachment 391376
Northern Brewer

Willow Creek is starting to show little nubbins, but not as impressive as the rest.

I recognize those tags.. Those look great! Nice work!

 

[Texconsinite]

Thaymond, yes most of mine are growing on small Trellises, except for the Multihead, which grows up a 13ft line on an old telephone pole from back before they ran the wires underground.

The Cascade was a rhizome from a family friend in WI and it was planted in Feb 2016. I got the most oz from that one.
The Multihead and Neo1 were planted in May 2016, Multihead grew huge but didn't have much oz, Neo1 died by Aug

The Willow Creek, Saaz and NB were planted in August, and I got cones from the Saaz on the small homemade bamboo trellis.

The sun in various parts of the yard seemed to have biggest effect on what did well. Saaz and Multihead were along fence on South side of backyard, seemed to grow the quickest.

Willow Creek and Neo1 were on Northwest corner of yard, but probably got too much shade from Crepe Myltres and Banana trees. I'm glad to say the bananas are now gone, so that should help. Left one Willow Creek in that spot and put the other along fence by Multihead in hopes it will thrive more.

 

[Texconsinite]

Yes, those are Great Lakes tags, and I continue to be impressed with how well the Euro varieties Saaz and Northern Brewer are doing. Gave both some Bone Meal in addition to the 10-10-10 that all the varieties got last week, and all seem to be quite happy, except for my Friend's Neo1 and the Willow Creek in the shady area from last season, neither of which are showing any leaves yet. They might be getting replaced soon if they don't come up.

 

[thaymond]

I had to pitch my 2 potted sunbeam plants and a potted Chinook plant over the winter. Somehow they developed a root rot. I haven't had the weather to get into the main beds yet this year, so I'm hoping that doesn't translate to the main crowns.

I also have to replace a fence post that is touching my Nugget bed. Which means I have to dig up the Nugget plant to get to the concrete on the post. Which means I have to dismantle most of the trellis. I am less than thrilled. This will be a big spring break undertaking.

 

[thaymond]

I replaced both fence posts and disassembled and reassembled the trellis. I figured that rhizome trimming is in order for the Nugget plant. I have 6 large rhizomes, 20 medium rhizomes, and 12 small rhizomes. All have little white buds on them. I'll be getting into all the other beds sometime tomorrow.

View attachment 1490746400331.jpg

Here's the Nugget bed before all the rhizome hunting began. You can see all of the little white and purple sprouts poking through. April 1 will be my total cut down date on the crown, and we will begin bull shoot removal and training of smaller bines by tax day. It is about time! Let the growing season begin!

 

[thaymond]

I uncovered the rest of the beds today before the rain. I'll have rhizomes from all plants.
Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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I'll cut the rhizomes later. I can divide them and sell them, if anyone here would be interested...

 

[bobeer]

I uncovered the rest of the beds today before the rain. I'll have rhizomes from all plants.
Nugget
View attachment 394524
Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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I'll cut the rhizomes later. I can divide them and sell them, if anyone here would be interested...

I might be interested in taking some of the rhizomes off your hands. Can you PM me and say how much you'd want for a chinook, nugget, and cascade? Thanks!

 

[thaymond]

I might be interested in taking some of the rhizomes off your hands. Can you PM me and say how much you'd want for a chinook, nugget, and cascade? Thanks!

PM'd

 

[thaymond]

OK finally got into the garden. I have the following rhizomes:

Nugget 25
Cascade 32
Zeus 42
Chinook 9

I have already had some interest, so pm me if you'd like to get in on some rhizomes.

I can do 6 for $20 or $4 each. Shipping is in flatrate mailers.

 

[thaymond]

Things are starting to take shape and I will have to string line up sometime soon. I have all 4 plants climbing out of the ground after the rhizome harvest and culling over a week ago. I still have a lot of rhizomes left.

I did a soil sample and fount out that my ph is 7.0, my P and K levels are normal, and my N level is trace. I amended my soil with 12-0-0 bloodmeal, about 2 cups tilled into the surrounding soil per 4x4 box. I wanted to make sure the plants had plenty of nitrogen source for the growing season. I also changed my fertilizer to a 20-20-20 since I had a hard time regulating the nitrogen last year. I also have some Rhododendron fertilizer that has a N content of 32, but I dont want to overkill it. Since those soil amendments, they've all sprouted several bines from the crown. I will probably go with a bi-weekly fertilizing schedule until they bud as I have done over the years.

We also have had a lot of rain in IL so far. It has been countered in the last week with good sun and warm temps. I hope that trend continues.

Here are the pictures. There were definite bull shoots in the first culling, and I think I have more in this round. I'll pinch the tall bines off and use some of the smaller ones to train in the next few weeks.

Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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No sure why Chinook is taking the time in recovery, but I'm sure she will come back vigorous as always.

Cascade has been the surprise of the 4 years. After having the root rot early and low output in year 1, output on cones was great last few years. The flavor was astounding in my last Pale ale with them. Tons of flavor and very 'clean' crisp bite. Definitely a recipe to perfect and get consistent on, it will be a lawnmower pale for spring and summer. This year, I even got a good amount of rhizomes off of them.

Nugget and Zeus are no surprises. They are still formulating plans on world domination. My rhizome hunting on them keeps them at bay. I had several that found their way under the raised beds and into the yard or in other enclosures. They're definitely super healthy and putting out great growth early. I'm hoping the fertilizer will boost their growth and make the bines strong and healthy.

PM me if anyone is still interested in rhizomes. It's a little late, but they will still grow.

 

[thaymond]

Finally got the lines up and trained the healthiest 4 bines. Some are 2 to 3 feet long already. I am really happy that we've had some warm weather over the last few days. They have grown several inches. With all the rain the last few weeks, growth has been stunted. Several lower level leaves were wilted and crusty, while new growth was vigorous and green. I will submit pics when it's light out. I didn't think of taking a round of photos until just now.

 

[PapaBearJay]

Finally got the lines up and trained the healthiest 4 bines. Some are 2 to 3 feet long already. I am really happy that we've had some warm weather over the last few days. They have grown several inches. With all the rain the last few weeks, growth has been stunted. Several lower level leaves were wilted and crusty, while new growth was vigorous and green. I will submit pics when it's light out. I didn't think of taking a round of photos until just now.

Sunbeam is coming back, I haven't done lot with it yet but the Aureus sure is gangbusters this year! Both are yellow-leaved types and have noble-type profiles in my opinion. In place of Comet on the open market, someone should try either of these on a commercial scale.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Crazy to think that you are just a few hours north of me and some of mine are over 7' tall now. And that's after cutting them back to the crown and training the second growth on April 15th

 

[thaymond]

Crazy to think that you are just a few hours north of me and some of mine are over 7' tall now. And that's after cutting them back to the crown and training the second growth on April 15th

I'm not worried, they will rebound. It is just annoying that they were stunted by all the rain. In looking at last year's progress pics, I'm about 3 to 4 weeks behind. Now that they're trained, they should start going nuts. Time to get into the AM water routine and the bi monthly fertilizer schedule.

 

[thaymond]

Sunbeam is coming back, I haven't done lot with it yet but the Aureus sure is gangbusters this year! Both are yellow-leaved types and have noble-type profiles in my opinion. In place of Comet on the open market, someone should try either of these on a commercial scale.

Glad to hear they are doing well, PBJ. I started 2 new rhizomes to plant next year for an archway. Sunbeam is beautiful and it's a saazer relative. I'll have to try them again in a farmhouse style ale. They are earthy and slightly spicy. Low AA. They'd be great for a dry style with low hop presence and funky flavors.

 

[PapaBearJay]

Glad to hear they are doing well, PBJ. I started 2 new rhizomes to plant next year for an archway. Sunbeam is beautiful and it's a saazer relative. I'll have to try them again in a farmhouse style ale. They are earthy and slightly spicy. Low AA. They'd be great for a dry style with low hop presence and funky flavors.

I'm thinking a saison, farmhouse ale, or sour ale would work well with Sunbeam or Aureus.

 

[thaymond]

I'm thinking a saison, farmhouse ale, or sour ale would work well with Sunbeam or Aureus.

I did a blonde with them, and they were just okay. I remember an earthiness to them that put me off, but I also like a hoppy, fruity blonde. It wasn't aggressive, and it wasn't bad, just not the right hop for a blonde. The cones are square too.

Back to the garden, I have trained 4 bines per line. I opted to forego to vertical line to give more open space in the middle of the cage. I really didn't have any dramatic difference in harvest with multiple bines vs. 4 bines. At this point, I'm looking to simplify the process more.

The fertilizer I'm going to switch to is a Rhododendron fertilizer that is high Nitrogen, and lower P and K. It also lowers pH a bit, so I have to be careful not to acidification the soil too much. My pH was higher within the growing range, so I'll just keep testing the soil this season to make sure it doesn't get out of control. I'm interested to see if the high Nitrogen content helps the plants in the grow cycle dramatically.

Pics to come. Work is crazy.

 

[thaymond]

Finally some sun. I fertilized with the 32-10-10 azalea and rhodedendron mix yesterday and got more rain overnight. I hope that we start to warm up and dry out. My growth is way way behind this year.

Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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[Senormac]

Finally some sun. I fertilized with the 32-10-10 azalea and rhodedendron mix yesterday and got more rain overnight. I hope that we start to warm up and dry out. My growth is way way behind this year.

I'm sure they will be fine by the end of the season. Q though. Don't you worry about your hops varieties mixing as they grow ? By harvest time it seems like it would be hard to separate them.

Cool photos and nice set up btw

 

[thaymond]

I'm sure they will be fine by the end of the season. Q though. Don't you worry about your hops varieties mixing as they grow ? By harvest time it seems like it would be hard to separate them.

Cool photos and nice set up btw

Thanks, @Senormac! Over the last 4 years, this has been the wettest. I'm glad it's this year and not the first year. They'd probably be dead. They'll catch up by July, so I'm not worried. They're happy today, I trained them this morning before church, and already I have another inch or two of growth on all plants. They're going nuts when the suns out.

@Senormac, I do my best to separate varieties during harvest by taking down one plant at a time. I'll unwind tangled bines and sort them. I have the 4 varieties smells down now, so I can tell my Cascade cones from my Zeus and Chinook cones. I'm sure a few get mixed into the bags when I dry them, but I'm not particularly picky with them. If they mix, they mix.

If I were to do it all again, I would add a 2 to 3 foot spacing between each cage, for that reason. Plus winding bines in the back of the cage is a major pain in the rear. Next season, I may need to replace sections of the cage due to some rot, so that may be the opportunity to update my cage spacing and plant placements. For now, it works for me. I don't have to buy hops for the majority of my brews, which was the point to begin with. :-D