New Hop Garden 2014 (pic heavy)

[jonz82]

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.

Ever since I planted the Nugget and Cascade rhizomes on Saturday afternoon that you sent me, it's done nothing but rain here in the Upper Peninsula where I'm at. Just stopped raining a little while ago.

Planted them out in half barrels (55 gallon) with a bunch of holes in them, some small rocks at the bottom with about 3/4 to 1 inch of sand on top of the rocks, and a little sand mixed into the potting mix. Fortunately, they have drained extremely well. Praying that they'll start out OK...

 

[thaymond]

As long as it drains out, they should be okay. It is an issue if they sat in pools of water for extended periods of time.

 

[RockyMountainCraftBrewing]

My Centennial is just under 5 feet with 6 vines going and my Cascade is just under 4 feet with 5 vines.Giving them a litre of water a day mixed with a couple teaspoons of miracle grow when we dont get rain.Speaking of which it is the nicest Victoria Day long weekend I have ever experienced.Nothing but blue sky and sunshine.

I think the biggest difference will be the tree I had cut back that was over my property line.It is collectively owned by 4 people none of which would take responsibility for it.

Before and after pics of the tree and one of my new truck.

 

[thaymond]

Just went out today to water and fertilize before solstice. I added my azalea fert along with about 1 lb of old coffee grounds to each plant. This will probably be the last hi nitro fertilizer of the season before they start to flower. Growth has been slowed by hot dry temps. Regular watering has been a must. I've been adding a gallon or two a day during the hot dry weather.

Nugget
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One main nine broke off during a storm, now I'm training the stronger sidearm as the bypass. I still have 3 good main bines growing.

Zeus
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This one has a failure on a main nine also. Growth has been very weak this season. Zeus was usually behind my Chinook in aggressive growth, now it has lagged behind all others. I blame a very wet spring, and a very dry start to summer.

Cascade
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Surprise! It took 3 seasons, but now cascade is growing like everyone says it does on the forum. Lots of aggressive growth.

Chinook
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Bent on world domination, this plant is by far the strongest of the 4. This one has over 20 feet of growth, and always has a broken bine. This year so far, there is only one. But those sidearms are killer.
Profile
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Not bad for this time in the season, given the wide swings in weather. Now that I can attend to the plants more regularly, they should recover, especially the Zeus.

 

[DurtyChemist]

How do you control the side arm growth from going around a different hop house?

Also, WOW! Impressive growth from just two bines per plant.

 

[thaymond]

How do you control the side arm growth from going around a different hop house?

Also, WOW! Impressive growth from just two bines per plant.

Lots of time spent separating them. Like a bunch of 4 year olds in close proximity to each other, they constantly are in each other's business. The flaw I the design became evident in year 1, and I haven't made the change to the cage yet. Maybe one year...until then, the PITA that is untangling sidearms continues.

This year I have 4 bines per crown. I'm pretty sure that there are some runners that crept up the sides on Chinook (I mean just LOOK at that thing...) and Cascade. What I need to do for next year is skip the bottom eyelets in all the cages and start everything up a foot. This would give me the canopy at 6 feet still, but also allow me space to get into the base of the plants for weeding. I have so much undergrowth of clover this year I can't see the bottom. Every year is something...

And now, the pic updates.

Nugget - no burr formation yet, par for the plant. Late bloomer, like always. It still is expressing green growth. 2 to 3 weeks and it will end up looking like Chinook.
View attachment 1499334865584.jpg
Zeus - surprisingly small this year, Zeus is usually like my Chinook plant. Burrs are just beginning to form. Another week or two and this plant will top out and become a bush.
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Cascade - burrs formng everywhere. This one will have a fairly good yield this year at this rate.
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Chinook - what can I say. This thing is a monster. Feed me, Seymour!
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Now it is the waiting game. Only 2 months until harvest time!

 

[Sbe2]

Looks great, I would think you would get some sort of infection with them betting on top either and little air flow, but alas, they look great!

 

[thaymond]

Update! Everything is going berserk. Lots of cones, lots of burrs, lots of hops and hop matter. Everything is everywhere. Harvest is about a month away, and it can't come soon enough. Very excited to begin picking and drying out this year's harvest. That means I have to make my annual killer DIPA to help make some room in the freezer. I'm thinking a couple of pounds in a 10 gallon batch, all late additions, save the bitter charge. I love this time of year!

Nugget
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Zeus
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Cascade
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Chinook
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And some fun pics of hop cones and hermaphrodite flowers for good measure.

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[Senormac]

I love all the pics and info.... but I can't figure out why this thread is even on the first page since it title is 3 years old. Shouldn't all this be posted in the 2017 Hop thread ?

 

[thaymond]

It could be, but it's a thread I started in 2014 and have been using to track the progress longitudinally. Wasn't intended as a catch all for everyone's pics, but they are welcome. Btw, dig the progress in your yard on your thread!

 

[thaymond]

Harvest day was yesterday. Here are some pictures.

View attachment 1505081470467.jpggetting the past ready.
View attachment 1505081486157.jpg pre harvest nugget.
View attachment 1505081496814.jpgZeus
View attachment 1505081506292.jpgcascade
View attachment 1505081517257.jpgChinook
View attachment 1505081537372.jpgpanorama (sorry for the Australian picture)
View attachment 1505081550850.jpgharvest tray Panorama
View attachment 1505081569833.jpgharvest tray close ups.
View attachment 1505081583804.jpg

Here are my totals in wet weights.
Nugget - 36.2 oz
Zeus - 88 oz
Cascade - 36 oz
Chinook - 119.2 oz

They should be dry by Wednesday. Then I will add to the running total and package these puppies.

 

[actionjackson905]

Harvest day was yesterday. Here are some pictures.

View attachment 413586getting the past ready.
View attachment 413587 pre harvest nugget.
View attachment 413588Zeus
View attachment 413589cascade
View attachment 413590Chinook
View attachment 413591panorama (sorry for the Australian picture)
View attachment 413592harvest tray Panorama
View attachment 413593harvest tray close ups.
View attachment 413594

Here are my totals in wet weights.
Nugget - 36.2 oz
Zeus - 88 oz
Cascade - 36 oz
Chinook - 119.2 oz

They should be dry by Wednesday. Then I will add to the running total and package these puppies.

Love the trays! Do you use a fan for drying or just let them dry in there on their own?

 

[thaymond]

Thanks! There's a boxfan in the bottom.

 

[actionjackson905]

Thanks! There's a boxfan in the bottom.

Ah ha! I put mine on top!

 

[Senormac]

Great pictures Thaymond...... but, this thread is old ??

 

[thaymond]

Don't think of it as old, think of it as longitudinal data collection.

View attachment 1505358965953.jpgthis year's take.
View attachment 1505358980291.jpgthis is my fridge.

This is just a fuzz under 10 lbs of hops. It includes some leftovers from last year.

 

[thaymond]

It only took an extra full month to finally break the 60s, but they are starting to find their way out of the dirt. I already removed the leaf mulch back in March. I cut down all the initial shoots a week and a half ago. Added some initial ferilizers, mostly Nitrogen. We are a 'go' for hops.

Before I get the "Hey, friend, it says 2014 in the title..." posts; you're right. It does. If I could change the title of the thread, I would. But I can't. It's longitudinal growth data on my cage and plants. Enjoy.

I have some snaps of the garden, but it won't let me upload pictures... So there's also that.

Here's hoping for a bountiful for all growers on the forum.

 

[jerbrew]

It only took an extra full month to finally break the 60s, but they are starting to find their way out of the dirt. I already removed the leaf mulch back in March. I cut down all the initial shoots a week and a half ago. Added some initial ferilizers, mostly Nitrogen. We are a 'go' for hops.

Before I get the "Hey, friend, it says 2014 in the title..." posts; you're right. It does. If I could change the title of the thread, I would. But I can't. It's longitudinal growth data on my cage and plants. Enjoy.

I have some snaps of the garden, but it won't let me upload pictures... So there's also that.

Here's hoping for a bountiful for all growers on the forum.

Not going to read the whole thread, maybe tomorrow. But, I looked at some of the pictures of your original 2014 design. I like it. I am pretty height constrained so this looks cool. would love to see some new pics. I'm going to look for older pre-harvest pics not.

 

[DurtyChemist]

Hacked mine back as well. Hopefully I pick a good 8 per box (all cascade) and finally get hops this year. Forgetting to water them has been a problem annually so I installed drip irrigation last Labor Day.

 

[thaymond]

Not going to read the whole thread, maybe tomorrow. But, I looked at some of the pictures of your original 2014 design. I like it. I am pretty height constrained so this looks cool. would love to see some new pics. I'm going to look for older pre-harvest pics not.

It is actually getting to the point where I will need to replace parts of the original box, which is fine. 4 years or illinois weather and winters are starting to catch up with the cage. I'm considering using gardening cloth to prevent weeds this year. If you do the design, or something like it, post it here.[emoji3] I have been blessed with good harvests over the last few years. I still have over 8 lbs of dry hops to go through before harvest this year. It's a great problem to have.

 

[thaymond]

Hacked mine back as well. Hopefully I pick a good 8 per box (all cascade) and finally get hops this year. Forgetting to water them has been a problem annually so I installed drip irrigation last Labor Day.

I also hunted some rhizomes. I have a handful of good ones from each plant. A drip system would be wonderful, but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. I hope it all works for you this year.

 

[DurtyChemist]

What rhizomes did you cut? If this works out well I’m probably going to get some different hops for 2019. Growing only cascade is fine and dandy if I really loved cascade that’s much.

 

[universalfrost]

I'm considering using gardening cloth to prevent weeds this year. If you do the design, or something like it, post it here.

I use the gardening cloth and mulch on top (keeps the moisture levels up) to prevent weeds...

IMG_20180506_200620

• universalfrost
• May 6, 2018

Centennial may 5 2018

 

[Leezer]

@universalfrost, I’m looking for new trellis ideas and like what looks like the triangle shaped one you have. Is that for one plant, or more than one? Do you have a past picture of what it looked like later in the season?

 

[universalfrost]

@Leezer these are actually tomato / green bean cages (lowes) that fold up when not in use. https://www.lowes.com/pd/47-in-Powder-Coated-Galvanized-Steel-Wire-Triangular-Tomato-Cage/3653750 they are temp. until i get off my lazy rear and finish my new trellis(s) for all my hops.

Last year they were just on regular rope attached to the top of my house... didn't look that great since they were in the front yard.. So, this year I decided to get creative and build decorative lattice work trellis(s) for each.

Lowes and Home Depot have several metal versions of the trellis that would work for Hops ,but Im cheap and didnt feel like spending almost $140 each when I have a bunch of lattice and lumber laying around that I can make a "free" wooden copy of the metal ones that the big box stores sell.

Here's what I'm going for (but in brown)

 

[Leezer]

Love the look of that lattice work trellis. I’ve been growing my cascade on an obelisk in my backyard garden area. Was trying to come up with something for the goldings which doesn’t get very big. Tomato cage might work well for that. Good luck with your trellis build.

 

[wrongway]

That is so kool! Wish I had a green thumb!

 

[Senormac]

How's it goin over there Thaymond ? Any new pictures ?

 

[thaymond]

What rhizomes did you cut? If this works out well I’m probably going to get some different hops for 2019. Growing only cascade is fine and dandy if I really loved cascade that’s much.

I cut all four. I just threw them away because they started to mold. Let me know for next year. They are from super healthy stock.

 

[thaymond]

How's it goin over there Thaymond ? Any new pictures ?

It's been crazy here. I'll update more this afternoon. I have been undertaking refinishing the fence and trellis. I'm staining this afternoon. I haven't gotten lines up yet [emoji37] and everything is way overgrown. Once the stain is on and dry, all should be right in the world with the hops. I'm also setting up a lattice trellis for my Sunbeam as part of a fence structure, so that will be interesting. Dark fence stain with yellow hop leaves. I know I'll will take a hot on yield this year, but I still have over 5 lbs left from last year's harvest.