Paulasaurus's Hops Garden

[Paulasaurus]

Hops needed some water last night.

 

[TangoHotel]

Worlds first FPS cultivation video game. Lol.

 

[Gridlocked]

your doing it wrong.

 

[Paulasaurus]

your doing it wrong.

My hop plants absorb water through their leaves

 

[Gridlocked]

Fancy!!!!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Updated pictures!!!

My Cascade is now throwing cones and topped out just shy of the top. Columbus was the first plant to reach the top of the pergola and my Nugget is close behind. A few other varieties are sure to reach it soon too. Centennial and Chinook are lacking this year, need to get some more nutrients into that soil!

 

[Paulasaurus]

So nice to see the plants topping out on the pergola this year! Was very worried about growth after the transplant and they're finally starting to look happy!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Baby cones a plenty!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Cones are growing larger on all plants and are still a bit wet but i'd expect to start harvesting some of the varieties in the next couple of weeks here. They didn't get nearly as full at the top as they have in the past but at least they've hit the top of the pergola this year and hoping for more growth next year. Its been quite the experiment of how a transplant can affect hop plants but happy to see them getting stronger. Even though they've been fairly neglected as of late.

 

[pjcurme]

Everything looks great! Question: I have a 10 ft. high/10 ft. wide arch that I have 5 separate (partially buried) boxes with different hops growing up ropes that I eye-hooked from the boxes to the top bar of the arch. Looks just like your pergola but only 1/2 of that (like one side of the box). They're all 1st year rhizomes, but a couple of the strains are really aggressive and have already reached the top and started to grow across the cross bar. I'm worried the leaves are getting all bunched up among the strains and that they'll get O2 deprived since it's so dense ... is this a valid concern? Especially for next year when all the strains reach the top... where are they going to go? Thanks!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Thanks! As for your question, I wouldn't worry at all if the plants get bunched together, its going to happen more as they mature year after year. The only concern you might have is keeping the varieties separate from one another. At my previous house I had this issue and for the last month of growth every other day i'd be out in the garden training the bines away from the other varieties and back into themselves. This worked well enough that when it came time to harvest I knew which hops were which. But I never had any concerns of my plants becoming 02 deprived.

Good luck and put up a picture of your hop arch.

Everything looks great! Question: I have a 10 ft. high/10 ft. wide arch that I have 5 separate (partially buried) boxes with different hops growing up ropes that I eye-hooked from the boxes to the top bar of the arch. Looks just like your pergola but only 1/2 of that (like one side of the box). They're all 1st year rhizomes, but a couple of the strains are really aggressive and have already reached the top and started to grow across the cross bar. I'm worried the leaves are getting all bunched up among the strains and that they'll get O2 deprived since it's so dense ... is this a valid concern? Especially for next year when all the strains reach the top... where are they going to go? Thanks!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Well my neglected plants produced better than last year but still not near what they have in the past. I'll be loading up the garden with compost and leaves before the winter and hope that it'll help the soil prepare for next year.

Harvested 4 of the 8 plants I have and will be getting to the rest of them very soon as most of them are starting to brown at the tips.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Nice work Paul.....despite the neglect. Those are some big azz cones! I just finished up my harvest, drying, and packaging. Off of my 8 second year plants, I ended up with 40.6 oz. or 2 1/2 lbs. of dry hops, but mostly chinook and cascade. The columbus was about 5 oz., the centennial only produced a couple of ounces, and the hallertau was pitiful at one ounce. I definately jumped the gun on the glacier plant, as the cones were very plentiful, but tiny and still a little green. It yeilded about 4 oz. dried. I had one small window of opportunity to finish the harvest, so although they could have benefited from another week or so on the vine, I picked them anyways. As expected, a decent amount of lupulin, but very grassy once dried. My vines took a beating in several wind storms and like yourself, I probably didn't care for them as well as I should have. Let me know what your total yield is for the year when your done.

 

[Paulasaurus]

Nice work Paul.....despite the neglect. Those are some big azz cones! I just finished up my harvest, drying, and packaging. Off of my 8 second year plants, I ended up with 40.6 oz. or 2 1/2 lbs. of dry hops, but mostly chinook and cascade. The columbus was about 5 oz., the centennial only produced a couple of ounces, and the hallertau was pitiful at one ounce. I definately jumped the gun on the glacier plant, as the cones were very plentiful, but tiny and still a little green. It yeilded about 4 oz. dried. I had one small window of opportunity to finish the harvest, so although they could have benefited from another week or so on the vine, I picked them anyways. As expected, a decent amount of lupulin, but very grassy once dried. My vines took a beating in several wind storms and like yourself, I probably didn't care for them as well as I should have. Let me know what your total yield is for the year when your done.

Great yield Hoppo! I'll be lucky if I see half of that. Most of my bulk is coming from my Columbus(yet to be harvested) and my Cascade(already in the freezer). I haven't yet weighed mine but once the Columbus is dried i'll guess that i'll be just over 1 lb this year dried. With some prep before the snow flies i'm really hoping for double that next year. Once my soil is back to where it should be i'm hoping for big big numbers!

My daughter continues to tell everyone that comes by, "you have to smell the lupulin!". And her favorite so far has been the Chinooks. lol

 

[Hoppopotomus]

I know....my 9 y/o daughter helped me harvest all of the cascades, columbus, and centennial, but was at a friends house during the chinook, glacier, and hallertau harvest. I'm sure she is going to school telling everyone about the hop harvest. She's definitely my little brewing assistant and loves to help me with all of my brewing related projects. She says that someday she wants to open a restaurant and she will be the chef, and I will be the brewer. She cracks me up!

 

[specialkaye]

Great yield Hoppo! I'll be lucky if I see half of that. Most of my bulk is coming from my Columbus(yet to be harvested) and my Cascade(already in the freezer). I haven't yet weighed mine but once the Columbus is dried i'll guess that i'll be just over 1 lb this year dried. With some prep before the snow flies i'm really hoping for double that next year. Once my soil is back to where it should be i'm hoping for big big numbers!

My daughter continues to tell everyone that comes by, "you have to smell the lupulin!". And her favorite so far has been the Chinooks. lol

She's hooked. And that's a good thing.

 

[BennyHaha]

Paulasaurus - I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I saw your hop pergola on brewing TV and tracked down this thread. I want to build something similar. What did you use for lumber? Is that 4x4 legs with 2x6 on top? Did you bury the posts or use some sort of concrete foot?

Thanks!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Paulasaurus - I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I saw your hop pergola on brewing TV and tracked down this thread. I want to build something similar. What did you use for lumber? Is that 4x4 legs with 2x6 on top? Did you bury the posts or use some sort of concrete foot?

Thanks!

Hey Benny thanks for looking up my thread! Looking forward to a much improved growing season this year with hopefully twice the yield. As long as mother nature works with me, got a few inches of snow just yesterday, and just when I was about to see my garden for the first time this season. Oh well soon enough there will be new bines poking through the ground.

I used 16' 4x4's and dug down 3' and cemented them in. And yes 2x6's for the top pergola sections. I have plans to do some structural cross supports of some kind but I haven't yet figured out how I want to do it. I live on top of a hill so I see some pretty nasty winds come through and watching it sway the tiny bit it does makes me nervous but very unlikely that it'll ever come down, aside from a tornado coming through to claim it. Also planning on staining it this year so it matches my newly stained deck.

I'll be sure to update this thread once I start seeing some growth this year.

Stay Tuned! :rockin:

 

[HappiBrew]

Going to start growing this year. This was a great thread, thanks.

 

[Paulasaurus]

Going to start growing this year. This was a great thread, thanks.

Thanks, Glad you enjoyed it! Time to start with 2014 updates…...

 

[Paulasaurus]

Alright, the 2014 hop growing season has finally begun! While its been snowy and wet early in the season there has been enough dry days to get out and weed and harvest some rhizomes and see plenty of growth out of all of my plants.

New hop variety additions are very possible this year, just have to decide where to plant them. Along with new hop additions we've added a new hop guardian. Milo the hop dog. He'll be sure to keep the rodents out of the garden as long as he can stay out himself. Hence the twine guard rails in the photo below. Not much but hey its working for now. More pictures and updates to come as the weather permits. My tallest plant is now around 6".

Cheers!

 

[PapaBearJay]

Alright, the 2014 hop growing season has finally begun! While its been snowy and wet early in the season there has been enough dry days to get out and weed and harvest some rhizomes and see plenty of growth out of all of my plants.

New hop variety additions are very possible this year, just have to decide where to plant them. Along with new hop additions we've added a new hop guardian. Milo the hop dog. He'll be sure to keep the rodents out of the garden as long as he can stay out himself. Hence the twine guard rails in the photo below. Not much but hey its working for now. More pictures and updates to come as the weather permits. My tallest plant is now around 6".

Cheers!

That's a neat idea with the twine guard, you just inspired me!

 

[Paulasaurus]

I also need to note that despite the neglect last season the soil looked exceptional this year! While harvesting some rhizomes I noticed rich black soil still mixed with sand and clay here and there but lots of worms as well. So neglect or not my additions of black dirt and compost has certainly done its job.

As you can see I added a row of timbers this year so i'll be able to add another layer of rich soil to the top to help further with replenishing the soil. Hoping for monster growth from my plants this year.

 

[roastquake]

Hey neat thread!

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Nice work Paul! Mine are in their third year.....2 chinooks, 2 cascades, 1centennial, 1 columbus, 1 glacier, and 1 hallertau. The 2 chinooks and 2 cascades that Ted sent me are going bonkers, especially the chinooks. Easily 30-40 shoots out of each crown and upwards of 12" of growth so far. I had to rig my trellis system up on Tuesday, because they are almost ready to start climbing. I wanted to move my entire hop garden this season and build a new trellis system in my back yard where they get full sun, but I just didn't have time. Looks like I'm gonna ride it out another season where they are at, but should be a good year. Good luck and the new pup is cute as hell!

 

[Paulasaurus]

Nice work Paul! Mine are in their third year.....2 chinooks, 2 cascades, 1centennial, 1 columbus, 1 glacier, and 1 hallertau. The 2 chinooks and 2 cascades that Ted sent me are going bonkers, especially the chinooks. Easily 30-40 shoots out of each crown and upwards of 12" of growth so far. I had to rig my trellis system up on Tuesday, because they are almost ready to start climbing. I wanted to move my entire hop garden this season and build a new trellis system in my back yard where they get full sun, but I just didn't have time. Looks like I'm gonna ride it out another season where they are at, but should be a good year. Good luck and the new pup is cute as hell!

Great to hear from ya! Sounds like you're starting out the season great regardless of getting them moved. How much sunlight do they get where they're at? I'm sure they'd be happier in the backyard in full sun but they sure seem happy enough doing their thing where they're currently at too. I'm at the point now where i'll have to start running my ropes as well. The Nuggets have decided to go crazy right off the get go so she's ready to start climbing and the rest of them are close behind.

Upon one of my many daily inspections I noticed that something is popping the tips of my Fuggle plant. The rest of the plants are untouched so i'm wondering what makes Fuggle that much tastier than the rest. At least it looks to have stopped but hoping the rest are left alone.

He most defiantly is cute, sickening sometimes really lol. He's now 38lbs and just 4 months. So he's well on his way of hitting 60lbs by 6months. So i'm hoping he learns the hop garden is not a place he can go because that string I have put up now as a barrier is not going to do much to stop him very soon.

 

[Paulasaurus]

Ropes have been run! With my Chinook and Nugget each having bines hitting 2'+ it was time to get the ropes up. Horrible picture but you can make out the ropes. Better pictures to come.

Next is to bring some rich black dirt in to fill some low spots and add some nutrients.

Cheers

 

[atsorrento]

What do you fertilize w/and how often?


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[Paulasaurus]

To be honest I have never used any type of fertilizer other than manure/compost twice a season. My buddy Ted uses BioBloom and has seen great results with that product. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

I will however stop using the bags of manure/compost that i've been getting because i've had a lot of weeds coming as a result. So i'm going to try and find a source for just plain ol rich black dirt or composted dirt.

When starting out a new rhizome I would top the plant with a low mound of Miracle Grow potting soil and they seemed happy enough.

What do you fertilize w/and how often?


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[atsorrento]

Cool. From reading the posts here my plan was to use potting soil, add manure a couple of times during the vegetative stage, add biobloom 2-3 times during flowering and then harvest.


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