Pictures of hop plants

[Ridenour64]

Just harvested my Chinook today. First year plant. Any guess on how much this will weigh? (Just started the drying process) I was planning on buying a vacuum sealer and sealing these, but for as much as I have (probably not much) I’m thinking I may as well just make a Smash to see how they are.

 

[Kaz15]

Nice! The easy way to figure it out is to weigh them wet, and then divide that number by 5. That’s roughly the dried weight you’ll end up with. Based on just the pictures, it looks like 1-2 oz dry. Total guess.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

those are some big hops!

 

[JAReeves]

Wind and rain today took my hops down. Bent the galvanized pipes in a way I never thought possible.
Clearly my Infrastructure was not strong enough for 3rd yr harvest.
not sure what I’ll do but assuming it involves me and a rope standing on the roof after work. Then throwing a line over a branch on the tree to the right. Long 2x4’ isn’t an option nor is more long pipe. The bines are still I Intack it seems so may not of lost too much. View attachment 695336View attachment 695337

Can you sink eyelets into the eaves? Run a rope through and down to the bones for next year? I will post pictures of mine if no one else has on this thread.

 

[JAReeves]

This is 3rd year Centennial on the right, 2nd year Eroica on the left. I sank a heavy-duty eyelet screw into the eaves and ran cocoanut husk twine through each eyelet to set up two lines for each hop crown. It's been a weird summer in Los Angeles, temperature-wise, so some hops are getting mature flowers and others are just putting out burrs. Other than the 1st year plants, just building roots. The yellow tint to the pictures is because of the smoke and ash in the air from the SoCal fires.

1st year Cascade. The previous 3 year old crown dried up and died.

This is 2nd year Shaddock in front and 2nd year Old Mission in back, in between are two 1st years-Nugget and Crystal.

Nugget.

Crystal.

 

[Ridenour64]

Nice! The easy way to figure it out is to weigh them wet, and then divide that number by 5. That’s roughly the dried weight you’ll end up with. Based on just the pictures, it looks like 1-2 oz dry. Total guess.

Those hops weighed just over 3 Oz.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Can you sink eyelets into the eaves? Run a rope through and down to the bones for next year? I will post pictures of mine if no one else has on this thread.

I harvested two of the plants on the weekend and started the other two plants last night.
the sheer weight of these plants....i had no idea.

 

[JAReeves]

Since this a fresher hop forum, maybe someone can answer this:

Does anyone harvest their hops in sections, allowing the plant to keep growing from the cut line? Or pick from the top and then let the rest of the plant continue to mature?

I am concerned that some of the hops at the top are ready, but the rest of the plant isn't.

 

[Beerisgud]

Yeah it’s normal for the canopy to ripen sooner go ahead and pick what’s ripe if you can reach it safely. That’s one benefit of homegrown vs commercial operations. I picked starting from the top then stopped and left the rest to finish drying on the vine a little longer. I wonder if this allows the lower half to ripen quicker

 

[MikeInStillwater]

This is 3rd year Centennial on the right, 2nd year Eroica on the left. I sank a heavy-duty eyelet screw into the eaves and ran cocoanut husk twine through each eyelet to set up two lines for each hop crown. It's been a weird summer in Los Angeles, temperature-wise, so some hops are getting mature flowers and others are just putting out burrs. Other than the 1st year plants, just building roots. The yellow tint to the pictures is because of the smoke and ash in the air from the SoCal fires.View attachment 697651

1st year Cascade. The previous 3 year old crown dried up and died.View attachment 697652

This is 2nd year Shaddock in front and 2nd year Old Mission in back, in between are two 1st years-Nugget and Crystal.View attachment 697653

Nugget.View attachment 697654

Crystal.View attachment 697655

 

[MikeInStillwater]

Wondering if you can identify my hops variety from the photo I'm using as my icon (at left). I "borrowed" a snip from a neighbor of mine who is never home when I am around. Someone told me they look like Centennial. This was their third year. They are in their second year in that photo.

 

[MikeInStillwater]

BTW, I tried what you were asking about. I picked the larger cones and left the smaller ones, generally lower on the bine. I'll let you know how it works out. We are getting some unusually warm fall weather here, so I might get a second harvest, so to speak.

 

[Kaz15]

Yeah it’s normal for the canopy to ripen sooner go ahead and pick what’s ripe if you can reach it safely. That’s one benefit of homegrown vs commercial operations. I picked starting from the top then stopped and left the rest to finish drying on the vine a little longer. I wonder if this allows the lower half to ripen quicker

Yup, ditto. When possible I do the same. Every year and every plant is a little different.

 

[CityOChampBrew]

Update: The Multihead that I planted on July 9th has taken a liking to it’s new home. The tallest bine has grown a foot in 2 days. View attachment 693671

How is your multihead doing now.... I bought one last year from great lakes and it only grew 2 feet last year and the rhizome completely died over winter here in PA. I Bought 4 plants from great lakes just go get his variety and it is a bust for me and now. The centennial is doing well as is the hallertau. Still waiting on signs of life from the cashmere but the whole multihead plant seems to have decomposed. Not sure if it was just a garbage plant or just not well suited for PA. Either way I am not going to bug great lakes about it since I planted in containers and since I only used my discover card once last year on THAT purchase it was the ONLY time I have had any of my credit cards compromised. Had 5 uber charges to the card after using it there..

 

[Ridenour64]

Off to a good start this year.

 

[Jako]

janky as hell but it works.
View attachment 695385View attachment 695386
left side is ratchet strapped to my weight bench through the window.
Right side is just pulled taut and high enough so I can walk under. I didn't want to damage the gazeebo by going to the tree behind it.
this should hold until harvest time.
Only lost a few dozen cones. i'll just put them in the camp fire.

The Arcadian on the right are starting to brown on some cones but can't tell from touch because they are soaked from the downpour.
I think they will be ready in a week or maybe more. when I bust them open they smell more grassy than hoppy.

the hartwick matured late last yr. I was bagging them late september after a week of drying.

both plants have some lower cones that are still new.

next yr I think i'm going with 4 4x 16's in the ground and building a 4 or 5 ft trellis to let them spread out so they aren't all bunched up and because it will support them better.
will only be about 12ft tall but from what i've seen these things will just take that extra vertical space and my harvest won't be hurt much.
hell I still have 9oz of hartwick from last yr.

haha this is so ghetto i love it. planted a huge spruce last year. had some good rain and strong wind. i am talking 50+ started to push it over. ratchet strap and a long piece of rebar pulled that tree right up. ratchet straps are like zip ties for big issues.

 

[Toxxyc]

Man, there are some amazing pictures here. I'd LOVE to get my hands on a hop plant here in South Africa. Would love to see if I can get it to grow...

 

[Jako]

Man, there are some amazing pictures here. I'd LOVE to get my hands on a hop plant here in South Africa. Would love to see if I can get it to grow...

i would send you a rhizome if it wasn't growing season! isn't south Africa starting to get into the hop business i forget.

 

[Toxxyc]

Yeah we have a bunch of local hops that are actually pretty damn great, but they're mostly owned by SAB, and they're not really big on sharing their goodies. I'm not 100% sure I want only the local varieties though. I'd actually LOVE to get my hands on some Czech type hops, or some German, like Saaz or Mittelfrueh. I love these two and I can stick them into most of the beers I like to make.

 

[Jako]

this is from last week i think, i need to take some better pictures. i have so much going on. trying to finish my front yard sprinkler system so i can move on with my life.. then i am going to brew a ton of beer.

 

[Jako]

Yeah we have a bunch of local hops that are actually pretty damn great, but they're mostly owned by SAB, and they're not really big on sharing their goodies. I'm not 100% sure I want only the local varieties though. I'd actually LOVE to get my hands on some Czech type hops, or some German, like Saaz or Mittelfrueh. I love these two and I can stick them into most of the beers I like to make.

ah that makes a lot of sense. yeah i would love to do something similar. I have emailed some farms in hopes of getting something that i could grow for fun and share with my friends. It will never happen. The state i live in is not the best for growing hops. we are also 65% Mormon population. So beer is not the most popular thing around annnnd getting hops even more so.

 

[Toxxyc]

Luckily I live in probably one of the most alcoholic-ridden countries in the world. Even some of our Muslims drink like fish.

 

[Jako]

Its the reason i brew. Its heavily taxed and most of the politicians are part of the church. super rotten for a cult to run the government and make laws yet benefit directly from it.

i am starting to rant back on topic lol. Just happy it force me to brew.

 

[Kaz15]

How is your multihead doing now.... I bought one last year from great lakes and it only grew 2 feet last year and the rhizome completely died over winter here in PA. I Bought 4 plants from great lakes just go get his variety and it is a bust for me and now. The centennial is doing well as is the hallertau. Still waiting on signs of life from the cashmere but the whole multihead plant seems to have decomposed. Not sure if it was just a garbage plant or just not well suited for PA. Either way I am not going to bug great lakes about it since I planted in containers and since I only used my discover card once last year on THAT purchase it was the ONLY time I have had any of my credit cards compromised. Had 5 uber charges to the card after using it there..

Hey there, I missed this post. Sadly, my Multihead also appears to be toast. I sent pics to GLH for evaluation. They concurred and mentioned that Neomexicanus varieties seem to be needier than most. I had a few problems:

One: I planted my multihead in July, which is super late.
Two: we had a super early September 9th snow fall which could have stunted my plant.
Three: The location I planted my multihead in a spot that was under constant snow cover over the winter. Making the soil super wet for months on end.
Here is what GLH had to say about this pic:

“Yea the top of the crown is toast. If you can't dig up the root mass and find any rhizomes with buds you can replant she's probably done for. The neomexicana hops in my opinion are fickle and needy. Willow creek may be the best growing of the bunch but none deal with stress well as young plants.”

Hartwick, Arcadian and Alpharoma have all done very well for me. So I don’t think it’s any sort of quality control issue. I think it’s mostly an agro/terroir issue.

I’m presently trying to decide how best to replace my multihead. And/or relocate it with a new plant.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

haha this is so ghetto i love it. planted a huge spruce last year. had some good rain and strong wind. i am talking 50+ started to push it over. ratchet strap and a long piece of rebar pulled that tree right up. ratchet straps are like zip ties for big issues.

coincidently I just sunk some 16ft 3x3's (a 2x6 cut in half and nailed together) into the ground for new trellis today.
hopefully these fare better than the fence top rail.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Hartwick, Arcadian and Alpharoma have all done very well for me.

It snowed on the bull shoots of my Heartwhick a few weeks ago.
I trimmed them a week early at 3 ft because the non-hallow shoots were coming up.
Usually i wait till may.
compared to any other hop plant I have these things are hearty as heck.

they are pushing through the small spaces between boards in the raised box I have them in and trying to grow under my deck.
had to cut them.

 

[Kaz15]

It snowed on the bull shoots of my Heartwhick a few weeks ago.
I trimmed them a week early at 3 ft because the non-hallow shoots were coming up.
Usually i wait till may.
compared to any other hop plant I have these things are hearty as heck.

they are pushing through the small spaces between boards in the raised box I have them in and trying to grow under my deck.
had to cut them.

Haha! Yep, they are pretty damn invasive sometimes.

 

[Jako]

Hey there, I missed this post. Sadly, my Multihead also appears to be toast. I sent pics to GLH for evaluation. They concurred and mentioned that Neomexicanus varieties seem to be needier than most. I had a few problems:

One: I planted my multihead in July, which is super late.
Two: we had a super early September 9th snow fall which could have stunted my plant.
Three: The location I planted my multihead in a spot that was under constant snow cover over the winter. Making the soil super wet for months on end.
Here is what GLH had to say about this pic:
View attachment 727799

“Yea the top of the crown is toast. If you can't dig up the root mass and find any rhizomes with buds you can replant she's probably done for. The neomexicana hops in my opinion are fickle and needy. Willow creek may be the best growing of the bunch but none deal with stress well as young plants.”

Hartwick, Arcadian and Alpharoma have all done very well for me. So I don’t think it’s any sort of quality control issue. I think it’s mostly an agro/terroir issue.

I’m presently trying to decide how best to replace my multihead. And/or relocate it with a new plant.

that's a shame, i let my hops what look like die last year. left them out in the open no water or in the snow all winter. they loved the abuse i guess.

 

[Jako]

coincidently I just sunk some 16ft 3x3's (a 2x6 cut in half and nailed together) into the ground for new trellis today.
hopefully these fare better than the fence top rail.

great idea! thinking next year i will make in ground planter boxes for each hop and trim back the root rizome. if i do that i might take this idea and see how the hops do out in the open again. If i could get a decent system down i would like to fresh hops for local homebrewers just for fun.

 

[Jako]

It snowed on the bull shoots of my Heartwhick a few weeks ago.
I trimmed them a week early at 3 ft because the non-hallow shoots were coming up.
Usually i wait till may.
compared to any other hop plant I have these things are hearty as heck.

they are pushing through the small spaces between boards in the raised box I have them in and trying to grow under my deck.
had to cut them.

i did lots of trimming today. its like the hops can think and start to reach for the nearest thing to climb i had one bine reach 3 feet to the step ladder until i cut em in half.