running hop line to steel cable

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rpm2nite

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This is year two of hop growing for me, last year didn't yield anything but this year I am creating a new setup and I am running a steel wire about 100' between two tree's, about 60 foot is probably open (not shaded) for hop growing. I anticipate the wire to be 18-20 foot above the ground.

I have about 20 hops rhizomes (5 varieties) new this year and have about 12 hops from last year that I may or may not move to the new line.

My question is on placement of the mounds to the wire...

I have cleared the area and I'm ready to start digging mounds, but I'm wondering how they should be placed?

1) if it's better to just go directly underneath the wire spacing the hops about 3 feet apart

2) Instead of underneath, use both sides of the wire coming out a few feet (~6 feet) which would add some pitch to the line as well and I would then have
hops on both sides of the line? Does this allow for more area?

Thanks,
Rich
 
1st. If your cable is 18-20' do you have a means of lowering it? Otherwise harvest will be a pita. 2nd 3' spacing between varieties is not enough many hops species will get 3-4' sidearms, so they will get mixed and be impossible to tell the difference during harvest. I would plant on each side of the wire(similar kinds opossing), this will allow for better spacing of different kinds and prevent tangles




However if all you had on a string was 1 bine(used 1 just as a reference #) after you harvest all cones no you will not get another harvest from that bine. any additional harvest would come from a 2nd bine that came up at a later time.
 
Thanks, good point about the hops getting mixed... I'll go with planting along each side.
I will have a pulley to lower the main cable but that might not work so well with all the other hops on there.

If lowering the main line isn't a good solution, can I just cut the line of those needing to be picked and harvest?

But the question is do the hops keep producing? i.e. multiple pickings.

If that's the case the line would need woud need to go back up? I was thinking of tossing a spare line over the rope with a weight on it and then re-attching the cut line and raising it back up.
 
You can get multiple harvests if you do not trim any new growth, however the other harvest will be very small in comparison. I trim nothing so was set to get a few harvests, however did not need it. SO when I harvest I cut the bines I want to pick off at the top of my picket fence (thats about 4') then lower my cable and cut off of the cable. Since i have 40 plants and tons of strings I usually cut 2-4 bines off, then raise it all back up. This method allows me to spread harvest out over a week or 2. Any underdeveloped cones get mulched along with the bines.
 
1) if it's better to just go directly underneath the wire spacing the hops about 3 feet apart

2) Instead of underneath, use both sides of the wire coming out a few feet (~6 feet) which would add some pitch to the line as well and I would then have
hops on both sides of the line? Does this allow for more area?

1) That would be the preferred method

2) Only if you plan on having the same varieties across from each other (meeting at the same top line locations). With that many rhizomes, I assume you have a lot of duplicates, so it may work.




Oh, and multiple harvests are for suckers and people that are just too damn bored for their own good.:D The quantity and quality harvested early is never as good as the prime crop and many times early crops are due to training bines too early (or growing in the south where hops may be more easily confused by light phase)

When you're ready to harvest, just take a pole with a utility knife or similar attached to the end and cut down the sisal/coir/etc strings and harvest on the ground.
 
1) That would be the preferred method

2) Only if you plan on having the same varieties across from each other (meeting at the same top line locations). With that many rhizomes, I assume you have a lot of duplicates, so it may work.




Oh, and multiple harvests are for suckers and people that are just too damn bored for their own good.:D The quantity and quality harvested early is never as good as the prime crop and many times early crops are due to training bines too early (or growing in the south where hops may be more easily confused by light phase)

When you're ready to harvest, just take a pole with a utility knife or similar attached to the end and cut down the sisal/coir/etc strings and harvest on the ground.

Been wanting to comment on this awhile so here it goes. Some hops varieties are harvested early(and at their peak prime) fuggles, hallertau, and tettnang to name a few. In areas where the light cycles are right it is possible to get 2 harvests of equal qaulity.

And as far as being a sucker with to much time, well some people are retired, and others like me cant work anymore because of injuries so what do they have to do all day long except play with their 3yr old daughters and watch their hops grow.:D
 
Been wanting to comment on this awhile so here it goes. Some hops varieties are harvested early(and at their peak prime) fuggles, hallertau, and tettnang to name a few. In areas where the light cycles are right it is possible to get 2 harvests of equal qaulity.

I've yet to see it documented in the literature and backed by testing/experimentation. If you have such data, I am all ears (or eyes, as it may be). Not saying it doesn't exist, but my own experience says otherwise. What say ye?:mug:
 
Cant remeber where i read it, as it was almost 5 years ago when I was contemplating which variety I wanted to grow. However its simple math freshhops.com says a minimum of 120 frost free days is needed for fully matured cones. If I live in an area that gets say 200 frost free days for a season, if on one plant I let all 1st growth go wild, and on another plant i keep all trimed and cut back for 3weeks, I now have 2 harvests. and as the the lighting and frost free is within range both will be equally good, as both plants cones reached full maturity only at different times.



I'd use my lil hops farm here as a tester, but we would get 0 feedback, as I wont be here for harvest.
 
If I live in an area that gets say 200 frost free days for a season, if on one plant I let all 1st growth go wild, and on another plant i keep all trimed and cut back for 3weeks, I now have 2 harvests. and as the the lighting and frost free is within range both will be equally good, as both plants cones reached full maturity only at different times.

On multiple plants? Sure, no issue.

I was under the impression you were talking about 2 harvests from the same bines.
 
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