Sidearm?

[501irishred]

So is this the beginning of a sidearm? If this was a tomato plant, I’d call it a sucker and pull it off! Obviously I’m not planning on doing that, but simply trying to understand all the stages of development along the way. This is a first year (hence the newb question) Centennial.

Edit: BTW I’m referring to the small chute starting out of the “crotch” of the leaf/branch.

 

[cswis86]

Yup, that's a sidearm. Your Centennial is looking great!

 

[501irishred]

Thanks, that’ll give me something to look for!
I gave a half hearted attempt a few years back That ended in failure (blame totally on my shoulders). I’ve been trying to keep up with them this time around, and so far so good.

 

[cswis86]

Yeah hops can be a lot of work. I'm on my 6th season now and I think I've finally found the varieties that work well for me with minimal maintenance. Keep at it!

 

[ehall]

well this was disappointing... my sidearm is a Kahr .40.

 

[501irishred]

well this was disappointing... my sidearm is a Kahr .40.

Lol! The giveaway was in the question mark instead of an exclamation!
Sig 365, 9mm here most days. Been known to mix it up a bit with a Ruger LC9S (former fav) or Glock 19, but the 365 has really won me over.......

Now, back to the greenery!

 

[madscientist451]

Yeah hops can be a lot of work. I'm on my 6th season now and I think I've finally found the varieties that work well for me with minimal maintenance. Keep at it!

What varieties do you like for minimal maintenance?
I'm in Bedford, PA and Brewer's Gold and Cascade grow just fine without issues.

 

[cswis86]

What varieties do you like for minimal maintenance?
I'm in Bedford, PA and Brewer's Gold and Cascade grow just fine without issues.

Cascade is one of them. Chinook and Columbus are the other 2 I have. Columbus is the easiest for me. It doesn't spread as much as the others and keeps a nice centralized crown. It produces a ton of hops too. I tried Mt Hood for a couple years and it would get destroyed by insects. I'll have to give Brewer's Gold a shot. If it grows well in PA it'll probably do ok in MD.

 

[LokiM4]

Cascade is one of them. Chinook and Columbus are the other 2 I have. Columbus is the easiest for me. It doesn't spread as much as the others and keeps a nice centralized crown. It produces a ton of hops too. I tried Mt Hood for a couple years and it would get destroyed by insects. I'll have to give Brewer's Gold a shot. If it grows well in PA it'll probably do ok in MD.

What varieties did you try without success?

 

[cswis86]

What varieties did you try without success?

Multihead/Neomexicana, and Cashmere were total duds for me. Neither one overwintered and were dead by the following season. I also had Centennial and Southern Cross. They did ok for a couple years but the Southern Cross got root rot and the Centennial had some sort of disease. Mount Hood, Willamette, and Santiam are all ok but they're a bit more work.

 

[madscientist451]

I'll have to give Brewer's Gold a shot. If it grows well in PA it'll probably do ok in MD.

Let me know if you want any plants/rhizomes of the Brewer's Gold.
It grows like crazy without any care at all.

 

[501irishred]

Let me know if you want any plants/rhizomes of the Brewer's Gold.
It grows like crazy without any care at all.

Do you like the hops though? It’s got kind of an odd taste/aroma as I recall. Only used it once I long time back, but never sought it out since. Maybe I should give it another try??

 

[madscientist451]

They're just ok, but honestly, right now I'm using a lot of southern hemisphere hops and the Brewer's Gold is not in that flavor category. I let them age and use them sparingly in farmhouse saisons, pre-prohibition lagers and things like that.
I grow lots of different things here besides hops and if you want something that doesn't take a lot of care you have to make some compromises.
Bottom line is they're not the best hops around but in my high humidity/buggy area, I'm thankful they will consistently produce a crop without any care whatsoever.

 

[cswis86]

They're just ok, but honestly, right now I'm using a lot of southern hemisphere hops and the Brewer's Gold is not in that flavor category. I let them age and use them sparingly in farmhouse saisons, pre-prohibition lagers and things like that.
I grow lots of different things here besides hops and if you want something that doesn't take a lot of care you have to make some compromises.
Bottom line is they're not the best hops around but in my high humidity/buggy area, I'm thankful they will consistently produce a crop without any care whatsoever.

I can relate. I started off trying to grow the same hops I like to brew with but now I just want varieties that produce a good crop with little care. I actually ordered some Brewer's Gold from GLH shortly after you said they grow well but if I need more I'll let you know! I've been brewing a lot of lagers and saisons recently so it sounds like I'll be able to put them to good use.

 

[501irishred]

To each his own to be sure, but if it’s not a variety you actually enjoy using, what’s the point? This is my first go at it, but it seems like there will be plenty of work involved even if everything goes perfectly as planned........

 

[cswis86]

To each his own to be sure, but if it’s not a variety you actually enjoy using, what’s the point? This is my first go at it, but it seems like there will be plenty of work involved even if everything goes perfectly as planned........

Sorry, I didn't mean the varieties were bad... In fact I enjoy brewing more with my homegrown hops than commercial hops. It's just that I ended up with varieties that I never brewed with or didn't brew that often with. I'd always want to brew with the fancy proprietary hops like Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, Simcoe etc. Now I've come to appreciate the more 'old school' hops.

 

[Beerisgud]

Sidearm already on a first year, I would be pumped if mine where lookin that! Those leaves are nice and big. How tall is it now?

 

[501irishred]

Sorry, I didn't mean the varieties were bad... In fact I enjoy brewing more with my homegrown hops than commercial hops. It's just that I ended up with varieties that I never brewed with or didn't brew that often with. I'd always want to brew with the fancy proprietary hops like Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, Simcoe etc. Now I've come to appreciate the more 'old school' hops.

Now that I can surely get behind! I can’t wait to be able to throw in big handfuls of homegrown hops!

 

[501irishred]

Sidearm already on a first year, I would be pumped if mine where lookin that! Those leaves are nice and big. How tall is it now?

Thanks! I guess I didn’t know that I might not get any sidearms the first year, just to keep my harvest expectations on the low side. With that knowledge, I’m even more psyched!
I’ve got two Centennials and one Comet. The one in the picture is about 10’, the other got off to a rocky start and is only about 2’, the comet is about 7’ now. Its super impressive after a good rain with a sunny day to follow, you can almost watch it wrapping its way up the line!

 

[LokiM4]

Multihead/Neomexicana, and Cashmere were total duds for me. Neither one overwintered and were dead by the following season. I also had Centennial and Southern Cross. They did ok for a couple years but the Southern Cross got root rot and the Centennial had some sort of disease. Mount Hood, Willamette, and Santiam are all ok but they're a bit more work.

Thanks-appreciate it.

 

[Kaz15]

Just to stoke the fire a little bit... I‘ve brewed a wet hop cascade pale ale in the third week of August for the past three years. It is hands down the most popular beer I brew. Friends and family refer to that beer, unprompted. And talk about how they can’t wait for the next batch.

So yeah, growing hops is super fun, but making super fresh and tasty beer from them is both the icing and the cherry on top. ;-)

Regarding the first year crop, I bought a Hartwick plant from GLH last year. We had an insanely cold/snowy May last year. I thought the plant might perish. In early June it was only 1-2 feet up the line. In mid summer it exploded upwards. And by September I had enough hops to brew a 2.5 gal SMASH.

...best not to expect much first year, but you never know!

 

[501irishred]

The same sidearm 10 days later! It’s amazing to watch the progress day by day! Now more than ever, I’m kicking myself for not getting some started long ago.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

First season grower here, and so far so good. I have spotted a couple of sidearms on my Cascade (I have three total). It's funny; two are in the ground and only one took off, and the third is in a large container and took off. I'm letting them run rampant this year, and hopefully they'll do well next year if they produce nothing this season. In north FL by the way.

 

[Kaz15]

Cascade side arms are nutso. I have to train the side arms on the lines or they just go all over the place. It does create a nice solid wall of green!

 

[501irishred]

Cascade side arms are nutso. I have to train the side arms on the lines or they just go all over the place. It does create a nice solid wall of green!

View attachment 682342

Looks great! Looks like you have another trellis for future expansion too! You might need to take those pesky swings off of it though.

 

[Kaz15]

Looks great! Looks like you have another trellis for future expansion too! You might need to take those pesky swings off of it though.

Hahaha!!! I love it. That would be a very effective use of the swing set once it's past it's useful life.

 

[501irishred]

First season grower here, and so far so good. I have spotted a couple of sidearms on my Cascade (I have three total). It's funny; two are in the ground and only one took off, and the third is in a large container and took off. I'm letting them run rampant this year, and hopefully they'll do well next year if they produce nothing this season. In north FL by the way.

judging from pictures from @aharri1, you Florida folks don’t have any problems letting hops “run rampant”! I don’t think his ever goes dormant. At least we’ve jealously looked at pictures of Mid winter harvests!

 

[AJinJacksonville]

judging from pictures from @aharri1, you Florida folks don’t have any problems letting hops “run rampant”! I don’t think his ever goes dormant. At least we’ve jealously looked at pictures of Mid winter harvests!

I will have to keep you posted...haha. I used to live in Central FL, and I can tell you that for only being two hours north northeast of Orlando, there is quite a difference in winter temps and overall weather. I never would have imagined that there would be such a difference. I hope some of his good luck rubs up northbound...haha.

 

[Beerisgud]

Need some help with side arms. They are now 3ft long on my nugget plant! I’m worried I need to support them with addition twine. Is this needed? Train the extra long ones partially into the main bine? Should I be worried or can the plant support these long arms on its own in a storm or when it’s bearing flowers. I didn’t expect them to get so long but I am happy to see such growth this first year.

 

[deuce40]

Need some help with side arms. They are now 3ft long on my nugget plant! I’m worried I need to support them with addition twine. Is this needed? Train the extra long ones partially into the main bine? Should I be worried or can the plant support these long arms on its own in a storm or when it’s bearing flowers. I didn’t expect them to get so long but I am happy to see such growth this first year.

I would like to know what to do with side arms as well, first time growing hops and honestly I didnt even know that this would happen.

 

[Kaz15]

I can’t tell you guys the “right” thing to do, but I can give some thoughts and share some pictures.

As far as the “right” thing to is concerned, I think the best question to ask is, what do commercial growers do? Some farms have thousands of plants, so it really wouldn’t be economically practical to try to control the sidearms. As far as I know, they strip the bottom 3-4 feet of foliage and sidearms, then they let the plant do it’s thing.

All that said, most of us are not commercial growers. So some of the rules don’t apply to us. Some of us, myself included, try to keep things orderly.

I learned a geeky term from GLH’s website: “Clavate”. Which means the plant sidearm’s tend to get longer towards the top of the plant. Two of my 4 plants are already showing this tendency. The 3rd, Alpharoma is advertised a clavate grower as well.

My cascade plant on the other hand exhibits the same behavior you all are describing. The side arms start growing early and aggressively from the bottom up. I personally train them up the lines as able. With my current set up it’s kind of annoying and laborious, but IMHO, it’s better than having them drooping all over the ground.

So here are some pictures:
This was my Cascade plant’s third season at my old house in 2017. You can see the insane side arms. I had already trained the lower side arms.

This is the Cascade’s 4th season, full glory in July 2018, with the insane sidearms mostly trained. Important note: Cascade is susceptible to aphids, and as beautiful as this picture is, I did not control the aphids, so by August our patio was infested. Very unpleasant. I’m looking into organic pesticides as needed for later this summer.

We moved and I transplanted my Cascade in Fall 2018. New setup, same crazy sidearms. Some over 6 feet long. These pictures w
taken today

These last two pics are of my Arcadian and Hartwick plants. You can see the Clavate behavior. Higher sidearms are all longer.

Short story long: I think it just depends on the variety.

Hope that helps!

 

[Beerisgud]

nice shots kaz! Yeah i notice the nugget has super long arms at the bottom half and then after the Horizontal turn it takes at about 8ft they are much shorter, like inches. I did trim all the bottom couple feet off. By the looks of your photos they really fill in a space! I think I might work out a few more lines for the arms to grab, look neater and out of the way. They caught me on the mower the other day ahaha I’ll update in my other thread some photos when I get to it thanks for the pics!

 

[501irishred]

This first year I’m a little hesitant to cut anything, but I’m beginning to regret planting so close to the garden! They seem to find “anything” to support themselves!