So...You Want to Breed Your Own Hops.

[ffaoe]

@alane1 I am currently up to 12 seedlings as of today. Two look like they may not make it, but that still leaves me with plenty. They are between just sprouted and two inches. Initially I had repotted the seedlings to 4 and 6 inch pots.
Its been made clear to me that these pots simply will not do even for first year seedlings. Once the seedlings get a little more established to about 6-9 inches, I will repot them again. Uniformity will be the goal when selecting the larger size pots. I currently have enough 8 inch 1.5 gallon nursery pots that are all identical. I'm questioning whether or not that they will do for the first year. Really cheap 5 gallon buckets show up on craigslist from time to time so I may go that route.

 

[PapaBearJay]

@ffaoe 1.5 gal pots will be sufficient. Instead of using a potting mix though, I would use local soil from your yard, given that most potting mix isn't suitable for the long-term anyways (it doesn't technically contain soil anyways). You can still make you're fertilizer additions as needed, but I'd focus primarily on macronutrients and less concerned about any micros.

If you feel the need to, you can always incorporate soil from your yard and potting mix together.

 

[ffaoe]

@PapaBearJay The local soil here is very poor, much the reason I have kept my plants in containers. The mix I have been using is 5 parts Miracle-Gro potting mix and 1 part Bumper Crop soil amendment. It contains worm castings, shellfish shells, kelp meal, peat and manure.
What do you think of the 5:1 ratio?

 

[PapaBearJay]

@PapaBearJay The local soil here is very poor, much the reason I have kept my plants in containers. The mix I have been using is 5 parts Miracle-Gro potting mix and 1 part Bumper Crop soil amendment. It contains worm castings, shellfish shells, kelp meal, peat and manure.

What do you think of the 5:1 ratio?

What type of soil do you have? Some soil is often better than none. Even making small amendments to the soil can rectify the situation.

 

[PapaBearJay]

Today (5/16/2015) in the "hopyard". View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1431829011.525640.jpg

 

[thaymond]

Today (5/16/2015) in the "hopyard". View attachment 278595

This is magical.

 

[PapaBearJay]

My thoughts exactly. These are third year seedlings and gifted wilds. Just off to the top right corner are O.P. seedlings. Pictures to come tomorrow.

 

[ffaoe]

@PapaBearJay The natural soil here is poor draining and mineral deficient. Most people around here grow their vegetables in raised beds. Tomatoes even have a difficult time growing in the natural soil without any soil additions and fertilizers.

 

[PapaBearJay]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1434214837.480047.jpg

Well, I now have disease pressure to make selections with. A simple process.

 

[DarkCoder]

View attachment 284325

Well, I now have disease pressure to make selections with. A simple process.

Always good to see at least 1 with DM, it indicates that it is there and that the surrounding plants are exposed too.

I got 2 with clear marks of DM, a few with just some very little tiny "freckles" of DM on the lower leaves. Most of my plants are ok (a hundred).

 

[alane1]

Anyone know what this is?View attachment 287560 Another seedling with spotsView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1435614078.577776.jpg

 

[TomEl]

Hey folks, I came across this thread and thought I'd share my experiences. I didn't set out to grow any seedlings but I currently have nine Cascade offspring. Last year I grew two Cascades from rhizomes and they seemed pretty robust. I got about an ounce (dried) of cones off of them. One died during spring thaw because of a mix of water and ice that led to improper drainage.

Anyway, back in May I notice some seedlings popping up all around the surviving plant. There must be a male plant somewhere in the vicinity but I haven't had any luck locating it. So I currently have nine children of Cascade in my backyard. They're all doing pretty well but some are growing way faster than others. The largest is about 3 feet and the smallest is well under a foot.

I'm very curious to see what sort of hop profile they have. I know I may have a long wait to find out but that's part of the fun, I think. I'd also like to see what I can do with the males, assuming there are any. Maybe build a hop patch somewhere.

 

[DarkCoder]

I'm very curious to see what sort of hop profile they have. I know I may have a long wait to find out but that's part of the fun, I think. I'd also like to see what I can do with the males, assuming there are any. Maybe build a hop patch somewhere.

You're doomed !! Your life will never be the same now !!

 

[ffaoe]

@TomEl
I'm in a similar situation as you. This spring I was able to germinate 12 Cascade bastard children from seed. 10 made it and are growing quite nice. Its fun growing some wildcards to see what you get. Hopefully next year I will be able to crossbreed any males with my regular hops.

^ +1 You're life will never be the same.

 

[DarkCoder]

@TomEl
... to germinate 12 Cascade bastard children from seed.

Bastard... should we call them "Hops Snow" and add a number ?!?

 

[ffaoe]

Checking my babies today and saw this. Looks to me like male parts starting to grow. Am I right?

 

[DarkCoder]

Checking my babies today and saw this. Looks to me like male parts starting to grow. Am I right?

Yep !

 

[nagmay]

Congrats ffaoe. It's a boy!

 

[B-Hoppy]

Checking my babies today and saw this. Looks to me like male parts starting to grow. Am I right?

Hopefully in a year or two he'll be as handsome as Rex.

 

[DarkCoder]

Hopefully in a year or two he'll be as handsome as Rex.

Nice picture !! It's very rare to find that kind of picture... you will be tagged as an outlaw now.

 

[ffaoe]

Hopefully in a year or two he'll be as handsome as Rex.

Wow, looks like a monster. It looks like you have him on a short trellis or pole. Is that for the purpose of being able to get to the flowers easily for cross pollination?

 

[B-Hoppy]

I really don't have time anymore to be doing the hand pollination thing so he gets free access to the whole harem.

In the first picture, there's a ladder to the right side in front of the male. His pole broke over the winter so he's restricted to about 12-14 feet this year.

The second picture shows some of the others which are on poles ranging from about 18-20 feet.

The whole setup reminds me of the title of a Steve Kimock song called 'Hillbillies on PCP', it is what it is~

 

[PapaBearJay]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436049613.295715.jpg

Say hello to a few hundred friends of mine. First year buddies getting their grapple on. Wrestling for the best spot in the house.

 

[PapaBearJay]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436788005.548671.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436788098.504828.jpg

Some photos from the second year seedlings.

 

[nagmay]

Say hello to a few hundred friends of mine. First year buddies getting their grapple on. Wrestling for the best spot in the house.

Interesting... That's one way to sort out which have the most vigor. How do you plan to separate the survivors next year?

 

[PapaBearJay]

Interesting... That's one way to sort out which have the most vigor. How do you plan to separate the survivors next year?

Well, seeing as how there is an established DM infestation in my hopyard...it'll very simply be relative performance under disease pressure.

 

[DarkCoder]

Well, seeing as how there is an established DM infestation in my hopyard...it'll very simply be relative performance under disease pressure.

There is no way that you will be able to know which plant is which at the ground level and be able to select them. Not with a few hundreds of plants! I have one spot in which I put 6 cuttings last year from different plants... I put them together because I lost their identification tag. They are a mess, I cannot separate 6 plants. You are better to take some VERY long vacations to untangle everything and identify them.

 

[PapaBearJay]

There is no way that you will be able to know which plant is which at the ground level and be able to select them. Not with a few hundreds of plants! I have one spot in which I put 6 cuttings last year from different plants... I put them together because I lost their identification tag. They are a mess, I cannot separate 6 plants. You are better to take some VERY long vacations to untangle everything and identify them.

Who said anything about them in the ground?

 

[PapaBearJay]

You're right, all the top-growth has grown together. This season I'm more interested in establishing a root system, which lead me to growing in small round pots. This will allow for easy removal of top-growth after they've gone dormant and ease of planting next year.

 

[PapaBearJay]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439431529.219865.jpg

Initial variation in second year seedlings. Both males and females present. Nice citrusy and piney scents coming from them. Bulk collection this year, I will plant out individual females next year and separate from males.