First post here--I couldn't find an answer in any searches...even on google!
Short version: Has anyone harvested, cut back to ground, and had a second growth cycle/harvest in one season?
Long version: Early this spring, I divided two Chinook crowns that were three years old in wine barrels and then transplanted the rhizomes into 24" containers and put the crowns in the ground. The rhizomes in the containers took off super early and super fast, about a month ahead of schedule compared to the crowns. Our early spring weather in so-Cal went from warm to unseasonably cool and I think it tricked the hops into developing flowers early, before the lateral side shoots emerged. Whereas my Chinooks in years past got 25'+ and yielded nearly 1lb dried/plant, these stopped at about 12' and had no lateral growth.
So now these first-year rhizomes have hops that are ready to harvest (the crowns, moved to a new spot, are 18' and haven't formed laterals or flowers yet, more of the typical pattern from years past). I am going to harvest this weekend and plan to cut them all the way back to start anew. My hope is that they'll come up again and follow a more typical growth pattern, albeit later than normal. However, I generally leave the plants up after harvesting in ~August and let the vegetation go into its winter slumber (i.e., frost kill) before cutting them back in early November, so I wonder how this shock of cutting the plants back to ground-level will affect the rhizomes...I guess there's only one way to find out! But still I wonder if anyone has had a similar experience to share.
Either way, I am now officially registered to HBT and will keep on with updates, pictures, too, when I finally justify ponying up the $25!
Short version: Has anyone harvested, cut back to ground, and had a second growth cycle/harvest in one season?
Long version: Early this spring, I divided two Chinook crowns that were three years old in wine barrels and then transplanted the rhizomes into 24" containers and put the crowns in the ground. The rhizomes in the containers took off super early and super fast, about a month ahead of schedule compared to the crowns. Our early spring weather in so-Cal went from warm to unseasonably cool and I think it tricked the hops into developing flowers early, before the lateral side shoots emerged. Whereas my Chinooks in years past got 25'+ and yielded nearly 1lb dried/plant, these stopped at about 12' and had no lateral growth.
So now these first-year rhizomes have hops that are ready to harvest (the crowns, moved to a new spot, are 18' and haven't formed laterals or flowers yet, more of the typical pattern from years past). I am going to harvest this weekend and plan to cut them all the way back to start anew. My hope is that they'll come up again and follow a more typical growth pattern, albeit later than normal. However, I generally leave the plants up after harvesting in ~August and let the vegetation go into its winter slumber (i.e., frost kill) before cutting them back in early November, so I wonder how this shock of cutting the plants back to ground-level will affect the rhizomes...I guess there's only one way to find out! But still I wonder if anyone has had a similar experience to share.
Either way, I am now officially registered to HBT and will keep on with updates, pictures, too, when I finally justify ponying up the $25!