# Hop Plantation 2005



## Doc (25/8/05)

With only a few days to spare (hops are supposed to be planted by 1 Sept) I've got my hop rhizomes in the ground. 
They have been sitting as they arrived (mid July) from the grower (plastic bag and cotton wool in a box) in the vege crispy.
The Columbus has grown some shoots already.




The Hersbrucker looks like it is going to lag a little behind.



Has everyone else got theirs planted yet ? Got pics ? Post 'em here.

Beers,
Doc


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## Steve (25/8/05)

ugly looking mongrels arent they Doc? They're healthy too. Id be putting them in the ground straight away before they climb out of your crisper! :blink:


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## AndrewQLD (25/8/05)

Hi Doc,
Welcome home  
The Columbus looks good, I have Victory in the ground from last year that has started to reshoot, and a POR on its way to be planted early next week

Cheers
Andrew


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## Borret (25/8/05)

Doc said:


> With only a few days to spare (hops are supposed to be planted by 1 Sept) I've got my hop rhizomes in the ground.
> They have been sitting as they arrived (mid July) from the grower (plastic bag and cotton wool in a box) in the vege crispy.
> The Columbus has grown some shoots already.
> View attachment 3615
> ...


Hi Doc,

Yep my colunmbus has well and truly shot. I posted some pics a few days ao on the Hop irrigation thread.

Cheers

Borret


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## Kai (25/8/05)

My precoce de bourgogne and wuerttywhatsits were both planted a couple weekends ago, the precocious one is already sticking out.


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## Trough Lolly (25/8/05)

I have a hairy Chinook rhizome that's threatening the crisper too!

Planting this weekend - alongside the Goldings!

Cheers,
TL


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## n00ch (25/8/05)

Lookling good Doc. My Hallertau is going great guns.

I finally got around to taking a pic of it.


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## AndrewQLD (25/8/05)

n00ch said:


> Lookling good Doc. My Hallertau is going great guns.
> 
> I finally got around to taking a pic of it.
> 
> ...



That plant looks great, how long has it been in the ground? My poor little Victory has only just started to bud  .


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## n00ch (25/8/05)

I recieved it about a month ago so i guess its been in the ground for a little over 3 weeks. It sprouted about a week after planting (about 4-5 inches under the groud) and it has doubled in size over the past week or so. 
I have no idea what the hell i'm going to do with it if it continues to grow at this rate!!!!!


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## markws (31/8/05)

A little late to game...however..... I recieved a single POR rihzome yesterday from a HB store in ACT. Having a quick peek prior to planting the rhizome I noticed several small nodular shoots approx 1/2"long were already present.

Anyway...it has been planted and like the rest of the AHB clan growing there own hops this year...I can't wait to see it truely start growing...

Regards

MWS


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## Kai (31/8/05)

Here's three pics of mine. First, the precoce de bourgogne. Second, the label conveniently attached to the post. Third, the garden bed they're planted in (with the wuerttemberger on the adjacent post).


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## johnno (31/8/05)

You starting a hop farm Kai? :lol: 
Everone put their order in for nest year.

johnno


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## GMK (31/8/05)

Nice - mine from last year are yet to sprout....


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## Kai (31/8/05)

johnno said:


> You starting a hop farm Kai? :lol:
> Everone put their order in for nest year.
> 
> johnno
> [post="74692"][/post]​




Good idea, johnno! I can rip out the roses and all the other rubbish that's just out of picture


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## lochrockingbeers (31/8/05)

My glasshouse plantation I started less than a month ago...




Two pride of ringwood plants on left and two tettnang on right. The bigger pride plant has reached the glasshouse roof in less than a month - some 3m or so.




More hops: tettnang plants left back, bushy hallertau plants on right, and then more of these varieties and some perle, hersbruck and cluster planted as rhizomes and cuttings in front left.




Some nice looking lattice (2.5m high x 1.5m wide) at work where some plants that were growing on it 'conveniently' died. There are 4 of these and there is reticulation to each lattice. I figure 1 variety per lattice would be nice. I've even been given permission to grow hops on them!! All looks good for a record harvest in 2006.


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## Hopsta (5/9/05)

Well i got my rhizomes and have them potted thanks to those who pointed me in the right direction. Excellent delivery times, packaging and instructions by lochrockingbeers and Mark Ellis, thanks again. :beerbang: 

Heres a pic, i took it on my phone so the quality is pretty bad, but anyway theres 1 cluster, 3 POR and 2 Hallertauer i'll re-pot them into larger pots when i get some more quality potting mix.


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## Doc (6/9/05)

Mine have been in the ground about 10 days and are poking their heads through.




It is all quite exciting. I don't remember taking this much interest in growing something since my student days


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## Justin (6/9/05)

Keep an eye on snails too Doc, maybe a few snail pellets if you can keep the pets away. The snails hit my POR hard last year but being the weed it was once I stopped the snails it powered on like there was no problem to begin with. Hardy plants.

Cheers, looks good.
Justin


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## Darren (6/9/05)

Any South Aussies plants showing signs of growth?


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## Steve (6/9/05)

Surround the plants with straw. Snails n slugs hate it as they cant slither on it smoothly. Also its a good mulch to keep the moisture in during the hot months. My 2nd year POR plant has 10 shoots just starting to poke through the surface.
Cheers
Steve


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## Kramer (6/9/05)

Well I got my POR rhizome yesterday might plant it this afternoon in a large pot. Hopefully it will grow well as I am in central Queensland and it can get quite hot here. I will post pics when it gets going!


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## Justin (6/9/05)

Yeah that's another good idea with the straw Steve. Are you going to prune back to 3 or 4 main bines to run up your strings? That's the standard procedure. My POR is into it 3rd year now and after that first year it shoots, as you said, 10 or more shoots from the rhizome. I trim it back to 3/4 strong ones but I'd be really curious to see how it grows with all 10-it could turn into a monsterous bush of hop plant if they grow anything like the main bines do. I'd be curious to see that's for sure. I need to get some fresh cutting of hallertau and tettnanger as I lost (well left actually) my last ones. I left them when I moved out of my last rental place. Bugger. I also left a POR there too, which has probably taken over the back yard now :lol:

Cheers, Justin


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## Steve (6/9/05)

I am in two minds Justin whether to just let it go or trim back? I was thinking the same thing this morning as I was scratching around noticing the shoots poking out all over the place. Last year I trimmed it back to two main bines which just went straight up and had a few flowers at the very top (needed a step ladder). Its all good fun.  
Cheers
Steve


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## n00ch (6/9/05)

Did any of you get a good amount of usable flowers off them in the past?
I have seen quite a few pics but i think i have only heard one story of someone actually using them and when they did they only got around 15gms on the bine.


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## Steve (6/9/05)

I got a grand total of 12gms of flowers of my first year plant last year. The yield apparently gets bigger over the years. I chucked them in a brew after drying them. Couldnt tell - its was just the novelty of actually using them. If you know what I mean.


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## Justin (6/9/05)

I get heaps off my POR. But then I'm also in Tassie which has to have a large bearing on that. I also had, as I said before, hallertau and tettnanger but I only had them through their first year of growth from cuttings so didn't see anything out of them. They did seem to grow a lot slower than the POR. So my guess it that the species of hop has a fair bearing on what sort of flowering you'd see, at a guess though I would say POR might grow well in most areas.

Flowering in hops is also dictated by daylength too if I remember rightly. My guess is the further north you go the less flowers your going to see.

But hey, who cares if you even use the hops. They're cool to have and actually a very attractive plant.

Cheers, Justin


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## lochrockingbeers (6/9/05)

n00ch said:


> Did any of you get a good amount of usable flowers off them in the past?
> I have seen quite a few pics but i think i have only heard one story of someone actually using them and when they did they only got around 15gms on the bine.
> [post="75521"][/post]​



About 22g dry weight last season from 1st season POR, cluster, hall, perle, tett and hersbruck. Could have had more as some plants in pots produced lots of cones but the mid summer heat was just too much and many cones aborted. I used all the hops as first wort hopped in a dortmund style harvest lager. It tasted lovely when bottled recently. The german varieties were very aromatic. This season I'm aiming for at least a couple of hundred grams of hops dry weight.


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## n00ch (6/9/05)

Thats good to hear then. 

But i'm with you Justin. I'm don't really care about the amount i get out of them. Its a novelty and as you said a rather attractive plant. 

It also seems to be the only plant i haven't killed so in a way i kinda feel no so useless when it comes to gardening!


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## Steve (6/9/05)

totally agree, I couldnt care less if I got 10gms or 100gms I just like growing them and you cant kill em with a stick!


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## johnno (6/9/05)

n00ch said:


> Did any of you get a good amount of usable flowers off them in the past?
> I have seen quite a few pics but i think i have only heard one story of someone actually using them and when they did they only got around 15gms on the bine.
> [post="75521"][/post]​


 n00ch ,
i got a dry yield of 14 grams was aboyt 60-70 before drying them.
I made this beer here  to test them.
johnno


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## therook (6/9/05)

How do you work out the AA rating for your own Hops.

Rook


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## n00ch (6/9/05)

That beer sounds like it turned out alright Johnno.

You seem to loose a hell of a lot weight when drying.


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## Asher (6/9/05)

Here in the west my ornamental Hallertau (yet to see a flower!!!) are about to begin their third season. Heaps if bines beginning to poke through the mulch from some very juicy rhyzomes... expecting big things this year

Asher for now


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## voota (6/9/05)

therook said:


> How do you work out the AA rating for your own Hops.
> 
> Rook
> [post="75535"][/post]​



I think its pretty much impossible for the homebrewer to find the AA value, you need a lab. Anyway, I think most people use them for flavour and aroma (and use an estimate of the AA, this way it has little bearing on the overall bitterness)
Correct me if I'm wrong..
,Voota


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## Guest Lurker (6/9/05)

Oh. I was hoping it was too early and that was why my two hop plants are doing nothing. But if people in Perth are seeing growth it may be that I have now killed a total of three hop plants. Goat- have yours started this year?


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## Steve (6/9/05)

Lurker - you did take them out of the glad wrap before planting didnt you?


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## markws (6/9/05)

An update on my POR plant - after only approx a week a single bud has found its way through the top soil and is grown approx half an inch...its pretty cool to see it grow...

MWS


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## Justin (6/9/05)

Yeah hard to calculate AA's of your home growns. You can guess an average but judging the bitterness of your beer is a long shot, you could be way over or under easily IMO and probably not worth risking a batch of beer on it. I'd only use for flavour and more likely aroma.

I'd like to try a first harvest style ale with green hops this year. I was going to do it last year but was slack. Must try again.

Cheers, JD


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## Tim (6/9/05)

My Plants havn't started yet, but then none of the fruit trees or other plants have started budding or blooming yet either, and the grass hasn't come back yet from the winter frosts.
My POR and Golding are planted at my oldies farm in Braidwood. Have growers in Canberra had any shoots yet??


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## deebee (6/9/05)

Perth: One of the cuttings I took last year has started to sprout. My main plant is still dozing.


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## Hoops (6/9/05)

I think it was Jayse that has mentioned this method before, and I'm sure it would be a VERY rough ballpark guess, but stick some of the hops in your mouth and start chewing. Count back from 10 and when you spit it out that's the aa rating.
Out of curiosity I tried this on the weekend with some hallertau. I could only chew it for 7 (counted back to 3) seconds before I had to spit it out and my bag said 3aa. I haven't been game to try it on POR or any other bittering hop yet h34r: but maybe I'll get game and give it a go in the future.


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## dickTed (6/9/05)

Hi gang. I ordered a Cluster rhizome offa ebay. Should arrive soon. He's only a few km's away.

Anyway, I think I'm more into it for the novelty. I prefer using pellets anyway, and besides I couldn't give up Amarillos, specially now that I've got the bitterness balance down pat.

Put the posts in for the hop bine today. They are just treated pine square posts - about 4-5" thick. At first I thought I'd drill the posts and get a roll of fencing wire to make a few strands, but I found some old trellis wire that's not in bad nick. Should be OK. Better borrow that camera again


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## Steve (8/9/05)

Tuesday I had 10 shoots sprouting from my 2nd year POR, now there is 15 shoots sticking their heads above ground. Five in two days! I have a feeling its going to ballistic.


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## tangent (8/9/05)

Anyone in Adelaide with hops showing signs of life?
Any pics?


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## Darren (8/9/05)

Yesterday I found some shoot from my Cascade coming up. Was a bit worried. Probably should mulch it and give it a drink


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## AndrewQLD (8/9/05)

POR planted last week has 3 shoots coming up already  , and the Victory I planted last year which only threw a 3 foot bine last season has three shoots just poking through now. I'm happy  

Cheers
Andrew


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## tangent (8/9/05)

crap, i think mine really is dead!


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## Steve (9/9/05)

Tangent - have a very, VERY careful dig around where you planted it with a small trowel. You will soon find out if there are any shoots finding there way to the surface. Good luck


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## Trough Lolly (9/9/05)

Planted a Chinook rhizome only two weekends ago..2 shoots have appeared this morning!!

The 2 year old Goldings plant is still sleeping...

TL


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## Doc (9/9/05)

My Hersbrucker still only has two shoots, but they are growing well and devleoping leaves.
The Columbus is going gangbusters. Must have at least six shoots and all going strong developing leaves.
Will take a piccy tomorrow in the daylight. 
It is great watching something grow :lol:

Doc


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## tangent (11/9/05)

Hey thanks Steve,
I had a very careful dig around and Y E A H ! WooHoo! I found 2 little purple dicks making their way up through the mulch.
Anyone in ADL want to do a swap of rhysomes or dried flowers come picking time?


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## Jazman (11/9/05)

my perle has about 4 shoots now just poking through the dirt so who knows after last years poor effortand tangnet i may take u up on that offere depends how the perle goes


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## markws (11/9/05)

Like everyone else my POR is well and truely climbing towards heaven with a primary shoot several inches and several secondary's which I think I will try and culture.

MWS


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## johnno (11/9/05)

I put my POR in the ground from the big pot I had it in about 3 weeks ago.
for a while it looked like it was not happy. I thought it may be stunted growth. It now looks like it may be ok with a few shoots starting to pop up.
I'll post a pic soon.

johnno


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## Doc (11/9/05)

Here is my Columbus plant going great guns.
The guy at the garden shop where I bought the pots and soil recommended putting Nitrosol on them when the shoots got going. So unless anyone can tell me not to they will get a dose of Nitrosol this week.

Beers,
Doc


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## Kai (11/9/05)

I gave my Chinook a couple doses of dynamic whiffter last season and it took off like a rocket.


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## Stoodoo (11/9/05)

To get your hop plants really growing, you should use a fertiliser that's high in nitrogen (which encourages green growth ie foliage). And, once the plants established and coming toward its' flowering period you should use sulphate of potash to ncourage flowering, and definitely stop using the nitrogen rich fertiliser.

Cheers


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## tangent (11/9/05)

So this is one of those things that doesn't appreciate pissing on, eh?
Because if need be, i'm willing to donate.
I'm stoked about citrus! and now have 3 trees in different corners of the block


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## BigAl (15/9/05)

Guys,

Finally some action from my hop plants this year  . Its their third year growing now and have only managed a couple of cones from it last year, they seem to get belted by the sun and bugs. 

Any other sandgropers got any good growth on their plants yet. Any tips for the brown thumb for a successful crop in the west?

Cheers


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## dreamboat (15/9/05)

You had better get that snail BigAl before he demolishes your crop!



dreamboat


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## Steve (15/9/05)

excellent dreamboat - well spotted. :lol:


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## BigAl (15/9/05)

I just noticed the little bugger when i was attaching the photo.....he may well be a hophead snail now!....bastard. :angry:


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## Trough Lolly (15/9/05)

Stoodoo said:


> To get your hop plants really growing, you should use a fertiliser that's high in nitrogen (which encourages green growth ie foliage). And, once the plants established and coming toward its' flowering period you should use sulphate of potash to ncourage flowering, and definitely stop using the nitrogen rich fertiliser.
> 
> Cheers
> [post="76493"][/post]​



Right, that's it then....We have some sick looking Box hedge that needs feeding - and who knows, some of the leftover nitrosol could go on the hops, couldn't it


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## Doc (15/9/05)

Trough Lolly said:


> Right, that's it then....We have some sick looking Box hedge that needs feeding - and who knows, some of the leftover nitrosol could go on the hops, couldn't it
> [post="77332"][/post]​



Mine got a dose of Nitrosol last night. I did all my wifes gardinas as well.

Beers,
Doc


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## Kramer (15/9/05)

What did you do the wifes gardina's with Doc? 

Roundup?


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## Doc (15/9/05)

Kramer said:


> What did you do the wifes gardina's with Doc?
> 
> Roundup?
> [post="77339"][/post]​



Nah, they just got Nitrosol as well.

Beers,
Doc


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## Borret (16/9/05)

I don't know if you remember the toy wheel barrow on the hop plant story from a month ago but maybe something good has come out of it. The bit that snapped off I hung from a cut down kebab skewer with some cotton and put in a glass of water (and a dash of trub initially)on the window cill. I was going to toss it about a fortnight ago but noticed it hadn't changed but also hadn't wilted or died. So I changed it to just water and left it. :unsure: 

About 3 days ago I noticed it had got bigger. And lastnight it's got roots sprouting and is about twice the length it originally was. I don't understand why it took so long. But as they say 'it won't happen overnight, but it will happen" 

Heres a photo of the shoot the day before it was busted 




and the shoot now. I reckon the kebab skewer was the secret ingredient  




As far as fertiliser on them I have just been feeding them watered down fermentor trub about once a fortnight like everything else around here and SWMBO put some osmocote granules (nitrogen rich) on them too.  

Cheers

Borret :blink:


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## Doc (16/9/05)

Good stuff Borret.
I think deebee did something similar last year to get them started.

I'm getting my webcam setup again so I can see their progress from work :lol:

Beers,
Doc


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## n00ch (16/9/05)

Do you know if deebee's flowered Doc? I don't really know if it matters or if its relevant but don't they need a male and a female to flower? :unsure:


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## Borret (16/9/05)

n00ch said:


> Do you know if deebee's flowered Doc? I don't really know if it matters or if its relevant but don't they need a male and a female to flower? :unsure:
> [post="77689"][/post]​


n00ch. The short answer is no. You only need both if you want to cross pollinate to create seeds and grow new varieties which most people avoid. This is briefly explained below:


> Hops are dioecious, which means they have separate male and female plants. Only the female produces the flowers that are used for brewing or medicinal purposes. Male plants have no commercial value, but are used to pollinate females. Pollination stimulates higher yields by increasing cone size and seed set, but because brewers prefer seedless hops, males are only grown with other wise poor yielding female varieties. hop seed from a pollinated female is only planted when a cross between the male and female is desired to obtain a new variety.



Cheers Borret


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## Doc (17/9/05)

The HopCam is setup and working.
Have configured the time lapse images too, so hopefully that will work out and I can make a small vid of the plants growing.

No sorry I will not give out the URL, as you guys would kill my connection in two minutes flat  

Beers,
Doc


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## Borret (17/9/05)

:lol: 

You IT guys make me sick!  

Nice work Doc


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## n00ch (17/9/05)

Ah ok makes sense now borret thanks.

HA Good work Doc. Nice way to geek it up.


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## PhilS (17/9/05)

I just bought 3 x different hop rhizomes locally from AHM $ 10.00 each. I ended up with 8 after I realised how many were packed in the bags  

They are in their pots now. Cant wait until they get established


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## tangent (17/9/05)

wow thats a good price
shows how much profit they're making in Adelaide


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## chillamacgilla73 (19/9/05)

Deebe kindly swapped a POR cutting for some Raspberry plantlets earlier this year and I thought my POR had carked it until yesterday I noticed a little shoot has poked it's head up. Talk about relieved  . Big things can come from small things so I am ever hopeful! My baby will be growing over possibly the most expensive trellis(Surplus from work) in Australia......I will post a pic tomorrow to explain further.....
Cheers
Chilla


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## Borret (19/9/05)

Well my little cutting is hammering along. Should be ready to see dirt in a day or so's time  

I also erected my hop pole on the wekend but haven't got any decent photo's yet. Will post some when I get them. If the cutting takes in the ground I should have a plant wither side of it.

Also for those who have done this before of a pole. How heavy does the twine have to be. I imagine a 4+ metre plant will have some wight about it. Is a light hemp rope a better option?

Borret


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## Jim_Levet (19/9/05)

Great to see some pics of your plants guys. 
Has anybody tried growing them in Hydroponics? I think I have asked this somewhere before. I heard a chat show on the radio tonight about dope and how the Hydro grass is really bad because of the chemicals and the effect on the user. I always wanted to try to grow hops year round in hydro, but now I am not so sure. 
Off to Google up some answers
James


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## chillamacgilla73 (20/9/05)

Guys,

Took some happy snaps with the digi camera of my baby POR. I am a dud photographer but check out the trellis - all G316 Stainless so will outlast you and I! It is a leftover test piece of Helimesh(tm) used around helidecks on Oil/Gas Platforms(Worth $$$$ - nothing but the best for my hops). I just hope my baby lasts the hot Perth Summer.

Cheerio, thanks for the cultivation tips and great photos,
Chilla


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## Doc (20/9/05)

Looking good Chilla.

I've done a really quick (and nasty) animated gif of two pictures of my hop plants taken exactly 48 hours apart.
You can definitely see growth happening 

Beers,
Doc


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## dreamboat (20/9/05)

Can we expect more updates on this Doc??? Say every couple of days, the amination could get longer.... and we could all post useful info suggesting that you add some water, fertiliser, more shade, more sun, trim the lower leaves, cut out the growing head, what types of knots to use on your twine..... really helpful stuff 



dreamboat


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## tangent (20/9/05)

one of those models sweeping her hands over the hops would also be a nice touch


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## Trough Lolly (20/9/05)

Nice animation Doc!
Well, I popped in to Bunnings on the weekend and picked up the Nitrosol - will apply some this weekend around the garden. The Chinook is up and running and the Goldings is still having a snooze with one purple shoot just breaking through now...

I also got the Potash of Sulphate and a big bag of Blood and Bone - I'm no gardening guru but apparently 1 part Potash to 10 Parts Blood and Bone makes a damn fine all purpose fertiliser, according to the horticulturalist in the plant section.

I don't care what it takes, as long as there's plenty of cones at the end!! B) 

TL


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## Doc (20/9/05)

dreamboat said:


> Can we expect more updates on this Doc??? Say every couple of days, the amination could get longer.... and we could all post useful info suggesting that you add some water, fertiliser, more shade, more sun, trim the lower leaves, cut out the growing head, what types of knots to use on your twine..... really helpful stuff
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Sure why not. 
The AVI I made the gif from is better quality, but there isn't much difference yet to require the need of posting the AVI.



tangent said:


> one of those models sweeping her hands over the hops would also be a nice touch
> [post="78189"][/post]​



I don't think my daughter is old enough to follow my directors direction yet. Maybe next season.



Trough Lolly said:


> Nice animation Doc!
> Well, I popped in to Bunnings on the weekend and picked up the Nitrosol - will apply some this weekend around the garden. The Chinook is up and running and the Goldings is still having a snooze with one purple shoot just breaking through now...



I think my Nitrosol got washed away with the rain we have had in the last week. Might have to give it another dose in a few weeks.

My wife only wishes I took such an interest in the rest of the garden :lol:

Beers,
Doc


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## Franko (20/9/05)

Where is a good place to purchase some seedlings here in sydney/macarthur area if possible


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## tangent (22/9/05)

Adelaide, we have Hersbrucker!
2 days out of the dirt.
I'm so proud View attachment 4025


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## tangent (22/9/05)

thanks 4 the heads up AB
it's chemical warfare here, snail pellets everywhere


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## Borret (23/9/05)

More Hop Shots.

I trial erected my hop pole last weekend and finally tooks some decent shots of it. I may move it closer to the plant yet for a little less angle but it should still be OK where it lays. I have decided to go the centre pole with 1 plant either side (if the cutting continues as it has been). Have some L brackets off the top that I had laying around and will put some eye bolts through them to run the twine up. Might run 2 twines per plant spread at the base up to the same point on the pole.

Have asked before but no reply.....How heavy does the twine need to be for these baby's..Anyone? :unsure: 

Borret :blink:


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## tangent (23/9/05)

I saw a Yank site where the grower had 2 metal poles connected at the top with nylon rope, then more rope coming down off of that. The hops grew that heavy that the poles were leaning in towards each other.
In other words Borret, make sure it's strong cord with a gripable surface, but you don't need to tie up a boat with it 
If they grab hold of that plastic mesh, they'll climb up that pretty fast.
Hope that helps.


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## mikem108 (23/9/05)

Just a standard size hemp that you get in a hardware, 10mm diameter or so. Is gotta be rough so the bines can climb


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## AndrewQLD (23/9/05)

The green gardening twine you can get from Bunnings or garden centres is perfect, light but strong.
Cheers
Andrew


----------



## Doc (23/9/05)

Sounds like the brown garden twine I bought maybe a bit light. I think I will double it up and twist it to give it some more strength.
I have the stakes all ready to go in. Maybe a project for long weekend.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## tangent (23/9/05)

day 3View attachment 4040


----------



## Doc (24/9/05)

A couple of pics from today.

First the Columbus which is going very well.




And second the Hersbrucker. Going well but not as many shoots as the Columbus.




Beers,
Doc


----------



## tangent (26/9/05)

day 6ish
View attachment 4073


doc, are you going to give your hops something to hang onto soon?


----------



## Doc (26/9/05)

Certainly am Tangent.
I have the hardware to build the long lines for them. Just haven't built it yet. If we get a fine night this week, I'll get it done.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## tangent (26/9/05)

i'd be interested to see how many people have surplus hops to swap later in the picking season.


----------



## Trough Lolly (2/10/05)

We've had some good rain here in Canberra lately.

The Chinook likes the watering...



So too does the sleepy Goldings (last years growth is that pale slug like growth just below the new shoots at the edge of the pot...



Cheers,
TL


----------



## tangent (3/10/05)

i've been away working in Vic and NSW for a week.
Come back and woohoo, my babies are coming along nicely!
I added a heap of sheep sh!t before i left and noticed a new one popping it's head up this morning.
Notice that the bines have little hooks and not just spikes? Never noticed that until I looked at the pics.
View attachment 4172
View attachment 4173
View attachment 4174


----------



## tangent (3/10/05)

sorry, that closeup was hand held - bit shakey


----------



## Doc (3/10/05)

The Hersbrucker still with only two shoots.




The Columbus still going great guns.



And finally the lines for them to grow up.
If you look closely you can see a line between the two poles.
There is a third pole out of site that also has a string line to it for the Columbus to grow to. Depending on how they grow I may add another string line between the poles at about half height.



Beers,
Doc


----------



## Trough Lolly (3/10/05)

Good work Doc,

Hey Tangent...what breed of hops have you got there? PoR? Cascade?
Cheers,

TL


----------



## tangent (3/10/05)

hey TL
Hersbrucker
my only variety so far


----------



## Gerard_M (4/10/05)

I have grown hops in the past, at my Dad's place, as he has a very sunny backyard. I have been following this thread, watching everybody putting up pictures of their pride & joy (that would be a good name for a hop!). Well this morning I spotted a weird looking plant in the garden. It looks like a hop plant and is going pretty well. The only thing I can think of is that it has started from seed. When I sweep out the floor in the workshop I empty the dustpan in the same spot in the garden. Their is generally a bit of grain & the odd hop pellet. A couple of months ago I was repackaging some flowers, so the only thing I can think of is it has come from there. I will take some pics & post them when the wife shows me how to do it. If it is not hops, & is actually those seedless Mexican tomatoes then I guess I will leave it for the new tennants.
Cheers
Gerard


----------



## Guest Lurker (4/10/05)

We have contact between chinook and climbing wire.


----------



## Guest Lurker (4/10/05)

Given that I have already killed one hop plant, the pole may be a bit optimistic, but I'll keep trying.


----------



## big d (4/10/05)

great pics guys.im hoping to grow some hop plants next year after my move down south so am particularly interested in the wa hop grows.

cheers
big d


----------



## tangent (4/10/05)

you're moving bigD?
down south?


----------



## n00ch (4/10/05)

I seem to have something eating the leaves on mine... Doesn't seem to be any snails or anything on them. Think i'll have to make a trip to the nursery.

How long ago did you guys plant yours? I planted mine about 2 months ago and they would be a good 4-5 metres high now.


----------



## Borret (4/10/05)

n00ch,

Mine have slowed alot over the last couple of weeks too. I gave them a nitrogen boost and some potash yesterday so will be interested to see if it makes a difference. The bottom leaves on one shoot have small rust spots on them so they may well be insect related too. I might give em a spray with some pyrethrum tonight.

The cutting on the otherhand is going great guns. Has probably doubled in size since I potted it. It still lives on the kitchen window cill.

I finished the hop pole yesterday though so hope fully I will have something to grow up it soon. It's 4.5 metres high and I made the 'twines' out of 4mm sisal rope. 2 twines for the main plant and 1 for where the cutting will go. Have made the ropes lowerable, flag pole style, for harvesting any meagre crop that may emerge that is up out of reach. It may work, it may not. We shall see. It was no real hassle.

Cheers

Borret


----------



## Gout (4/10/05)

Hear is my hallertau thats really taken off (2 pots of it about 1-2 meter high now)

the square pot is POR
lastly Goldings


----------



## Trough Lolly (4/10/05)

Looking good Gout...might have to grab some straw mulch too - the Goldings looks like it's off to a good start - plenty of shoots there...I don't prune shoots unless there's heaps of them - I'm afraid of chopping off the one that's got the best growth potential!!

TL


----------



## johnno (4/10/05)

Here is my POR in the front yard.
The only place I have to grow them. I will grow them along the pickett fence.

johnno


----------



## Borret (8/10/05)

Well my hop pole is finished but my hops are a little sick. have been keeping up the water and they have had a few doses of fertiliser but they aren't looking so flash.  Anyone have any suggestions for me? :unsure: 




On the contrary my cutting is going great guns still and sprouts a new row of leaves every few days.  




And finally the rigged hop pole pics. I can lower the ropes for harvest if they climg tha thigh. 2 twines where the main plant is and 1 for the other side where the cutting will go. (and for some stability)




Any advice on the sick hops would be appreciated.

Borret


----------



## tangent (8/10/05)

have you got all your bases covered Borret?
Possibly copper sulphate? (check that 1st)
Plants need zinc, copper, iron, all sorts of stuff for gusto.
I make a tea of rusty nails and compost with sheep sh!t, i also heard about citrus growers that have problems with zinc deficiency and actually drive galvanised nails straight into the trunk as a quick remedy.
I'm no scientist with plants but I'll ask Raz the garden store dude, he's good because if he doesn't know he'll just say "Naaa" instead of bullshitting and trying to sell you something. But I have heard about mineral deficiency causing a yellowing.


----------



## tangent (8/10/05)

but they're looking pretty good tho!


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## Darren (8/10/05)

Too much fertiliser (root burning) and water (water logging of roots) can cause yellowing. This time of year they would only need fertilising once a fortnight and in Adelaide atm no water


----------



## johnno (9/10/05)

They dont look too bad Borrett.
Like Darren mentioned dont over fertilse and water them.
I would even water them less now to encourage strong root growth.
I have had mine in the ground for 7 weeks now and I only fertized when I transplanted.
I also have only watered them once as the rain has watered them about 4 times since them.
In high summer when the plant is bigger you will need to water more.

johnno


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## tangent (9/10/05)

i spoke to Raz the nursery dude today and he basically confirmed what Darren said and also added that nitrogen is like junk food to us, good for a quick fix me up but you gotta have your base minerals covered, easiest he said is seasol seaweed stuff as well as the potash etc.
Cheers


----------



## Stoodoo (9/10/05)

tangent said:


> i spoke to Raz the nursery dude today and he basically confirmed what Darren said and also added that nitrogen is like junk food to us, good for a quick fix me up but you gotta have your base minerals covered, easiest he said is seasol seaweed stuff as well as the potash etc.
> Cheers
> [post="81830"][/post]​



Just remember fellas, seasol is best used as a foliar spray, since plants take it up through their leaves. The size of the particles in seasol are smaller than the pores in the plants' leaves. If watered into the soil, most of the seasol is wasted as it is a liquid nutrient, that will wash through the soil and away from the plants roots. The most economical method of use is to mix it up with water and spray it onto the plants foliage early morning, with the use of a garden sprayer (one of the one's you pump up and down the handle to pressurise it). An application of seasol once a fortnight should suffice. BTW, I'm not affiliated with seasol in any way, but I have been using it on all my garden plants for the last 3 or 4 years with great results.

Cheers


----------



## Borret (9/10/05)

Thanks Guys,

I have backed of the watering and will wait at least a few more weeks before hitting it with any more fertiliser. I had just been using the fish emulsion but did give it a kick of urea and postash which migh have put it over the top. Wait and see game.

Borret


----------



## dickTed (9/10/05)

This one's been in for 4 weeks now, and it hasn't budged. It's exactly the same as when I planted it.

It was the second last of the ebay Cluster plants.

I'm confident though. It's planted between two posts, and I have a couple of rolls of trellis wire. Just waiting for an inch or two of growth.

The grape vine's starting to shoot - part of my beer garden under construction.


----------



## Hopsta (9/10/05)

dickTed said:


> This one's been in for 4 weeks now, and it hasn't budged. It's exactly the same as when I planted it.
> 
> It was the second last of the ebay Cluster plants.
> 
> ...



Hey thats the same as my one! Mines also a cluster that i got off ebay and it hasnt budged either! Still looks healthy, just hasnt grown at all in 4-5weeks... might have to re-pot it.... i dunno.


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## Borret (9/10/05)

Interesting..... that's why I hit mine with the urea/potash in an effort to budge it. It wasn't looking that bad, it just hadn't progressed in about 3 weeks. Started out great, then stopped. Maybe it was a temporary switch to root manufacture now it had leaves. 

Waitin' waitin'.

Borret


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## sosman (10/10/05)

tangent said:


> i spoke to Raz the nursery dude today and he basically confirmed what Darren said and also added that nitrogen is like junk food to us, good for a quick fix me up but you gotta have your base minerals covered, easiest he said is seasol seaweed stuff as well as the potash etc.
> [post="81830"][/post]​


I can second the seasol.
Its not easy to see in this pic but the bines are 2/3s up the pole:


----------



## Chatty (10/10/05)

Borret, it looks like you have an iron deficiency. I'm not 100% as to mobility of iron in the soil but I would think that a foliar application of an iron rich fertiliser would solve much of the problem. Iron is poorly available in soils with a pH above about 7.5, as are most micronutrients. It would be an idea to test to see what the pH of your soil is and take corrective action if it is too low. Raising the pH of soil is difficult, but I would think a dilute acid solution would be a start. Have a yarn to your local nursery for ideas. 

I would also give the hop a bit more room - trim the lawn up a bit! and mulch the area thoroughly.

Chatty


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## tangent (10/10/05)

the nursery dude says piss on it or better is to compost your old tea bags into some soil will contribute to acidity


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## THE DRUNK ARAB (11/10/05)

tangent said:


> the nursery dude says piss on it or better is to compost your old tea bags into some soil will contribute to acidity
> [post="82035"][/post]​



Piss on something that you hope to use in your beer. :blink: 

I'd be taking a bottle of said piss to the nursery dude as appreciation for his advice.  

C&B
TDA


----------



## tangent (11/10/05)

not on the hops TDA, on the soil
also works wonders on citrus


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## Borret (11/10/05)

Thanks guys. I will definately being giving the sprayed on seasol/fish guts fertiliser a run to see if it helps. The fish gut's stuf I have has the trace element thing happening.

As far as the soil it's actually in I would assume is relatively balanced as it is essentiall a big hole dug in the ground and filled with a 50L bag of planting mix from bunnings. That said who knows where it's gone since.
Willtake some more progress photos this weekend and see if they have got worse. I still think fertisiler abuse might have been the curse. Will stick with the more mild variants now.

Peeing, ... you can just imagine old grannies doing this for of caper to get the perfect gardenias. (eeewww)
Speaking of acidity.. how does spent hops go for PH reducing mulch. Yates garden guide only mentions hops once in the whole book and it's only as mulch.

Borret


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## Samwise Gamgee (11/10/05)

> not on the hops TDA, on the soil
> also works wonders on citrus



Makes it extra tangy?


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## Darren (11/10/05)

I have heard that only lemons like being pissed on. It can kill other plants especially if it is a hot/strong piss.


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## Steve (11/10/05)

Borret - your killing it with kindness. Lay off any fertilizer full stop. (only need it couple of times a year anyway). The planting mix from Bunnings will have everything your hop plant needs. Remember they're like a weed that grow wild all over Europe without anyone feeding them seaweed or spraying there leaves with fish guts. Imagine drip feeding a baby with horse steriods - it would seriously freak out....same as your plant is doing. Let it sit and do its own things naturally. Trust me it'll be fine. Mine is in a richly composted vegie patch with mulch and have never seen fertiliser.
Cheers
Steve


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## tangent (11/10/05)

don't tell my missus Darren but it's working wonders on our oranges and limes also!

Really bad for lawn!


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## Darren (11/10/05)

Yep, good for citrus


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## Doc (11/10/05)

Oh the irony guys. My wife only wished I took such an interest in the rest of the garden.
I'm sure your partners are the same 

Doc


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## big d (11/10/05)

my interest in gardening became more interesting to people who dress in khaki or blue for you southerners.i had to give up.  
think it was the wrong hop.
next year will be the year of beer hops plus the odd relative thrown in for good mix

venting tonight
big d


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## Trough Lolly (11/10/05)

big d said:


> next year will be the year of beer hops plus the odd relative thrown in for good mix...
> [post="82175"][/post]​



Yep, 
Nothing wrong with a bit of blood and bone! h34r: 

Our cat uses the garden bed under the lemon tree as it's giant kitty litter tray and we always get a hessian sack full of kickass lemons every year! Makes a mouth puckering lemon meringue pie! :blink: 

TL


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## Trough Lolly (11/10/05)

Lurching back on topic for a moment - the Chinook is going great guns and is working up the wire - it's in a full blown race for the trellis fence against two cab sav and two black shiraz vines that are going off too!

TL


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## Doc (17/10/05)

The recent cooler snap and rain in Sydney has seen my hop plants barely move in a week. Are other Sydney-siders seeing the same thing ?

Doc


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## Borret (17/10/05)

:lol: mine hasn't budged in a month. 

The cutting is charging along though. The weather hasn't really effected it.


Borret


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## kungy (17/10/05)

My plant is really gunning along now, and about time too. Shoots are popping up all over the place and the main stalk is now surprisingly thick, reminds me almost of a sweet pea stalk.

Will


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## big d (17/10/05)

any news on the western hop fields?
guest lurker etc


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## Guest Lurker (17/10/05)

Guest Lurker said:


> We have contact between chinook and climbing wire.
> [post="80914"][/post]​






big d said:


> any news on the western hop fields?
> guest lurker etc
> [post="83483"][/post]​




Hi Big D. The chinook is now 40 cm up the wire, so that is about 3 cm per day since the pic I posted. The POR on the other hand has done nothing.


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## Tony (17/10/05)

I planted a hallertau plant late, my order got missed by grumpys but it took off a week after planting.

I had about 12 shoots poke out of the groung till a cat trampled a third of them.

Well they have grown back and have had about 4 inches of groath and leaves apear in the last week

I fretalised with blood and boan and a slow release nitrogen fertaliser.

Will be adding some pot ash and some tomato plant fretaliser that is fairly rich stuff.

Will take a pic and keep you all posted.

I kind of figure that being in tamworth that is considered a cold belt area but also having long days being further north that tassie, should work erll.

cheers


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## Darren (17/10/05)

big d said:


> any news on the western hop fields?
> guest lurker etc
> [post="83483"][/post]​




Adelaide hops have reared their beautiful heads


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## tangent (17/10/05)

any pics Darren?


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## ausdb (18/10/05)

Guest Lurker said:


> Hi Big D. The chinook is now 40 cm up the wire, so that is about 3 cm per day since the pic I posted. The POR on the other hand has done nothing.
> [post="83512"][/post]​



My POR is going great guns, its the elusive rhizome I got from Chillamgilla at the sandgroptoberfest. It had three whitish coloured shoots on it before I planted it and now the biggest one is about 6" tall. I had a look at deebee's POR's on Sunday and they are only a couple of inches high if that. I will take pic in the next few days and post it.

PS GL I have your sodastream bottle a my house, there is a leak somewhere in my party keg system so I will fill your bottle back up before I give it back to you. Also have to get the tube of mastic for you, the insulaton is in my shed

Cheers

Ausdb


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## voota (18/10/05)

My POR is the same Ausdb, almost 5 ft now, those things are weeds! Wish I could say the same for my cluster, the poor thing is close to death.


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## tdh (18/10/05)

Tony wrote - >I kind of figure that being in tamworth that is considered a cold belt area but also having long days being further north that tassie, should work erll.< 

The further south you are the longer the days, south of the 35th parallel is where you find commercial hop fields.

Now that Tassie also has daylight savings their days must be about 27.45 hours in length 

tdh


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## markws (25/10/05)

??Hop leaf fungus??? <_< 

My POR plant appears to be growing well - now at least 1.2m in length, however I have noticed that a number of the lower leaves on the vine have a light brown/cream spotting inconjunction with holes appearing in the leaves. The upper leaves are in good condition and are unaffected. I assume the leaves are diseased with either a virus/fungus at the moment - no snails or other bugs have attacked the plant as yet


Any thoughts - Comments...It looks like I will be doing a little research tonight to unravel the truth.. :blink: 

Regards

Mark WS


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## Doc (25/10/05)

Mark,

Mine are displaying the same symtoms. Initially it was just one or two leaves, but it seems to be spreading.
I'd also be interested to hear what it is and how to deal with it.
I can take some close up pictures if that would help too.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Steve (25/10/05)

Mark/Doc strip the bottom young leaves off to stop it spreading. I read somewhere to do this as a matter of course anyway to stop viral/fungal infections?


Just grabbed this from grumpys manual on growing hops.

IMPORTANT: Once the plant has reached a few meters in height the bottom metre or so of each vine MUST be stripped from the plant by hand to avoid the growth of various soil borne fungi and to ensure that the vines get maximum benefit.

Give it a go. Cheers
Steve


----------



## Borret (25/10/05)

Interesting, that's how my downfall started too and now the pale leaves and white spots and rusty bits..... and no growth. It's sortoff reasuring that I'm now not alone.

The cutting hasn't displayed the same problem yet though.

Borret


----------



## Doc (25/10/05)

Steve said:


> Mark/Doc strip the bottom young leaves off to stop it spreading. I read somewhere to do this as a matter of course anyway to stop viral/fungal infections?
> 
> 
> Just grabbed this from grumpys manual on growing hops.
> ...



Excellent. Will do tonight.
I think the instructions also mentioned limiting the number of vines. I might have to kill/cut off a few shoots too. That maybe limiting some of my growth.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Steve (25/10/05)

Yeah doc - only need 2 or 3 strong/main bines per plant.
Borret is your cutting in the same dirt as the other one?


----------



## Borret (25/10/05)

Steve said:


> Yeah doc - only need 2 or 3 strong/main bines per plant.
> Borret is your cutting in the same dirt as the other one?
> [post="85330"][/post]​



Sort of.. The main plant is in planting mix in the ground but the cutting is in a mixture of the planting mix (same stuff I actuall grabbed a couple of handfulls back outof the ground) and mixed it with some potting mix at about 50/50. This was at my ex nursury working green thumb sisters advice to give it a little better drainage than the planting mix. Seemed to work. 
Not sure of the low watering rate that has been suggested though as the one on the window cill sat in water only for the first months and has been watered everyday in a trerracotta pot ever since. I did strip a leaf or 2 off the bottom of it earlier in the piece as it was starting to rot though.
The cutting is still on the window cill inside so may not be subject to the same environmental stresses. 
The main plant may be starting to look a little healthier than it was but one of the growth buds is now missing so it may be back to a 2 bine plant.

I shall take some more photo's, they speek better than words

Borret


----------



## deadly (25/10/05)

Sound like fungus,try and get some distance between lower leaves and the ground (strip back) and water the soil not the plant - same as roses I guess.This might be of usehttp://www.freshops.com/nutrient.html


----------



## markws (25/10/05)

Thanks lads,

Like Doc - I will be definately removing all the infected leaves. :angry: 

Interestingly when I reviewed the plant this morning - almost all of the leaves had some sign of starting to produce nodes for the hop buds. May be just cutting the physical leaf and leaving the stem of the leaf will help them to mature?? :huh: 

Regards

Mark WS


----------



## markws (25/10/05)

Ps - like Borret and others I have removed all the secondary vines and creating additional cuttings for trading....If it has not already been considered - At the end of the season maybe we can organise a trade of all the secondary plants amongst AHBer's


----------



## Tony (25/10/05)

hi fellow hop growers.

My hallertau plant has taken off in the last couple of weeks.

Its looking a bit sad at the moment after someones cat tramples half the shoots and a couple of big storms have pounded it.

I relocated it yesterday to an animal safe spot and have erected a temp climbing rope for it till i get the stand put up.

I gave it a good feed with blood and bone, potash and some slow release plant food.

cheers


----------



## BigAl (25/10/05)

Any sandgropers out there had any decent growth in their hops yet? Mine (3rd year vintage) are still at ground level with a few leaves here and there, possibly 10cm high  , but nothing like those over in the east. It has been unusually wet and cold in Perth so far this spring.


----------



## Steve (25/10/05)

You'd think it would be thriving BigAl - that sounds like typical European weather (even in summer)


----------



## Borret (25/10/05)

Well there may be a ray of hope. :unsure: 

I went down to takethe photo's as promised and it appears the is a glimmer of new light as I found 2 new sturdy shoots out to the sides of the plant that definately weren't there a week ago. You can still see that something heinous is goin on with the rest of it. <_< 





Also here's a photo of the cutting.  For scale the pot it is in is a bit bigger than a single serve pie dish in diameter.




Cheers

Borret


----------



## deadly (25/10/05)

Looks like fertiliser burn to me,test the soil for ph adjust with trace elements -maybe potash


----------



## Chatty (25/10/05)

Borret! You have a chronic manganese/iron deficiency in your hops! I'm leaning toward a Mn deficiency due to the necrotic spots developing in the leaves. Either way, the plant won't be functioning well physiologically. 

Iron is needed for chlorophyll production, Mn is needed for enzyme production.

A foliar fertiliser would fix this in no time. I sprayed my potatoes with a foliar fert the other day to correct a P deficiency and within 2 days there was a significant lift in plant growth.

I'll see if I can attach your photo with the spots highlighted for you.




Chatty


----------



## Borret (25/10/05)

Chatty said:


> Borret! You have a chronic manganese/iron deficiency in your hops! I'm leaning toward a Mn deficiency due to the necrotic spots developing in the leaves. Either way, the plant won't be functioning well physiologically.
> 
> Iron is needed for chlorophyll production, Mn is needed for enzyme production.
> 
> ...



So are we talking 'seasol' here. Or something else.

Cheers

Borret


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (26/10/05)

BigAl said:


> Any sandgropers out there had any decent growth in their hops yet? Mine (3rd year vintage) are still at ground level with a few leaves here and there, possibly 10cm high  , but nothing like those over in the east. It has been unusually wet and cold in Perth so far this spring.
> [post="85367"][/post]​



My POR, ex-Deebees plantation, is still small(5-10cm) and the new rhizomes I bought(Tettnanger & Hallertau) are sitting dormant in pots  I had a gentle look to see if the newbies had any fresh roots and was pleasantly surprised to find large fresh roots. I am hoping it is due to the late start to spring in Perth and have high hopes once the weather turns. I have a digital indoor/outdoor min/max thermometer and our place is consistently 3-5 degress cooler than the flatlands so I'm hoping that has also slowed my babies up.


----------



## tangent (26/10/05)

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/hop.html

Mine are taking off! More pics soon. One runner has grown about 4cm per day!

Definitely interested in some trading, if other Adelaide growers are keen.
I've got Hersbrucker and am looking for Fuggles and Goldings, or anything else.


----------



## Duff (26/10/05)

If you find your hops are struggling some what, the first step is to check your soil pH. Have a look at the following classic image:







Buy a pH test kit from the hardware store. If your pH is lower than 6.0, then you need to add lime, if it is higher than 7.0 then add some form of sulphur based fertiliser to lower it. pH is a log scale, if your pH is 5 then you need to add the equivalent of 100gm per 1sqm to raise it 1 pH point. Once you get your pH between 6 - 7 then all of the essential nutrients will become naturally available within the soil for the plant. Then you can start to implement a regular fertiliser programme which includes a full range of macro and micro nutrients.

Cheers.


----------



## deebee (26/10/05)

chillamacgilla73 said:


> BigAl said:
> 
> 
> > Any sandgropers out there had any decent growth in their hops yet? Mine (3rd year vintage) are still at ground level with a few leaves here and there, possibly 10cm high  , but nothing like those over in the east. It has been unusually wet and cold in Perth so far this spring.
> ...




Yeah my POR babyis still dribbling along at ground level. I think ausdb said his were doing a bit better than mine when he dropped round last weekend.

Not too worried. It looks healthy, just not growing much yet. It'll warm up in a couple of weeks.


----------



## Asher (26/10/05)

My Ornamental Hallertau are still at ground level.

After spending the last 2 yeast in a cool shady spot due to being realestaely challenged they have just been moved to a nice sunny spot in my new backyard. decision on where to put them was based on Goats hop positioning....

Hopefully a mass of bines will emerge once this ridiculously cold weather moves on...

Asher for now


----------



## tangent (26/10/05)

this is a closeup of the base of the plant.
shows the prickly bits a bit better.
View attachment 4545


----------



## Goat (26/10/05)

Mine - which went like a scalded cat last year, has only just broken through the ground and is going very slowly indeed.

Until I read the post by Al, Deebee and Asher I thought I had root rot or something. It has been a wet and cold spring so I'm hoping that things will warm up soon.


----------



## Trough Lolly (26/10/05)

My Chinook is growing steadily up the wires - several good runners and it's looking quite healthy after the Nitrosol feed before about 3 days of good soaking rain and relatively mild temps. 

The 2y.o. Goldings is going berserk after the Nitrosol feed! From next to nothing two weeks ago, a whole bloody crown of shoots (numbers unknown, they're appearing every day!) and it's overtaken the Chinook and is heading skywards! Looks like I'll be doing a few brews next year with Goldings cones as the main ingredient - I'm thinking of cutting off some of the runners and re-propagating them in nursery pots with a bit of root growth formula. Pics to follow...

TL


----------



## johnno (26/10/05)

I just cut about 6 leafy shoots from mine and left 4 strong looking ones.
Its looking like a very good weed at the moment.

johnno


----------



## Chatty (26/10/05)

Borret, I would track down a soluble powder fertiliser. There is one produced by Yates that I use, however there are plenty of others on the market. If possible, find a vegie formulation that has a higher level of K relative to N. After all, we want a hop plant that produces hops, not leaves!

pH, although important, isn't the be all and end all of plant nutrition. A well mulched soil shouldn't have any problems with pH, but there are a number of other disorders that can induce deficiencies. 

Chatty


----------



## Darren (26/10/05)

Trough Lolly said:


> I'm thinking of cutting off some of the runners and re-propagating them in nursery pots with a bit of root growth formula. Pics to follow...
> 
> TL
> [post="85724"][/post]​



TL, no need for fancy root growth compounds. Take the cutting, remove most of the bottom leaves and place it in a glass of water for about three weeks. There will be plenty of roots then plant it in some soil.


----------



## tangent (26/10/05)

wow, that easy


----------



## Darren (26/10/05)

Yep


----------



## Borret (26/10/05)

Yep too easy, check the roots on mine after a few weeks in water earlier in the thread.


----------



## tangent (26/10/05)

and you just snip off a runner?


----------



## Darren (26/10/05)

and remove most of the lower leaves


----------



## tangent (26/10/05)

cool
want some Hersbrucker?


----------



## Darren (26/10/05)

Give it a go


----------



## ntboozer (26/10/05)

Excuse my ignorance but can hops been grown in Darwin or are they not suited to the tropics?


----------



## bonk (26/10/05)

looks like i'm following ya around 

i tried to grow some in my dad's back yard down in katherine, it went great guns then just died. i'm yet to try it up here but i'm not overly confident that they would grow.


----------



## ntboozer (26/10/05)

Bonk,
Mate,
I've been inspired following your brew day - although my bank account doesn't agree. 
I'm working on my AG set up (should all be done be early 2006) so fingers crossed I'll be able to offer up some brew for tasting shortly after that (once I've sorted the whole thing out).
Yeah not too sure on the hops topic. Might just be easier to buy them from down south.
Cheers
Rob (NT)


----------



## Trough Lolly (26/10/05)

Darren said:


> Trough Lolly said:
> 
> 
> > I'm thinking of cutting off some of the runners and re-propagating them in nursery pots with a bit of root growth formula. Pics to follow...
> ...



Thanks Darren - that's pi$$ easy so I'll try it out on the Goldings and the Chinook that are both going off right now!

Cheers,
TL


----------



## Guest Lurker (27/10/05)

deebee said:


> chillamacgilla73 said:
> 
> 
> > BigAl said:
> ...




Sounds like the POR are doing similar things.

Here is my cutting from Deebees.


----------



## Guest Lurker (27/10/05)

My chinook on the other hand really took off for 2 weeks, then stopped dead.


----------



## Asher (27/10/05)

GL - Are you running some sort of hippy permaculture garden over your way?


----------



## kirem (27/10/05)

tried this once before, anyone want to swap cuttings?

So far I have Victoria, Cluster, Chinook, Cascade, Goldings and Hersbruk rise from dormancy.

I may have Willamette, it is my newest arrival and hasn't come up so far.

I also have Elsass and Tettnang, but cannot be sure which is which yet, might be able to identify after doing some brewing with them.

I am looking for Saaz, a good Hallertau and a fuggles. Would be interested in other varieties, those listed are just my priority.

K

edit: I am in SA at present.


----------



## tangent (27/10/05)

where are you Kirem?


----------



## kirem (27/10/05)

South Australia, but I move around a bit with work.

I am happy to swap cuttings through the post, not sure if there are any issues with this.

I figure that my rhizomes came through the post so logically....


----------



## tangent (27/10/05)

i've only got a healthy Hersbrucker tho mate.
but very interested in some good ale finishing hops like cascade, fuggles, goldings, etc.


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## Steve (27/10/05)

Heres my 2 year old POR. They've never seen a drop of fertiliser - just good compost. Last year it got to the top and went along extra twine that I had to add to the house wall behind the trellis  View attachment 4563
View attachment 4562


----------



## Steve (27/10/05)

and the other pic that didnt want to attach to the first post :blink: View attachment 4564


----------



## Doc (28/10/05)

I trimmed off the bottom leaves of each vine on both plants and chopped off about six shoots from one of my hop plants earlier in the week. 
We've had a couple of hot days here in Sydney, and today is warm again, so they got their second dose of Nitrosol this morning before I left for work. 
Really hoping to see some rapid growth soon. 

Doc


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## Trough Lolly (28/10/05)

The Goldings monster is now turning into a triffid! It's overtaken the Chinook and is at war with some Cab Sav and Shiraz cuttings - growing so fast that new shoots are appearing daily - time to get the propagation gear ready!

The Chinook stopped dead in it's tracks, just like GL's - and then three new shoots appeared out of the earth and it's up up and away again!

Hey Steve - Interested in swapping some PoR cuttings for Goldings or Chinook cuttings??? I'm in Farrer...

TL


----------



## Steve (28/10/05)

Definately TL! The more the merrier I reckon.
I have about 3 shoots flapping around along the ground that I could maybe turn into cuttings. You show me what to do and you have a deal? Just cut them off and stick them in a glass of water? Im in Kambah.
Cheers
Steve


----------



## Trough Lolly (28/10/05)

Steve (and others),
I've read some articles on propagating hops cuttings here:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0702/climber_prop.asp
http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Plants/growing.html#HOPS
http://nepenthes.lycaeum.org/Plants/growing.html#HOPS
http://www.deerislandbrewery.com/hops.html

I'll have a go at snipping some shoots off the Goldings and the Chinook and leave them in a jar of water for a week. Hopefully I'll have some trading stock!

Will advise...

If anyone else nearby wants to swap, I'd love to get my hands on some Cascade and Hallertauer cuttings...

Cheers,
Rowan


----------



## Steve (28/10/05)

TL
I will do the same and report back. Borrets from an earlier post seemed to have taken off ok just by putting them in water.
Cheers
Steve


----------



## ausdb (28/10/05)

Heres an update on the elusive POR!
Its going pretty well compared to everyone elses POR in WA and only got planted the week after Sandgroptober fest. Its at my back fence which runs east west and is on the North side so it gets sun for most of the day. I have just turned the sprinklers back on to the garden bed it is in so it gets watered for a few minutes each morning. When I planted it I dug a hole about 18" deep and mixed 1/2 a bucket of well rottted sheep poo into the soil so maybe that is what the difference is.





When I planted it it had three defined shoots starting and they have all taken off pretty well, two of them are spreading out along the ground and looking for somewhere to climb. This weekend I will have to get off my backside and start to make a pole to drop some twine from for them to climb. How tall is every one else making their trellis? I have some poles about 2.4m high across my back fence with green plastic coated wires strung between them for passion fruit vines. I was going to attach an extension pole to the closest one and drop some strings down but not sure how high to go.

Cheers ausdb


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## mikem108 (28/10/05)

As a few have reported weird looking leaves it could be deficiencies. 

Try this link for more info on this

http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/min-def/hops.htm

Mine hops plant last year got a rusty look to the leaves and eventually died..


----------



## Steve (2/11/05)

Well, one of my main bines has reached the top of my frame (see pics earlier).....just cant decide whether to snip it off to promote lateral growth or just let it fall back down the other side? The other 4 or 5 bines are about half way up. Anyone any suggestions?
Cheers
Steve


----------



## Darren (2/11/05)

kirem said:


> tried this once before, anyone want to swap cuttings?
> 
> So far I have Victoria, Cluster, Chinook, Cascade, Goldings and Hersbruk rise from dormancy.
> 
> ...




Kirem, You must have a lot of land!. How are you keeping them seperated? How far apart are each plant?
cheers
Darren


----------



## Hopsta (2/11/05)

Steve said:


> Well, one of my main bines has reached the top of my frame (see pics earlier).....just cant decide whether to snip it off to promote lateral growth or just let it fall back down the other side? The other 4 or 5 bines are about half way up. Anyone any suggestions?
> Cheers
> Steve
> [post="87715"][/post]​



Hey Steve, i wouldnt expect too much lateral growth if you were to snip the top off, you wont get extra bines coming out in a "Y" shape from what i've seen, i lost the top off one of mine and it stopped growing practically, although more shoots came out of the ground.... I reckon just let it grow down the other side of the lattice... Your call anyway.


----------



## Darren (2/11/05)

Hopsta said:


> Steve said:
> 
> 
> > Well, one of my main bines has reached the top of my frame (see pics earlier).....just cant decide whether to snip it off to promote lateral growth or just let it fall back down the other side? The other 4 or 5 bines are about half way up. Anyone any suggestions?
> ...


 I agree cutting of the to will just stop the plnt from growing and reduce you yield. Maybe consider adding a couple of "strings" to increase the height if you can then let it drop down. You expect it to grow at least 5 metres tall.
cheers Darren


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## sinkas (2/11/05)

Hi all,
by the looks of that link earlier, my hops are a little calcium deficient, Does anyone have any reccommedations as to what product I shoudl use to get some more calcium into them...maybe 1/2 a carton of milk?


----------



## sosman (2/11/05)

My three hallertau bines have reached the top of the frame now:


----------



## Duff (2/11/05)

sinkas said:


> Hi all,
> by the looks of that link earlier, my hops are a little calcium deficient, Does anyone have any reccommedations as to what product I shoudl use to get some more calcium into them...maybe 1/2 a carton of milk?
> [post="87764"][/post]​



Sinkas,

Use either lime (Calcium Carbonate) or gypsum (Calcium Sulphate), all depends on your pH. If it is under 6, use lime; if it is over 6 use gypsum.

Hope this helps.


----------



## halfinch (2/11/05)

Sorry to but in all but has anyone thought of good old fashioned cow crap. (if you can get it !!!) Great for the vegies...

Halfinch.


----------



## tangent (2/11/05)

mine are sprinkled liberally with sheep sh!t.
Old quote: You usea whadda you get fora free, you know?

but i also mix up a tea of seasol and worm juice now and again
in this weather one runner has literally grown about 4-6 cm a day. (about 1 and a bit curls around the support)
it's great for people like me with short attention spans


----------



## sinkas (2/11/05)

Cheers for that,

Mine also will get some nourishment form casting from our worm farm..


----------



## Borret (2/11/05)

Steve said:


> TL
> I will do the same and report back. Borrets from an earlier post seemed to have taken off ok just by putting them in water.
> Cheers
> Steve
> [post="86359"][/post]​



Yep, my Bonsai Hop Plant is looking better by the day.




My sad main plant has got a heap of new shoots and leaves at the base of the unhealthy looking ones so it has some hope yet.

Bonsai Borret


----------



## Darren (2/11/05)

Borret said:


> Steve said:
> 
> 
> > TL
> ...




Borret,
I think it is time to dig it up and trim those roots


----------



## Tony (2/11/05)

Well my strongest shoot has survived but all others ( i had 10 or more shoots) have kicked the bucket :angry: 

Oh well.......... looks like it a 1 horse race for this hop plants first year  

cheers


----------



## JasonY (2/11/05)

sosman said:


> My three hallertau bines have reached the top of the frame now:



Geez Sos, looks like you are streets ahead of the competition! :beer: Perhaps you should get up there and add another few metres onto it h34r:


----------



## kirem (2/11/05)

Darren,

Got a bit of land most of it has vines on it.

My hops are at my parents place, they are really setup as source plants.

had a look this evening, not much happening. willamette still hasn't shown its head.

K


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## Steve (3/11/05)

Cheers Darren and Hopsta...I dont think I'll nip the top off...will just let it do its own thing. I still have string going from the top to the side of the house from last year. Will let it do whatever it wants.
Sosman - yours look the goods :beerbang: 
Steve


----------



## n00ch (3/11/05)

Mine was going great guns till i went away for 2 weeks and it got no water. Kind of looking a tad sick now.


----------



## lochrockingbeers (3/11/05)

If anyone's interested in hop plant swaps let me know. I have por, cluster, hallertau, hersbruck, tettnang and perle. Have a few little potted plants of some varieties to spare and could take side shoots or rhizomes of other varieties to swap.

I'm interested in anything not listed above but mainly british or american varieties. Saaz would be nice if anyone has it.


----------



## Darren (3/11/05)

Yeah I too would be interested in saaz


----------



## tangent (3/11/05)

i'd like POR but i've only got hersbrucker to swap


----------



## Trough Lolly (3/11/05)

I've cut off a couple of healthy (6 inch plus) runners from the 2nd year Goldings that is currently going berserk. The runners are in a jar of water with a couple of mls of rooting liquid :blink: so I hope they last the week. I checked on them this morning and they look pretty happy.

The Goldings has three main runners that are bolting up the trellis - if it pushes out any more shoots, I'll let them go for a bit and then cultivate. By rule of thumb, I'm snipping runners after the third pair of leaves appears on the target bine...if that makes sense!!  

I'm after Hallertau and Cascade plant stock. Has anyone got Northern Brewer rhizomes??? 

Cheers,
TL


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## tangent (6/11/05)

Darrens tip of removing the leaves from the cutting worked like a treat!
Little roots growing out after only a few days 

Adelaide growers 1st.
Who wants one?


----------



## sosman (6/11/05)

JasonY said:


> sosman said:
> 
> 
> > My three hallertau bines have reached the top of the frame now:
> ...


I picked that height because apparently the commercial growers use 15'. Dunno whether it is optimal but it will do. The idea is for it to "crown" which it has started to do.


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## sosman (6/11/05)

Trough Lolly said:


> I've cut off a couple of healthy (6 inch plus) runners from the 2nd year Goldings that is currently going berserk. The runners are in a jar of water with a couple of mls of rooting liquid :blink: so I hope they last the week. I checked on them this morning and they look pretty happy.
> [post="88016"][/post]​


I did that last year, but I didn't bother with the rooting powder. They still sprouted roots. Where I failed is transfering the shoots to soil. I should have let my mum take care of that end of the business.

It took a few weeks to get to this:


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## Jazman (6/11/05)

if it works herbrucker be fine as i am growing perle and it slow 2nd year in a pot thank god for bulk buys


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## Trough Lolly (7/11/05)

sosman said:


> I did that last year, but I didn't bother with the rooting powder. They still sprouted roots. Where I failed is transfering the shoots to soil. I should have let my mum take care of that end of the business.
> 
> It took a few weeks to get to this:



Nearly a week in water - no roots yet... :unsure: 

But both runners are sitting upright and looking good - the leaves are a bit wilted but still quite green and healthy looking, but that's probably due to lack of direct sunlight. I sat the jar in a bathroom that gets full sun through frosted glass as I feared that full sun would do more damage but a well lit room wouldn't...  

My missus thinks I'm going a bit too far with my hops - everything else has to tend to itself in the backyard, except for this little corner of the garden that gets almost daily attention.  

Cheers,
TL


----------



## tangent (7/11/05)

pull the leaves off TL
did u do that?


----------



## Chatty (7/11/05)

sinkas, the deficiency symptoms for Ca, Mg and Fe are very similar. Unless you are dead certain (those photo's were a little dicey) I would apply a soluble vegetable fertiliser (Thrive or similar) that has all 3 of those minerals in them.

Chatty


----------



## Kramer (11/11/05)

I thought I might post some pics of my POR I have only one on the computer at the moment can't find the rest.

Will post them tomorrow.

Here they are about 2 weeks ago-


----------



## Kramer (12/11/05)

Here they are at week five, Remember my state of the art lattice system is Patent Pending!






I find that they grow better if I only water them once every 3 days or so and I have been having 30 degree days here lately.


----------



## AndrewQLD (12/11/05)

I'm just down the road from you Kramer, here is my Victory plant, looking good so far. I planted this last year and it only grew about 12"  but this year it has really taken off.




Andrew


----------



## Steve (14/11/05)

TL - I have a couple of roots shooting from my POR cutting. Will keep you updated. Anything from yours?

Cheers
Steve


----------



## Kramer (14/11/05)

Slightly off topic:

AndrewQLD I used to live in Bundy but moved up here to manage my own shop refilling printer cartridges, I am always back in Bundy for something or another but fuel is now killing me in my new car and I can't afford it so much now!

Back on- I hope my hops grow alright up here but I think it may too far north to get any cones. But it still looks cool and all my mates think I am going too far with homebrew by growing my own hops!

They still like the free beer though! Go figure!


----------



## Steve (15/11/05)

Quick question for Borret:
You know the cutting you grew in the glass of water and then transplanted it into the pot of dirt....when exactly did you transfer it? When the little white roots were very long or just sprouting? I have a cutting for trough lolly that is just sprouting roots in the glass of water its sitting in. :beer: 
Cheers
Steve


----------



## Borret (15/11/05)

Steve said:


> Quick question for Borret:
> You know the cutting you grew in the glass of water and then transplanted it into the pot of dirt....when exactly did you transfer it? When the little white roots were very long or just sprouting? I have a cutting for trough lolly that is just sprouting roots in the glass of water its sitting in. :beer:
> Cheers
> Steve
> [post="90614"][/post]​



G'day Steve,

I think it was about a week after it initially sprouted roots so there was a heap happening and the plant was actually growing at this stage.

This photo shows it a couple of days prior to planting. If I remember rightly I put a couple of drops of yates fish emulsion in the water once the roots had appeared so it had a bit more to feed on (only remember casue it's in the edge of this photo.)




It's still charging along too. Here's where it's upto now. Interesting that the bent over tip actually rotates like clockwork every 2 hrs. I need to stick it in the ground or a bigger pot soon too.




Cheers

Borret


----------



## hockadays (15/11/05)

Can you grow hops hydroponicly ?

Matt


----------



## nonicman (15/11/05)

hockadays said:


> Can you grow hops hydroponicly ?
> 
> Matt
> [post="90772"][/post]​



I imagine that you could, as the hop plant is guided by the length of sunlight in it's growth and production stages. I would guess though that you have to fake two growth cycles before you get a good crop though. Living in QLD and seeing the plants others are growing down South has me thinking the same. Though you may attract the attention of sticky peaks and busy bodies looking to bust you for growing the hops cousin.


----------



## tangent (15/11/05)

i think hops would be a bugger indoors because they grow so quick and high that you'd be re-training it all the time or burning up into the lights


----------



## barls (15/11/05)

how do they go in a planter box? cause im thinking of getting some next year


----------



## Darren (15/11/05)

hockadays said:


> Can you grow hops hydroponicly ?
> 
> Matt
> [post="90772"][/post]​




Sure you can. Would be cheaper to buy them though


----------



## tangent (15/11/05)

barls - just remember, they go UP in a big way and like to climb


----------



## barls (15/11/05)

yeah ive been thinking about that i might get a pole with a pulley at the top an run some lines from the top and one line on the otherside so i can let it down if it gets too high. whens the best time to plant them late winter early spring?


----------



## sosman (15/11/05)

My hops this year have started to throw out independent shoots, joined to the main plant but easy to cut off.

I think my problem next year will be how to keep this monster in check.


----------



## Steve (16/11/05)

Thanks Borret :beerbang:


----------



## Borret (16/11/05)

barls said:


> yeah ive been thinking about that i might get a pole with a pulley at the top an run some lines from the top and one line on the otherside so i can let it down if it gets too high. [post="90812"][/post]​



Yep if you check my photo's a few pages back that is what I have done. I just used large eyebolts though but should work the same as it's certainly not going to rub through the twine over 1 or 2 lowerings

Borret


----------



## barls (16/11/05)

thats exactly what im thinking of mate im sure i can knock off an old pulley off the old man.


----------



## sam (16/11/05)

My second season POR is going bananas along the fence, so I looped some rope around a tree from the fence, giving two strings about 4m long for the hops to climb, at an angle of about 30 degrees to horizontal.

Should the ropes be loose or tight, I'm worried about the wind possibly breaking the vines if some strong winds come through and blow the rope, stretching the vines to breaking point.

Anyone got any ideas or done a similar thing?

Cheers

Sam


----------



## johnno (16/11/05)

sosman said:


> My hops this year have started to throw out independent shoots, joined to the main plant but easy to cut off.
> 
> I think my problem next year will be how to keep this monster in check.
> [post="90822"][/post]​



Same here Sosman.
I have already trimmed about 6 shoots and as you can see there are plenty more.


I was going to grow about 3 shoots along the picket fence but now I'm not so sure how well they will grow there.
The main shoot along the fence I accidently snapped of a couple of days ago.
I really dont have room to put anything there for them to grow on unless its straight up.
Looks like its finally enjoying the move from the pot to the ground.

johnno

PS Sosman I should have some going in pots if you want to swap this year.


----------



## sosman (16/11/05)

johnno said:


> I really dont have room to put anything there for them to grow on unless its straight up.
> Looks like its finally enjoying the move from the pot to the ground.
> 
> PS Sosman I should have some going in pots if you want to swap this year.
> [post="91031"][/post]​


Hops like straight up.

Yeah I'll swap you some.


----------



## johnno (16/11/05)

sosman said:


> Hops like straight up.
> 
> [post="91033"][/post]​




Maybe I should just let them grow as the like. With no support whatsoever.
The wild hops bush. :blink:   

johnno


----------



## Steve (18/11/05)

TL - I put the cutting in a pot of dirt last night. Will keep you posted...then its all yours. Did yours ending up shooting any roots?
Cheers
Steve


----------



## tangent (18/11/05)

any SA growers prepared to swap cuttings?


----------



## Darren (18/11/05)

I only have three shoots at the moment. Looks like its about to take off. You welcome to some then.


----------



## tangent (19/11/05)

what are you growing Darren?
I've got Hersbrucker - (maybe perfect for your Lagers)
FNW I got a lager finishing hop when i mostly brew ales :blink:


----------



## Darren (19/11/05)

Only cascade


----------



## tangent (19/11/05)

Cascade would be awesome Darren.
I'll definitely do a cutting swap if you're keen.
Maybe I've got a greener thumb then you guys, but my hops are already starting to grow little buds 
View attachment 4830

Bit of a shitty pic, but you can see it's already taller than me.
I had to loop the top runner around because it was going ballistic.


----------



## FNQ Bunyip (21/11/05)

Hi guys & girls in your gardens down south ... I've been watching and following this thred all the way & some of you have great looking HOPS coming along.
Up here in the far north we cant grow HOPS h34r: but we can grow sugar cane.







This is my black cane shoots just getting going. Its rocketing along aswell growing almost an inch a day ...This is an old style cane and has heeps of juice, the kids love it . Its also the one that you see juiced @ markets sometimes ... any way hijack over back to your HOPS ....

keep the pics comming is great to see how your all going... 

Good luck :beer: 

bunyip


----------



## Darren (21/11/05)

tangent said:


> Cascade would be awesome Darren.
> I'll definitely do a cutting swap if you're keen.
> Maybe I've got a greener thumb then you guys, but my hops are already starting to grow little buds
> View attachment 4830
> ...




No worries, wait til it gets going and its yours. You will need a bigger trellis for yours by the time it flowers. Mine grew ~20 ft high last year


----------



## tangent (21/11/05)

yeah I know
just waiting for a more permanent home for it
how the hell do you pick from a 20ft plant?


----------



## Darren (21/11/05)

tangent said:


> yeah I know
> just waiting for a more permanent home for it
> how the hell do you pick from a 20ft plant?
> [post="92065"][/post]​





It saw attached to a string that I lowered at harvest time. Probably only got 20g of dried flowers from it too (not too bad for first year)


----------



## dickTed (21/11/05)

Here's the one I put in 2 months ago. It's one of the Cluster hops that were sold on eBay. I put the cutting in with plenty of compost, but it just sat there going brown around the edges of the leaves which where full of tiny pin-holes.

An expert on Gardening Australia said use 10 percent vinegar for mould or mildew, so I tried that, and I don't know whether it was a coincidence or what, but a couple of days later there was a 1" shoot sticking up with a tiny bud on top. That bud opened up into two leaves, and another bud shot up.

Quick! Up goes the trellis wire.

Keep that sugar cane coming Bunyip. That's cane mulch keeping the worms busy.


----------



## Trough Lolly (22/11/05)

Steve said:


> TL - I put the cutting in a pot of dirt last night. Will keep you posted...then its all yours. Did yours ending up shooting any roots?
> Cheers
> Steve
> [post="91395"][/post]​



G'day Steve,
Sorry mate, I've been away for a few days. The Goldings cuttings are still alive in the water but they're bloody hardly shooting any roots at all. The thicker cutting has a small whiteish noodle sticking out from the bottom but that's all.

I'll keep looking after them but sheesh, I didn't know that these Goldings cuttings were so hard to propagate. The mother plant is going berserk so there's plenty more cuttings to harvest if these two shoots don't work.

Will keep you up to date.  

Cheers,
Rowan


----------



## tangent (22/11/05)

are there any leaves on the cutting TL?
mine did jack until i pulled the leaves off, then the roots almost popped out overnight.


----------



## Trough Lolly (22/11/05)

tangent said:


> are there any leaves on the cutting TL?
> mine did jack until i pulled the leaves off, then the roots almost popped out overnight.
> [post="92328"][/post]​




As a matter of fact each of the cuttings has three pairs of leaves - I thought it best to leave them on to provide growth/photosynthetic nutrients to the cutting stems...

So you reckon I should whip them off???

TL


----------



## Borret (22/11/05)

Looking good DT,

TL, when I did my cuttin there was basically only the bud at the top. But I didn't have the option of leaving the leaves on so can't advise there, but it does work without them. A few root 'noodles' will soon expand. Once they start cranking out they certainly go for it. 

My cutting is now in the ground (as of sunday) and looks so thin and spindly next to the other plant. It was not 'pot bound' but there was certainly alot of roots all over the pot surface. It is however about twice the height of the original plant it came from and altogether looks totally different. The main plant has got over it's deficiacies (or death by kindness) and is starting to charge along again.

Will get some pics of them both and post when I get a chance.

Borret


----------



## Trough Lolly (22/11/05)

Righto! No more mister nice guy...

I'll strip one of the cuttings of its leaves and see how it goes! There's plenty more cuttings if I kill these ones, but I will be rather pi$$ed off at wasting the last few weeks of careful nurturing if it does cark it!!

The main Goldings plant is budding flowers / cones so I'll send some pics when I get my hands on the camera...


Cheers,
TL


----------



## tangent (22/11/05)

mine was doing nothing for about a week, then i read on this about taking the leaves off...BAM!
then after it grew roots, it grew more leaves, off with them, the roots grew even bigger (a bit)
now it's in a little nursery until it's big and strong enough to swap 

edit: my cutting fitted perfectly in a pony glass (maybe 50mm long) and it had 2 little leaves


----------



## Darren (22/11/05)

couple of leaves is the go


----------



## Mr Bond (22/11/05)

hockadays said:


> Can you grow hops hydroponicly ?
> 
> Matt
> [post="90772"][/post]​



Hydroponics is not all about indoor and lights.

You can grow out doors or in a glass house using hydro methods just like commercial fruit farms ,Strawberrys etc....


----------



## johnno (22/11/05)

I've got a cutting in a pot that is going well despite the youngest tippng it out of its pot twice.
Its the only orange pot and its fair game to the baby. All the black pots with herbs etc are always left alone.

If this one lives it will be a srong one. 

Another one died in the pot and i also have some more in water at the moment waiting for roots. (No pun intended)  

The main plant in the meantime is starting to go off. I really must find something to support it on.

cheers
johnno


----------



## Mr Bond (22/11/05)

Darren said:


> couple of leaves is the go
> [post="92545"][/post]​



Iv'e not got any hops in this year but planning to get one going next year with the view to propagating/swapping in adelaide with other interested growers.
I am a horticulturalist by trade and have propagated thousands of ornamentals over the years both commercially and privately and can't see much difficulty in striking a weed like hops ( humulus).

When you take a cutting the idea is to reduce the leaf area to a minimum that will still support some photo synthesis and basic plant functions but not require to much energy to sustain life. The point at which the plant is removed from the host is a wound and will be targeted with new cells to repair the wound.If a rooting hormone is applied the cells will form a callous that will become root hairlets and eventually roots.A bottom heat of 25c will encourage and hasten this process ,as will a little humidity around the top(leaves) of the cutting to reduce stress.

If anyone is interested next spring iwould like to form a co-operative of adelaide hop growers and collect asstd cuttings to propagate with a view to sharing amongst all contributors and selling on excess plants to realise fund for the purchase of more varieties to grow within the group.We would in effect become farmer/producers of hops with an ever expanding variety of hops to offer to other brewers.A true cottage industry.


----------



## Doc (22/11/05)

I cut 4-5 bines (about 15-20cm long) off my Columbus nearly two weeks ago and put them in a glass of water on the window sill in the kitchen.
They are all starting to develop roots. I changed the water yesterday for the first time. Will see how they progress in the next week and may try to tranplant them back into the pot where they came from (but obviously they will now have their own roots).

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Trough Lolly (22/11/05)

Well, the two cuttings have just had a crew cut - I left the topmost pair of minature leaves on and snipped off the rest - and topped up the jar with fresh water.

Here's a couple of pics showing the Goldings - are these buds the beginnings of some hop flowers? :blink: 


Here's another shot of another bine from the same plant...



The Cab Sav next door to the Goldings is doing quite nicely too!



Apologies for the picture quality - I took the shots at dusk when I got home from work this arvo...Cheers,
TL


----------



## johnno (22/11/05)

TL,
Its too early for them to be coning up.
Here is a piccy of my last crop taken 15 Jan this year.
They were just starting to cone up then.


----------



## tangent (23/11/05)

Brauluver, you are on!


----------



## apd (23/11/05)

I'm getting a bit jealous of everyone's great progress. My sad little columbus hasn't done much other than grow about 10cm in its first month or so. I suppose it didn't help that I moved it...

It's sitting next to the brick, the strings waiting patiently to carry the bines when they decide they feel like doing some growing.


----------



## kungy (24/11/05)

I could swear my plant is beginning to cone up. So far it has gone great guns and covered a sizeable chunk of the back fence in only its second year. The coney things seem to be in the corners of the bines and leaves, similar to what is seen on Sosmans site

http://brewiki.org/wiki/homebrew/attachmen...owers041231.jpg?

I will see what eventuates

Will


----------



## altstart (24/11/05)

:beer: 
Gooday guys
I live in south Brisbane and realise I cannot grow hops here however the fresh Mangoes are a tradeoff. I have just returned from a visit to my brothers place outside Oberon in NSW and I talked him into growing hops for me. Is this area suitable and for what varieties. What time of year should they be planted out. All info will be most appreciated.
Cheers Altstart


----------



## Mr Bond (24/11/05)

kungy said:


> I could swear my plant is beginning to cone up. So far it has gone great guns and covered a sizeable chunk of the back fence in only its second year. The coney things seem to be in the corners of the bines and leaves, similar to what is seen on Sosmans site
> 
> http://brewiki.org/wiki/homebrew/attachmen...owers041231.jpg?
> 
> ...



Flowers at the base of the leaves,is a very good thing!


----------



## AndrewQLD (27/11/05)

johnno said:


> TL,
> Its too early for them to be coning up.
> Here is a piccy of my last crop taken 15 Jan this year.
> They were just starting to cone up then.
> [post="92576"][/post]​



I have just had a look at my victory plant, and I am sure it is starting to flower. All up the bine, at the base of each leaf is a shoot, about 2cm long with a bud at the end. Today i noticed the shoots closest to the top of the bine (About 7mt high) are starting to develop what looks to me like a cone. I am so excited, I wanted to take a piccy for you guys to see but we are about to have a huge storm and I am not putting up an extension ladder in a Qld storm :blink: . I will take a photo tomorrow and if you can let me know if it is flowering it would be appreciated.
Cheers
Andrew


----------



## sosman (27/11/05)

My 2nd season hallertau is going berserk (aka weird). At the top it has flowers which are as mature as ones I photographed last Jan.

edit: climbed a ladder for posterity:






These are around 6 metres up. Photo taken 27-Nov-2005.


----------



## Doc (27/11/05)

My hops have barely grown in the last three weeks.
I cut four bines off one plant in an effort to get some more growth. Those bines I've had in a glass of water on the window sill. They've all grown roots, so I'm going to transplant them back into the pot.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## pbrosnan (28/11/05)

Hi all

Had these PORs in the ground since August. Going vertical is going to be a problem so I'm attemptind to train them along the fence. Anyone had experience with horizontal hop cultivation?


----------



## Chatty (29/11/05)

Brauluver - I would be aware of Plant Breeders Rights that may be pending on some varieties of hops. I'm not sure what the status of the varieties are in the market place at the moment but I know that in broadacre crops (my industry) at the moment the intellectual property holders are just busting to take someone to court over this. 

Although what you're proposing is only a backyard industry this forum is a relatively public place for this discussion and may attract unwanted attention.

Just a thought, sobering though it is  

Chatty


----------



## Doc (2/12/05)

Finally managed to get out and check mine out yesterday and bines are growing out from the bottom of the main bine and overtaking the original shoot. 
Replanted the shoots I had cut off previously, so as long as they survive tonights storm I might get a few cones.

Doc


----------



## sosman (2/12/05)

johnno said:


> Its too early for them to be coning up.
> Here is a piccy of my last crop taken 15 Jan this year.
> They were just starting to cone up then.
> [post="92576"][/post]​


Johnno, I am afraid I have to disagree. Is anyone else in Melbourne having a triffid summer?


----------



## AndrewQLD (2/12/05)

sosman said:


> johnno said:
> 
> 
> > Its too early for them to be coning up.
> ...



Well, i'm not in Melbourne, but my hops in bundy are definately starting to flower. So far I have 23 flowers and more starting to emerge further down the bine. Even if this is just a fluke, I'm happy, I never thought I would get any hop cones on plants up here.

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## johnno (2/12/05)

Ok. I stand to be corrected.
And I was only going by what happened to mine last year. I am no expert at horticulture. 

Maybe somebody with a horticultural background/experience may care to comment?

chatty?
braulover?


This is cool.
Hops already!

johnno


----------



## AndrewQLD (2/12/05)

johnno said:


> Ok. I stand to be corrected.
> And I was only going by what happened to mine last year. I am no expert at horticulture.
> 
> Maybe somebody with a horticultural background/experience may care to comment?
> ...



Johnno, I was surprised mine flowered at all, let alone this early in the season, goes against everything I have read about hops. Is this a sign of the changing enviroment?

Cheers
Andrew


----------



## mikem108 (15/12/05)

Mine are coming along nicely although 1500k's away in a back yard in Adelaide


----------



## Gout (15/12/05)

My Goldings are going crazy!, POR next to nothing, and hellertau took off months ago but stopped dead in its tracks.

the goldings have climd to roof hight, then fallen back on it self and grown to the top again!


----------



## Martin (16/12/05)

Has anyone got a close-up photo of what a cone looks like at the right time to harvest it?

My second-season plant is enormous, it reached top-of-roof height a couple of months ago so I trimmed the tips and it put out lots of side shoots. It's had flowers on it for quite some time now. I didn't do any harvesting in its first season because I was letting it get established. I'm just not sure when to harvest!


----------



## Chatty (17/12/05)

Johnno, I'm no hop physiology expert but I would suspect that there would be some sort of temperature requirement before initiation of flowering. What this involves is a pretty simple calculation along the lines of;

Temp(Degree Days) = Sum(Average daily temp - threshold temp)

Over a period, the amount of time that the weather is above a certain threshold temperature accumulates and at a certain Degree Day flowering is initiated.

Just had a look at the Bureau of Meteorology website at these two charts.

Minimum Anomaly

Maximum Anomaly

The thing they both agree on is that it has been on a rough average 1.5 degrees warmer than the mean over the last 6 months. If any WA hop growers read this who have grown hops previously could you please post your thoughts on whether you reckon your plants are flowering earlier or later than usual. Considering that WA has been about 0.5 - 1.5 degrees cooler you would expect that to correlate to delayed flowering. 

Long winded I know...  

Chatty


----------



## johnno (17/12/05)

Martin said:


> Has anyone got a close-up photo of what a cone looks like at the right time to harvest it?
> 
> My second-season plant is enormous, it reached top-of-roof height a couple of months ago so I trimmed the tips and it put out lots of side shoots. It's had flowers on it for quite some time now. I didn't do any harvesting in its first season because I was letting it get established. I'm just not sure when to harvest!
> [post="98000"][/post]​


 Martin there is a discussion here about this.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/How_...-t4292-s30.html

Thanks for the update chatty.

johnno


----------



## philski (21/12/05)

Hey everyone, I've been reading through these stories about hop plantations and I'm keen to give it a try - where did everyone buy their plants from originally?? (I'm in Melbourne by the way if that helps)

Cheers

Phil


----------



## Doc (21/12/05)

Hey Phil,

Grumpy's sold the rhizomes, as well as a few other brew shops.

My Hallertau is going great. It would be about 2.5 meters high. My Columbus has stalled after having great inital growth. Maybe the hot day today will get it going.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## philski (21/12/05)

Thanks Doc... I will check them out. It seems this time of year is no good for planting is that correct? 

What varieties would you recommend for Inner Melbourne area? I'm thinking of going for pride of ringwood to start with...


----------



## Doc (21/12/05)

Yep, you've pretty much missed out for this season.
Planting is typically around 1 Sept.

As for the Melb climate, I believe most will grow well there. I know the Melb guys are growing a real mix of varities.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## johnno (22/12/05)

Here is an update on mine. Pic taken about a week ago.
I left a lot of shoots just to see how they would go. As you can see they are growing along the fence as well as the stakes. 
I also had a close look yesterday and they look like they are starting to flower.

cheers

johnno


----------



## dickTed (24/12/05)

Here's mine finally kickin ass

Early '70s I worked for a week training hops near Wang(aratta).

The plants all had several runners which where all in clumps on the ground. There were twines hanging from the wires above. At each plant, we would take the 3 closest strings, poke them into the ground together beside the plant using a piece of broom handle with a little slot on the end. After untangling the bines, we would wind the 3 best ones up the strings, and prune the rest off.


----------



## sosman (24/12/05)

dickTed said:


> Here's mine finally kickin ass
> 
> Early '70s I worked for a week training hops near Wang(aratta).
> 
> ...


The image didn't come through properly, are there supposed to be some hops in there? h34r:


----------



## Guest Lurker (29/12/05)

Its finally a bit warmer in Perth and the hops are going better. It seems tall long strings are the best way to go. After getting to 3 m high I wanted mine to grow sideways, but they dont like it and keep heading up. Each morning I have to climb up and wind the buggers along the horizontal strings.


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## Martin (9/1/06)

I harvested my first flowers at the weekend, there are plenty of unripe ones still on the plant. Now that I've seen flowers ripening I know that as well as feeling drier the ripe ones also go a paler green which can be seen from the ground, even when the flowers are high up.


----------



## Simon W (10/1/06)

Anyone in Perth got cuttings ready to go?
I assume It's okay to plant a cutting now?

Not fussy on variety, just something to get me started.

Simo


----------



## Kai (10/1/06)

My wuerttemberger are to the top of their post, but my precoce de bourgogne got burned off  I hope the little rhizome in the cellar is still ok. Not sure how my chinook is doing in its second year, have not been in contact with the gardener for a while.


----------



## Prof. Pils (10/1/06)

sosman said:


> dickTed said:
> 
> 
> > Here's mine finally kickin ass
> ...


LOL BULK.


----------



## deebee (11/1/06)

SimonW,

I will probably take some cuttings from my Pride of Ringwood some time this summer and will happily set one aside for you. It will be good for planting next winter/spring.


db


----------



## Simon W (11/1/06)

Cheers DeeBee.
I was actually hoping to find one ready to go, coz I'm heading overseas in 6 weeks and I'll be back at the end of March.
But if that's no drama for you, we've got a deal.
I don't have another variety to trade, so whatever $ you think is reasonable for your efforts.


----------



## Doc (11/1/06)

Simon,

You won't find one ready to grow now. Hops are seasonal.
Hop plants (rhizomes) are planted late August, early Sept.
Plants are currently coming into season and depending on your location may be ready for picking/harvesting.
Brewshops such as Grumpy's take orders and send out rhizomes around July each year.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Guest Lurker (11/1/06)

Simon W

As Doc says, no planting now. And Deebees cuttings make fine plants, I have a cutting of his that is growing really well compared to my active $40 Grumpys rhyzome, and even better compared to my Grumpys rhyzome that died, so a six pack of your best brew to Deebee in Spring for a decent cutting is a bargain and will get you on your way.


----------



## barls (11/1/06)

hey doc im looking at getting in to growing hops next year can you give me some idea on what ones grow best in sydney


----------



## Doc (12/1/06)

Hey Barls,

This year is the first year I've tried.
I'm growing Hersbrucker and Columbus. Both are going well. Doesn't look like I'll get many flowers this year though (which is expected in the first year). I'm not sure what other varieties the Sydney guys are growing.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## barls (12/1/06)

thanks doc. ok im going to open the question up to others in sydney. which ones grow well in sydney


----------



## ozbrewer (12/1/06)

deebee said:


> SimonW,
> 
> I will probably take some cuttings from my Pride of Ringwood some time this summer and will happily set one aside for you. It will be good for planting next winter/spring.
> 
> ...




DB, what do you do as far as cuttings go, do you take it from the leafy part or the Root?


----------



## Justin (12/1/06)

Just clip any active shoot/end of any branch and place it in a jar of water. Doesn't have to be the end (don't cut the top off your prized plant, just any side shoot/branch).

Within a week or two it will have white roots shooting out of it so then stick it in a pot/ground and keep well watered. They are weeds, they'll grow from anything.


----------



## ozbrewer (12/1/06)

sweet, Thanks Justin


----------



## Borret (12/1/06)

I can confirm the weed theory and I put it to the test with my last round of cuttings. I put a single leaf in water 2 weeks ago and potted it last night. It also had an abundance of roots. Not sure what it wil do from here. I took photo's and will post later.

Consequently my columbus showed it's first flower yesterday with many more flower stems ready to bud.

I have a few columbus cuttings and would be interested in another variety of american hops. Has anyone got some small cuttings of cascade, chinook or dare I say Amarillo that they are keen for a postal swap with at the moment. I figure that wrapping the roots of a recently shot cutting in wet cotton wool and putting in an appropiate container and doing express post ( definately not regualr post in summer) would be a viable option to get another variety in the ground/pot and establishing before next season.

Borret


----------



## Simon W (12/1/06)

WTF?! I was half way through writing a reply with 'Quick Reply', when the page refreshed (automaticaly?) and all was gone. Strange.

Anyway, Doc and GL, thanks, but I was already aware of the rhizome/seasonal thing.
I'm planning to buy a Hallertau from Grumpy's, GT say's they're taking orders in May.

I just thought, with all the talk of tip cuttings(I read the thread from the start before posting), that someone in Perth may have had one sitting in a windowsill or potted.
I figured theres about a month left of growing season before dormancy? I wouldn't expect hops from that, but thought it might get that first year thing half out of the way?

A sixpack of HB sounds like a great deal if DeeBee's up for it, dunno if the quality of mine will match his tho! I've only done two small(6L - equipment challenged) simple AG brews since leaping out of the K+K pothole.


Just out of interest, I've never seen any mention(here or on web) of what happens to the rhizomes in the off season, do ya dig them up and winter them in the fridge, or leave them in the ground?

Cheers,
Simo


----------



## Chatty (15/1/06)

Definately leave them in the ground.

Chatty


----------



## johnno (15/1/06)

All the buds coming up on my POR.
I will hopefully get about 50-60 grams of dry yeild.
I will make an Aussie ale with them if there are enough.

johnno


----------



## Prof. Pils (15/1/06)

I agree with Chatty, and maybe some mulch to keep the frost out.(pea straw?)
Cheers Glenn.


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (16/1/06)

Heres a pic of the my 2nd generation deebee POR special. Last year I also purchased a Hallertau and Tettnanger rhizome along with a backup POR rhizome that ausdb subsequently purchased and is growing like jack and the bean stalk. My tettnanger and Hallertau croaked it due to crap home made potting mix(Compost, sand etc) that was too waterlogged and rotted the rhizomes in November. I have recently removed the black arm band and moved on......Look at the G316 Stainless trellis - worth nearly as much as the family car and has hops growing over it! 

I will shortly post a pic of a hop plant I received from a mate of mine (Koffo) who lives near Pemberton. For those that don't know, hops were grown in the SW of WA some years ago(60's?) until I belive a virus killed off the industry. He found the plant growing wild over a fence line and he believes the strain is EKG or Fuggles(Not POR as to be expected??). I did a quick search to find out what varieties were grown around Pemby and Manjimup to identify what strain it could be but found naff all info. Any help would be appreciated. I have taken 3-4 cuttings of the feral Pemby strain and they are slowly growing in a jar on the kitchen window sill and I will offer them to any sandgropbrewers at a brewday next year.

Cheers :beer:


----------



## Goat (16/1/06)

Chilla - my mum's family are from down there. Apparently, the Dam at Karri Valley (Resort) was built to water the hops and the paddocks out to the road were where they were grown. Was that the sort of area where your mate picked up his plant?


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (16/1/06)

Goat. Yes around that area, he lives between Karri Valley Resort and Donnelly River Winery.He saw them growing along a fence line one day and pulled over to investigate. I have sent an email to the Manjimup Shire and will conduct further research tonight.


----------



## big d (16/1/06)

fingers crossed chilla that the council doesnt take the wrong view and spray them out of existance.
anyway for what its worth when i get down to perth later this year you guys are more than welcome to grow hops on my acreage if space is an issue.im hoping i/we can put aside a reasonably large area for hop growing and maybe make it some sort of annual hop harvest for the west coast brew crew a brewday and feed and whatever happens sort of thing.of course this is all dependent on how hops grow in the west and if you guys are keen on the idea.

cheers
big d


----------



## Borret (16/1/06)

Just for interest sake.... here's the hop leaf I stuck in water 2 weeks ago.
Crazy weed. 

Brent


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (16/1/06)

I nver thought of the possible shire herbicide frenzy. Fortunately my email to the shire did not disclose the location, mostly because I don't know the exact where abouts only the general region! I'll take some cuttings off the POR tonight for the future Big D hop grove. I think even if the hops are a fizzer a hop harvest beer festival would still be a ripper idea.


----------



## Asher (17/1/06)

I'll swap you an 'Ornamental Hallertau' for a 'Pride of Pemberton' Chilla.....


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (17/1/06)

Sounds good Asher. I have a few cuttings going now. A fella from Manjimup shire council just called and has put me onto a fella at the Ag Dept. I am awaiting his call for further leads! As goat said the Karri Valley Resort lake/dam was built to supply Bunns(sp?) Hop Farm about 30+ years ago. I hope these mofos at the Ag Dept don't go and spray out the hops but I guess if they do I will have to plant out some of the cuttings.....a sort of reverse bush regeneration.


----------



## Borret (17/1/06)

Chilla,

Do you have any concern that the hop plant that you got from an area that had "a virus that wiped out the industry' maybe something you don't want to be distributing around the country? I know none of us are commercial growers or even close but it might be a consideration to keep it away from your other varieties for a season or 2 to see how it goes..

Don't know how much of a concern it is, just thought I would raise the question?? Perhaps a question for the Dept of AG.

Brent


----------



## Simon W (17/1/06)

Chilla, I'll put my hand up for a Pemby cutting.
Hops are still farmed down south, I think by the family of one of the micro's down that way.
I found some info on the net about southwest hop farming a few years back, I think it was on a government website. There was a photo only, no info, and the photo looks to be very old, maybe 20's? dunno. I'll try to find it again.

Simo


----------



## chillamacgilla73 (17/1/06)

Good point Brent re: the virus. In my excitement of another baby in the nursery I overlooked the possibility of further infections. I did speak to a fella at the Manjimup Ag Dept and he didn't seem to think the industry shut down due to a virus and is investigating further and will send me some info in due course.


----------



## Doc (17/1/06)

There are no flowers on mine yet.
The Hersbrucker is at the top of the line (~4 meters) and the Columbus are about half way up.
Hopefully some flowers will come along soon (fingers crossed).

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Darren (17/1/06)

Doc,
Try a bit of flowering fertiliser on them. 

cheers
Darren


----------



## Simon W (17/1/06)

Chilla, I found the photo, butnot the site, I'll keep looking.
The photo is from the 20's, and is from Pemberton.






Simo

EDIT: fixed image.


----------



## Darren (17/1/06)

What is the lattitude of the area. I suspect that hop growing was not commercially viable in the area unless you guys are talking about Albany type area.

cheers
Darren


----------



## Darren (17/1/06)

Borret said:


> Just for interest sake.... here's the hop leaf I stuck in water 2 weeks ago.
> Crazy weed.
> 
> Brent
> ...




Borret,
That is very interesting and a great finding.

cheers
Darren


----------



## Simon W (17/1/06)

Chilla, I'm sure I saw more photo's, but can't find them.
That photo may be from the following book:

TALL TREES & TALL TALES
Stories of old Pemberton - a marvellous reminiscence of
the characters and places of the big timber country.
by John Morris & Roger Underwood ( ISBN: 0 85905 168 4 ) 

Listed for page 23 are:
Harvesters (Hops - plucking fingers)
Hops (Growing)
Hops ('On The')
Gardens (Bunn's Hop)

I did a search on the LISWA telnet catalogue and found copies at:
(Dewey# 994.12/PEM)
3rd floor Battye shelves,(? dunno where that is, but same name as bottom of photo)
Scarborough, Broome, Bentley and Manjumup.

Maybe the photo is of the Bunns?

Theres also a 'Hop Garden Road' in Pemberton, a fair bet its named after the farm in the photo.


----------



## big d (17/1/06)

is the library photo from batz side of the family?


----------



## Simon W (17/1/06)

Bingo!!

I found more photo's, looks like the site I found a few years ago. State library website.
Here are a few pages for you to check out:
Click A few cool photo's there.
Click Same photo I posted earlier. Not Mrs Bunn, it's Mrs Walker.
Click A short excerpt from a book that mentions John (Jack) Bunn, the book can be found Here
ClickBunn Family members and Frank Shoobridge in hop fields.
Judging by the photo titled 'Hops in the kiln', the farm was very successfull at growing hops, theres enough there to keep every member of the AHB going for life!, maybe it was the commercial aspect that failed?.

Simo

EDIT: extra links.


----------



## Borret (17/1/06)

Doc,

My original columbus plant from the rhizome I got from the grumpsters this year (like yours) has only one flower so far with a few tiny ones starting elsewhere. The plant is altogether pretty measly.
However..... that involuntary cutting that came from it is about 5 times the plant that it is and is now getting more and more covered in buds every day. I wouldn't have thought it possible. I reckon I might even get enough for a full brew out of it if it keeps going this way. The whole thing really took off about 2-3 weeks ago and about a dozen side arms off it, as well as the single main bine, are climbing between 100-150mm on some of the sunniest days we have been having.

Gigglin,

Brent


----------



## Tony (17/1/06)

does anyone watch that show "return to river cottage"

Its a pommy show on austar.

I was watching a few weeks ago and he borrowed a brew rig off someoun cause he found a wild hop plant growing in the scrub.

I wish i could find a wild hop plant. 

mine died :angry:

He tossed the hops in the brew branches and all.  

mmmmmmmmmm he never said how it tasted.


----------



## Doc (20/1/06)

Wooohoooo, my Hersbrucker is starting to flower.
On the downside I'm out of here for two weeks so they will flower and die by the time I get home :angry: 

Doc


----------



## KillerRx4 (20/1/06)

Took some pics of my plants today. 
I reckon theyre doing pretty good considering i know nothing about gardening :huh: 

Its a cluster sourced through grumpys.

The main plant/rhizome was transplanted from its first spot after a few months cause it was looking sick & wilting. It took off shortly after the move  

I took 2 cuttings in november & planted them in the ground in december. 1 is growing up the centre string. The other on the left end (this ones crown shrivelled up & died but it grew another & is starting to take off now.

I found caterpillars yesterday arvo when i was looking for why the leaves were getting eaten. The buggers are well camouflaged, i didnt see it til i pulled what was left of a leaf off & it stared moving. Ended up picking off 15 then & 2 tiny ones off today.

Gonna have to find some caterpillar killin stuff :lol:


----------



## Fingerlickin_B (20/1/06)

KillerRx4 said:


> Gonna have to find some caterpillar killin stuff :lol:



"Rhubarb Juice" dude  

Im for real hereits a great spray-on aphid killer and those caterpillars wont go near anything sprayed with it :beerbang: 

Take rhubarb stalks and roots, boil them in water at a 50/50 ratio for 5 or 10 minutes and throw some soap flakes in at the same time. Let it cool and you have the good stuff ready to rock  

DO NOT let anyone drink itlol

PZ.


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## Simon W (21/1/06)

Fingerlickin_B said:


> "Rhubarb Juice" dude
> 
> Im for real hereits a great spray-on aphid killer and those caterpillars wont go near anything sprayed with it :beerbang:



I can believe that, the stuff repels me pretty good :blink:

Simo


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## Chatty (21/1/06)

Killer, another slightly easier method is to use a bT spray - it is a natural virus that only affects caterpillars. Even the organic guys are allowed to use it! It comes in a sachet form and you chuck it in water, mix and apply.

Darren, the location of Pemberton:
Latitude:-34.4478 S Longitude: 116.0433 E

About the same as Adelaide;
Latitude:-34.9524 S Longitude: 138.5204 E

Just above Myrtleford in Vic;
Latitude:-36.5667 S Longitude: 146.7333 E

But still no Bushy Park...
Latitude:-42.7117 S Longitude: 146.8975 E

Chatty


----------



## Borret (21/1/06)

Mmmmm, soap and rubarb hopped beer. Should add an interesting twist to the bitterness...not sure about head retention


----------



## Martin (23/1/06)

Chatty said:


> Killer, another slightly easier method is to use a bT spray - it is a natural virus that only affects caterpillars. Even the organic guys are allowed to use it! It comes in a sachet form and you chuck it in water, mix and apply.


It's called Dipel and it works great against caterpillars, and it's all-natural 
Get it at any nursery/plant shop, or at Bunnings.


----------



## sinkas (23/1/06)

Hi all,
The wind over the weekend snappe dhte end off one of my 3 main bines, what shoudl I do,

1) cut that bine back to the ground?

2) leave it as is, and allow another smaller bine to take its place, or what?

Case


----------



## AndrewQLD (23/1/06)

Last week I harvested 46 grams of hops from my Victoria plant, dry weight was 24grams. I am pleased as it was it's first season. My POR is full of flowers so hopefully between the 2 I might get a couple of brews  

Cheers
Andrew


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## Chatty (23/1/06)

Sinkas, you never know what those crazy, crazy plants are going to do.  

It might be worth letting it go, although if it was getting pretty developed then it won't come to much. If getting close to flowering I would cut it back. The plant is only going to put more oomph into the remaining two bines.

If the plant is only still young/has a fair way to go before flowering then i'd let it go. It may still come to something.

I've seen wheat plants with the tops of their shoots poking out over the top of 4 inches of water for 2 weeks, only to recover and still go on to produce a shade over 2 tonnes of grain per hectare. Plants will recover from a fair bit of adversity given half a chance. 

Chatty


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## Hopsta (25/1/06)

My hops are really starting to take off with this warm weather and rain, my P.O.R and cluster are flowering, infact they look like they're almost ready for harvest!? I didnt think harvesting season was till the weather started getting cooler?
My Hallertauer is yet to flower but its getting taller by the day, all the vines are at least 15ft.... and i was hestitant about how well they would grow in sydney :blink: 
They're all going off! 
Heres some pics, they were taken on my phone excuse the bad quality.


----------



## Guest Lurker (27/1/06)

Growing Chinook and POR side by side, interesting how different they are. The leaf shape is different. The POR seem to grow the laterals specifically to fill with flowers, the one below is a cutting from Deebee in its first year, it went up 3 m and along 2 m.


----------



## Guest Lurker (27/1/06)

The chinook is a rhyzome, threw a large number of laterals, and the flowers turn up randomly along the course of the main vine and the laterals. The initial buds are little fluffy balls, compared to tight cones on the POR. This has gone up 3 m, along 3 m, then the main vines have stopped with lots of laterals turning up.


----------



## Goat (27/1/06)

very impressive Capt'n !

I have 1 flower on my Hersbrucker.


----------



## darkhorse (27/1/06)

Guest Lurker said:


> Growing Chinook and POR side by side, interesting how different they are. The leaf shape is different. The POR seem to grow the laterals specifically to fill with flowers, the one below is a cutting from Deebee in its first year, it went up 3 m and along 2 m.
> [post="104893"][/post]​



Hey GL,
When you say a cutting do you mean a leaf or a section of bine?
I am going to visit Lukes and hopefully come away with some cuttings but I'm not sure if a leaf is good enough to successfully develop into a plant for next season. I'm sure a lateral or something would be better, but what is a minimum requirement?


----------



## Guest Lurker (27/1/06)

Deebee did the cutting and potting, I just planted it. The information you seek is in these 25 pages somewhere, or maybe in one of the other hop growing threads on this site.


----------



## Steve (27/1/06)

My POR has gone off since posting the pics ages ago on this thread. Its now starting to flower all over. Do you reckon I should pick them as I go or wait until the end of the season and pick them all at once like I did last year? Whats the go? If I start picking them now, I dont want to leave them sitting in a bowl before freezing. If you know what I mean. Whats the go? I think it was about March/April before I picked them all last year (all 12gms of em)!
Cheers
Steve


----------



## johnno (3/2/06)

Another Update on my POR.

Coming along quite well.
They are growing along the fence and over the fence into the neighbours house.

Got to love this weed.

johnno


----------



## Simon W (4/2/06)

LOL, had any comments from the neighbours yet?


----------



## johnno (4/2/06)

Simon W said:


> LOL, had any comments from the neighbours yet?
> [post="106489"][/post]​



Nah. They are fine with it. They know what it is and that I am a brewer.

They have even enjoyed a few brews with special comments about a Crystal rye IPA.


johnno


----------



## Doc (5/2/06)

Just back from a couple of weeks in NZ.
Stopped in Nelson for a week to catchup with family etc.
Took a couple of piccies of the NZ Hop plantations.

Here is a piccy from the car doing about 80km/h so the quality is a bit ordinary.




Here is a piccy of a plantation after it has been harvested.




And finally we took the kids to an animal farm and what did they have for a bit of greenery ? Yep hops.




My hops seem to have survived whilst I was away. A good water today should see them right. Only flowers on the Hersbrucker still though.

Beers,
Doc


----------



## Borret (5/2/06)

Here's some pics of my columbus but a few days ago.


First shot is of the original plant. Fairly feable but a few cones nonetheless.




These shots are the cutting. Only one main stem but about a dozen sidearms that came out fromt he base that are near as big as the main stem. (shots taken with flash so the colours a bit strange)







Brent


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## PhilS (7/2/06)

Here are my Babies in their first year of growth from Rhizomes.





There are 3 varieties here, POR, Fuggles & Goldings. Not sure which is which, just have to wait & compare leaf & cones to known samples :blink: (Dog dug these out when I had them labelled) :angry: 




I'm happy with their first crop




Can anyone identify the yellowing on this leaf? Just seems to be confined to one variety so far. :unsure:


----------



## kungy (7/2/06)

Hi Phil,

For your first year........are you serious. I would be over the moon if i got a crop that good in the first year. My rhizome in the second year has seem to hit a wall this year, not expecting much more to come.

I to would also like to know what this yellowing is, my plant has it but doesn't seem to be hurt by it.

Will

Edit- Spelling


----------



## berto (7/2/06)

I will admit now i havent followed the thread the whole way through, and im guessing that you use those cones there in our brew right? 
If so, how many grams are you predicting per vine Phil?


----------



## PhilS (7/2/06)

Kungy, I am every bit surprised as yourself, thses are have grown better than any weed I know  I have been feeding them on Thrive and watering very well. The ones that were watered most, have a large crop.

It may have something to do with the size of the Rhizomes too. I think I mentioned earlier that I bought 3x varieties for $10.00 each. When I unwrapped them I had 8 in total :super: 

The yellowing only seems to be on one bine so far, may be too much fertiliser?

berto, I'm not sure what the end weight will be as I wasn't expecting such a large crop. Will keep you posted though. Once the hop cones are dried, they can be used whole in the boil as you do with pellets/plugs.


My biggest worry is determining the varieties 

edit: forgot to answer all questions


----------



## big d (7/2/06)

well looking good.hanging out for the post harvest reports on how the beer tastes with your home grown hops added.
reckon wort run through a hopback of fresh hops would be awesome.

cheers
big d


----------



## altstart (8/2/06)

Hey Phil S
They are magnificent looking plants well done
Cheers Altstart


----------



## Borret (13/2/06)

Hi Fellow hopsters,

I built my drying box on the weekend and harvested probably 2/3rds of my crop this afternoon. All up wet weigh is 250g which I am stoked about for a first year crop as I should get close to 70-80 g total when dry (including what's left on the bines) by my estimates.  

Anyway here some photo's (I knew that second dial therm would come in handy one day)

Brent


----------



## KillerRx4 (13/2/06)

Nice box Borret.

I harvested mine last week & this arvo too. Hopefully i got em off at the right time  

My 2 cuttings are going mental now too, 1 is starting to bud & the other is growing rapidly. I expect to get 2 more plants worth of cones at this rate  

I buried some rooting cuttings in the ground this arvo too, hopefully will dig up some rhizomes later in the year. If anyone wants to swap other strains for cluster let me know.


----------



## Fingerlickin_B (13/2/06)

Phil, that looks like a Potassium deficiency. 

Go buy some fish emulsionshould fix it right up  

PZ.


----------



## scrogster (20/2/06)

My POR cones are well on the way to being ready for harvest. I'm very pleased, given that at one stage they were nearly cactus after the growing tip of the bine got eaten by snails. Fortunately they came back stronger than ever, and with a little luck I think I might manage to harvest enough for a whole batch (trying not to count my chickens before they hatch!).  


Some pics attached:


----------



## johnno (22/2/06)

MY POR is still going.

Yu can see how it has started growing over the fence into the next door neighbours house.


johnno


----------



## Hopsta (3/3/06)

Well i just harvested my 1st hop crop, theres not much but maybe just enough for a flavour and aroma addition, at least i'll be able to taste the fruits of my labour. Its been fun growing them, looking forward to next years bumper crop! :lol: 
On the left is cluster and on the right P.O.R. My hallertau dont look they are going to flower its their first year so im not surprised.
This pic was taken on my phone hence the poor quality.


----------



## johnno (3/3/06)

How much do you want for those Hopsta?

I'll buy them all.  

johnno


----------



## Hopsta (3/3/06)

johnno said:


> How much do you want for those Hopsta?
> 
> I'll buy them all.
> 
> ...



I couldnt do that Johnno that would be like selling my own children! :lol:


----------



## Hopsta (3/3/06)

Hopsta said:


> johnno said:
> 
> 
> > How much do you want for those Hopsta?
> ...



And besides im only allowed to sell direct to Hopco! h34r:


----------



## apd (3/3/06)

Johno,

I wouldn't go buying them ALL. Some AHBers might think you were being unethical in not leaving some to share.


----------



## Steve (10/3/06)

Picked 3/4 of my 2 year old POR yesterday arvo (bloody tedious) and got 403gms (wet). Better than the 12gms from the first year. Cheerin :beer: 
Steve


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## Borret (10/3/06)

Packed the last of my dried first year columbus last night.
Total dry wieght for the crop is 80g.  

I now this sounds dodgy but a nice trick for compressing the suckers is a 60ml syringe (available from the chemist.) Just bore out the centre part of the luerlock so only the 1/4 dia surround remains. Pull out the plunger and pack the hops in and compress with the plunger every so often. Pack in some more and compress till full. Then push out the plug of hops into your bag/comtainer using a dowel (eg. or similar) that fit's the 1/4 inch hole. I manged to fit twice the amount into a bag as I did the first time where I just pushed em in by hand. 
I surpose if you wanted to leave them in the syringe it would work as a nice oxygen barrier (and they'd stay more compressed) Just put a cap on the end, leave the plunger in and put em in the fridge/freezer. They'd hold about 30g of hops compressed if you held your mouth right.

Bring on 'Columbus's Maiden Ale'

Brent.


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## PhilS (10/3/06)

Fingerlickin_B said:


> Phil, that looks like a Potassium deficiency.
> 
> Go buy some fish emulsionshould fix it right up
> 
> ...



I was a bit slow to report back on this one, but I took your advice & used some powerfeed fertiliser. This stuff worked really well in between feeds with thrive & now have a lot more growth.

Thanks for the tip :beer:


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## Guest Lurker (11/3/06)

Ok, since we are talking harvesting. Here is the chinook, a second year rhizome, just before harvest. The oldest cones had started to brown and were dropping petals. There were still some new cones growing, so I may get a second crop but I pulled most off today. It only takes about 30 mins to an hour to carefully pull them off one by one. Interestingly, my arms came up in a rash and went all tingly. NOOO I cant be allergic to hops, I love hops! Anyone else experience a reaction?
400 g green weight for the main harvest off the chinook.


----------



## Guest Lurker (11/3/06)

I also have a first generation POR cutting. Check out the difference in cone sizes, chinook on the left. Are POR growers finding the cones are quite small, or is it because the POR was a cutting? Only got 170 g green weight off the POR.


----------



## Guest Lurker (11/3/06)

The drying room. Who cares if mosquitos are now flying in my bedroom window. Cant wait to try using these.


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## Boozy the clown (11/3/06)

Looks like a tray of Brussel sprouts!


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## Mr Bond (11/3/06)

Guest Lurker said:


> Ok, since we are talking harvesting. Here is the chinook, a second year rhizome, just before harvest. The oldest cones had started to brown and were dropping petals. There were still some new cones growing, so I may get a second crop but I pulled most off today. It only takes about 30 mins to an hour to carefully pull them off one by one. Interestingly, my arms came up in a rash and went all tingly. NOOO I cant be allergic to hops, I love hops! Anyone else experience a reaction?
> 400 g green weight for the main harvest off the chinook.
> [post="113941"][/post]​



Paint that wall ochre or terracotta and that shot would be the ultimate tuscan(contrast) shot of all time.Luv it any way :super:


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## Borret (11/3/06)

GL,

No worries on the hops rash mate. Common complaint. They actually suggest long sleeves when harvesting but who can be bothered in the excitement  Damb it gets itchy though :lol: I'm guessing the size of the POR is varitey related.Mine variet in size with the cones that came from the tip of the sidearms being absolute monsters, basically double the size, but the petal size was the same.
Decent crop on the 400g wet weight, that's about what mine was predrying too.  

How does the chinook smell v's commercial/american grown stuff. 
I (and others) who have smelt my columbus can't put description as to what it actually smells like. Very familiar smell to all but pinpointing the aroma's likeness we can't. Shame no one I know has smelt the genuine thing to give comparison either.

Can't wait to try these beers.

Brent


----------



## PhilS (12/3/06)

Guest Lurker said:


> I also have a first generation POR cutting. Check out the difference in cone sizes, chinook on the left. Are POR growers finding the cones are quite small, or is it because the POR was a cutting? Only got 170 g green weight off the POR.
> [post="113942"][/post]​



I've noticed the same issue with my POR cones being a bit small for their first crop. However, I only picked the ones that were just turning brown around their edges.

This allowed the second picking to fill out more and are now longer than 40 mm.

Hopefully, these girls will produce a better crop next year :super:


----------



## darkhorse (14/3/06)

OK

Flash back to the can you grow a hop plant from leaf cuttings or do you need a section (read "tip") of the bine...

6weeks ago took leaf cuttings of Cluster plant (thanks LukeS)

Many leaf cuttings still alive in mix of water saving gel stuff and seed raising mix having also been prodded along with seaweed solution foliar fed.
I lifted a sick looking specimen, and sure enough it has roots... just maybe not enough for leaf size and they don't seem to be able to grow... maybe it is early days?

While the leaf cuttings are alive and growing roots, the 2 bine tips I got at the same time are actively growing (I presume with roots too).

Moral of the story... Rhizome harvesting may be the most reliable means of propogating but planting out bines that are cut back earlier in the season will work well too.

Only thing left to see is if the plants survive the dormant stage.
I expect the bine originated plants will do OK.
I am also hoping that the leaf cuttings survive and after winter generate a new "bine" to enable growth.


----------



## Darren (14/3/06)

My hops did worse in their second year than the first. Could be I watered em less and trained then sideways rather than straight up.
Just my 0.000002


cheers
Darren


----------



## tangent (14/3/06)

same here Darren
more shoots but bugger all cones


----------



## Boozy the clown (15/3/06)

Marathon thread, just read the whole lot...

Has anyone experimented with the 'espialier' method?
If it was suited looks like it might make harvesting more managable.






This example is a pear tree i think, there was a mulberry tree but it was to bushy to see the branches.

I have heard of the hops' cousin being trained in a similar method.


----------



## T.D. (15/3/06)

Boozy,

I will be planting quite a few hop plants this season (25 to be precise) and I planned on doing something very similar to what you have shown there. I don't have the infrastructure to get them to grow up 5 meters so I planned to have them grow up less and to the side more (I am hoping that isn't the reason for Darren's lower yield this year as he suggested!). This sort of training (on a slightly smaller scale) is common in vineyards. I figure its worth a go so why not! I may run three horizontal wires, but probably a bit lower to the ground than the photo of the pear tree.


----------



## Lukes (15/3/06)

Darkhorse,

I am happy to hear that you Cluster cutting's survived.

Boozy and T.D.

My hops seem to grow alot better straight up 10 foot than trained across.
Again heaps of shoots but not heaps of cones.

Luke


----------



## Joel (15/3/06)

Is there a hop growing manual or something? One document detailing basic method, which hops grow best where, drying, etc.

I'd love to give it a go, but we move every few years so I wonder if they can be grown in pots (big pots perhaps).


----------



## voota (15/3/06)

Joel, i grew some POR in pots (22L containers). They grew OK, and produced a whole 4 cones in the first year, this was compared to the 300+ cones that I got out of one planted in the ground at the same time. 

Here is a photo of part of the one in the ground (1st year)


----------



## darkhorse (16/3/06)

Joel,

I have seen a book available on the web... can't remember the details though

I like trial and error... If I get it right too early I'll need to find something else to pursue!!!


----------



## johnno (17/3/06)

Here is a picture of my first harvest from the monster weed.

Thats 1065 grams of wet hops in the bucket. I reckon I have at least another bucket to pick if not more.
As for the size of the cones they did vary depending on which part of the plant they grew on. Like I mentioned earlier I let all the shoots grow to see how it would go.
Also, most of mine was grown sideways.

johnno


----------



## Guest Lurker (17/3/06)

Well done Johnno thats amazing. Does that include the 100g you used on the pizza?


----------



## johnno (17/3/06)

Guest Lurker said:


> Well done Johnno thats amazing. Does that include the 100g you used on the pizza?
> [post="114897"][/post]​



Oh oh..I was hoping no one noticed the hops on the pizza  

Its actually quite good tasting. :blink: 

Being POR, there is no way I will use them all(I Think) so I have to find other uses for them.

johnno


----------



## Ross (17/3/06)

johnno said:


> Here is a picture of my first harvest from the monster weed.
> 
> Thats 1065 grams of wet hops in the bucket. I reckon I have at least another bucket to pick if not more.
> As for the size of the cones they did vary depending on which part of the plant they grew on. Like I mentioned earlier I let all the shoots grow to see how it would go.
> ...



Johnno - I need a direct farm supply - let's start talking numbers  

Seriously though - top effort... :beer: 

cheers Ross


----------



## big d (17/3/06)

bloody hell thats sure some supply you have there johnno.either you have green thumbs or a very fertile area in the right locale.

cheers
big d


----------



## Doc (17/3/06)

My God. If only it was a hop you wanted to use lots of 

Well done. Want to come and grow my hops for me next year ?

Doc


----------



## johnno (17/3/06)

Ross said:


> Johnno - I need a direct farm supply - let's start talking numbers
> 
> Seriously though - top effort... :beer:
> 
> ...


 Ross..there is no way I am going into the hop growing business..too much trouble harvesting the pains. :lol: It took me about an hour and a half to pick that lot.



big d said:


> bloody hell thats sure some supply you have there johnno.either you have green thumbs or a very fertile area in the right locale.
> 
> cheers
> big d
> [post="114903"][/post]​



big d..i just like to think that the things are nutso weeds that love growing in anything.


Doc said:


> My God. If only it was a hop you wanted to use lots of
> 
> Well done. Want to come and grow my hops for me next year ?
> 
> ...


Too right Doc,
I was thinking before too bad they are not saaz or some other noble. Oh well I did brew with my 14 grams last year and I will bitter with these in my next brew. 

I'm sure in a few years we will start to see bigger and bigger harvests from everyone thats growing them.

johnno


----------



## Guest Lurker (18/3/06)

Dried weight for mine was about 25% of the green weight. 100 g of dried hops takes up a lot of space, so I grabbed some bits out of the irrigation fittings box and gave them a bit of a squish. A gentle press seems to compact them and get the air out. If you get too enthusiastic you can smell the lupulin being crushed and the precious aroma floating away.


----------



## Guest Lurker (18/3/06)

After a gentle squish you can get about 50 g in a sandwich bag.


----------



## johnno (23/3/06)

I just picked the rest of the hops on the POR and I must say its been a pain. Took me nearly 3 hours.

Too bad they are not Saaz or something a bit more usefull.

Anyway , I got another 1357 grams of wet hops which brings the total of wet hops up to 2422 grams.

Anyone one in Melbourne want to try some, PM me.

I will be using some for bittering in an American Brown next brew.


johnno


----------



## AndrewQLD (23/3/06)

Fantastic effort Johnno, I too went with the POR and a Victoria plant as well, both high AA hops, now I know that I can grow hops up here I will be getting a few low AA rhyzomes of the one variety maybe goldings or something similar so I can use them for flavour and aroma. Wish I had done that to begin with.

Cheers
Andrew


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## Steve (23/3/06)

Fantastic looking hops Johnno! So big and green! Mine were half the size and a lot paler  
Well done!
Cheers
Steve


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## Hopsta (29/3/06)

So now that my hops have been harvested i think i remember reading somewhere that the best thing to do is cut the vines off a few cm from the base and leave the rhizomes to hibernate till next season. Is this correct? And i can supposedly bury the vines to create more rhizomes, correct? :unsure:


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## dairymaid (29/3/06)

Hi Hopsta, hop harvest has just finished here in NZ all commercially grown vines/bines are cut off 20 to 30cm above the ground - then the flowers are striped off!
To make new plants, you need to dig up the old one, in a few months time, divide/cut it up into straps about 10 to 20 cm long and these will grow into a new plant. you get bigger and better hops off the older plants thou!


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## Doc (30/3/06)

Did anyone listen to The Brewing Network show this week ? They had the guy from Hop Union on.
He had a few interesting things to say including not needing to cull the number of bines back to 1 or 2. This is done commercially to aid the way they harvest the hops with a picking machine. Not required if growing at home.
So next year I'm going to let mine go crazy.

Beers,
Doc


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## Steve (30/3/06)

Hopsta, yes trim them back now to about 5cm and let them hibernate under a nice big pile of old leaves. Ive never heard of planting the bines to recreate rhizomes, the only way I know is to dig up the main rhizome and split it like dairymaid says. But then you are going back to first generation rhizome again and wont get as many hops (if you know what I mean)
Doc, first year I trimmed mine back to 2-3 main bines and got 12 gms dry. This year I let it do its own thing - over 10 bines easily and got 500gms. I agree let them go wild.
Cheers
Steve


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## johnno (30/3/06)

I let mine grow as they wanted to this time around and they seemed pretty happy.
Grew all over the place. 
Not a very big plant and I was suprised at how much I got out of them.

cheers
johnno


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## Hopsta (30/3/06)

Thanks Steve!


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## Bigfella (30/3/06)

I have to rhizomes in pots that didn't do so well I think i let them get a bit dry and on a hot windy day I lost a lot of the foliage. Anyway I was wondering if I should take them out of pots now and put them into the groud for next year or leave them.


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## Steve (30/3/06)

I'd be sticking them in the ground if you have the space and start from scratch. Couple of metres apart. Ive heard of people growing them in pots with great success - but IMHO you cant beat sticking them in the ground - apparently their tap roots like to go deep?
Cheers
Steve


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## Borret (30/3/06)

When planting bines for new rhizomes they stay attached to the plant. From what I have read you can cut them back to a couple of feet long, bend them over and bury them in a ditch you've dug and then dig them up and split them at the beginning of next season.

The deep roots is definately true. I read somewhere they go down 15ft where possible.

FWIW. All the cuttings I took late in the season are getting root bound in their pots now and actually have a rhizome of sorts forming under the surface. So I can see why a full season plant would struggle if left in a pot when you see the root's versus palnts on these baby's.


Brent


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## Steve (30/3/06)

Agree with Borret ive also read that about laying the bines down and burying them....just forgot. So Hopsta give that a try, dig a ditch, lay a bine in it, bury it and maybe put a brick on it in case it somehow springs back up and has your eye out! Shame ive pruned mine already - bugger
Cheers
Steve


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## Borret (30/3/06)

I brewed my 'Columbus's Voyage of Hop Discovery" Ale on tuesday (along with a saison on my first double brew bash). Flowers smelt nice in the boil but from first tastings have not given as much bitterness as I though being such a high alpha strain. Not that it really matters as this was just a beer, hoppy as it may be with 80g of flowers, to get a handle on a new hop and it's possiblilites for the future. Looking forward to trying it. Definately stronger hop aroma coming from the airlock than normal at this early stage.

Anyone else brewed with theirs yet.

Brent


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## Steve (30/3/06)

I boiled up some of my POR flowers, cant remember exactly how much and added it to an ESB Traditional Bitter. Its bottled and carbing up. God knows what its going to be like :blink: 
Cheers
Steve


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## Asher (30/3/06)

Since my ornamental Hallertau has managed its second season without a flower!.... Next year I'm going to harvest the shoots.

Just reading up on Belgium & Apparently in spring their a delicious delicacy and can be served raw in salads or cooked.
Anyone tried eating the shoots yet?

Asher for now

here's a recipe for hop risotto. I hope her cooking is better than her brewing. check out the beer recipe  

http://www.abc.net.au/canberra/stories/s1037738.htm


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## warrenlw63 (30/3/06)

Asher.

Guess what else I found on that page?? It make explain the lack of a smile on our SWMBO's faces.  

_Hop Tea
Hops are used by herbalists for their mild sedative and soothing qualities and to help digestion. Hops are mildly sedative *and will also slightly lower the male sex drive*.
One tablespoon of the crushed flowers to one cup of hot water will help insomnia, if not lack of libido. This can be taken three times a day after meals to help indigestion. It is also sometimes recommended for irritable bowel sydrome, but should be taken under medical advice._

Warren -


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## dickTed (30/3/06)

Finally got some flowers. Approx 20-30. On one runner the cones have turned brown, but on the other they're still green.

Main thing is there's some big thick roots on it, so I reckon the whole trellis will fill up next summer.

Here's a bad picture.


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## johnno (31/3/06)

If any Melbourne brewers want any cuttings from my POR before I rip mine out in the next couple of weeks, PM me.

They are easy to grow.


johnno


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## dairymaid (2/4/06)

Are you guys, brewing with green hops or are you drying them?


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## johnno (2/4/06)

dairymaid said:


> Are you guys, brewing with green hops or are you drying them?
> [post="117748"][/post]​



Hi dairymaid,
I have dried mine out. Made a brew with them today.

johnno


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## jagerbrau (3/4/06)

So how do you start a hop plantation, ie when to plant, and best place to source. how are most of the beers brewed with home hops turned out. very interested in doing it my self. just another feather in cap sort of thing. cheers David


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## apd (3/4/06)

You can buy rhizomes online (www.grumpys.com.au is one place) or if you're lucky, you might be able to get a cutting or rhizome from someone on this board. A few people have already offered cuttings in this thread.

They're planted around the end of winter.


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## johnno (3/4/06)

Finally got around to packing these up and will freeze them I suppose.

One thing is for sure, I will miss the smell of hops in the air.

They have just been sitting in the buckets for a few days. Lazy me could not pack them.

cheers
johnno


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## mikem108 (4/4/06)

Nice crop there.
I got 250gms of dried cones off my plant-year 1!.
Just left to go wild with plenty of food and watering


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## dairymaid (16/4/06)

I wondered if you guys were using your hops green, or drying t hem
This article is off RealbeerNZ but was also in our local paper Cascade also make a beer with green hops!

The Brewjolais run is underway 
Mar 16, 2006
Author: Lion
Plainly, some breweries are prepared to indulge in shameless publicity stunts just to sell more beer. Here at Mac's, we take our shameless publicity stunts far more seriously than that.

Our latest is altogether a work of art. Early on the morning of February 16 just gone, our Head Brewer Colin Paige went out to River Hops farm in Moteuka to hunt the very first hops of the new season. Speed was of the essence in order to retain the delicate flavour and aromas of the hops. Returning to the Mac's Brewery in Nelson with 140 kgs of green Styrian Goldings cones, Colin set about brewing the first beer in the world to be made with the 2006 crop. Madness. In fact, to our knowledge, a beer made with fresh hops has never been brewed in New Zealand before.

Brewing with green hops is a pastime for the brazenly over-confident. Yet Colin was determined to wrangle this 5.5% Kiwi Pale Ale into something unique, something that will enhance Mac's reputation for innovation and for infuriating the kind of people who deserve to be infuriated. He's even given it a name to convey the appropriate sense of urgency Macs Brewjolais.

Just like the crazy Anglo-French wine dash from which it takes its name, Brewjolais is going to become an annual event. Its a celebration of hop-growing, natural brewing and the capacity of Colin's van. And just like Beaujolais, fresh is the way to go. 

But wait, theres more. Because Colin really likes to come first. Not only is he creating the first beer made from 2006 hops, hes creating a whole new style of beer. Beers with a distinctive hop character are traditionally known as India Pale Ales or America Pales Ales. But to commemorate New Zealands first ever green hop brew, this distinctive beer will be known as a Kiwi Pale Ale or KPA. And theres no doubt that it will have a hoppy character. As if using green hops for a full flavour wasnt enough, Colin has used an outrageous amount of them. 

Only one question in all this remains unanswered. What does it taste like? Well, no one knows for sure. Yet. Macs Marketing Manager Cormac van den Hoofdakker says, Were expecting the green Styrian Goldings hops to create a flavour of orange jelly or mandarin. But at the Macs Brewery weve learnt to expect the unexpected. What we do know is that with a van load of hops in the mix, anyone who tries the Brewjolais will find out what brewers really mean when they talk about the hop-smile!

Excited? We are. Nervous? Colin is. Here's to the fates and the magnificence of Brewjolais, in whatever form it may take. Stand by for the 1st of April when the Macs Brewjolais will be available in selected Macs bars nationwide. At .50 a pint youd be crazy not to try it. But make it quick, this is an extremely limited release and the French are on their way


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## dairymaid (16/4/06)

The .50c a pint is a mistake! The price is $5


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## sinkas (29/5/06)

Just wondering,
Should I cut any remaining unyielding bines off my hops now?


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## Hopsta (26/7/06)

I have my hop plants in pots i cut the bines off a few inches from the ground at the beggining of winter. They stayed green and a few shoots popped up but now most if not all the shoots have died off. Is this normal? Is the rhizome still alive underground and just "hybernating" over the winter? 

Im just hoping they havent died.

- Hopsta


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## johnno (26/7/06)

sinkas said:


> Just wondering,
> Should I cut any remaining unyielding bines off my hops now?


 sinkas,
After I harvested the cones I cut mine down to the ground around April, May.

cheers
johnno


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## Mr Bond (26/7/06)

Hopsta said:


> I have my hop plants in pots i cut the bines off a few inches from the ground at the beggining of winter. They stayed green and a few shoots popped up but now most if not all the shoots have died off. Is this normal? Is the rhizome still alive underground and just "hybernating" over the winter?
> 
> Im just hoping they havent died.
> 
> - Hopsta



The plant was goin for one last hurragh b4 it went dormant(hence the dead shoots).
ground temp has a lot to do with what will trigger a bulb or rhizome into dormancy or into action.
a scratch around the surface at the top of the rhizome will probably show some bud swells(around the site of the old shoots) that will become new shoots come spring.


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## Hopsta (26/7/06)

Dormant, thats the word i was looking for, bears hybernate not plants! 
Thanks Brauluver!

- Hopsta


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## AngelTearsOnMyTongue (27/7/06)

apd said:


> You can buy rhizomes online (www.grumpys.com.au is one place) or if you're lucky, you might be able to get a cutting or rhizome from someone on this board. A few people have already offered cuttings in this thread.
> 
> They're planted around the end of winter.



This may already have been mentioned in the preceding 30 pages, but....

Does anyone know where to get hold of hop Rhizomes in Melbourne? 

I would love to get hold of some. 


(Chris and Mare's Hello hello? :blink: Melb joke)

ATOMT


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## James Squire (27/7/06)

ATOMT,

Sent you a PM mate.

JS


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## AngelTearsOnMyTongue (27/7/06)

James Squire said:


> ATOMT,
> 
> Sent you a PM mate.
> 
> JS




Thanks for the PM JS. Great referral.


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## Mr Bond (27/7/06)

AngelTearsOnMyTongue said:


> James Squire said:
> 
> 
> > ATOMT,
> ...



Stewart Ferguson is the man.
Deal direct with the grower and cut out the middle man!


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## johnno (27/7/06)

AngelTearsOnMyTongue said:


> apd said:
> 
> 
> > You can buy rhizomes online (www.grumpys.com.au is one place) or if you're lucky, you might be able to get a cutting or rhizome from someone on this board. A few people have already offered cuttings in this thread.
> ...




ATOMT
I will be ripping out my POR later this year, probably around the end of August for burial at the new house.
There will probably be some of the rhizome spare if you want some. 
PM me if interested.

johnno


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