2007 Hop Plantations

[troydo]

mmm red hill brewer .. i like their beers!!

Im keen to try growing some hops!

What time of year is best to take a tip cutting and get it going?

Any Brissy brewers wanna swing me a cutting?

 

[Steve]

What time of year is best to take a tip cutting and get it going?

Ive taking cuttings when the lateral shoots are at about 20-30cms long (half way through the season). Snip it off, pull the lower few leaves off and stick it in a glass of water, wait for it to shoot roots and plant it in a pot. Very easy.
Cheers
Steve

 

[randyrob]

In Pots



Goldings



Golden Cluster



Chinhook



Wuertemberger



Columbus Rhizome



Columbus Rhizome 2







me wild hops going nuts this year.

 

[NickB]

I'd be very keen for some rhizomes/cuttings for next season...anyone feeling generous Maybe we should have a "Rhi Swap" as well as a Case Swap each few months h34r:

Cheers

 

[drsmurto]

I still cant find whats eating the leaves of my chinook, possibly earwigs as they are in plague proportions this year and are almost as hard to kill as cockroaches. My garden is organic so that makes life much harder. I did notice some small webs higher up in the plant - spider mites? Altho my reading tells me they dont eat holes in the leaves which look more like aphids or caterpillars. The leaves turn yellow and i cant find any mites or any critters at all. Maybe earwigs after all....

Any organic remedies? I had thought to pick some flowers of the pyrethrum plant and mix that with some soap flakes, chilli and garlic.....

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[Screwtop]

I still cant find whats eating the leaves of my chinook, possibly earwigs as they are in plague proportions this year and are almost as hard to kill as cockroaches. My garden is organic so that makes life much harder. I did notice some small webs higher up in the plant - spider mites? Altho my reading tells me they dont eat holes in the leaves which look more like aphids or caterpillars. The leaves turn yellow and i cant find any mites or any critters at all. Maybe earwigs after all....

Any organic remedies? I had thought to pick some flowers of the pyrethrum plant and mix that with some soap flakes, chilli and garlic.....

Cheers
DrSmurto

Same here, white oil worked and fertilise the **** out of them to beat the munchers.

 

[domonsura]

Yep, you gotta watch those earwigs, they destroy everything. I usually go completely organic, but the garden is getting annihilated by so many different bugs this year that we've been losing half of everything to the bugs :angry: even with garlic interspersed with the plants and using pyrethrum/garlic sprays etc - so reluctantly I have had to resort to a mixture of physical barrier (closing the garden in completely with shadecloth - except the hops) and real chemical warfare - which I'm hoping the exclusion of the bugs etc by the shadecloth will keep to a minimum the chemicals required. I hate chem's but I'm not putting all that work & $$ in to get 5kg of tomatoes back for us, and 25kg for the local insect population. Hopefully I will only need to use the chems once or twice..... <_<
Last year in the hills was earwig city - and they aren't easy to get rid of either. I managed to stave off everything else naturally, but the earwigs won in the end. I wouldn't be suprised if it's them eating the hops for you, they seem to eat anything and get in everywhere.

 

[Screwtop]

I'd be very keen for some rhizomes/cuttings for next season...anyone feeling generous Maybe we should have a "Rhi Swap" as well as a Case Swap each few months h34r:

Cheers

Happy to join in a Rhi/Cutting swap. If you want to kick off a thread for a swap in 2008 I'll join up Nick.

Took six cuttings near the end of last season, just stuck them in potting mix, all grew but unfortunately only two reappeared after winter. This year I'll take them earlier and strike them in water first as others have done. I owe four cuttings next year to brewers who missed out this year, but plan on taking a over a dozen Wurttemberger cuttings this season as the bloody thing has gone mental, flowering now.

Swapping plants that have taken root would be best kept among brewers who live close to each other, for longer distances rhizomes can be swapped via post during the winter rest, simply packed in damp cottonwool and wrapped in newspaper.

Screwy

 

[drsmurto]

Organic gardening is tough but the more chemicals you spray the more of the good bugs you kill. Earwigs are normally kept under control by lizards/geckos etc but i think the drought has affected their population. My garden is also next to a creek so it would be eco terrorism to apply anything chemical. I am hoping that if i keep restocking the pak choi they will keep eating that and leave my other plants alone.

i have interspersed companion plants amongst the tomatoes, capsicum etc. Pyrethrum, marigolds and borage.

My hop plants are all in the ground rather than in pots but are only 1st year. Am i likely to be able to pull of side shoots and not dramatically reduce my yields? I noticed already that shoots are coming of the sides from as long as 10 cm form the ground. Would these be good to remove and see if i can get then to take? I read that i am suppose to prune them below 1 m anyway to prevent mould etc but i thought that was once the cones appear?

 

[apd]

Anyone had to dig up and transplant their growing rhizome? Im moving house early december. My POR is already 3-4 metres tall :angry:
Cheers
Steve

Yes, I've done this but I did it after flowering when it was time to cut it back. I'm not sure that moving it mid-season would allow you to keep this year's crop.

Andrew

 

[winkle]

(snip)
This year I'll take them earlier and strike them in water first as others have done. I owe four cuttings next year to brewers who missed out this year, but plan on taking a over a dozen Wurttemberger cuttings this season as the bloody thing has gone mental, flowering now.

Swapping plants that have taken root would be best kept among brewers who live close to each other, for longer distances rhizomes can be swapped via post during the winter rest, simply packed in damp cottonwool and wrapped in newspaper.

Screwy

Your blood is worth bottling, mate :super:

 

[Fourstar]

wow... i really need to get my hands on some rhizomes. Just missed the season this year but next im hoping to get my hands on some chinook and a noble variety! Mmmmmmmm!

 

[AngelTearsOnMyTongue]

I had to plant them all in pots to my very great disappointment. Not only that but I have been too upset to dig up my Chinook and now I may have left it too late. It just started going beserk last weekend.

Just to follow up on this.

I watered the crap out of it the day before the transplant.
Dug out a root / earth ball about the size of a basket ball, leaving all bines and growth in place and put it in a good size pot.

To my amazement, the next day was hot as hell and the plant didnt even wilt. Its bines are rocketing on and searching out any handhold (Binehold) they can find.

Unfortunately my Hallertau which poked up about 6 weeks ago went brown and died back having only got to about 10cm. Over the last few days some more shoots have appeared.

I love these plants. If you stand and look at them long enough, you may find one has effectionately wound a bine around your ankle.

Dont know as yet what I am going to do with these four pots of hops however as we have to move on 14th Dec and our new place will not be ready til 24th Jan. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

ATOMT

 

[Chris]

I'd be very keen for some rhizomes/cuttings for next season...anyone feeling generous Maybe we should have a "Rhi Swap" as well as a Case Swap each few months h34r:

Cheers

Happy to join in a Rhi/Cutting swap. If you want to kick off a thread for a swap in 2008 I'll join up Nick.

...plan on taking a over a dozen Wurttemberger cuttings this season as the bloody thing has gone mental, flowering now.

Swapping plants that have taken root would be best kept among brewers who live close to each other, for longer distances rhizomes can be swapped via post during the winter rest, simply packed in damp cottonwool and wrapped in newspaper.

Screwy

Yeah I reckon I'll have a few wuertemberger to swap too. second year in a big pot and it has about 20 shoots with the main ones seriously challenging the Mt Hood. I have about 12 trained allready, so probably cut off and strike the rest.

 

[drsmurto]

Just repeating an earlier question. Am i able to pull off some side shoots this early? My chinook is about 8 foot high now and going crazy ith loads of side shoots appearing from as low as 10 cm off the ground. Can i snip a few of these off and put them in water to see if they grow roots? Will snipping of side shoots below 2 m effect the yield? i would have thought removing more side shoots would promote cone production.....

 

[Steve]

Just repeating an earlier question. Am i able to pull off some side shoots this early? My chinook is about 8 foot high now and going crazy ith loads of side shoots appearing from as low as 10 cm off the ground. Can i snip a few of these off and put them in water to see if they grow roots? Will snipping of side shoots below 2 m effect the yield? i would have thought removing more side shoots would promote cone production.....

When you say side shoots are you meaning smaller shoots coming from the ground or side shoots coming from the main bine at the junction of a leaf? If so yeah, chop them and stick em in a glass of water and put on a window sill.

 

[drsmurto]

When you say side shoots are you meaning smaller shoots coming from the ground or side shoots coming from the main bine at the junction of a leaf? If so yeah, chop them and stick em in a glass of water and put on a window sill.

Not coming from the ground, these are coming off the main bine. How long should i let them grow before attempting to snip them off and putting them in a glass of water.

And once they grow roots? Bung em in a pot and see what they do?

Cheers
DrSmurto

 

[Screwtop]

My Wurttemberger on steroids. Flowering already!

 

[Steve]

Not coming from the ground, these are coming off the main bine. How long should i let them grow before attempting to snip them off and putting them in a glass of water.

And once they grow roots? Bung em in a pot and see what they do?

Cheers
DrSmurto

About 10-20cms, snip em off, leave a few of the leaves on the top, put them in water, once you have roots growing put in a pot of fresh/new seedling potting mix and then.... yes see what they do. Thats what I did. Trough Lollys POR is now a very nice healthy plant.

Cheers
Steve

 

[drsmurto]

Well that sounds easy.

If i can get things to work will be happy trade hops next year. If my cascade takes off i suspect i might have a few takers.......What hops cant we grow downunder? - ive never seen any one mention amarillo or saaz.

 

[troydo]

Im in nick and screwy, i have nothing to swap except some cash but im keen to give some hop growing a go!

 

[KillerRx4]

Well that sounds easy.

If i can get things to work will be happy trade hops next year. If my cascade takes off i suspect i might have a few takers.......What hops cant we grow downunder? - ive never seen any one mention amarillo or saaz.

AFAIK Amarillo is a proprietary strain.

When you take the cuttings expect them to take 1-2 weeks for roots to shoot. When you pot them, keep them in a shady area for a while, Ive had my last few attempts this season wilt & die from too much sun (I think).

 

[tangent]

don't expect the same hop character when grown here. look at Kiwi Saaz compared to the proper stuff.
same plant, but vastly different character.

and yes, taking cuttings has never been easier. my gardening skills are pretty crappy but i do have 2x hersbrucker cuttings in a glass of water almost full of roots.

 

[mudsta]

Sweet!!! You guys have just made my day!

I thought that only new plants should be grown from taking cuttings off the rhizomes thick roots.
Reading the posts saying I can strike new plants from the main bines side shoots is fantastic!

Now it will take no time to increase my total amount of hop plants! Bring on the hop invasion!

AHB is the coolest! :beer:

Mudsta :beerbang:

 

[mudsta]

Wally,

How well do they grow in the following season?
I guess what I mean is - how long does it take for the plant to build up a decent rhizome? And get any yield?
Any help would be great.

Mudsta :beerbang:

 

[mfdes]

don't expect the same hop character when grown here. look at Kiwi Saaz compared to the proper stuff.
same plant, but vastly different character.

Kiwi Saaz is not Saaz, but new triploid varieties bred from saaz, and bear no resemblance to it. This is also the case, for example, with Nelson Sauvin, which is a seedling of smoothcone, and Cascade, which is a seedling of Fuggle. None of them bear resemblance to the parent in character.

Saaz is not grown commercially in either New Zealand or Australia as they cannot get them to flower. They are adapted to the much longer daylength of central and northern Europe and have photoperiodicity problems this close to the equator (Bushy Park, TAS). The commercial experience with these is that they want to shoot way to early, go dormant again straight away, and by the time they shoot again have no time to put on enough growth to flower well, if at all. HPA (Hop Products Australia) have a breeding program and are trialling thousands of Saaz and Hallertau seedlings, so a half decent one may come soon. They have one that analytically tests identical to Czeck Saaz, so we'll see.

MFS

 

[Chris]

Thats good news mfds about a possible decent aussie saaz or halletau cultivar, pity the yanks and kiwis did it 20 odd years ago. Hmmm Kaichen HPA?

My Wurttemberger on steroids. Flowering already!

Im green with envy Screwy, how many seasons have you had the werty?

AFAIK Amarillo is a proprietary strain.

When you take the cuttings expect them to take 1-2 weeks for roots to shoot. When you pot them, keep them in a shady area for a while, Ive had my last few attempts this season wilt & die from too much sun (I think).

Keep them in semi shade, I had about 12 Mt Hood struck cuttings die from the severe Aussie sun last year.

 

[Screwtop]

Im green with envy Screwy, how many seasons have you had the werty?

Second flowering season Chris. One gi-normous bine emerged and ran up the fence and twine in about a fortnight. It's really thick and the rhizome is around 250mm long and 55mm thick this year. Digging around in the vegie garden I've come across roots almost a metre away from the rhizome. Last year the Perle grew some weak bines about 200mm high, so I moved it to the same location during winter, it's now about 1.5M high so hops like the position/soil. I rotate organic and chemical fertiliser into the garden each 3 months (blood and bone then CK88).

Gonna toss a big handfull of flowers into a Zwickel Weizen tomorrow.

 

[Lukes]

Screwy,
Not far behind you northerners as I have a few early flowers (stigmas) starting to show too.
I picked up a roll of clothes line wire and they seem to like being trained along it.

Looks like this year I will be making a few harvest ale's earlier than March

I will take some cuttings and get them going for a winter swap / trade




BTW: What is the Wurttemberger like? Noble, higher than the current 2% euro's ?
Hopefully it's better than the Tassie Tet's or Hall as I agree with MFS as they are far from Noble.

- Luke

 

[Screwtop]

Screwy,
Not far behind you northerners as I have a few early flowers (stigmas) starting to show too.
I picked up a roll of clothes line wire and they seem to like being trained along it.

Looks like this year I will be making a few harvest ale's earlier than March

I will take some cuttings and get them going for a winter swap / trade

View attachment 16067
BTW: What is the Wurttemberger like? Noble, higher than the current 2% euro's ?
Hopefully it's better than the Tassie Tet's or Hall as I agree with MFS as they are far from Noble.

- Luke

As for AA who would know without testing. From my limited knowledge Wurttemberger is a hop native to the Baden?Wurtemberg area nd is most likely related to Tettnung/Saaz.

Maybe mfdes can add some info on this as Wurttemberg were brought to Tassie during the 80's. That's where my Rhizome came from, not sure if they are grown commercially there. Adding a big double handfull of fresh flowers at 30 min gives a nice flavour but the greatest impact I find is that the beer has a really fine creamy stick to the lip head.

Screwy