2007 Hop Plantations

[mika]

Pretty sure it was on a brewing network podcast where a Pro Hop grower recommended against cutting the vines back. Something about the machines used to harvest it all, supposedly not an issue with home grown hops where it's all hand picked. Sorry, my memory gets hazy about 5mins after I listen to something. I believe it was on the Sunday show featuring the hop-union dude.

 

[oldbugman]

after ~3 weeks in the ground..

 

[mfdes]

Pretty sure it was on a brewing network podcast where a Pro Hop grower recommended against cutting the vines back. Something about the machines used to harvest it all, supposedly not an issue with home grown hops where it's all hand picked. Sorry, my memory gets hazy about 5mins after I listen to something. I believe it was on the Sunday show featuring the hop-union dude.

There is a difference between cutting the bines back in spring (not a lot of energy has gone into the small shoots), when they'll just grow back, as opposed to autumn, when the plant is in the process of translocating (moving) all its nutrients from the bines to the root system for winter.

Cutting them in autumn (as for modern harvesting) does weaken them significantly. Hence we as home growers have an advantage over commercials.

MFS.

 

[big d]

Some great feed back guys on hop growing.I scored some hops from Deebee and unfortunately it carked it after a fantastic growth spurt.No pics as we all no what a pot of dirt looks like.

Anyway enough of the hop growth pics how about some mixed feedback on how your beers turned out using homegrown hops.Maybe a new thread is in order.This is what we are really after.

Cheers
Big D

 

[johnno]

Anyway enough of the hop growth pics how about some mixed feedback on how your beers turned out using homegrown hops.Maybe a new thread is in order.This is what we are really after.

Cheers
Big D

Hi Big D,

Bit of a discussion here but some more feedback would be appreciated.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...?showtopic=5173

cheers
johnno

 

[big d]

Cheers Johnno
A good read and yep a few more replys would be great.Good to see a placing was the result with the home grown as well.

Cheers
Big D

 

[randyrob]

Hey Guys,

well me hops have sprouted this year already, they sure are looking alot healthier and greener than last year!





Rob.

 

[floppinab]

after ~3 weeks in the ground..

Good to see yours are OK OB, I'm seeing shoots on mine after only 1.5 weeks in the ground. But I'm in a bit of a quandry looking at the advice from MFS on whether to cut back the new shoots or not. The "don't **** with whats working" gene in me says don't touch it so I'm not sure what to do.

 

[domonsura]

Good to see yours are OK OB, I'm seeing shoots on mine after only 1.5 weeks in the ground. But I'm in a bit of a quandry looking at the advice from MFS on whether to cut back the new shoots or not. The "don't **** with whats working" gene in me says don't touch it so I'm not sure what to do.

After putting my first rhizome in the ground a couple of days ago, I've been wondering the same thing - but what sticks in my mind is the fact that some of the guys on here aren't newcomers to growing hops and if it was really necessary to cut them back surely there would be more people doing it? Especially when everything I read about 'nettlehead' in my limited research on the subject suggests that nettlehead is in fact a disease that humulus lupus can suffer from as a result of having been infected with Arabis Mosaic Virus, and has absolutely nothing at all to do with early growth.
Maybe that's just the cynic in me. But I wouldn't be cutting anything back 'try' to prevent it. In fact if the problem that mdfes is talking about shows it's ugly head in your hop garden, I'd be making sure they aren't diseased.....

Source one
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4

 

[Fents]

ZOMG i think my hops are sprouting :blink:

Little purple shoots coming up!

 

[Thommo]

Just poked my head out the back, my neglected hops from last year are poking through. Second year in the ground. Didn't get any hops last year but probably didn't give them the most favourable conditions.

Hopefully will have a good crop this year.

Cheers,
Thommo.

 

[Steve]

I dont cut mine back.....I let all the bines climb. Last year I did think about cutting them back so there are only 3 or 4 main bines - apparently this produces more flowers and is what the commercial growers do. But I didnt bother. Its just personal choice. My plant always has the nettle appearance to the leaves when they first sprout and by looking at all the pics so does everyone. They all still grow and produce hop flowers....
Cheers
Steve

 

[mfdes]

Just looked up stuff about nettlehead, and indeed it is the name for a viral disease. The person who taught me (from Hop Products Australia Bushy Park Estates) always called the stunting caused by early sprouting nettlehead.

Perhaps it's a problem in Tassie and not in mainland latitudes.

But come on, some of you out there have grown them for several years. Did anyone else experience stunted first year growth: bines grow 20-30 cm in September then stop, and might perk up a bit again in December... no crop. For me Goldings, Hallertauer mittlefrueh and Tettnang were especially prone to this.

Properly grown hops will normally send 2-3 bines up a trellis and climb up at least 3m in the first year, as well as send out a few flowers. This is what mine do when cut back till mid October, and what POR often does being the weed that it is

In the right climate and latitude (Yakima valley), 1st year properly treated plants give a commercial crop.

MFS.

 

[Maeldric]

Been a few weeks since my last post so thought id show my babies progress

Columbus (over 8' tall now)

Tettnanger, just got to the top of the steak yesterday so gonna put in a mesh trallis like i had for the columbus up to my balcony.

Hersbrucker, finally starting to grow

 

[Hashie]

Just looked up stuff about nettlehead, and indeed it is the name for a viral disease. The person who taught me (from Hop Products Australia Bushy Park Estates) always called the stunting caused by early sprouting nettlehead.

Perhaps it's a problem in Tassie and not in mainland latitudes.

But come on, some of you out there have grown them for several years. Did anyone else experience stunted first year growth: bines grow 20-30 cm in September then stop, and might perk up a bit again in December... no crop. For me Goldings, Hallertauer mittlefrueh and Tettnang were especially prone to this.

Properly grown hops will normally send 2-3 bines up a trellis and climb up at least 3m in the first year, as well as send out a few flowers. This is what mine do when cut back till mid October, and what POR often does being the weed that it is

In the right climate and latitude (Yakima valley), 1st year properly treated plants give a commercial crop.

MFS.

MFS, My Hallertauer came up early last year, grew ~400 mm then stopped for a month before shooting to ~4 metres. It was its first year in the ground and yes we had an early start to spring followed by a cold snap. All 3 plants went on to produce cones, Wurttemburger producing 250 grams, Hallertauer 130 grams and Mt Hood only a handfull.

Already this season my Hallertauer is ~1.8 metres tall with the Wurttembuger close behind (Mt Hood is just poking its head up). I haven't cut or pruned any early shoots, this year or last.

Is this the sort of information you're looking for?

 

[mfdes]

Definetly.
Mine had stopped growing altogether and new growth came later out of the ground. The stalled bines never resumed growth.

Did your Hallertau resume growing after it had stopped, or was the new growth from below ground?

The reason I ask is that textbooks tell you the new growth will come out from below ground (mine did) and it may take too long to resprout for the plants to put on enough growth to flower. It may be very much a local microclimate thing as it sounds as though most people haven't had this problem before.

I'm in Woodbridge (south of Hobart) and I think our soil warms up quite early, stimulating the plants to shoot out of the ground at a time when daylength is telling the plants they should be dormant. The further south you go the more extreme are the daylength differences between summer and winter, and so the more this problem might show itself.

On a tangent, all you read pretty much says forget about getting hops to flower below parallel 35. Any of you Queenslanders care to comment? I know that it may be crap as India and Zimbabwe have both had commercial hop farms in the past.

MFS.

 

[barls]

here are my two plants that are up still waiting on the 3rd to come up, but it has shoots coming up.
here is the mt hood

here is the hallertau

also i know the garden does need a weed before anyone mentions it

 

[tangent]

the garden does need a weed

no it's cool, you've got a few already

 

[Hashie]

Definetly.
Mine had stopped growing altogether and new growth came later out of the ground. The stalled bines never resumed growth.

Did your Hallertau resume growing after it had stopped, or was the new growth from below ground?

The reason I ask is that textbooks tell you the new growth will come out from below ground (mine did) and it may take too long to resprout for the plants to put on enough growth to flower. It may be very much a local microclimate thing as it sounds as though most people haven't had this problem before.



MFS.

The new growth was from the ground. The early shoot shrivelled and died. Also, the new growth was 4-6 weeks behind the other 2 plants. Definitely made a difference, but still produced a small crop of cones. Which was good for its first year. Fingers crossed for this year.

 

[Duff]

View attachment 14951
My Columbus Rhizome, just on two weeks old.
Thanks Duff! :beer:
Pete

Good to see it up and going Pete :beerbang:

And no need to get technical at all with it. Give it a good all purpose fertiliser every month or two (low P) with regular watering and watch it go.

Cheers.