2008 Hop Plantations

[HoppingMad]

Jeez how'd you know I was in my jim jams? :lol:

You're probably right though, just need to let the "weeds" do their thing, and not stress out so much about 'em.
Sounds like I'm not alone in getting out the back in the dead of night with a torch! But you got me!

Hopper.

 

[mr_walker]

Spoke to soon Mr Walker, how about this mornings, brrrr.

Holy smokes - and last night was the *only* time this year I forgot to garage my car. I put some water over my windscreen to de-ice it, and nearly slipped over on the ice pond I had just created on the concrete.

You can all thank me for that one - if I hadn't transplanted my Hallertau, it wouldn't have happened. :lol:

 

[anc001]

:lol: im sorry - but that must be one of the funniest things ive read regarding looking after your hops :lol: They're a bloody weed! Why dont you get nanna to knit a little blanket and pillow for it too :lol: ..... Just stick a pile of leaves or straw over them, they'll be fine and stop worrying.
Cheers
Steve

I can just imagine setting up this gear to save the plant from a little ice, and end up burning the thing to the ground overnight by accident
:lol:

 

[dj1984]

does anyone from S.A have anything showing yet a bloke who i work with has a shoot from his in wellington (murray bridge)

 

[KHB]

i have some POR showing signs of growth

 

[Steve]

i have some POR showing signs of growth

ditto

My beautiful plant was 3 years old when we had to move house last December. It was several feet in the air when I had to chop it down as I wasnt leaving it behind. I put it in a pot over summer and the past few months. I transplanted it about a month ago. Its now just broken the surface of its new home.
Cheers
Steve

 

[fraser_john]

Mine have started to produce quite a few shoots, as you see the goldings have gone a bit nuts, did not count all the shoots, but there are a lot. The second one is a tettenang, only three shoots showing so far. Third pic is the site for my next rhizomes to be planted with their training poles, plus it will be my pumpkin/cucumber/watermelon patch.

 

[Doc]

I've got high (get it) hopes for my hops this year.
Not in pots anymore, directly in the ground.
The Columbus has sprouted nicely.

Doc

 

[Maple]

Here is my columbus, the cluster has yet to show its head

 

[mr_walker]

It's been pretty warm this week in Canberra so I had a peek under the mulch and it looks like my Hallertau is stirring. No sign of movement from the POR yet.

 

[HoppingMad]

Here is my columbus, the cluster has yet to show its head

Aw geez. Maybe I need to be worried. My Goldings is sweet and has one healthy shoot, but the Columbus is still dormant and yet to break ground. And I'm only a couple of burbs away from you Maple. Have been putting leaves on it but no pea straw like yours. Looks like yours is in a pot? You got some secret fertiliser tucked away?

The next few weeks with this warmer weather will tell I guess. Won't give up yet darn it!

Hopper.

 

[Mitternacht Brauer]

None of mine have shown up yet but IMHO I would steer away from the peastraw . I devided a bail between my four hop plants and the veggie garden and the peas have germinated in all and just keep sprouting .I keep turning the garden over and pulling from the pots but they keep coming .I just be getting just normal straw next year.

 

[Maple]

You got some secret fertiliser tucked away?

The soil in the pots is a mix of potting soil, mushroom mulch soil and sand. I really should have put some clay in there too in order to help retain some of the soil moisture, it drains a little too well I think. It also was looking like tit wanted to sprout just before I stuck it in the soil, so it had a bit of a headstart.

 

[HoppingMad]

The soil in the pots is a mix of potting soil, mushroom mulch soil and sand. I really should have put some clay in there too in order to help retain some of the soil moisture, it drains a little too well I think. It also was looking like tit wanted to sprout just before I stuck it in the soil, so it had a bit of a headstart.

Interesting. My rhizomes were more like sticks/cuttings so might be a little slow on the uptake. The mushroom mulch sounds interesting so might give it a crack. Pretty much have put the rhizomes directly in the ground with a tiny bit of dynamic lifter underneath and not much else and while the area they're in gets good sun and is north facing, the soil quality could be a bit better.

Cheers,

Hopper.

 

[fraser_john]

Interesting. My rhizomes were more like sticks/cuttings so might be a little slow on the uptake. The mushroom mulch sounds interesting so might give it a crack. Pretty much have put the rhizomes directly in the ground with a tiny bit of dynamic lifter underneath and not much else and while the area they're in gets good sun and is north facing, the soil quality could be a bit better.

Cheers,

Hopper.

You might be best putting the little stick kind of rhizome into large pots, I got five of those earlier, two POR and three Chinook and put them into a pot, check my website for pics, but one of the POR has about a 1cm shoot poking up already, no action from anything else!

 

[trevc]

Here's mine so far. One has climbed across the wall already, so I added a new line climbing straight up to the ceiling/light fixture.
The poor things get REALLY thrashed in the wind up here, some leaves are damaged.

 

[brendanos]

Trev that will look amazing in a few months! How many bines are you planning to have across the wall?

 

[trevc]

the 2 main (strong) plants will climb the wall and proceed to the ceiling, there's another weaker one going too that should eventually make it up the wall. I'm happy with how they've done so far. They're really exposed to the elements.

 

[drsmurto]

Spent the weekend in the garden, lovingly tending my hops and getting the vegie patch ready for planting. Also planted 5 different varieties of chillis but thats another thread........

Noticed that the chinook and cluster have poked there heads thru the layer of compost. Got these form Stuart Ferguson in Tassie. Looks like at least 12 shoots each!

The 2 goldings i bought from cannabacae (now hopswest on ebay) last year did didly squat so decided to did them up and have a goosy. They are exactly the same size they were when i planted them more than 12 months ago with no shoots...... :angry: put them back in the ground with a metric shed load of compost and horse crap with a stern wanring they will be fed to the chooks if they dont perform. If i had paid the price he is getting them for them this year i would be pissed.

The POR Wally gave me last year has shoots breaking the surface and the cascade is just about there.

Question - how many shoots should i allow to climb? I recall reading that 4 is the magic number and that i should lop the rest maximising growth on only 4 bines? Is this for 1st season only or does this apply to my 2nd year plants?

Also, is height critically important? I plan on running them up a wire frame for ~1m, then running them across to a fence which is approx 2m high. I had plans to extend the fence another 1-2 m but this will get buffeted by the wind and no doubt need some reinforcing. i cant let them hang over the back as the chooks will have a field day.

 

[gibbocore]

hi blokes,

1 question after Smurto is answered. What should i water into the dirt that my hops are planted into, ie, fertalizer etc...

They have a few purple shoots poking their heads up (my bro and i had a good chuckle already).

Cheers.