2010 Hop Plantations

[Bribie G]

I'll grab some sisal twine today and just intertwine it along the wires. :icon_cheers:

We har uuze da cookanut twaaaaain in dat dere Waaaaahshintin! BOY, Ah Says BOY - go git Pa's gun, boy!

Did you see the harvest videos? I can only imagine what that Cascade drying warehouse smelt like... :icon_drool2:

Does that Peterbaugh farms guy remind you of Ivan Milat or what
Most of the staff there look about my age, how do you get a green card?

 

[Lecterfan]

Thanks to all those who replied, I'm pretty handy in the garden - seemed to inherit it from my old man, got a regular supply of horse and cow **** and I usually pinch a barrowload of the bew-di-ful red Bullarook dirt while I'm out there gathering up animal crap.

I just dug a new veg bed this morning and while I was at it I have prepared a nice mound full of a mix of sand, loam, horse and cow muck plus a heap of compost from the pile. I have ordered one rhizome from Boston (post #255) as an experiment.

Seriously, Ballarat weather will keep even the hardiest of things a bit under control for another week or two. We had snow in November a few years ago haha.

Anyway, I figure if I can keep strawberries producing until July and keep myself rolling in greens through winter then I can have a crack at a bloody vine...errr bine!!!

Like a rhizome cowboooooyyyy

 

[JestersDarts]

Like a rhizome cowboooooyyyy

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Lecterfan]

...bloody hell. A few days ago I put up an inoffensive little post about contacting other Ballarat brewers...about 2.5 hours ago I ordered a hop rhizome from Adelaide as an experiment...and then 1.5 hours ago I am contacted by a Ballarat brewer who in his infinite grace and generosity gave me THREE count 'em THREE hop plants with pretty well established runners and minimum 6 inch-ish rhizomes/main inch thick roots under them.

They were only out of the ground about 12 mins and are now nestled comfortably along my fence line...from North to South they are Hersbrucker, Cascade and Chinook.

I am as happy as a man who thought a cat had done its business on his muffin, when it turned out to be an extra large blueberry (apologies to Blackadder).

They have plenty of drainage (the fence line is on a slope), they have been planted so the main root and white runners are all a few inches under the ground and all the young bines are above ground. The dirt is a mix of compost, horse, cow and alpaca manure, a grey loam, some sand and a pinch of red volcanic spud dirt. I just need to grab some mild slow release fertiliser tomorrow and I'm off and running!!!

I am f*cking stoked.

Then there is still the one from Boston to come, sheesh.

Edit: sorry for hijacking the thread, I thought it would be stupid to start my own just for that little burst of excitement.

 

[proudscum]

...bloody hell. A few days ago I put up an inoffensive little post about contacting other Ballarat brewers...about 2.5 hours ago I ordered a hop rhizome from Adelaide as an experiment...and then 1.5 hours ago I am contacted by a Ballarat brewer who in his infinite grace and generosity gave me THREE count 'em THREE hop plants with pretty well established runners and minimum 6 inch-ish rhizomes/main inch thick roots under them.

They were only out of the ground about 12 mins and are now nestled comfortably along my fence line...from North to South they are Hersbrucker, Cascade and Chinook.

I am as happy as a man who thought a cat had done its business on his muffin, when it turned out to be an extra large blueberry (apologies to Blackadder).

They have plenty of drainage (the fence line is on a slope), they have been planted so the main root and white runners are all a few inches under the ground and all the young bines are above ground. The dirt is a mix of compost, horse, cow and alpaca manure, a grey loam, some sand and a pinch of red volcanic spud dirt. I just need to grab some mild slow release fertiliser tomorrow and I'm off and running!!!

I am f*cking stoked.

Then there is still the one from Boston to come, sheesh.

Edit: sorry for hijacking the thread, I thought it would be stupid to start my own just for that little burst of excitement.

Glad i waited all day for a call.m8

 

[AussieJosh]

My very suss looking chinook cascade hersbrucker hops in order.
Planted about 3 weeks sgo.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[drsmurto]

Got home from a week camping to see the goldings going crazy.

The brick is just to the right of where the original rhizome was planted.

The cascade looks nice and healthy

Victoria looks similar to the Cascade in size, POR is still spreading out despite me hacking at it at the beginning of winter and the chinook is just breaking the surface now.

I have all the posts/planks to build the trellis, i just need to pull the finger out and do it. Any volunteers?

 

[MarkBastard]

Those bines are hardcore. Is that what they look like after a few years? They're really thick and supporting their own weight very well.

 

[~MikE]

Got home from a week camping to see the goldings going crazy.

jesus, is that all goldings in the first pic?

i'v got my rhozomes in pots still, but have buried them a few inches with the idea that the roots will dive and be free, but the pot should still keep them all from becoming one big tangled mess.

 

[Wolfy]

i'v got my rhozomes in pots still, but have buried them a few inches with the idea that the roots will dive and be free, but the pot should still keep them all from becoming one big tangled mess.

Good luck with that idea once they are established.

 

[mje1980]

Mine havent popped out of the ground yet. Im a little worried

 

[drsmurto]

Those bines are hardcore. Is that what they look like after a few years? They're really thick and supporting their own weight very well.

jesus, is that all goldings in the first pic?

i'v got my rhozomes in pots still, but have buried them a few inches with the idea that the roots will dive and be free, but the pot should still keep them all from becoming one big tangled mess.

Yes, that is just 1 rhizome that is in its 3rd year.

Got ~100g dry off it last year but lost at least 3 times that as i went away for holidays and should have picked them before i left. It's looking like a bumper crop for all of my plants this year

I think i will be doing a lot of homegrown 10 min IPAs next year.......

 

[~MikE]

Good luck with that idea once they are established.

well, if nothing else, i'll just know what shoots to go at with the shovel when they start popping up outside of the pots...

Yes, that is just 1 rhizome that is in its 3rd year.

that is awesome.

 

[Nick JD]

That Chinook you sold me Doc thinks it's the Space Shuttle. It's loving the Queensland sun. :icon_cheers:

 

[MarkBastard]

Mine havent popped out of the ground yet. Im a little worried

Me too. Has a lot of shoots there just popping out of the rhizome. I reckon it'll know when the time is right. I probably haven't been watering it enough to be honest.

 

[beerbrewer76543]

Are they seeing lots of sunshine?

I moved mine off the back fence (shady) into full sun all day two weeks ago. Combined with watering every few days and they have shot up from nothing at all. One of them has thick bines about 15cm long free standing! Time to make a trellis me thinks...

All are second year plants and I will be pruning this year for some nice thick bines instead of the spindly ones I got last year

 

[white.grant]

Mine havent popped out of the ground yet. Im a little worried

Don't worry, you only planted them last week.

 

[mje1980]

Thanks grant, im pretty impatient haha. You drinking that biscuit bitter yet? I think my keg is almost done hehe

 

[white.grant]

Thanks grant, im pretty impatient haha. You drinking that biscuit bitter yet? I think my keg is almost done hehe

Just tasted the keg last night as it happens, and it's not too bad at all.

 

[arogers]

Well, the rumours are true....

Chinook was last to shoot and has already overtaken the other 8 in height.