2010 Hop Plantations

[MarkBastard]

What soil did you use in the pot? Potting mix or something else?

 

[user 12491]

What soil did you use in the pot? Potting mix or something else?

It's potting mix I bought pre-mixed with Osmocote, but it's been in the pot for over a year (since August 09).

 

[raven19]

After a week or so away interstate, I trimmed up excess shoots and growth on the Chinook includes some nice burrs...

 

[clarkey7]

I thought I was going great until I saw Dr Smurtos photos.... :lol:

Anyway here goes from left to right on the back fence:

Trellis done (all cheapo stuff from Bunnings)....My two second year plants took a while to fire, but seem to be healthy now.
I counted 22 bines from the Chinook...so I cut 11 off (I thought 7 bines per string was a bit excessive and I'm testing the common wisdom). POR has a dozen that I'll leave alone.

I also managed to severely stun 2 healthy plants that I had in pots...I didn't water them enough. They are just recovering now. Mt Hood and Cascade.

High wind killed back the Hallertau that was shooting up the string...new side shoots are coming.

Goldings looks really healthy for a first year plant.





Should look good along the back fence in a couple of months (if you can see past all the kids equipment).

Can't wait to brew a harvest ale.

Hopefully I'll have enough crop for an IPA .

PB

 

[Stinger]

White oil is just a bit of vegetable oil and detergent, very easy to make up yourself. It works by suffocating the bugs (ie by coating them in oil and stopping oxygen) so you have to spray it on when they're on the leaves and ensure that you spray under the leaves as well. It's completely harmless to plants and you can use it every two weeks if it's a bad infestation.

White oil will only control certain pests like leaf miners, scale, mealy bugs but will probably not do too much to spider mite and caterpillars.
BT based sprays will work best on caterpillars (bacillus thuringiensis is a organic bacteria safe to use, dipel is one brand)
Rogor (dimethoate) is more toxic but is good on spider mite and used properly will be very effective (use golves and wash hands after, should be safe on the hops but don't spray if picking in a couple of weeks but used early in the piece should not have any residue issues) avoid this if you dont like to use insecticide
Confidor (imidacloprid) is great on thrips and silverleaf white fly and aphids and is residual but same comments as above about not using close to harvest.

these products should not affect the hops as they are only toxic to insects but those that are into tree hugging and organics should stick to the pyrethrum, dipel and white oil as they are on the safer end of the spectrum.

Stinger

 

[Stinger]

I got the same little beggars, going over my tomatoes, strawberries, hops, wherever they can get their grubby (pun intended) little arses onto. I have found the Pyrethrum/chilli spray from bunnings to work really really well, i think it was the bRunnings brand, but its in a yellow bottle. I could see about five of them on my tomatos, so gave them a good light spray over the whole plant, within 60 seconds there was dozens of them dropping off left right and centre. And seeing as its made from daisies and chilli, the birds got to them pretty quick and everyones a winner, except the little grubs and thats their own fault, hops are for beer.


Someone previously posted that the pyrethrum/chilli/garlic sprays are no good, but gotta say this one worked wonders for me. Can be pretty generous with the stuff if you want to, bottle says not to eat whatever your spraying for 24hrs, but otherwise all well and safe except for the grubs of course.

These are Looper Caterpillars, pyrethrum/chilli/garlic will be ok but have a look for the BT sprays you can get from garden centres and bunnings etc. is Bacillus Thuringiensis and one brand is Dipel. is an organic bacteria that will kill the little buggers when they eat it. is very safe for humans and dont need to worry about witholding periods etc from more poisonous products. if you have heaps of moths/cabbage white butterflies they will be laying eggs so you can spray the BT spray every week or so on both sides of leaves. need to re-apply after rain as can wash off.

Stinger

 

[Stinger]

Here is my first attempt at growing hops, thanks to Rupert for sorting me out with rhizomes down here in Albany

first pic is the Saaz, which took much longer to get going than the cascades or the chinook, reflecting its european breeding? this was a monster rhizome so it is quickly catching up as the warm weather comes in.

Next is the Chinook, slower to get going than the Cascades but faster than the Saaz. bit more kikuyu around the base may be competing a little bit.

lastly the Cascades, there were about half a dozen small rhizomes put in and this has grown the fastest so far and hit the 2.5mt top of the trellis first.

There has been a reasonable amount of rain (nothing compared to you dudes on the east coast though) and the soil pretty free draining so I have had to dose with ammonium sulfate a couple of times. rhizomes were sown with NPK blue and have also spread blood and bone with trace elements around the base too. From what I have read they really chew the nutrients when growing so fast. I can just about watch them growing! Now they are starting to reach the top of the trellis I think i will just train sideways along the top wire and let the laterals spread out. still more bines coming up from the base so training a few of those up the twine (some of the twine has three or four bines going up it) If i keep the nutrition up hopefully the yields will come!

Stinger

 

[arogers]

Recent photo of two of my better ones.... Vienna gold and cascade.

 

[barls]

just a quick one does anyone have full size cones yet?
cause i just found about a dozen at an inch long.

 

[raven19]

Just burrs on my Chinook here in SA, nothing on my other plants as yet...

 

[thylacine]

I'll be happy to not lose any more bine tips to hail storms; and for the 25km wide locust hordes to remain in Victoria...

 

[Lebowski]

just a quick one does anyone have full size cones yet?
cause i just found about a dozen at an inch long.

I noticed some cones on my first year chinook the other day..

..suprising because the base of the plant looks pretty eaten or something..

Had to put up a little wire fence to stop all the neighbourhood cats stratching and crapping in there.


My first year cascade looks a lot healthier and has more shoots but no hops yet.

Will have to invest in a higher trellis next year.

 

[Housecat]

This is my Cascade 2 months after getting the rhizome from Malty Hops.

Its about 5 1/2 feet tall now and starting to grow about 4 inches a day



HC

 

[Steve]

My Mt Hood is looking a little sickly, I think it may be downy mildew but not to sure. Can anyone confirm? It is a first season from a smallish rhyzome.

The small shoots at the base have not grown for a couple of weeks.

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pots too small and its probably dying of heat stroke. Image how hot that cement floor terracotta pot and brick wall gets in the sun. Poor things getting frazzled.

 

[MaltyHops]

This is my Cascade 2 months after getting the rhizome from Malty Hops.
Its about 5 1/2 feet tall now and starting to grow about 4 inches a day
HC

They seem to be doing much better than mine (tho I've had to be neglecting
my plants for the last few weeks).

T.

Pssst! That should be 1 month - had me worried about where a whole month
might have gotten to

 

[Housecat]

Pssst! That should be 1 month - had me worried about where a whole month
might have gotten to

LOL true, time has been going pretty quick for me lately but 2 for 1 is ridiculous!!

 

[Adam Howard]

Last post

Chinook growing rapidly after a boost of nitrogen and plenty of water. It was only a few inches tall in the above post and is over a metre now. Plenty of burrs too!

Cluster is recovering after what I feel was a potash overdose. The rain we've had seems to have rinsed the potassium out of the immediate area. Burrs appearing.

So hard to see the actual growth against that background.

Thinking I'll bulldoze my pumptrack and establish a hop garden through that area. Want to get hold of a fair few more varieties next winter. My uncle has a POR going hard as well as Saaz and Hallertau.

 

[Kieren]

pots too small and its probably dying of heat stroke. Image how hot that cement floor terracotta pot and brick wall gets in the sun. Poor things getting frazzled.

Hmm, you're probably right. Pot is actually plastic (prob no better than terracotta for heat resistance) but granted too small. My only other option for location is out the back where it may get direct sun until 11ish am.

So, would it be advisable to move the plant now to a place with much less direct sun. Plant has begun to shoot buds, overall growth has been slow but steady but has recently slowed a lot. i know certain other plants rely on the cycle of the sun to decide when to start flowering, could moving the hop plant now upset their budding cycle?

Also, would re-potting now be too much of a shock to it as well?

It must be said, I never had much hope for this plant. Last year I bought 4 rhyzomes and gave to a mate to grow for me as I don't have the space and he has a bigger green thumb than me. They all died during the first big heat wave. This plant has survived much better so far. It's also a Mt Hood - a hop I don't see myself using that much - bought it because I could. I have a chinook in adelaide which my dad is looking after and is currently going boonta - have greater hopes for this one.

Latest photos... (Mt hood in whyalla)

 

[MaltyHops]

Hmm, you're probably right. Pot is actually plastic (prob no better than terracotta for heat resistance) but granted too small. My only other option for location is out the back where it may get direct sun until 11ish am.

G'day Kieren,

Can you maybe move the pot sideways away from being in front of that brick
wall? The wall probably reflects and doubles the heat getting to the pot.

Also, would re-potting now be too much of a shock to it as well?

If you can keep the current soil around the plant intact and move into a new pot/soil,
it probably would be ok - maybe if you can get some stiff plastic or galv, slide it down
the side of the pot to keep the soil together when you shift it out of the current pot.

The pot isn't huge but doesn't look that small - if heat is the problem, maybe another
help might be to get a much bigger pot fill it with wood chips or coconut coir so when
the current pot is put in it, it sits near the rim level, and then fill the sides with more
chips/coir - as a way to insulate the pot a bit for this season.

It's also a Mt Hood - a hop I don't see myself using that much - bought it because I could.

I'm also in the same boat with a Mt.Hood - bought in a rush thinking time's running
out for this season. I did get a large rhizome and it went like a rocket for the first
month but has stalled for the last couple of months (I did snip the bine leaders as I
thought they were getting too long for their temp location). Maybe this is just their
particular growth habit.

T.

 

[felten]

My willamette also stalled out for ages after putting out a dozen shoots but has started going gangbusters again, a few of the new bines are growing at half a foot a day.