2011 Hop Plantations, Show Us Your Hops!

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Haven't got mine in the ground just yet (worried about frost) but will soon, great tips in this thread.

I am going to dig a big hole, put up a pair of 2.4m posts, run a 3m post along the top of them, screw some hooks in, then roll wire from the hooks to the ground. That'll do 2 rhizomes and then repeat for another 2. I'll prep it with some organic compost and chook manure, and keep on seasol/nitrosoling it as the season goes.

If all goes well i should have 4 plants going, not sure if i will get any cones but growth is fine.

Is running multiple bines a big no-no or is it just as i hear: that commercial farms just run single bines to make it easier to mechanically harvest? I am thinking about 4-5 bines per rhizome and trim off any others.
 
Is running multiple bines a big no-no or is it just as i hear: that commercial farms just run single bines to make it easier to mechanically harvest? I am thinking about 4-5 bines per rhizome and trim off any others.
There is a relationship between the number of 'nodes' (leaf-junction-things) on the plants, the number of hours of sunlight and how big a crop they produce.
IMHO trimming back hops is only useful in a commercial situation (when they all need to be harvested at the same time) or if they are out of control at home, other than that no need or reason to cut them back.
 
Is running multiple bines a big no-no

To add to Wolfy's comments, I ran up to 4-5 bines per string and it was all good.
Some folks say you should snip off the first bines to grow so that the latter ones will be more vigorous - it doesn't seem to make sense to me. With crowns/rhizomes that are young, there's only so many nodes on them from which bines will grow... maybe you need as many bines and flowers as possible to power the development of the root system? Why would later bines be more robust anyways, sounds like bollocks to me. Last year my chinook was first to pop up and grow leaves but then it just sat there like a shrub whilst the other varieties emerged, grew and started climbing to the moon. Once the weather warmed a bit then the chinook took off with it's total growth exceeding that of the others and it was the first to set flowers. So this leads me to think that sure the first bines to emerge may initially be a bit less vigorous than others emerging during more optimal growing conditions but they will all catch up at some point so why bother trimming the first to emerge? They'll get there if you give them time.
 
Is running multiple bines a big no-no or is it just as i hear: that commercial farms just run single bines to make it easier to mechanically harvest? I am thinking about 4-5 bines per rhizome and trim off any others.
Right, the picking and stripping the bines of cones is all done mechanically, and too much leafy growth would clog up the works, so they have to limit it. They make up for it by having massive trellis systems and just overpower their losses with sheer bulk of numbers.
 
Try layering some of the excess bines to create a larger root system for feeding those remaining. :unsure:
 
Try layering some of the excess bines to create a larger root system for feeding those remaining. :unsure:
I don't buy that as a reason. That would seem to be assuming that you would tender your hops in a commercial way in presumably a backyard situation. It is just not neccessary to do this in your backyard. Layering would be an unnecessary thing to do (if for that intended purpose) and that reason would be nonsense. The roots grow like you wouldn't believe.

For example: one season in a half wine barrel (and they grow more rapidly in the ground).
From this:


to this:



Layering would be more for propagation purposes than feeding the remaining roots.
I suspect that layering is also best done late in the season not early in the season. I tried it earlier in the season and failed, they just rotted; it may have just been poor technique. Layering towards the end of the season (which seems to be when most folks suggest it be done) would seem to be a simple, low effort way of producing rhizome sections for harvest and splitting in the following winter. I found it better (for me) to strike cuttings and let them grow and develop in the same growing season into advanced rhizomes by the winter. It's probably more effort though.

Have a look at this rhizome from a cutting:

The section near the top growth buds was as thick as my little finger. Look at the massive number of buds on it (I count about 18). I didn't photograph all of the zomes from cuttings I had, this was one of the first I de-potted and photographed when the novelty was fresh. Others were substantially larger than this.

Something to note, these cuttings were taken late in the growth season (mid March) so were not planted out into pots until April. They were a shits and giggles experiment with surprising results. Imagine if I had of taken some cuttings in December and thus given them a few more months to grow?

Further observations:
Cuttings in pots - Little pots grow little rhizomes and bigger pots grow bigger rhizomes.
These cuttings kept their leaves and continued slowing growing quite some time after the mature bines nearby had dropped their leaves (maybe a micro climate things at ground level on pavers but who knows).

Yes you will get terrific growth from a length of rhizome with 4 or so growth buds on it taken from layering and it is probably less effort to generate rhizomes. Or you could take cuttings and generate a robust plant (I call it a plant because it is a rhizome plus tuber like roots and feeder roots) with many growth buds. I am not saying one is better than the other (even though it seems that way). There are pros and cons for layering and likewise for cuttings.

I am not a hop expert, nor have I been growing them for many years. I have just made a few more observations and pictures than maybe most folks would. It seems to me that I have made some reasonable assumptions that are mostly supported by some photographic evidence and some actual experience.
 
Checked the plants last night and noticed a few shoots on all of them. Decided not to disturb them, added blood and bone pellets and some nice new peet compost. Looking forward to some good growth this year as they'll have a 3month head start over last year!
 
Here's my hops, I have peas growing at the moment which may need to be pull out if hops need the space (as obvioulsy the hops have priority). The rhizomes are starting to shoot again, and hopefully another good hop growing season is on it's way.

Hops_1.jpg

Hops_2.jpg
 
the saga continues

View attachment 47618 gaden bed and first hole mortared in

View attachment 47619 the hole goes down about a foot or so and is now quite nice soil whith the stuff Ive put in there

View attachment 47620 first chinook going in... joy!!

View attachment 47621 the rhizome is planted about half way down the top of the bricks loose soil over

View attachment 47622 a bit of mulsh for good luck

View attachment 47623 a bit of compost for love + a load of gypsum (claybreaker), blood and bone + trace elements, compost and mulch + slow release...

's-gunna luv it

:icon_drunk:
So what is the height of the trellis that the hops will be growing across?
 
Well i decided to plant some hops this year. Planted them today. I think i may have planted them to deep? I covered them all up and the shoots are just below the soil? Any way got these beauties from hopswest (rupert) top bloke 1 cascade and he gave me 2 big Saaz rhizomes aswell.

View attachment images.zip
 
Well i decided to plant some hops this year. Planted them today. I think i may have planted them to deep?
If anything they look too shallow, the new shoots can easily push up about 100-200mm or more without problem.
 
Sorry wolfy that is not how i planted them. They are all under ground, that was before i planted them. But you have given me confidence for them to shoot through and grow like weeds. Cheers :beer:
 
IMG_0137s.jpg

The ones with stakes are 2nd year plants.
2nd row new mounds built up, manured & watered in getting ready for this years plant.
From R to L:
Chinook
Columbus
Cascade
Vienna Gold (Cluster?)
Goldings
Pride if Ringwood
Tettnanger

Green patch in the top right of picture is a couple of acres of malting barley coming along nicely.
Godswilling we'll get decent batch of single source Schultzbrauhaus harvest saison this year.

IMG_0140cs.JPG

Goldings, POR & Vienna Gold already poking up some shoots. It's been a mildish week or 2 for this time of year.
Keeping them covered in hay, and waiting to plant new rhizomes until 1st week of September (expected possible last frost).
 
The prides are up to a metre already lucky i cleaned up the patch last weekend.Have some cuttings from last season in 250mm pots that are extras if people are interested and some that are in the ground.look at my signature for the varieties..no extra cascade,saaz or perle though.
 
Here are a couple of shots of my second year hops in pots just starting to shoot again.
2ndyearWillameteshoots.jpg

Willamete

2ndyearCascadeshoots.jpg

Cascade
 

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