Bummer. 5 out of 30 cluster rhizomes did not survive. Only lost 4 out of 150 in other varieties, but luckily had extra and replaced them.Stu Brew said:
Agreed...would love to be growing other varieties.BottloBill said:It was mostly to do with the failure at HPA and that it allows the smaller guys an opportunity to shine through and help out the industry where needed. I however feel it is unfortunate it's blokes like yourself that don't have access to the types of varieties that are needed to pick up the pieces when the big boys are down
It will happen one dayB)Belgrave Brewer said:
plus I got to see how the bines work the rhizomes will throw out shoots anything that goes down will pick up water for the rhizomes to bulk up. Each bine will put out its own roots in the top 6 inches under the soil. So this is where mulching really really comes in. You want to be able to feed your rhizomes by the bines...forget about the rhizomes and just concentrate on getting the individual bines what they need through the year as they have their own seperate fine roots for picking up water and nutrients. Where as the rhizome will throw down really fat deep roots to crack into the water table! IVe learnt a ton about these things in 1 year....3-5 years....well should be supplying hopefully a good few micros in SA. Its still farming though....high risk crops. Just lucky we have a great clean water supply here that has helped probably more than anything else. 
Yay I like plant nerds....have you looked into Silica? we'll be testing next yearwide eyed and legless said:Really interesting subject, hop rhizomes actually travel laterally, the reason they do this is they are looking for a host plant (tree) something for the bines to climb up. The root is split into sections the root cap is the tip of the root which senses the environment and protects the root, next is the Meristem this is region where the cells rapidly divide elongate and bend next is the transition zone which is electrically active and is thought to be the nerve centre of the plant and where the oxygen is used and what some believe is the brain of the plant.
Darwin was the first to suggest plant had a brain in the root, and they know the difference between movement from the wind or something touching it, the hops first cousin is notorious for this, touch one plant and they all start to give off a scent I suppose its something like a pheromone that's why they have extractor fans in a grow room.
And I wish I could stop referring to cones as buds.
although it raises PH so not much good unless you have scope for liming and were at about 5.5Ph so should be fine to have a play with!!!
Nah I dont touch seasol. Our water is at 40-100ppm coming out of our springs that the yabbies live in....that gets used to water the hops with. The only thing that is depleted in the soil is nitrogen. That keeps dropping as the yabbies grow but the phosphorus climbs due to them processing the waste matter in the springs. We feed them fruit. Liming has always been used as a way to increase and stabalise the soil Ph in agriculturalwide eyed and legless said:
the more run off from cattle/sheep you have will raise nitrogen but drop Ph......thats why the old kent guys wouldve been liming their soil every few years. All that waste would've been coming down the rivers and streams in their water back then!!!
I didnt really know when we bought this place that the old owner had started to breed yabbies. They were endemic to the water course we live on. I built a solar solar air pump to help circulate the water and stop it settling to much in the ponds they live in. We're going for a land based aquaculture licence so we can sell the yabbies. We're not raising plants we're actually using that same water for the orchard and hops. Not sure if we're a first but probably close to it!!wide eyed and legless said:
I'd say they are ready to be picked. This might help you determine Brewhard.Brewhart said:Hey guys just wondering if this browning of the hops is normal?ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1454970025.606857.jpg
