How Are Your Hops Going?

[BigAl]

Goat,

They look to be coming along nicely. Mine have hops about a 10mm in size at the moment. Yours look to be at least twice that. I wonder if different varieties grow and mature at different rates, presumebly they do. Ive got a tettnanger and a elsasser (some french variety). I managed to mix up the labels when repotting them so...oops dont know which is which. :huh:

What are you planning on doing with them? I was thinking maybe a light ale with loads of the hops late in the brew to see what sort of flavours they impart. Looking forward to making a brew with home grown hops.

Cheers.

 

[deebee]

My POR is going great guns. Really putting on some growth and covered in 4-6mm burrs that will be cones in a month or two. Looks like there will be some home-grown to swap in Perth this autumn.

Oh and I have about 6 or 8 viable cuttings still in water, not yet potted out that are still happy and healthy looking. I will pot them in a month or so and they can be door-prizes at some Perth brew day in autumn or winter. If they make it.

 

[Asher]

I think I've got an ornamental, non flowering variety of hallertau!!!!
....Or there in too much shade

Asher for now

 

[Trough Lolly]

My Goldings rhizome took off early in spring and then stalled - almost dormant.
Until SWMBO poured some "Thrive" on it and it went berserk! There's only a couple of shoots rising out of the tub (I suspect the rootstock has been busy instead) that I have the rhizome in, but the shoots are blossoming dozens of offshoots and they are all exploding over the adjoining trellis!
Talk about vigorous growth - each day more shoots appear and it's having a red hot go at the cab sav and shiraz vines that it shares its trellis space with!
It's on the first season, but I might even get some flowers? Here's hoping - I could do with some Goldings flowers soon!

Cheers,
TL

 

[Goat]

I've noticed that some of the more mature flowers have very small brown tips (at the end, not the base) and yellow powdery stuff (the Lupulin glands ?), so is it time to pick them? they do feel a little papery, but how papery is papery ?

I've googled it a bit and it seems they are just about there. Does anyone have any first hand experience/advice with the picking, or more accurately - knowing when to pick?

These are the sites I've been reading if anyone is iterested:

http://my.vbe.com/~hawley/hops.htm
http://www.freshops.com/garden.html

 

[Chatty]

Attention Goat

It's possible you might have a Potassium deficiency in your hops plant. Use Banana peels and place them around the plant - they're high in K or else track down a fertiliser (maybe a kelp mix - can be applied foliar then) to fix the situation.

Chatty

 

[deebee]

Why do you think there might be a potassium deficiency chatty?

Last year I saw a few cones going brown at the tip on my plant and took it as a sign they were getting ready to pick. It may also be that they dried a little on a hot day. I notice that some of goat's leaves have the same thing so maybe it got a bit dry one day, but the plant looks healthy to me.

 

[sosman]

Mine are still going fine should be a few dozen cones for the first season.

Also I think my propagation by cuttings is going to be mostly successful. The least fuss method seems to be throwing a few cuttings into a cup of water and leaving on the window sill in the kitchen. No rooting powder or daily watering.

Anyway, after several weeks they are forming tiny roots. Anyone in Melbourne with hops they want to swap for Hallertau - I will have some to trade.

 

[Goat]

I think you are right Deebee - I usually water every day, but missed a day or so last week and we've had a few warm days lately.

Chatty: I use 'Seasol' in a pretty concentrate solution once a week in a full watering can, so I doubt its lacking nutrient. Having said that; a few of the bottomand largest leaves on the main bine have faded and died in the last week - I assumed that it was jsut maturing an putting most of its energy into the flowers... the rest of the plant is quite healthy.

 

[deebee]

sosman, yep the cuttings straight into water seems to be the best way for me too and I tried a few different ways. The trick will be eventually putting them into soil and getting the timing right before it goes dormant for winter.

 

[johnno]

Update on my POR in a pot. First year.
I reckon there are about 150 cones of various size on it now. Not a very large plant but producing nevertheless.

 

[johnno]

More.

cheers
johnno

 

[BigAl]

Mine poor hops will be getting a beating in the Perth sun. Currently 42 Degrees C at 5pm!!

 

[Chatty]

deebee and Goat, sorry for the delay in this reply. Potassium deficiency usually expresses itself as a necrotic tip on the leaf. If you are having problems with achieving good hop set then this may be the case - potassium induces flowering.

I haven't checked, but as far as I can remember potassium is mobile within the plant, meaning that when the youngest leaves require it it is mobilised out of the oldest leaves (at the base of the plant) and transferred to the higher leaves.

potassium is also critical for osmoregulation, or the control of the stomates in the leaves which makes it difficult for the plant to control water loss on hot days, hence they seem to suffer badly.

I would check the actual label on the Seasol, as some formulation might be lacking in some nutrients. If in doubt buy a regular vegetable fertiliser because they generally have adequate levels of K.

Good luck anyway!

Chatty

 

[Guest Lurker]

Bastards. Stop posting pics of cones. My rhyzomes were looking sad enough, with no cones before today. And today it is godamm stinking nasty sweaty hot in Perth, as BigAl says, I am expecting to see some shrivelled up even skankier vines tomorrow morning. And the only way I am going to get to sleep in this heat is to go and crack a couple of my barley wines and see how they are going.

 

[BigAl]

Hope your hops make it through GL, i gave mine a thorough drenching when i got home from work, a few shrivelled leaves but survival none the less. A more please 28 forecast for tomorrow so we can rest easy.

Al.

 

[johnno]

GL,
Here is another piccy for you. :lol:

Seriously though, even with all these cones I have I cannot smell any thing yet. I even picked one and squashed it up but still no smell.

I wonder how you know when they are ready?

cheers
johnno

 

[Asher]

...... I'm totally convinced I've been sold a non-flowering ornamental variety of Hallertau!!!!

Asher for now

 

[johnno]

I was wondering when these hops were going to smell like hops. Well I checked them today and I noticed some yellow stuff on the top leaves.
Closer inspection revealed that this yellow stuff is growing through all the cone but seems to start in the middle and work its way out. I rubbed one and got that unmistakable hop aroma B) .
Looks like I may get to do at least one brew from these.
Does anyone know when you are supposed to harvest them?

cheers
johnno

 

[Doc]

Does anyone know when you are supposed to harvest them?

Well done Johnno (or is it your old man ?)

When you squeeze them and they have a papery texture and they are STARTING to turn brown it is time to harvest.

Beers,
Doc