Growing hops

[Chris]

Hi guys, back again for another visit.

I was just curious to see how many of you guys out there are growing your own hops. Also, what kind of results you are getting.

I've personally got 4 varieties in the ground this year (in two clump for each)- Chinook, Hallertau, Golding and Perle.

[billybushcook]

I'm looking forward to my second year crop of Pride of Ringwood, I have heaps of Rhyzome for any one who wants some.
I would love to get another variety going, (any offers?) even though the Hunter is not the best region, i'm hoping that an established plant can give me some usable flowers.
Last year had plenty of flowers but poor quality & AA content, they actually smelled very grassy, even when dried.

Just watching them grow at a frantic pace is worth putting one in!

mick.

[SuperBroo]

Agree Billy, its great watching our little babies grow

my morning hand watering routine gets the day off to a great start, hell these things fairly motor their way up the strings

I have...
Hallertau (3 feet high, about 8 bines from 1 large rhizome)
Cascade (2 feet high, about 8 bines from 2 medium rhizomes)
Chinook (6 inches high, about 8 bines from 4 small rhizomes)

will be in a position to swap some rhizomes in about 2 years, only just got started.

cheers,
Grog

[matr]

I have 2 first year plants. 1 x Goldings & 1 x Cascade both are growing quite slow. They don't want to climb.

I did find a shoot from the Goldings this morning that surprised me. It's about 1 foot away from the rest of the plant.
All good except the trellis is on the other side...

Does anyone know if it would be ok to dig around the shoot and "re route" it towards the trellis? The way it is I'm going to have to wait until it's 4ft long before I can loop it back.

Cheers, Mat.

[SuperBroo]

Hey Matt,

I would just put a small wooden stake next to the shoot, and then run a string from the stake to your trellis, it will climb along the string to the trellis then.

On one of my cascades, it has 3 shoots, which are all at leat 2 feet from the rhizome.
i just moved the anchors for the strings to where the shoots come out.

cheers,
Chris.

[billybushcook]

My plant is starting to really take off now, it is growing a couple of inches per day.
Of the 10 bines I have let grow (I'm constantly cutting back new shoots every day) 2 are thick, purple & up to 8 feet high already.

Does anyone know if it would be ok to dig around the shoot and "re route" it towards the trellis? The way it is I'm going to have to wait until it's 4ft long before I can loop it back.

Cheers, Mat.

Can't see why you couldn't dig around & move it Matr, they grow like the proverbial!
but even if you snap or cut it back, it will throw another shoot any way.

Just try killing one?
besides poison I'd doubt they could be stopped. when I sell my place, the people buying it will have a hell of a time getting rid of mine, it has spread under ground a good meter & a half now in it's second year & Ivé been transplanting some of the fresh Rhyzome I cut back & put them in my pool yard.

Mick.

[bullfrog]

I've got a first year Cascade and a first year Perle. The Cascade only really has one strong bine at this point (has another that has only sprouted about an inch out of the soil) but that one bine is now taller than I am. It's just crazy to see how much they grow between morning and evening.

[Chris]

You should be fine re-routing it, but as mentioned, sending it back along some string to the trellis sounds like a better option.

My goldings are going crazy, chinook and hallertau are not too far behind, but my perle are sluggish.

[matr]

Thanks guys. I'll give both options a go with the 2 plants.

I might start trimming off some shoots too so the energy goes into the better bines.

Cheers, Mat.

[bullfrog]

... my perle are sluggish.

I thought that of mine too, but now it has three very strong bines that are starting up the trellis. It is looking much better than my Cascade, despite it not having climbed as much yet.

[Chris]

Yeah, I'm getting close to culling a few bines too. It feels wrong, but it's the only way.

[drsmurto]

I have 5 varieties growing - chinook (x 3), cascade, goldings (x 2), POR and Victoria. Chinook is in its 4th year, the rest are 2nd or 3rd.

I have a chinook pale ale on tap at the moment and an all chinook beer in primary for the xmas case swap, both are very nice and fresh tasting. As i have said before, chinook grown in my backyard smells and tastes nothing like US chinook, much more like B Saaz.

I don't cut mine back, let them grow as many shoots as the plants want to - chinook yielded more than 800g dried last year so am happy with that. The goldings and chinook have in excess of 30 bines each, most thick and purple. I have cut out dozens of rhizomes from them at the beginning of winter and 2 years ago planted a few of them to make sure my 'cuttings' would grow since i was selling them. This year i had to cut them savagely as they had taken off as well, as Mick pointed out you will win awards for killing these plants, like blackberries they are weed-like in their growth and spreading habit.

Finally built a support for them so they can now grow 3m vertically. Water is crucial so last season i installed a drip irrigation system. No fertiliser is necessary, just water. Teh only 'food' my plants get is a bag of horse manure each at the start of winter that covers them till they re-emerge in spring.

[Chris]

I've only been feeding mine a little bit of seaweed-based fertiliser every month of growing season. I don't know if
it makes any difference, but it makes me happy.

[Tipsy]

I've only been feeding mine a little bit of seaweed-based fertiliser every month of growing season. I don't know if
it makes any difference, but it makes me happy.

Same here, but with a little blood and bone after I cut them back.
Makes me happy too

[billybushcook]

Last year I was using Yates Thrive & the filthy black juice that comes out the bottom of my worm farm/composter.

Mick.

[Lachy]

I've got third-year hops of uncertain pedigree (probably PoR), and 1st-year rhizomes of Tettnanger, Willamette, Hallertau and Goldings; all in the ground. The PoR is going berko, and the others are growing slowly but steadily.

Dynamic lifter and doses of Seasol are my friends.