How's the hops growing?

[wildcrafter]

With all the wild weather this year,,,how's the hops growing out there?

I hear the Oregon already has burned back the first growth on the H.L. var. lupulus plants.

Here's the first growth for us here in Embudo, New Mexico. This pict is of a female plant of a high aroma H.L. var. neomexicana crossed with a high alpha H.L.var. lupulus.

Amazing! This plant got it's last water on 10/10/09, was subjected to temps from -5F to 85F in a greenhouse where it was dry for 5.5 months, and is growing fast!! She just got her first water and was growing hard before she got it! Hardy! Of course,,not all plants survive our torture testing.

All our other varieties of H.L. var. neomexicana are about ready to break the soil surface soon. We have quite a few culls from breedings that are ready to find new homes soon,,,we can only keep a few to ramp up! Here we grow!

[jason.koehler]

My one plant at my new house is a 3 year old transplant, nothing yet but I dug a little and found one chute ready to break the topsoil.

The word at my farm is that a few varieties are popping up, but not all. I'll probably be going out next week to do some weed pulling and maybe string lines if enough are out.

[Rosie]

Here's one of my crowns...this bad boy must be 5 years old now and it is 1 of 4 crowns slowly consuming my and my neighbour's garden. Pulled at least a dozen rhizomes out, could have had a lot more...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...7&l=680e9b0770

I call these FuggGoldings as I can't remember which ones I planted where...

Cheers,

[wildcrafter]

Jason,,good to get started as early as possible,,,things happened here 2 weeks early,,,I'm hustling now!

Rosie,,great to hear your hops are growing with rhizomes to spread!

Are we the only folks on Probrewer growing hops? Really??

Anyway,,here's another pict of the previous plant,,,a few days after water. Temps are in the 70's in the day and still below freezing at night. The growth is quick and furious. Interestingly,,the leaves have the Euro hop shape and not the neomexicana shape.
The neomexicana plants sure have the look of another plant!
We'll see how she does! Torture testing continues!

Now is transplant time for sure,,,anybody interested in growing some neomexicana breeding culls should start soon!

It's time to grow!

[SRB]

We head down to our hop plot this weekend. Reports are that shoots are 6 inches or so. Third season, maybe we will be able to get over 50 plants this year!

[BeerBoy]

We head down to our hop plot this weekend. Reports are that shoots are 6 inches or so. Third season, maybe we will be able to get over 50 plants this year!

Ya gonna cow-proof 'er this year?!?
That's gotta be one of the bigger hop disasters in memory (and what I believe to be the *true* cause of the "hop crisis"... damn cows!).
Wisconsin's been cool and dry, though this week we'll get the temps and some moisture, so the hops will be a-hoppin' soonly.

Grow on!

Farmer Dave

[nohandslance]

Hi Wildcrafter, and Probrewer peeps.
We had a very wet winter, most of the plants were under 6" of snow for most of the winter, especially during the hard cold months, so they were very well insulated. Now they are going nuts. I have already pickled the first harvest now I need to thin once more. These are Chinook, Happy hop growing and harvest everyone.
Lance
Rebel Malting
Reno, Nevada USA

[Gael]

I don't have any photos yet (soon!), but we have some shoots over 3" and starting to show leaves. It's been very warm here all winter, now is cooling down nightly, so things are slowing down again. Still, that's good, it means no damage with our last frost coming next full moon. We're almost done digging rhizomes (about 3000) and have got one yard composted and mulched. Should start stringing next week, weather permitting. The mild winter was great for most varieties, only the cold-loving Willamette was disappointed. Challenger, Nugget, Golding, Mt Hood, Cascade and Fuggle all very happy indeed. Can't wait to get the cover crop re-seeded and see them climb!

This year we're adding a bunch of insectary plants to the cover crop mix: clover, cosmos, phacelia, tansy, and a lot more. Bet it's gonna be the prettiest year!

[matthendry]

I don't have any photos yet (soon!), but we have some shoots over 3" and starting to show leaves. It's been very warm here all winter, now is cooling down nightly, so things are slowing down again. Still, that's good, it means no damage with our last frost coming next full moon. We're almost done digging rhizomes (about 3000) and have got one yard composted and mulched. Should start stringing next week, weather permitting. The mild winter was great for most varieties, only the cold-loving Willamette was disappointed. Challenger, Nugget, Golding, Mt Hood, Cascade and Fuggle all very happy indeed. Can't wait to get the cover crop re-seeded and see them climb!

This year we're adding a bunch of insectary plants to the cover crop mix: clover, cosmos, phacelia, tansy, and a lot more. Bet it's gonna be the prettiest year!

Rebecca any other plants you suggest for cover cropping for 1st year hops ,

By the way just planting a small hop yard here in the mountains of Soutern Vermont at Anjali Farms with 50 Cascade ,30 Sterling and 20 or so potted hops that come from some old Willamette plants that have grown "wild" on the farm for 10 years ,

[wildcrafter]

Hops here in NM took a small hit from the cold last week, but all are back on track now. The hopyard is strung and drip is up and running. The girls are climbing now. Looking forward to a good harvest this year and we should have some decent quantities of certain varieties. Here we grow!

[drewseslu]

It is a mixed bag so far here in St. Louis, MO. I have my hops planted in bourbon barrels on the east side of the building. The Centennials are 20 something feet tall already. The Chinooks are off to a slower start, only a few feet so far, and the Sterlings didn't survive the winter. This is also their second year.

[Gael]

Hey -

cover cropping depends on your goals. If you are looking for weed suppression, I've planted fall rye and disced it in at about 1' high (before it shows signs of seed), then done it again, then followed with buckwheat, also tilled in before 10% bloom (very important, unless you want to grow buckwheat forever). Then another fall rye planted about a month before snow, tilled in early in the spring. This is a combination of weed control (the fall rye is allelopathic, preventing the growth of other plants) and green manure -by tilling in the top growth you feed the soil.

If you are looking for feeding the plants, low-growing white clover is great. We have planted a mix which is mostly clover, but includes yarrow, phacelia, cosmos, tansy and meadowsweet to attract beneficial insects. The mix should all perennialize, saving a great deal of work in future years. You can also till in the clover annually and replant if that works better for weed control.

Hope that helps!

In the interior here, our hops are between 1' and 4' tall, and growing like crazy. Everything is mulched with paper mulch, which is so far doing a fabulous job of weed suppression.

[jwbelair]

Spring came about a full month early here in Rochester, NY.
The hops at my house are much more prolific than they have been in years pastm and I thank the early warm weather (we had days in the 80's in March!!)...
My 4th year Willamette are at 20 ft and sending out side arms. My 3rd year Nugget are likewise at about 20 feet.
My 2nd year plants (Cascade, a Willamette transfer, and a Fuggles) are all at about 8 feet, though i have yet to string these guys up.... I should get on that soon before they pick up disease or bugs.

[jason.koehler]

How many shoots per plant should I let climb at a time this year? I'm in my 3rd year now. Last year I let 4-5 per crown up until first harvest, then let a few more go for a smaller 2nd harvest later.

[matthendry]

Should be 3-4 bines per hill/plant for 3rd year plants and when starting hops you should only grow 1 bine the first year ,2 bines the second year and some growers even suggest that you drop the flowers for a new Hop yard so all the growth can go into developing the root system and not the vegetation .