Hop Growing Thread 2012!

Glad to see this well underway! I know this was days ago but my nuggets are the most prolific of all my producers, w/ original survivorship o 1/3 but rhizome shoots to well exceed loss. Side note, thought Legman would’ve pipped in by now. anyone seen him?

[quote=“quietlymakingnoise”]Side note, thought Legman would’ve pipped in by now. anyone seen him?[/quote]Yo! I’m still around. I just don’t have as much time as I used to have to participate in the forum…but I’m still watching y’all. :wink:

I’m getting anxious for this years growing season. I’ve had terrible luck in the past with spider mites, so I’m hoping to get that under control this year. I haven’t had a good harvest yet. I’m due for one damn it!!!

I have 2nd year Zeus, Centennial, Mt. Hood and Liberty all sending up shoots already. I’ve never really had an opportunity to grow my own (hops)… What methods of drying are all-y’all using and having success with?

dang that’s early. i need to check on mine (in portland)

oh, and go ducks :cheers:

Wow Oregon, early for shoots. Odd “winter” perhaps. Keep in mind you can hack them back if they get frosted and still get great harvests.

I dry on a big old door screen in an uninsulated metal shop. Toasty oast in a dry climate. Maybe you can get ideas of what is good in your more humid neck of the woods by others here.

:cheers:

I use some old window screens and place them across a bar I have downstairs. I park a dehumidifier in the room and run it for about a week before I weigh, bag, and foodsaver seal them. I store them in the freezer. Since you live in OR you likely don’t have a basement. Most likely your attic in your garage or some other place would work well. Either that or build an oast I guess.

dang that’s early. i need to check on mine (in portland)

oh, and go ducks :cheers: [/quote]

Yes Brother…Go Ducks.

Thanks for all the input.

PortageMIBrewer…I’m originally from Northern Michigan and that is where i brewed commercially. Yes you are right…most Oregonians don’t have basements…at lest where I’m at. But compared to the Great Lakes Region, Oregon is quite dry during the late summer and fall…one of the main reasons I decided to say ‘out west’. After about the 4th of July the sun comes out and there is not a cloud in the sky until mid October…no lie…it’s pretty amazing coming fro the land of 9 mos. of of winter snow.

At any rate…I dried my hops last year on a screen in the shed but they had a strong vegital aroma and the pungency and citrus didn’t come through. Maybe it was cause it was the first year crop.

I’ll keep tabs on you all and come harvest I’ll bug you again…

unfortunately i don’t have better input cause last year was my first year growing. i ended up using a majority of my chinooks as wet hops. the remaining i put in a large paper bag full of holes and let it sit in my room with the heat turned up for a few days. i also got a vegetive smell from those and did not use them. maybe its because they were first year also? i’m not sure, but i am excited for this years crop

As am I!!!

Last year I had first year Cascades (2) and 1 Magnum rhizome. I didn’t get anything from the Magnume but did get 2 oz dry and about a pound wet from the cascades that a guy down the street made a couple batches of hoppy Octoberfest with…

I pre-ordered 4 more rhizomes from Thyme Garden just a couple days ago. I wanted to order from NB but they don’t have a very big selection. Anyway, I went with one each of Williamette, Kent Goldings, Centennial and Crystal.

Hope to be planting them by the end of March! Cheers! :cheers:

well… i’m not going to get too excited about the hops yet. we will get a lot of snow and cold yet this winter.

Anyone feel that cutting rhizomes or digging around the crown benefits your existing hops? If so, how aggressive are you getting?

My first two years harvests smelled like grass and hay. Not sure if I picked them too early or they were simply immature. After that, they were money. I’ve been on the ball picking them as late as I can each year, but not too late. Once I loose a few dozen cones because they’ve turned brown, it’s usually time.

Just preordered 2 rhizomes each of Columbus, Galena and Cascade. I have a 2 story house with plenty of south facing walls so they should do quite well.

I prefer to plant tall or vining things against the south side of my house. Plenty of sun for the plant and the plant gives some shading to the house.

[quote=“shizzy”]Just preordered 2 rhizomes each of Columbus, Galena and Cascade.

I prefer to plant tall or vining things against the south side of my house. Plenty of sun for the plant and the plant gives some shading to the house.[/quote]
don’t underestimate the weight of these bines. use a sturdy twine. and allow a good three feet between plants and at least 5 between species. these things will reach out and grab each other. This is a first year cluster from in 2010. That was two 17ft twines two feet apart at the base coming to a point at the top .

Anyone feel that cutting rhizomes or digging around the crown benefits your existing hops? If so, how aggressive are you getting?

Generally, after about the 3rd year, the crowns can start to become a little unruly and each successive year you’ll notice more and more and more shoots. I’m talking ‘hundreds’. Once you select a few to let climb and produce your crop you should continue removing the excess growth to help with air circulation near the crown. A damp crown will encourage disease development and act as a protected area for any neighboring bugs to hang out and flourish.

Once they’re well established, you can actually dig the whole crown up, trim it back and then just plop it back into the hole without any noticeable reduction in harvest. Been doing it for 20 or more years. Have at it!

pashusa; That’s Impressive!

I actually have a Fence line and two separate walls I plan to put them on so no worries there. I have heard about the weight issue.

[quote=“B-Hoppy”]Anyone feel that cutting rhizomes or digging around the crown benefits your existing hops? If so, how aggressive are you getting?

Generally, after about the 3rd year, the crowns can start to become a little unruly and each successive year you’ll notice more and more and more shoots. I’m talking ‘hundreds’. Once you select a few to let climb and produce your crop you should continue removing the excess growth to help with air circulation near the crown. A damp crown will encourage disease development and act as a protected area for any neighboring bugs to hang out and flourish.

Once they’re well established, you can actually dig the whole crown up, trim it back and then just plop it back into the hole without any noticeable reduction in harvest. Been doing it for 20 or more years. Have at it![/quote]

Like a haircut!
Mine are in BAD need of this. They are 5th year this year, and i’ve only trimmed them back once. I didn’t bother last spring. My harvest last year was smaller than the year before, and that was the first and only year I tried trimming them back. I fully plan to do it this year as well as dig up all the crazy side bines coming off and taking over the area. I’ll be transplanting these to folks who want them and giving them to homebrewers.

Yeah, I have already been removing the excess growth. Just curious if anyone felt that digging around the crown benefits it in anyway. I just figured it would also be for extra soil aeration in addition to keeping the crown in check.

you would think by removing the unwanted growth there would less competition for nutients and water. unwanted growth meaning off-shoots and unused rhysomes. the more root the better you would think.

(Pashusa, Baratone Brewer) - Have either of you tried to excavate a 5 year old crown? Yes, you need plenty of beer, a pry bar, and a strong back. Once they’re established in relatively good soil, some of the tap-roots are as big around as your wrist and somehow manage to penetrate down into the clay beyond a depth of 4 feet + - that’s all the further I was willing to dig. Figured that if they were that hearty there was no need to go any further.

Once they’re developed to this point, they do have enough root mass and stored carbohydrates to support the excessive vegetation, that’s not a real issue. The problem is that there are so many secondary shoots that continue to emerge throughout the Spring and until vegetative growth slows down, that sometimes you get behind in your thinning and the growth gets the better of you. This has happened to me a few times during very wet Springs, and if there’s a little Downy Mildew around, it soon becomes A LOT of Downy Mildew and now you have a problem.

Take home point, they’re very durable plants and some times we have to do things that we feel are contrary to providing a good harvest, but it’s actually better for the health of the plant in the long run. Whack away!