I can’t take it anymore. I think I am going to pull my hops. They are still just three inches tall. I’m pretty sure it is all my fault as I’m sure I didn’t plant them deep enough. I have since carefully added more soil on top of them to get them deep enough but the frosts that hit earlier in the year took their toll (i was covering them, but i missed two frosts). Originally one of the plants was close to three feet tall but after the frost it died back and now it barely grows. I’m sick of watching them do nothing and the frustration is mounting and I think my sanity will be better off if I just kill the sonsofbitches.
How long have they been planted?
Just place a cross in front of them with RIP on it. Come back in a month and they’ll have grown up and covered it. Kinda like watching for a pot to boil!
Isn’t part of being a homebrewer involve being patient. So what if they don’t grow this year. You’ll get em next year. I like the cross idea though.
They were in flower post since March, planted in April. Like I said they were growing very well until i moved them outside. They are all now 3 inches or less. I can handle them not going crazy but the amount of growth thus far is a bit on the sad side. I know they need to establish themselves but there should be more growth by now.
Yeah, there should be more growth by now but if you pull them up you’ll be wishing you didn’t next summer.
+1. Hops are very resilient. I transplanted a Crystal plant that I swore was dead, but just today I noticed a sprout come up. Hops are like weeds that you actually want. You can’t keep 'em down for long.
I’ll give them a bit more time. I would think that a plant that everyone says is so resilient would have grown more over the last month. They have been pretty much the same size for all of may. Maybe they grew a half inch or one inch?
I wonder if part the rhizome has died from the frosts and that is why they are doing so crappy.
It was probably the shock from going outside. I tried starting a rhizome inside once and it pretty much died when moved outside, but came back eventually. It’s not worth it to start them inside IMO. Now I just plant them when it gets warmer and they seem to do better.
it just kinda sucks these things were growing like crazy inside, like an inch or two a day. Now its an inch per month, kinda a big disappointment.
I grow a bunch each year so they’ll ‘plump’ up to get rid of the next year and have noticed a lot of variability in growth, even with the same variety. Some seem to take off and then just stall for about a month or even longer, then take off later during the Summer. Sure it’s a bummer but plants take a lot of patience. Fortunately our hobby enables us to fill in the blanks with some quality drinking time!
Since the frost took out the strongest bines, the plant is now simply growing new nubs off of the rhizome.
DO NOT PUT ANY MORE SOIL ON TOP! This is further slowing them down because they are losing valuable sunlight. I should know, I killed a 4yr old Cascade by doing this after a transplant.
I have considered multiple times about giving up on my Goldings. But, I just can’t seem to bring myself to do it.
Two of mine are goldings. Still can’t figure out why i planted them considering that i don’t brew pale ales. My beers are always porters, stouts and IPAs.
I have a Columbus that I planted this spring that is only a few inches tall. the Cascade and galena I planted are waist high.
If it’s not in the way, just leave it be. If by this time next year its not doing well (which I’ll bet it will) then dig it up.
until then RDWHAHB.
I have the same issue… My plants were growing great and then the frost hit. Now my American hops have outgrown their trellis but my English hops have not grown at all. I don’t care if I every get an ounce of hops off of them, I just wish they would grow! Maybe next year…
You don’t have anything to loose, if the bines are green, leave them alone.
Nothing wrong with using goldings in porters, stouts, and IPAs.
