Hop Growing 2009

[Subsonic]

I was just reading these threads and someone is going to have to tell me how to train my hops!! I went a bit overboard and planted a 100 metre length on 6-7 ft high pig wire (my chicken run) with hops. I have masses of chicken poo and ash, (my house runs on wood) so fertilising is no problem. Also, you may find this weird but in the threads on miracle grow there is a big debate in the home distillers forum about this. A lot of people actually use it as a yeast nutrient for high sugar washes (I kid you not). BUT - what Miracle doesn't show is the heavy metals. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Distillers/message/43647

I often have to get data on soil samples for work and a lot of heavy metals crop up in what you may expect to be 'normal' soil. As for me I am sticking to my ash, chicken poo and the odd Bullmatiff turd.

[delboy]

I was just reading these threads and someone is going to have to tell me how to train my hops!! I went a bit overboard and planted a 100 metre length on 6-7 ft high pig wire (my chicken run) with hops. I have masses of chicken poo and ash, (my house runs on wood) so fertilising is no problem. Also, you may find this weird but in the threads on miracle grow there is a big debate in the home distillers forum about this. A lot of people actually use it as a yeast nutrient for high sugar washes (I kid you not). BUT - what Miracle doesn't show is the heavy metals. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Distillers/message/43647

I often have to get data on soil samples for work and a lot of heavy metals crop up in what you may expect to be 'normal' soil. As for me I am sticking to my ash, chicken poo and the odd Bullmatiff turd.

I heard that in yesteryear people used to empty the ashes onto the garden, over time the heavy metals rose shockingly, apparently this is a problem in a large proportion of victorian gardens.

[Philbo]

[quote="Talisman"]I planted a Fuggle and a Challenger last year. Must admit done nothing to them at all over winter. Had a look at them this weekend and ive got loads of shoots coming up on both im pleased to say.

Question is, what the heck do i do to them this year?

Do i need to remove the shoots down to just 2-3, do they need special foods? Ir do i let them fend for themselves and go mad?

Yeh.Same hops,Fuggles & Wye Challenger.Same question.

I believe you cut down to 3 shoots.

[delboy]

Mine have been sprouting and once again are getting munched by the slugs, im ready for them this year though, the chemical warfare has begun
Using some ferric phosphate (animal safe) based killer, hope it does the trick

[Chiltern Brewer]

I heard that in yesteryear people used to empty the ashes onto the garden, over time the heavy metals rose shockingly, apparently this is a problem in a large proportion of victorian gardens.

I wonder whether in the case of the Victorians this could have been coal ash (with a high sulphur content)? I use wood ash collected from the bonfire which was from a good mix of plant material. If nothing else the carbon helps improve the soil structure. Advice here from the RHS sums it up very well. To top up the phosphorus and potassium levels I'm going to use some blood, fish and bone. Donkey manure and compost have been applied to the base of the bines in the last few months.

I've planted out the Fuggle this week (it was climbing out of the cold frame) and moved the Prima Donna (First Gold) to the cold frame. My established bines are starting to shoot now and the next job will be setting up the strings for them to grow along.

[fivetide]

Do hens damage bines?

I suppose some ugly wire around the base might be a good precaution...

[haz66]

Just been up to the Father In Laws and planted my hop rhizomes in the ground, he put them
straight into pots when they arrived.
The Northdown and the Progress were already well underway in the pots, the Fuggle is just starting to shoot but
the Challenger is only just starting to send a little green shoot from the root and is a long way behind the rest,but
hopefully it will spring into life.
We built a framework and then attached loads of strings for them to grow around so hopefully they will do nicey,
I`ll take some pics next time i pop up.

[MartialAnt]

Out of my 5 hops ive got planted, this is the best 1.


My dog trampled the lot 1 day which pi55ed me right off. So i put mesh around em to help protect em. Then the slugs found 1 & ate the new growth.
So now there dog & slug proof. Hope this helps now.

[SiHoltye]

Once they're in, they're akin to weeds. Reckon all will be well if they survive the first growing season.

[buckfast]

Hello all,

I ordered two plants last week. A fuggles and a Goldings from Deacons Nursery http://www.deaconsnurseryfruits.co.uk. They arrived two days ago and look very healthy indeed (I'll try to post some pics soon). I'm new to this hop growing stuff, but from what I understand, I make a hole and put some well rotted manure in the bottom, put the plant in then fill in the hole.
Also the little hop plants I got from Lidl just look like dry sticks in pots. Do you think the roots will pull through?

Cheers
Geoff.

[prolix]

second year fuggles have gone mad


goldings not so much

[nanobrewer]

I recently bought a Fuggles and Cobbs rhizomes and put them in about a month ago and the other week the shoots have appeared

Fuggles has about 3 or 4 shoots appearing, the Cobbs has the one at the moment. Should be slug proof as they are planted in the middle of a load of gravel. Be interesting to see how quick they grow now they have access to sunlight.

[awalker]

Had four bines coming off of one Halertau, looking great after last year
At least a metre high already.

Went to gaze at them in all the awe after work today
Some ****** has chewed the ends of all of the bines and dragged them down the line to get at them
Didnt touch the Tettnager and first gold, not yet anyway.

Will these recover or are they just stuffed again????

Sure its cats, cant sit out there guarding them every day

[simple one]

Is it possible to grop hops from cuttings of the female plant?

[grumpysod]

Is it possible to grop hops from cuttings of the female plant?

Yes it is, I have 18 plants from 19 cuttings I took last year