Hop Growing 2009

[Neal]

Hi Chaps,
I've had a lot of wildlife on my hops too, but since they were growing so strongly, I resisted the temptation to use any insecticides. The result has been a rather interesting mini-beast garden for the kids. First we watched the aphids descend on the hops, then came the ladybird larvae and the caterpillars. Now we have a load of Comma butterflies around the garden and a number of different types of ladybird.
Comma


Two out of three of the hop plants have romped away -

Target...



... and N.Brewer (in the corner)




but after a shaky start, Saaz has only just got to the top of the fence



They're flowering, so now I need to read up on what to do with the actual hop cones

[MissFlax]

Hiya

Not been here since May
Here is my Fuggles:

This was taken two weeks ago - it is now above the door frame so will have to some more wiring and vine hooks in!
Does it look alright to you guys?

Also, like MartialAnt I found a few caterpillars on my hop - how do I get rid of them?!

Thx

[WishboneBrewery]

First Fuggles Flowers???

[coatesg]

Also, like MartialAnt I found a few caterpillars on my hop - how do I get rid of them?!

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much, unless the entire plant is infested - hops are quite big plants, and if you've got a few comma caterpillars on there (they are black and white, spikey, like a bird dropping? they used to be called "hop-cats"), I'd personally let them get on with it - the resulting butterfly is a lovely one to look at

[WishboneBrewery]

I've certainly just been watching some nice mottled orange butterflies doing some serious Hop inspection, whether they laid any eggs I'll have to wait and see!
If I find cabbage White caterpillars I'll be getting rid of them. I remember keeping one in a jar as a kid and it turning all funny and loads of flies coming out of it, I now realise that these were parasitic wasps.

Also, like MartialAnt I found a few caterpillars on my hop - how do I get rid of them?!

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much, unless the entire plant is infested - hops are quite big plants, and if you've got a few comma caterpillars on there (they are black and white, spikey, like a bird dropping? they used to be called "hop-cats"), I'd personally let them get on with it - the resulting butterfly is a lovely one to look at

[markbatten]

Mine have done quite well this year........

[oblivious]

Here are my first gold, this picture is a few weeks old, must try and get a new pic

[delboy]

Here are my first gold, this picture is a few weeks old, must try and get a new pic

That looks pretty much the same as my first gold plants, the hops are just begining to form.

[SiHoltye]

Last foot of 20ft 2nd year Challenger bine I'm ripping open a cone each weekend now and noticing their pungency increasing

[mixbrewery]

What big cones you have Si

I think i'll have to harvest my sad effort this year before you see them on the 30th.
2nd year in the same large planter without extra compost/manure and not as good as the first year.

[Jymbo]

My Fuggles are starting to flower - not a bad crop for the first year, I only planted them in March. The Goldings caught root disease and croaked it. Here's how the Fuggles look:

[Chiltern Brewer]

Here's an update on my hop bines (old and new). These pictures were taken last weekend, and I'm hoping for some sunshine this weekend so that I can start harvesting the Challenger. Cobb Golding and Prima Donna aren't far behind, but Fuggle... well I can't clearly see if any cones have started to form yet as my old Cobb Golding bine is growing over the top of this first year plant!

Cobb Golding really seems to have responded well to being restricted to 5-6 stems and pinching out of the lower lateral shoots. I'm not sure whether it has reduced the yield from the Challenger - I seem to have fewer hops but they are bigger - I won't know until after the harvest. In any case it has been much easier to train than in previous years (think giant hop hedge) and should make picking easier. In anticipation of a good harvest I've added a second tier to my hop drying frame so that I can dry different varieties/pickings separately.

First year Prima Donna (First Gold) and to the left what we think was a seedling from spent hops put in the compost:



Prima Donna (First Gold) cones:



Unknown Seedling cones:



They look very similar and there is a faint possibility that it is a seedling of First Gold. I'll give it more care and attention next year, as up until now it was just grown as a curiosity.

Challenger and transplanted Cobb Golding:


click for larger image

Cobb Golding:





Challenger:





Some wildlife living on the bines:



Finally, good luck to you all with your hop harvests!

[MightyMouth]

I dont have as many hops as some of you but I do have enought fr a few brews and was wondering how you know its time to harvest?

[Chiltern Brewer]

Spotted this posting yesterday.

I'm out "feeling my hops" every day. Last year's wet August/September was a real pain as you really need a few days of dry weather so that you are not picking damp hops. Personally I try to pick as late as possible before the hops start browning, but I'll pick earlier if it looks like the weather is going to turn bad. My hops do seem a week or two earlier this year.

[Hogarth]

My front garden Fuggles, grown in a pot last year and planted out this year against an East-facing wall: