Hop Growing 2013

[seymour]

Put the trellis up today. And felt so bad cutting back my hops to just the 5 strongest bines. May even cut them down to 4, what do you guys usually do?

That depends. How tall is your trellis, and which cultivars are you growing?

[Cazamodo]

Not overly tall, but I plan to try and train them outwards. I have more horizontal space than vertical unfortunately. Probably only 2.5M max, maybe only 2 to be honest.

I have 2ssecond year Fuggles, EKG, and challenger, all grew in pots last year and had the whole side of the hose to grow up. Now theyre in the ground with less hight to grow.

[seymour]

Hmm, yeah. That's a tough choice. As you know, (most) Humulus lupulus plants evolved to grow upward, winding around slender trees and such. We beer-guzzling humans put further selective pressure on them, breeding them to climb twines in a commercial hop yard. However, as I eluded, there are Humulus species in the wild which are self-supportive, with a more shrub-like growth habit. I've seen pictures in a botanical reference. If I can find them again, I'll update this post.

I tried to train Cascade to a horizontal trellis one year and it was a pain in the ass. Almost everyday in the peak growing season, I was out there twisting and re-twisting laterals onto the trellis. It was clear the plant DID NOT want to grow that way, and seemed to put most of its energy into developing new upward reaching bines. When the time came to flower, it did produce a small crop, but it really seemed like its energy was spent. Perhaps it was because I had trimmed it back to a few bines as usual.

I would recommend not trimming it back much at all. If you want it to be as shrub-like and horizontal as possible, perhaps it would help to let the plant's energy be distributed amongst many shorter bines instead of fewer taller bines. I can't read plants' "minds" but that's my personal experience.

Other growers, feel free to correct me.

[Cazamodo]

That makes sense. I only had 1-2 bines the first year, and I got most of my hops from where they spread out after they reached their peak.
Hopefully I have enough height for them to do the same this year. Or maybe I can get lucky and extend my trellis in the not so distant future

[pofke]

If you don't have much vertical space, there are several solutions:
1. Grow dwarf hops, such as Prima Donna (First gold), Gimmli or some other varietal that is suitable for brewinhg
2. Grow hops diagonally, the bines will be longer for the same vertical height
3. Provide a strong support on the max height so the hops could safely overhang
4. Combine 2 and 3 and grow hops on a trellis training them to a zigzag shape

The yeld will be lower than growing vertically, but with your pimitations there are no other ossibilities.

[jmc]

My 2nd year Challenger has just gone mad past 2 weeks.


This was planted spring 2012 and harvested tiny (<30g) amount of hops last autumn.
Last year I trained 2 bines in a spiral around 4 bamboo canes.

Hop seemed to still realise how high it was as no real hops grew below about 6ft height even though that about 12ft along the string.

Also thinking of just letting this one go unchecked, without trimming bines and see what happens this year.

[greenxpaddy]

My 2nd year Challenger has just gone mad past 2 weeks.


This was planted spring 2012 and harvested tiny (<30g) amount of hops last autumn.
Last year I trained 2 bines in a spiral around 4 bamboo canes.

Hop seemed to still realise how high it was as no real hops grew below about 6ft height even though that about 12ft along the string.

Also thinking of just letting this one go unchecked, without trimming bines and see what happens this year.

I am so jealous. Mine have only just started sprouting out. Too cold in Lancashire!

[Befuddler]

4. Combine 2 and 3 and grow hops on a trellis training them to a zigzag shape

That's what I do. It's a right pain in the arse though.

[jmc]

My 2nd year Challenger has just gone mad past 2 weeks.


This was planted spring 2012 and harvested tiny (<30g) amount of hops last autumn.
Last year I trained 2 bines in a spiral around 4 bamboo canes.

Hop seemed to still realise how high it was as no real hops grew below about 6ft height even though that about 12ft along the string.

Also thinking of just letting this one go unchecked, without trimming bines and see what happens this year.

I am so jealous. Mine have only just started sprouting out. Too cold in Lancashire!

Once they sprouted I gave them a week or so under a 'cloche' made from 5L Ashbeck plastic PET bottle with bottom cut out.
They loved it and I soon had to take it off as bines were bending-over after touching top of cloche.

[Blackaddler]

My 2nd year Challenger has just gone mad past 2 weeks.

A very similar state to my Wild Redbine, which is starting to go well...



My Wild Whitebine sprouts much earlier, and is now going mad...

[Cazamodo]

Maybe I can extend my growing space. So far I have a trellis made of two 2.4M planks of 2x4 with garden twine tied in zigzags between them.

Hopefully I can attach something to extend the height. The only problems are what to use, and also how much fuss the neighbours would make.

[seymour]

Put the trellis up today. And felt so bad cutting back my hops to just the 5 strongest bines. May even cut them down to 4, what do you guys usually do?

That depends. How tall is your trellis, and which cultivars are you growing?

Not overly tall, but I plan to try and train them outwards. I have more horizontal space than vertical unfortunately. Probably only 2.5M max, maybe only 2 to be honest.

I have 2ssecond year Fuggles, EKG, and challenger, all grew in pots last year and had the whole side of the hose to grow up. Now theyre in the ground with less hight to grow.

Hmm, yeah. That's a tough choice. As you know, (most) Humulus lupulus plants evolved to grow upward, winding around slender trees and such. We beer-guzzling humans put further selective pressure on them, breeding them to climb twines in a commercial hop yard. However, as I eluded, there are Humulus species in the wild which are self-supportive, with a more shrub-like growth habit. I've seen pictures in a botanical reference. If I can find them again, I'll update this post...

UPDATE: I found 'em, check this out! Here's a Humulus lupulus plant, the same exact species as our brewing hops, except growing in the wild without any of our selective breeding pressures.



Look how it has adapted for survival: it grows more like a shrub, out in the open, supporting itself upright without any twines, trellises, or tree trunks. A woodier stem, and...woah, what the hell are those?! Yep, THORNS, baby. Those of you who pick hops by hand, thank your lucky stars our forefathers bred-out that nasty growth habit...



Nature's so cool.

[pofke]

Sorry to p*ss on your bonfire, but that is definitely not a specimen of Humulus sp. Most probqbly a gooseberry bush.
EDIT: or is it an epic feat of trolling?

[seymour]

Sorry to p*ss on your bonfire, but that is definitely not a specimen of Humulus sp. Most probqbly a gooseberry bush.
EDIT: or is it an epic feat of trolling?

Yes, it most certainly is Humulus. And not just a distant relative, but actual Humulus lupulus. I've seen others like it with familiar hops flowers or pollen brackets. Don't believe me? Read the scientific facts for yourself: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/ac ... pl?1733143

That's my whole point: remove the homogenizing effects of human selective breeding pressures, and there is bewildering genetic biodiversity exhibited in the wild, even within the exact same subspecies.

[Blackaddler]

It looks like a Gooseberry to me ...