Hop Horticulturalists - advice please

[SteveD]

Hi,

I've got an East Kent Goldings and a Fuggles going strong. This is their first year. I'm getting a lot of lateral shoots growing at between 4' and 8' along the bines with the longest main bines being about 12' at the moment. Fuggle has 3 main bines, Goldings has 4.

What do I do with these lateral shoots? Let them grow, or cut them back?

One of the main bines broke early on, which since then has sprouted bines which have grown on as if they were the main bine, 10' or so so far. Will these 'seconadry main' bines yield flowers or should I get rid of them. To all appearances they look like main bines.

I can't find anything in the literature I have which specifically answers these questions.

Scale: Fence is 6' - 1.86m

Fuggles - Main bines are trained 2 to left, one to right


Fuggles - More detail of secondary shoots


East Kent Golding - Main bines are 2 to left and 2 to right


More detail of secondary shoots.

[Chiltern Brewer]

Hi Steve, this is quite normal for this stage of the growing season.

You can get hops of these side shoots. They tend to form when the main growing tip is knocked out, or if there is no more space to grow. I either tuck them back under the string or if they get untidy I pinch them out.

Next year your hops will be more vigorous and I suggest you put some more wires/string on the diagonal and perhaps closer to the fence. Here's how I do it:



You can see how they "bush out" from the string and have "leapt" onto the honeysuckle! That picture was from 2005, and with this forum in mind I'm keeping a photographic record of this season - from first shoots to harvesting! Which reminds me, time to take some more shots this week.

The stringing patterns I use are typically something like <v> or xx with horizontal strings at the top and bottom of the central V or X'es.

BTW the hops form on the inside of the leaf joints, I am starting to see these now.

[SteveD]

Cheers

I'll leave them then The horizontal string is held off the fence with hanging basket brackets. There is plenty of room for more strings nearer the fence on both the upper and lower arms of the brackets. I didn't go mad in this first year because as you say the hops won't really until next year.

[Chiltern Brewer]

Honestly, you've got good growth there for the first year. You might even get a few hops if you're lucky - maybe enough for a late addition to the copper?

I do wonder if by growing my hops close against fence I diminish my potential crop size, but then I still get more than enough for my needs! Your technique is perhaps closer to the traditional hop poles and wires. The important point to note is that training the bines horizontally won't stop the hops from forming.

[jaytee1]

Hi guys,

Where did you get your hops seeds from?
Ive tried without any success to harvest and germinate seeds that are within the foil sealed hop bags im buying from Brupaks. Is this where you got yours from?

To germinate what time of the year did you get the plants started, jan indoors?? And did you germinate between layers of wet tissue etc..

Any advise always welcome as id love to get some hops plants in the back yard.

JT

[awalker]

Hi guys,

Where did you get your hops seeds from?
Ive tried without any success to harvest and germinate seeds that are within the foil sealed hop bags im buying from Brupaks. Is this where you got yours from?

To germinate what time of the year did you get the plants started, jan indoors?? And did you germinate between layers of wet tissue etc..

Any advise always welcome as id love to get some hops plants in the back yard.

JT

You probably will not get any luck from seed

Try this thread

http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3539

[SteveD]

Honestly, you've got good growth there for the first year. You might even get a few hops if you're lucky - maybe enough for a late addition to the copper?

Er....the fuggle is loaded with the little spiky pre-hop growths, about 5-6mm across. There are going to be a lot of hops, methinks


Below is the whole plant..more or less. The detail is the middle section of the left hand arm. You can see the growing tip just about reaching the mimosa in front of the white shed. The other tip is out of shot on the right, past the pear tree. Each main bine is about 25ft at moment - about a 40ft spread


The East Kent Golding is about the same size, but a little later in flower development, which is no surprise as fuggles are early croppers.

[dartgod]

I have second year Cascades......but we are in the middle of a drought....even though I water them regularly they could of done a little better this year. Last year I got about 2 ozs (56g....I'm familiar with metrics), I'll probably end up with about 8 this year. I also had to build a pole as my trellis just wasn't big enough anymore.











I'll post again as they get closer to harvest......

GOODBREWING.......

[Chiltern Brewer]

Steve, it has done well... in comparision my bines have only just started to form the shoots that will turn into hops. I think the Cobb has suffered a bit from the wet weather of late, but the Challenger is rampant this year (creeping over next door's garage roof). We just need a bit of summer weather to bring them on now!

[mysterio]

I've really neglected my hops, the Fuggle is doing well despite all the weeds i've left to choke it and the Challenger is making slow and steady progress - however i've let it take over a garden fence which I can't open anymore without damaging the bines. My Golding shoots took forever to appear and got eaten as soon as they did, so no joy there.

I might post up a couple of pics in a moment.

[mysterio]

Here's Challenger:



and my slightly languid Fuggle:

[Vossy1]

Here's Challenger:

Challenged vertically....definately

Hop, get a move on

[SteveD]

I think mine are doing well. Masses of burrs on the fuggle. Burrs coming on the golding now. Both plants are big - 3 bines each, of 25+ft now, and densely foliated.

The fuggle has grown to its full size as the growing tips have terminated in burrs. The golding is still going. The main bine on the right has grown to the end of the line, so I just turned it back on itself and sent it back from whence it came.

Both are first year plants but I gave them as ideal conditions as I could, by digging in a lot of compost in deep, and wide, plus sand for drainage. Subsequently, regular feeds with Miracle-gro and regular watering

[Vossy1]

Now I'm plain jealous