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Anyone Else Growing Hops This Year?


PhilboBaggins

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Looking good Kelsey, must be the nice warm weather you get up there! The 4 bines I trained from my Perle have almost reached the top of the trellis just below the gutter on the back of the carport. Can't go out to snap a photo at the moment because the cats are locked in for the evening and attempt to escape at every opportunity.

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Looks good mate.

 

When can we expect to see some flower photos?

 

I love a bit of time in the garden but I haven't got the room for hops (well not without having to take something else out).

 

I've had my first ever harvest of raspberries this year. very satisfying tending to these plants for ages and to have them finally flower and form fruit.

I'd guess in about 1.5-2 months. They actually have burrs on them already' date=' but these aren't the main harvest so I dunno what they're doing. The Hallertau has probably about 20 burrs/flowers on it but no laterals yet. Weird. 20 is bugger all though, I expect when it starts flowering properly, being a 2nd year plant it would be in the hundreds, possibly 1000. I got 40g worth last season when it was in a pot, so expecting that to be at least 100g this season.

 

Mine are still in pots and not as big… by memory Kelsey your hops started a lot earlier up in QLD than here in VIC

 

Im vary happy with my second year growth should be a good harvest this year

They did yeah, mid-late July they started shooting up. My Fuggle plant is still in a pot because I don't have enough room here for 3 of those big planter boxes, and I just let it do whatever. Three more have just shot up from the soil in the last 3 or 4 days too. The first two shoots on the Hallertau that climbed up the lines I cut off about 6 weeks ago to allow the newer growth to flourish and it has done very well. There are bines at the top at 4 of the 6 lines so far with the others catching up quickly. These lines are about 3m or so tall. The first year Cascade has burst into action too with about 3 or 4 bines already at the top, and it has a number of burrs on it too.

 

Looking good Kelsey' date=' must be the nice warm weather you get up there! The 4 bines I trained from my Perle have almost reached the top of the trellis just below the gutter on the back of the carport. Can't go out to snap a photo at the moment because the cats are locked in for the evening and attempt to escape at every opportunity.[/quote']The warm weather definitely helps mate! Mostly low-mid 30s at this time of year, and those thunderstorms we usually get don't do any harm either. Something about rainwater really kicks plants off. I got a rain gauge recently to help with deciding whether or not to water them with rainfall and we've had just over 30mm in the last fortnight which isn't bad. That's why the lawn looks a lot nicer as well lol

Even though they grow slower down there you will probably find that they flower better due to the longer daylight hours than we get, assuming they do flower. That's why pretty well all the commercial hop fields are in Vic and Tas.

 

I've been away overnight and even in that time they seem to have grown more, they really do shoot up quick when they get going. There was a storm yesterday arvo that dropped about 6mm rain so that would have helped no doubt.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

 

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I managed to get a pretty good shot of the burrs on my Cascade plant earlier, so I figured I might as well post it. This plant has yet to really throw out any laterals yet so I'm holding back on the flowering fertiliser for the time being. The Hallertau has a few burrs and cones but again, not very many. I doubt I'll even bother harvesting from this tiny lot of flowers but it's nice to know that it will produce some!

 

1482203717_85_316.JPG

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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I picked a flower off the Hallertau plant yesterday, not with any plans to use it or anything as it wasn't even ready to be picked really, but I took this photo of the insides of it. That yellow stuff I believe is where most of the stuff that provides the bitterness, flavour and aroma resides.

 

There are a few flowers formed on it and some burrs but nothing substantial so I won't bother to harvest these ones. It has started sprouting laterals now as well. There are more burrs on the Cascade plant but still not enough to bother with. Will see how it goes in a month or two though which is when they usually start to flower up more.

 

1482464821_32_882.JPG

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mine are going along nicely once again. The Fuggle isn't doing a whole lot but it is in a pot still. I won't really be able to move it anywhere bigger for a while, so that one is more just a 'keep alive until it can be moved' situation.

 

This is the Hallertau plant, which has just started to throw out laterals which already have small burrs on them. Might be time to start hitting it with the flowering fertiliser.

1483408406_06_586.JPG

 

These two are of the Cascade, which once it got going shot up rather quickly and then developed a fair few burrs towards the top of it. About half of these have turned into cones now. I might actually harvest something off this one after all...

1483408565_5_113.JPG

 

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Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

 

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It's not ready for harvest yet but I picked a flower off the Cascade plant earlier to gauge its size. Not too bad for a first year I reckon! There are a number of clumps of these on the plant, most look to be heading to about that size or bigger. Might see some improvement once the flowering fertiliser starts kicking in too.

 

1483624510_39_812.jpg

 

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Thanks mate, they sure are. I'm looking forward to seeing what ends up growing on the lateral shoots later on too. I might get a reasonable harvest from it, which I wasn't expecting at all given it's a first year plant and it started growing rather inconspicuously at the beginning of spring. When the temp finally decided to warm up, it shot up like crazy and then all these flowers started forming. They'll definitely be going into a pale ale at some stage soon.

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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I have my hop drying rack half finished now, at least finished enough for the first harvest of the season anyway. Two trays are done which should easily hold the amount I'll get. I just have to varnish it tomorrow so it can sit indoors... not much use drying them outside if a gust of wind comes along.

 

1484209319_33_699.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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That might be stretching things a bit too far lol It would be interesting to try but I don't have the space available to grow anywhere near enough barley for it to be worth it, or equipment to make malting the grains relatively easy at home. Growing hops, picking them and drying them is far easier biggrin

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First harvest of the season this morning, off the Cascade plant. I have picked about 275-280g of flowers, which are now drying on this rack (it's not completely finished to use properly yet, so this is an interim solution), and once dried sufficiently should yield around 70g of flowers. I'm a bit surprised at the amount of flowers on it, given that it's a first year plant. There are still other cones on it that aren't quite ready yet, plus numerous burrs appearing all over it too, so there will be more harvested in due course.

 

1484701089_42_879.JPG

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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Hmmm. I've found a supply of malting barley (not malted barley) in Moree and it just so happens that my daughter will be coming through Moree in a couple of weeks on her way back from Melbourne. At $1 per kilo I'm tempted to buy a 25kilo bag so she can bring it up freight free.

 

Might be fun to try malting small batches. Worst that can happen is that it'll get fed to the chooks.

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Hiya Kelsey.

 

I haven't been following this thread a whole lot as I'm not growing hops so my interest is a little limited, & I only check in on it intermittently.

 

I just wanted to congratulate you on your growing feats as the plants look terrific, as do the cones you've harvested from them so far.

 

That said, I expected nothing less from an ex-greenkeeper! tongue

 

Well done mate! cool

 

Lusty.

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Hi Kelsey.

 

I'm still very new to this home brewing obsession and i'm starting to look at using hops and different yeasts etc. I've contacted my local plants plus nursery to see if they can order in Hops plants and they can get hold of 5 different plants.

 

American Cascade

Red Earth

Chinook

Goldings

Pride of Ringwood

 

They are 8-10cm in height in 100mm pots selling for $8.95 which i thought was quite reasonable (not that i know what they usually sell for) but what has kind of confused me is they have said they like a cooler climate so to grow them where i am (regional South Australia) i would need to keep them in a shadehouse etc? This is where i'm confused as i;ve read your posts and you've mentioned they are loving the heat??

 

Can you or anyone shed some light on this?

 

Cheers,

Hoppy

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Hmmm. I've found a supply of malting barley (not malted barley) in Moree and it just so happens that my daughter will be coming through Moree in a couple of weeks on her way back from Melbourne. At $1 per kilo I'm tempted to buy a 25kilo bag so she can bring it up freight free.

 

Might be fun to try malting small batches. Worst that can happen is that it'll get fed to the chooks.

Might as well give it a go if you've got proper malting barley. Could be interesting to see what comes of it.

 

Hiya Kelsey.

 

I haven't been following this thread a whole lot as I'm not growing hops so my interest is a little limited' date=' & I only check in on it intermittently.

 

I just wanted to congratulate you on your growing feats as the plants look terrific, as do the cones you've harvested from them so far.

 

That said, I expected nothing less from an ex-greenkeeper!

 

Well done mate!

 

Lusty.[/quote'] Cheers mate happy I wasn't too surprised at the growth but the amount of cones and the size of them was a surprise for a first year plant. They're getting a weekly dose of Maxibloom now which is undoubtedly helping the flowering as well. Definitely looking at over 100g dry, possibly over 200g dry once the flowering ends for the season. w00t

 

Hi Kelsey.

 

I'm still very new to this home brewing obsession and i'm starting to look at using hops and different yeasts etc. I've contacted my local plants plus nursery to see if they can order in Hops plants and they can get hold of 5 different plants.

 

American Cascade

Red Earth

Chinook

Goldings

Pride of Ringwood

 

They are 8-10cm in height in 100mm pots selling for $8.95 which i thought was quite reasonable (not that i know what they usually sell for) but what has kind of confused me is they have said they like a cooler climate so to grow them where i am (regional South Australia) i would need to keep them in a shadehouse etc? This is where i'm confused as i;ve read your posts and you've mentioned they are loving the heat??

 

Can you or anyone shed some light on this?

 

Cheers' date='

Hoppy[/quote']It's not so much that they like a cooler climate, it's more that they will flower more in areas where there are longer daylight hours. The plants themselves will grow anywhere, but the amount and size of the flowers they produce is somewhat dependent on location. Usually you would plant them in late winter/early spring though, not halfway through summer.

 

Very nice Kelsey' date=' good to see the Griffins are doing their part too.[/quote']Thanks mate. Yes the hops feel safer at night knowing the Griffins are keeping a watchful eye on them... lol

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

 

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It's not so much that they like a cooler climate' date=' it's more that they will flower more in areas where there are longer daylight hours. The plants themselves will grow anywhere, but the amount and size of the flowers they produce is somewhat dependent on location. Usually you would plant them in late winter/early spring though, not halfway through summer.

 

Kelsey

[/quote']

 

Thanks for that, they did say they will be available in about 4 weeks and also mentioned Spring time but yeah the heat thing kind of threw me off.

 

Just another thing, i have read that you have to keep your dogs away from them as it can be fatal, is there any issues with kids that you know of?

 

Cheers,

Hoppy

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In that case I'd probably wait until next spring. There's not much point planting them in a few weeks only for them to die back and go dormant 2 or 3 months later.

 

Kids are fine but a good idea to keep dogs away from the flowers. I think it only affects specific breeds but it's better to err on the side of caution if you have a dog.

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In that case I'd probably wait until next spring. There's not much point planting them in a few weeks only for them to die back and go dormant 2 or 3 months later.

 

Kids are fine but a good idea to keep dogs away from the flowers. I think it only affects specific breeds but it's better to err on the side of caution if you have a dog.

 

No worries, thanks for the information mate. I'll wait until a few weeks before spring before i place an order.

 

Cheers,

Hoppy

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  • 2 weeks later...

My Cascade is going well and the bi-weekly doses of Maxibloom appear to be working well for the flowering side of things too. I've begun this with the Hallertau plant as well, but it's not showing anything major as yet. There is still time, however.

 

In the first pic is the Cascade plant closest and the Hallertau beside it, and the second pic is a group of burrs on the Cascade. These have appeared in numbers all over it over the past week or two, so another good harvest coming up soon. Apologies if the pic shows up sideways rolleyes

 

1485826795_64_686.JPG

 

1485826822_45_226.JPG

 

Cheers

 

Kelsey

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My cascade plant, now second year in, was going great but sustained some damage to the ends of the vines after they had travelled about 2 metres.

 

I have been growing them horizontally along a fence line, so up the fence and off in either direction on a string line attached to metal eyes screwed into the fence.

 

I suspect possums being responsible for chewing the ends of the vines off.

 

Anyway has thrown a lot of additional shoots and now probably has 200 to 300 almost mature flowers on there and is bushy rather than a long T shape.

 

We have had some bloody hot weather here in sydney however, so experiencing some leaves burning off and going brown. Only a few however, not too bad.

 

I have read this is another reason why hops plantations are usually in colder and higher elevation locations, highlands of Vic and tassie, as one decent hot day they say can burn the crop badly in places like sydney, so would be very risky to start a commercial hop farm in these locations. Luckily, I'm just growing mine for a bit of a lark :-)

 

Last year I got 38g wet, 10g so about 60c worth!

 

This year, not so sure with the possum attack but should be quite a bit more.

 

 

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