Titan Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Mine have not really taken off. Good initial growth but seem to have stalled. Will look for a more suitable spot next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Smashed Crabs said: Wow you don't really get much once they have dried weight wise. Do you use it gram for gram to pellet or do you have to use more flowers per a brew? Yeah, about 10% more by weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Smashed Crabs said: Wow you don't really get much once they have dried weight wise. Do you use it gram for gram to pellet or do you have to use more flowers per a brew? Yeah, about 10% more by weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Smashed Crabs said: Wow you don't really get much once they have dried weight wise. Do you use it gram for gram to pellet or do you have to use more flowers per a brew? Yeah, about 10% more by weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 My Goldings went gangbusters and is 4-5 metres along their stringline. But my Cascade and Red Earth are only about 2 metres high and are starting to set flowers. Not sure why they didn't grow so well. Gave them plenty of fertilizer, plenty of water, trimmed the excess shoots, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said: My Goldings went gangbusters and is 4-5 metres along their stringline. But my Cascade and Red Earth are only about 2 metres high and are starting to set flowers. Not sure why they didn't grow so well. Gave them plenty of fertilizer, plenty of water, trimmed the excess shoots, etc. You have done well SOS. My 1st year POR's are about a metre so far (still growing) and I will be ecstatic if they get to the top of the frame (2.4m) this year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Just thinking about this. If i get any crop from mine which i doubt this year. Could i dry the flowers in one of those food drier thingys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 37 minutes ago, Titan said: Just thinking about this. If i get any crop from mine which i doubt this year. Could i dry the flowers in one of those food drier thingys? That's how I did my hops last year. I got a few hundred grams from six first year plants. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogdog Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Preferably slow dry them on a coat hanger or a screen, in a room, with a fan blowing on them for air movement so they don't mold. Treat them delicately to preserve the terpenes and flavenoids or volatile oils. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John304 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Have to have a go at this one day, sounds interesting 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 29 minutes ago, John304 said: Have to have a go at this one day, sounds interesting Definitely worth a go mate. 3 or 4 days ago i had about 100 cones formed. Probably 150 now. They come on so fast. Even for a 1st year plant that i have. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Bugger me popped down to the back paddock & the rhizomes have gone a tad feral. How they do it in Bushy Park!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted February 17, 2019 Share Posted February 17, 2019 14 hours ago, YeastyBoy said: Bugger me popped down to the back paddock & the rhizomes have gone a tad feral. You've got a couple of nice plants there YeastyBoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 My Perle has come to life again with another round of shoots and there's a nice second harvest on the way. Unfortunately it looks like I'll be overseas when it's ready to come off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 5 hours ago, porschemad911 said: My Perle has come to life again with another round of shoots and there's a nice second harvest on the way. Unfortunately it looks like I'll be overseas when it's ready to come off. Better give us your address so we can plunder your crop before the possums? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 My Cascade is alive but I won't get anything off it this year. The climate here isn't suited to leaving them in the ground/soil and getting bigger yields each year, in fact the opposite occurs, I suspect due to the comparatively warm winter. As a result, I'm simply keeping the plant alive this season. Around May/June or maybe July I'm gonna completely dig it up, cut off a few rhizomes and bag them up with some soil, and stick them in the fridge for a month or so before planting them here. Being that every plant has had its best yield in its first year, I think this will help restore the yield each year. When I bought them, they came from down south and I would keep them in the fridge until I was ready to plant them. In the meantime I'm going to gather some cash over the next couple of months to buy another planter box then once I get the trellis around and put in place I'll gradually fill it with soil up until planting time. Since I have time it will be easier spreading the cost over a period than buying everything at once. Hopefully this time next year I'll be harvesting a nice little yield of Cascade flowers so I can make another home grown Cascade ale. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 I am in the outer east of Melbourne and my cascade did much the same. I have got some cones near the top of the bine but barely enough for one brew. My Red Earth, a hop which I did not like much went great guns, covered in big chunky hops. I might have to do something different with them to see if turns out better. But because the brews I did with them last year were a bit average (one was my only beer ever tipped) I am a bit worried about using them again and wasting all that effort. My Goldings plant grew well too, but it has only produced a few cones as well. Maybe I will do like you OVB and dig up some rhizomes and replant in July. Mine are second year plants, but the first year went quite well; better than this year anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Do you use any flowering fertiliser on them? I usually use one called maxibloom on them when I start seeing burrs forming, but there are others as well. I didn't bother this year though, it's a bit difficult when they're at a different house. I would have thought in Melbourne that the climate would be well suited to growing hops since all the commercial hop yards are down that way. I am always seeing decent yields from guys growing them in Victoria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 I used about a quarter of a handful of general purpose fertiliser granules about once per month, but have not done it since before Christmas. Yes I thought our climate was supposed to be pretty good for them too. You might remember I commented earlier in the growing season about having a lot of shoots coming out about half a metre from the crown. You said to leave them, but I cut them back because there was a lot of them (at least six per plant) and I thought if the plant put all of its energy into the newer shoots, the shoots that came out of the crown would suffer. Maybe I should have removed the crown shoots and kept the "younger" side shoots? I will try that approach next year. I have a pair of each plant so could do a different approach with each to see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 General purpose fertiliser isn't the same as flowering fertiliser. They all have a NPK ratio on them, the flowering fertiliser is the one with a high P content. They don't really need lots of "normal" fertiliser anyway, I usually throw some in before they sprout, then a little bit more about a month later and that's it. Once the growth has occurred it's time to switch to the flowering fertiliser. With cutting back it depends on the year of the plant. First year you just let them do whatever, in following years usually there is some trimming done, although I've never really done it. It's just funny how mine have produced more flowers in their first years when they are also establishing themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Otto Von Blotto said: It's just funny how mine have produced more flowers in their first years when they are also establishing themselves Mine basically did the same. This is contrary to what growers are usually advised. However, mine were not rhizomes; they were actually small potted plants that I bought and planted in about May/June 2017. They did die back, but came back about a month or so after planting. When you say flowering fertiliser is that like a liquid fertiliser you can spray or tip on the leaves? Edited February 21, 2019 by Shamus O'Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) You can get it as granular fertiliser that you just spread on the soil like normal fertiliser. That Maxibloom stuff is dissolved in water first then applied with a watering can. Its NPK is 5-15-14. Some guys just use sulphate of potash. Potassium is important as well (hence the potash), forgot that in my other post. Might give it a go next season, it's easier to get than Maxibloom. Edited February 21, 2019 by Otto Von Blotto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Mine havent done anything but im thinking its just the position they are in. Will move them next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastyBoy Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 12 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said: You can get it as granular fertiliser that you just spread on the soil like normal fertiliser. That Maxibloom stuff is dissolved in water first then applied with a watering can. Its NPK is 5-15-14. Some guys just use sulphate of potash. Potassium is important as well (hence the potash), forgot that in my other post. Might give it a go next season, it's easier to get than Maxibloom. Good discussion OVB & SOS, The NPK is a good way to go given Hops love Nitrogen (N) & Potassium (K) and sweet soil (lime). Not much Phosphorous (P) Organic is just as good but needs to weighted to N & K. Chook shite for example is really high in N. So by adding Potash you add the K. Hard to get it right every time due to variety in the output of chooks. Other options are meals such as poppy meal which is 5.2% N. Not much P is needed by Hop Plants so a 5-15-14 mix is weighted to high to P Do we know what the best NPK for Hop Plants? I am picking High N& K with a really low P. Also when to apply, again guessing late winter then regular feeds during the growing season. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) Yes but I'm not talking about regular growing fertiliser, I'm talking about specific fertiliser designed to make them flower more. That's the only time it is used, during the flowering cycle. Organic matter is important for soil composition but it's useless as a fertiliser because it has to be converted to inorganic matter before the plants can use it. I have used that Maxibloom on them and had good results from it. Large ish cones and quite a few clusters of them on the plants. Nothing like the kgs of flowers guys in Victoria are getting but more than I expected up here. Edited February 22, 2019 by Otto Von Blotto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now