[chuckd76]

   On the eve of picking my first year Cascades and brewing up a wet hopped IPA with Warrior as the bittering and I have a question regarding the bines themselves. I've found two schools of thought on harvesting: One is to just clip the side shoots with the cones off, leaving the bines standing and the second is to cut the bine itself down to the ground allowing any shoots that come up after the harvest to grow until frost kills them. Just wondering what most folks do and how it's been working.
  Also, I have a first year Galena bine that was ravaged early on by skunks and wild turkeys (love country living!) and as a consequence is only about six feet tall and has no cones. I'm wondering if I should do one of the options above (obviously without harvesting anything) in order to put the Galena through a normal "harvesting" process.
   Thanks in advance for the advice and be gentle, it's my first time.

[Kaiser]

Commercial growers cut the vines. That's what I do. But mostly b/c it makes harvesting easier for me.

Kai

[b-hoppy]

The more foliage left after harvest the more carbohydrates the plant can produce until it dies back this Fall.  If the vines aren't actively growing at this point, they won't use the carbs so any food produced will end up being stored in the crown for use in the future.  The hop farmers have to treat things a little different in the way they manage their crop so we home growers have an upper hand in this respect.  Hop On!!

[thebottlefarm]

I think commercial growers cut their bines to simplify harvest, and not necessarily what's best for the plants.
I believe homebrewers garden suggests picking in place, and then cutting back at the end of the season, after they have died off, but I don't have the book infront of me.
Aaron

[tschmidlin]

Yes, it is better for the plant to leave the bine in place, however in my area they grow like weeds so it is no big deal to hack them down for harvest - in fact it might be better to do that to keep them in check a tiny bit.  If you have a weak plant or they don't grow well in your area, it is best to leave as much of the plant as possible to let it store more energy.  The galena you have for example, you should leave it alone this year for sure.

[Pinski]

I shimmy up the ladder and cut the twine, let the hops fall and harvest on the ground.  Then I leave the bines attached in a neat bundle until the leaves lose their color and dry up when I cut at ground level and compost.

[Delo]

- in fact it might be better to do that to keep them in check a tiny bit.

I hope this is the case. I had to do an emergency harvest last night because our town was going to spray for mosquitos and I didnt want the chemicals on my hops, which had to be harvested anyway.  I didnt have time to pick them so I cut the bines to pick the hops later.  We will see next year how they do.

[tschmidlin]

- in fact it might be better to do that to keep them in check a tiny bit.

I hope this is the case. I had to do an emergency harvest last night because our town was going to spray for mosquitos and I didnt want the chemicals on my hops, which had to be harvested anyway.  I didnt have time to pick them so I cut the bines to pick the hops later.  We will see next year how they do.

If they are established it will be totally fine.  If they've been growing for a few months it will also be fine.  Throw some good compost on top of the mounds and don't worry about it.