[corkybstewart]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say I probably will have the first hop crop this year.  My Cascades are only 6' tall but I already have lots of burrs growing.

The rest of the garden is coming along slowly but surely.  I have 3 new Fuggles, one neomexicanus, one Amilla, and 3 Centennials growing along with 12 mature and 6 new Cascades.

[rjberry]

That's awesome!  I really want to try my hand at growing hops, but I have 2 unfortunate factors working against me.  I'm in GA and I live in a townhome  I am hoping that my LHS still has rhizomes because I was at least going to do 2 in large pots on my back deck, but I have a feeling the heat is going to stress the crap out of them

[gmac]

Does the electric fence help stimulate the growth

Mine are barely 3 inches tall but they were under snow not that long ago.

[corkybstewart]

Does the electric fence help stimulate the growth

Mine are barely 3 inches tall but they were under snow not that long ago.

No, but it's cheap and it lasts forever.  There's not much twine or string that can stand a whole year of our wind.

[tonyccopeland]

I am new to growing hops, but mine took off like a rocket compared to last year.  Should I be concerned or am I just going to have an early crop?

-Tony

[GolfBum]

I just got two rhizomes, one chinook and one centennial about a month ago and they are just sprouting out of the ground. I know I probably won't get much this year but I would like to see them grow just for the fun of it. To the person that lives in a townhome, so do I and I just got two big buckets, filled them with dirt and planted them. I bought 12 foot long 1"x2" pieces of wood and some eye hooks and have the string falling down from there. So far it hasn't taken up to much space but I will find out when they start getting big.

[klickitat jim]

My centennial died. Cascade was slow but coming along. Willamette doing great.

[kmccaf]

I am new to growing hops, but mine took off like a rocket compared to last year.  Should I be concerned or am I just going to have an early crop?

-Tony

No concern at all! You have a much more established root system. You may get an early crop, but I have found hops to have a pretty predictable harvest time, which I believe is more related to the amount of sunlight the plant is getting. You should get a bigger harvest this year though!

[micsager]

Does the electric fence help stimulate the growth

Mine are barely 3 inches tall but they were under snow not that long ago.

No, but it's cheap and it lasts forever.  There's not much twine or string that can stand a whole year of our wind.

I have found using material that last forever is a PITA in the fall when harvesting.  I use coir yarn from the Farmer's Supply in Yakima.  Just cut down, harvest your hops, and compost it all together. 

http://www.growerssupply.net/index.cfm?id=8&group_id=twi2226

[erockrph]

My centennial died. Cascade was slow but coming along. Willamette doing great.

RIP

None of my 3 plants made it through the winter. They're in containers and I suspect it's because I didn't pull them under the deck/against the house when we had our extended, brutal cold snap this winter. I'm honestly not sure if I will replant again. I was growing them as a trial run to see whether it was going to be worth my while to do something a bit more permanent with them, but they never did as well as I had hoped. And since I have about 20 pounds and 30-40 varieties of hops in my freezer at any given time, it's not like I was ever going to become self-sufficient on my hops addiction...

In the meantime, I will brew some kickass IPA in their memory.

[hopfenundmalz]

I am new to growing hops, but mine took off like a rocket compared to last year.  Should I be concerned or am I just going to have an early crop?

-Tony

No concern at all! You have a much more established root system. You may get an early crop, but I have found hops to have a pretty predictable harvest time, which I believe is more related to the amount of sunlight the plant is getting. You should get a bigger harvest this year though!

I find that the amount of sunlight, rain, and temperature in the summer can swing the pick dates by a couple of weeks. Last year the European varieties were ready to be picked around August 10. Most years they are on a little before Labor Day. Some other varieties can be done a week or two after Labor Day, but sometimes it is almost Oct. I have come to think that they are ready when they are ready.

[corkybstewart]

Does the electric fence help stimulate the growth

Mine are barely 3 inches tall but they were under snow not that long ago.

No, but it's cheap and it lasts forever.  There's not much twine or string that can stand a whole year of our wind.

I have found using material that last forever is a PITA in the fall when harvesting.  I use coir yarn from the Farmer's Supply in Yakima.  Just cut down, harvest your hops, and compost it all together. 

http://www.growerssupply.net/index.cfm?id=8&group_id=twi2226

I've tried it but it won't last a whole season down here. I harvest my hops all summer, pretty much continuously so I don't have a fixed harvest.  I picked about a quart of ripe cones today, and I have burrs and more cones on all 12 mature Cascade bines.  Once they start producing I can pick at least once a week or probably a lot more this year.  So I need the string to last the whole season.