Low Stress Training (LST) is not a new idea and it works well for other plants. From looking at other threads, it looks like some of you are doing something similar already. It is a little like espalier.
The idea with LST is to promote what would be underutilized bottom growth to better utilized top growth.
Take a plant, hops in this case, that has a vertical growth habit and bend it horizontal. This will encourage that bottom growth to grow more and grow upward. The natural top of the plant will continue to do its thing. I think this will work especially well with hops since I read about trimming back to one or two bines per rhizome, or where they come out in a cluster. It should make a plant with one bine grow as if it were many bines. This also allows more light and air to the plant. It should make harvesting easier, too.
Wait until the plant is strong enough to take being bent, but hasn't gotten to hard or woody yet. Take a length of fishing line, twine or whatever and loop it around the stem near the top. Weight or pin the free ends of the line to the ground. This will bend the plant down, horizontal. Be careful, you can bend too much and break the plant.
Repeat this as the tip continues to grow. Do this until the plant is as long as you like. Then, just let it grow. I think the hops will have to stay weighted or pinned to retain the best horizontal position. That should be just fine.
There will probably have to be adjustments made to the ties along the way. Plants can also be tied along the bottom, now top growth, as you like.
If you're familiar with trimming a plant to make it branch out more, this is like that without the stress and potential disease or pest attack of healing cuts. You also don't loose any plant material.
Here's a fancy drawing to illustrate, and what I have right now. This is a first year Cascade. I used fishing line and a slip shot weight.
The idea with LST is to promote what would be underutilized bottom growth to better utilized top growth.
Take a plant, hops in this case, that has a vertical growth habit and bend it horizontal. This will encourage that bottom growth to grow more and grow upward. The natural top of the plant will continue to do its thing. I think this will work especially well with hops since I read about trimming back to one or two bines per rhizome, or where they come out in a cluster. It should make a plant with one bine grow as if it were many bines. This also allows more light and air to the plant. It should make harvesting easier, too.
Wait until the plant is strong enough to take being bent, but hasn't gotten to hard or woody yet. Take a length of fishing line, twine or whatever and loop it around the stem near the top. Weight or pin the free ends of the line to the ground. This will bend the plant down, horizontal. Be careful, you can bend too much and break the plant.
Repeat this as the tip continues to grow. Do this until the plant is as long as you like. Then, just let it grow. I think the hops will have to stay weighted or pinned to retain the best horizontal position. That should be just fine.
There will probably have to be adjustments made to the ties along the way. Plants can also be tied along the bottom, now top growth, as you like.
If you're familiar with trimming a plant to make it branch out more, this is like that without the stress and potential disease or pest attack of healing cuts. You also don't loose any plant material.
Here's a fancy drawing to illustrate, and what I have right now. This is a first year Cascade. I used fishing line and a slip shot weight.