Garden pride and question- So Cal

[GreatBeerTour]

Here is my magnificent hop forest. A wild hair a few months ago turned into this. First year- containers- and fingers crossed. I chose Cascades- Chinooks- Nuggets- and Zeus based on what the local commercial growers were offering- these were the most often used/offered varieties. Seemed a good way to choose and it gives a fair mix of aroma and bittering potential.

So, Questions... You can see i have cones almost ready and all manner of immature flowers, some yet to emerge, and some wild low growth.

1- What fertilizer should I throw at these guys? i started with manure and 5-1-1 fish emulsion (smelled awful)

2- The lower growth is a bit unruly- is there an above the ground clean zone? i tried to keep my plant to 2-3 bines but the branches are, well have a look. To trim or not to trim.

 

[friarsmith]

Nitrogen-heavy manure/fish emulsion is advisable early in the season as you've done, then consider switching to a fertilizer more slanted to the "P & K" side in the N-P-K formula. It may be a little late for a "blooming agent" like this considering many of the cones have set, but it wouldn't hurt.

Even though you don't have a real winter in San Diego, it would be a good idea to cover the plants with a mix of leaves/manure/compost in the off season to give them a good slow feed.

IMO, pruning to a certain number of bines is more important for commercial growers who have to keep foliage in check to feed the crop through harvesting machines. If your soil is good and your trellis can handle it, then I say let 'em grow. Once each of my poles has 8-10 bines, I snip back any new shoots. The heaviest producers in my area (Chinook, Columbus, Brewers Gold, Cluster) routinely produce 3-4 lbs dried with 8-10 bines or so-- no joke. Picking, right around the corner, is a colossal amount of work, but it's fun work with a beer & a friend.

 

[friarsmith]

For years, my trellis of choice has been two 7' overlapping/bolted U-Posts available at HD/Lowes with 3-4 strands of heavy twine draped down. Two posts gives me 12' ground clearance. The posts are pre-drilled, so you only need to drill two holes for each trellis (see diagram).

This year, for a few trellises I added a thinner/shorter 4' U-Post at the top which gets bolted in the same way. This makes a 15' trellis for about $22 all-in. And it can be removed every fall. If your hops are located in an unsheltered or windy area, it doesn't hurt to pound in a 4-5' T-Post stake against the bottom U-Post and lash them together.

At harvest, I cut the bines at the level of the first overlap and remove the top half where all the cones are located. The bottom half stays in place until the first frost.

 

[GreatBeerTour]

The Grand Harvest
Now I don't want y'all to get overly jealous but your eyes are being treated to the sight of 50 grams (about 2oz) of the finest southern California grown Chinook Hops (and 3 Zeus because, they asked to be picked)
After a day in the loft of my shed they dried to 1/2 oz, seems about right.
I have hired a Mantis to keep watch while I'm away.

 

[GreatBeerTour]

I have picked several times- seems these things mature randomly up and down the bine- like weeks apart. Normal?
I was concerned that the so cal desert heat would fri these guys- nope. The portion of the plant that grew over the pergola and gets better sun are ready sooner. I think I could pick a few cones each week until Halloween
So here is the question- my Zeus and nugget produce very little- under 1/2oz- I'm thinking I just throw these together? Call it 10% aa and bitter with them.
Any thoughts?- I will be brewing 2.5 gal batches. Or maybe try to keep them separate and size my batch to plant yield?
Aargh, what to do?

Picture below- brown bag 4.8 oz cascades(and more on the plant)- clockwise- 1.8 oz Chinook - <1/2oz nugget - 1/2 oz Zeus-