My backyard hop situation

[Jako]

this was awesome to read i think i will try to grow my own next year. i live in utah any types grow best in north utah?

 

[Senormac]

Final talley on Central Oregon Goldings...... 1 lb. 6 oz. dried

I still have 3 more second year varieties growing and will be happy to get a batch worth out of them

IDK about Utah myself, but I'm sure there are some people from there on these forums who can give you some info

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I'd guess Utah must be on the southern limits - they're very much a temperate plant and aside from a handful of South African varieties they need a certain day length in summer which they don't get closer to the equator. 35N/S seems to be the cutoff point.

The big requirement is water - they want deep, rich soil that's kept moist.
The other thing they need for best performance is a few weeks frost in winter.

I know Utah has a lot of different microclimates, so I guess it's up to you.

I guess with your dry air that powdery mildew will be a problem but downy mildew not, the sticky on this forum will guide you which varieties are more resistant. But I'd guess broadly as long as you can provide the water, any of the "usual" varieties grown in places like Yakima should be OK.

 

[B-Hoppy]

this was awesome to read i think i will try to grow my own next year. i live in utah any types grow best in north utah?

I guess it would depend on your location. Todd Bates began collecting native hops where he lived down in NM quite a while ago at about 9000ft and brought them back to grow at his elevation, about 6000ft. This paper discusses how some USDA folks went about collecting wild germplasm but doesn't specifically mention any sites in Utah. I do remember seeing some research stating that there were some pockets of neomexicanus growing in Utah though. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/2674/w.2002.Hummer.hopexpedition2002.pdf Also, it seems they require less water than the traditionally grown hops of European heritage: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/search-great-american-beer-180951966/

 

[Jako]

I guess it would depend on your location. Todd Bates began collecting native hops where he lived down in NM quite a while ago at about 9000ft and brought them back to grow at his elevation, about 6000ft. This paper discusses how some USDA folks went about collecting wild germplasm but doesn't specifically mention any sites in Utah. I do remember seeing some research stating that there were some pockets of neomexicanus growing in Utah though. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/2674/w.2002.Hummer.hopexpedition2002.pdf Also, it seems they require less water than the traditionally grown hops of European heritage: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/search-great-american-beer-180951966/

awesome information! thanks for the tips everyone. i don't want to hijack this tread so i will take off.

as for Utah we have cold winters with lots of snow at times, and hot dry summers. with some rain in the fall. it sound like it would work i will do my research and make a tread on my hop growing adventure.


keep up the good work. i loved the pictures awesome stuff.

 

[GiavaBear]

Happy Spring everyone! So all 6 crowns of my varieties have started sending out shoots and I have a few bines over a foot already, and now I'm in doubt on what to do next. This is their 2nd year as I planting them spring 2017, and I've read several things about pruning all shoots off the crowns. Is this good advice? I live in Ft Collins CO, and the potential for another freeze is always present until end of May. Would training the strongest shoots and cutting the rest this early be a mistake and create a potential "freeze damaged" main bine? Should I cut them all and wait for consistent warmer weather? 77° high today, 43° high tomorrow. Any advice would be appreciated! Cheers all!

 

[rlmiller10]

Happy Spring everyone! So all 6 crowns of my varieties have started sending out shoots and I have a few bines over a foot already, and now I'm in doubt on what to do next. This is their 2nd year as I planting them spring 2017, and I've read several things about pruning all shoots off the crowns. Is this good advice? I live in Ft Collins CO, and the potential for another freeze is always present until end of May. Would training the strongest shoots and cutting the rest this early be a mistake and create a potential "freeze damaged" main bine? Should I cut them all and wait for consistent warmer weather? 77° high today, 43° high tomorrow. Any advice would be appreciated! Cheers all!

I am across the road from you in Windsor. This is my 3rd year for some and 4th for the other plants. Last year I pruned and then the late frost stunned the ones I had left. They did come out of it for the most part. So this year I don't plan to do anything until early May. Then I will pick the strong ones and train them, pruning the rest. don't know if that is the best but I will give it a try for this year.

 

[bpgreen]

Happy Spring everyone! So all 6 crowns of my varieties have started sending out shoots and I have a few bines over a foot already, and now I'm in doubt on what to do next. This is their 2nd year as I planting them spring 2017, and I've read several things about pruning all shoots off the crowns. Is this good advice? I live in Ft Collins CO, and the potential for another freeze is always present until end of May. Would training the strongest shoots and cutting the rest this early be a mistake and create a potential "freeze damaged" main bine? Should I cut them all and wait for consistent warmer weather? 77° high today, 43° high tomorrow. Any advice would be appreciated! Cheers all!

I've had a freeze after selecting the bines I wanted. I just cut them down and selected new bines that came up after that.

 

[GiavaBear]

I am across the road from you in Windsor. This is my 3rd year for some and 4th for the other plants. Last year I pruned and then the late frost stunned the ones I had left. They did come out of it for the most part. So this year I don't plan to do anything until early May. Then I will pick the strong ones and train them, pruning the rest. don't know if that is the best but I will give it a try for this year.

Well hello neighbor! My hops are starting to thrive in this warm weather, however I've done some research about early growth, especially the early, purple bull shoots the crowns have initially in the season. From what I've read, we want to cut those bull shoots near the crown. They're hollow and have long spaced nodes, all providing less support and less collaterals and leaves and cones. I went out this evening and cut a few purple bull shoots that have reached a foot, and the cut near the crown was more solid, however the bine itself after a couple nodes was hollow. Here are some references I've found

http://blog.uvm.edu/hoppenin/2016/05/18/important-hop-bull-etin/

https://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/category/hops

Happy hopping!

Cheers!

 

[rlmiller10]

Well hello neighbor! My hops are starting to thrive in this warm weather, however I've done some research about early growth, especially the early, purple bull shoots the crowns have initially in the season. From what I've read, we want to cut those bull shoots near the crown. They're hollow and have long spaced nodes, all providing less support and less collaterals and leaves and cones. I went out this evening and cut a few purple bull shoots that have reached a foot, and the cut near the crown was more solid, however the bine itself after a couple nodes was hollow. Here are some references I've found

http://blog.uvm.edu/hoppenin/2016/05/18/important-hop-bull-etin/

https://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/category/hops

Happy hopping!

Cheers!

Thank you for the links. I will look for the bull shoots this weekend.

What varieties do you have? I have Chinnook, Willamette, Magnum and Centennial.

 

[GiavaBear]

Thank you for the links. I will look for the bull shoots this weekend.

What varieties do you have? I have Chinnook, Willamette, Magnum and Centennial.

No problem at all! I figure the more information, the better, right?

I have Cascade, Chinook, Crystal, Mt Hood, Nugget and Willamette. I tried to get a good mix of aromatic and bittering hops.

 

[bpgreen]

Well hello neighbor! My hops are starting to thrive in this warm weather, however I've done some research about early growth, especially the early, purple bull shoots the crowns have initially in the season. From what I've read, we want to cut those bull shoots near the crown. They're hollow and have long spaced nodes, all providing less support and less collaterals and leaves and cones. I went out this evening and cut a few purple bull shoots that have reached a foot, and the cut near the crown was more solid, however the bine itself after a couple nodes was hollow. Here are some references I've found

http://blog.uvm.edu/hoppenin/2016/05/18/important-hop-bull-etin/

https://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/category/hops

Happy hopping!

Cheers!

I wish I had read that article about bull shoots a week ago. Thanks.

 

[Senormac]

Well, here they go again. Picture taken last week sometimes. A little stronger. A little more accustomed to their place in the yard.
Now to put everything else in the garden in order. It's good. I enjoy it and try to never call it
yardwork ( too negative) I try to just say gardening.

 

[Senormac]

and today, just now

my COG's are growing fast

 

[Senormac]

Getting the yard ready for mothers day. I'm standing at the hop beds

 

[rlmiller10]

Are you all letting all the bines go up the support or selecting just a few per line? I have always just selected 2 bines per line, I run three lines per bed (about a 36 in X 18 bed). but the pictures above look like multiple bines per line.

 

[Senormac]

I usually let around 4 or 5 go up each rope, which is 8 to 10 bines per plant. My soil full of earthworms and nutrients too.

 

[Senormac]

checking out my hops today, watering them, etc..... the leaves and growth look great..... and so does this little guy