Trim the bulls or trim all?

[MathiasMicrobrew]

I have a second year Willamette that is taking off pretty well and there's i believe 2 bull shoots that im gonna snip. Shld I go ahead and snip all of the first growth and wait for a few good ones to come up or just trim the bull shoots?

 

[GVH_Dan]

If you want to be certain you caught all the bulls, go ahead and cut them all. A 2nd year won't have a problem generating new shoots. Otherwise, cut all but the smallest 3 or 4 and then train those ones. They would be the least likely to be bulls.

 

[MathiasMicrobrew]

Good deal.. im gonna go ahead and cut all but the smallest few and train those. Thanks for the help, I wasnt too sure which direction to take.

Is this a common practice to do every year they come back?

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Is this a common practice to do every year they come back?

From my reading, yes. The commercial folks run some kind of mower through theirs and crop 'em to grade (and maybe even a bit below, that still isn't clear)...

Cheers!

 

[zrule]

Bulls? This is the first I heard this term. What is it? I have 4 year old hops (going on 5th year) and they have been really producing. I just pick three of the best growth, train them and cut the rest.

 

[dirtyd90]

Bulls are the first to come up and are hollow making them susceptible to breaking and don't produce cones as well as a normal bine. Cut the first growth back to eliminate them. It is common practice.