what to/how to prep for Spring hops?

[birdley123]

I've got (2) 2nd year plants, 1 cascade and 1 chinook that were cut even with the ground last November and are all nice and warm under about 2 feet of mulch waiting for spring. My question is: What do I need to do once March/April roll around as far as getting them ready to start another year? This will be my first go at resurrecting sleeping hop plants and I don't wanna botch it!
Thanks, B

 

[day_trippr]

This will be my fifth season growing (15 crowns, Chinook, Cascade Centennial and Fuggles) and my routine is straightforward: I wait until the ground is easily workable, pull the leaf mulch away from the crowns (take care of the worms!), fish up any early runners and cut them back, dress the perimeter of each bed with about six inches of last years horse manure, set up the drip system, stick a 12" plastic tent stake next to each crown and run the 1/4" coir drop lines.

A week or two later when the first set of shoots are six inches tall +/- I chop everything back down to the top of the crowns, pick out the tender cuttings and fry them up for a warm salad. Last year it was like shaving porcupines - there were so many shoots it was crazy. Tasty though!

From there it's pretty much autopilot. The drip system manages the water part and every few weeks I'll sprinkle some dry fertilizer inside the drip zones until the cones are mature...

Cheers!

 

[birdley123]

"fish up any early runners and cut them back"

So cut any/all runners back to the crown and toss?

 

[day_trippr]

That's what I've always done to try to keep things under control.
If you let the runners go you'll have new plants sprouting up all over the place

Cheers!

 

[birdley123]

check.

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

All good posts just want to add check the soil condition and add what is needed. Most nurseries carry a soil test kit for around 6 or so.