Yield not meeting expectations

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

Ok. I've got a hops bine that I inherited when I bought the house 4 years ago. The neighbors tell me the previous owner brewed beer. I have no idea what variety of hops they are so I don't know what to expect for a yield but it seems pretty dissappointing so far.

This is the biggest harvest yet and I got 15 oz of green hops from two ropes that are growing up the garage side. I trimmed back the runners so only two or three were winding their way up the ropes. It is on the south side of the garage and in full sun from about 8 am through 3 or 4 pm.

I watered it a few times per week. Sprinkled 10-10-10 around it a few times this summer. Mulched. The Jap beetles hit the hops leaves fairly hard, not completely defoliating them but ruining a number of good sized leaves. It doesn't look like the beetles really ate any of the actual cones but they aparently "tasted" them as many have some brown petals.

The 15 oz green dehydrated down to 4 oz in the dehydrater. The beers I've been brewing have been using 3 oz of hops (store-bought).

Just how many bines do I need to supply myself year round? I'm guessing about 12 batches of beer per year so 36 oz of hops.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I've heard that crowns loose vigor 10-15 years down the road. Maybe the crowns are getting too old? Try cutting some rhizomes off the crown next spring and plant them elsewhere if you have the room. Also, you could try topping the bines when they get around 10-12 feet long or so. I find that this increases yield on some of my plants. When you cut off the top of the bine, all of the lateral branches will grow like crazy and you will get more flowers.

 

[Retrofit]

My two and three year old plants produce more so I think you expectations are legit. While some guys expectations are out of touch.

I wonder if the crowns are experiencing crowding. The previous guy mentioned cutting and replanting. I wonder if a clean and trim of the crown might help. I would also mulch to prep the soil for next year.

I've had a lot of luck with soaker hoses and timers. It's a more consistent watering than a bucket or hose.

I would grub-ex to lower your beetles. IMO beetles favor low alpha so your mystery hop might be a beetle favorite?

The last thing to consider is the expectation issue. My chinook produces well. A clean five pounds wet a year. My mt hood, maybe a half pound wet. Maybe you have an old crappy yielding hop? The nobles never do well for me. Maybe it's one of those? A lot of different factors. Hope this helped.

 

[B-Hoppy]

You could do a few things. String more vines on more ropes. If the crowns are established they'll support a lot more of them climbing. Take a few cuttings and transplant to another area. The spot they're growing in now may have some problems down in the soil. Or, you could dig up the entire crown this Fall/next Spring and transplant to a new location and see what happens. By doing this you can find out what's going on with the soil in it's present location. Don't fret, they're weeds and will grow if you give them a chance.

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

Indeed they do grow well. I just don't want to have my entire lawn planted in hops just for a dozen batches of beer per year.

I'm thinking I'll run a soaker hose over there next year and probably put a bunch of manure down.

As for it being "old" - I suspect that the previous homeowner "took" the plant with him because the first year I moved in the plant was pretty anemic and has been getting more robust each year. So I'm guessing the previous owner removed the bulk of the roots and I've just got what was left behind.