Magnum Hop Bines

Hop Bines May 1st

May 1st, just 2 weeks since the last post.  The hop bines were 10 inches tall on April 17, now they are over 5 feet tall!  I thought first year hops were fun to watch grow, this is insane!  They grew over 4 feet in 2 weeks and this is not even planting time for my zone (zone 4A).  Last year it was about June 7th before the hops reached this height (first year hops).

I was going to double the ropes per hop plant this year but had no time to do it.  Oh well, they will be thick this year.  I expect the laterals to go crazy and at least double the harvest of last year of 4.1lbs wet.

I have not fertilized or amended the soil at all this year.  I must have done a good job when I prepped the soil the fall before I planted the hop rhizomes.  The hop mounds were heavily mulched with grass and leaves over the winter and perhaps the decomposing grass and leaves were seeping a compost tea into the soil.

What the hell is going to happen when summer comes?  At this rate, I may lose my garage to the hop bines.  I expect the bines to reach the top of their ropes(15 feet) by June.  I’ll keep you posted.

I also started 2 container hop plants this year – a Fuggle and a Mt. Hood.  We’ll see how these do – only about 9 inches tall so far.  I am more interested or concerned about how long I can keep them in the containers as hop crowns and roots grow massively.  I also need to think about how to over-winter the containers as it can get to minus 30 during the winter here.

Expect future posts of massive bines!

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Technorati Tags: cascade hops, container hops, fuggle, hop bines, hops, magnum hops, mt. hood, nugget hops, Second Year Hops

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Overwinter Protection for Nugget Hops

Overwinter Magnum Hop Plants

In cold climates it is important to overwinter hop plants / protect them from sub-zero temperatures.  Hops do fairly well on their own but can be killed off if the ground is unprotected and hard freezes the ground.  Snow will insulate the ground but occasionally the snow will be blown clear or animals may dig the snow away from the underground hop crowns (started as hop rhizomes).

Protect Cascade Hop Crowns

No sense taking any chances of losing your hop plants to the weather.  All it takes is a layer of mulch – I used 6 inches of leaves and grass I bagged while mowing.  This also helps in the Minnesota climate to keep the ground cold enough in the spring to prevent hop sprouts from sprouting too soon and then freeze.  Generally they will send up new shoots if the first hop shoots freeze and die off but why waste the root stock energy.

When sub-freezing temperatures have past in the spring, You just clear the mulch and and the hop crown will send up shoots as the ground warms.

Unless you want the hops to spread in all directions, you will want to trim the hop rhizomes by digging down and cutting the lateral running rhizomes and pull them up.  You can plant these in other areas if you wish or give or sell them to friends and fellow hop growers and homebrewers.  I will be cutting the rhizomes about a one foot radius from the center of the crown (two foot diameter to contain the hop plants).  They are self propagating and will travel in all directions from the crown.

One problem with not containing the spread of hops is they will soon mix with other nearby varieties and can be hard to distinguish variety and/or you will have 2 or more variety of hop bines growing together and makes harvesting and separating the different varieties of hop cones difficult if not impossible.  My varieties are 5 to 6 feet apart so with a little effort, I can keep them separate.  You need to know which hops are which for accurate beer and ale recipes.  You especially do not want to mix bittering hops with aroma hops.

That’s it, just a layer of mulch – leaves, grass, hay, straw or compost to protect the hop crowns and the organic material will also leach into the ground as an organic fertilizer.  Next years hop yield will be even better!

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Technorati Tags: grow hops, hop crowns, hop plants, hop rhizomes, hops, hops freezing, overwinter hops, protect hops, winter hops

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Nugget Hop Bine

Nugget Hops Harvest

The Nugget hops were ready to harvest 15 days after the Cascade and Magnum hops.  A hop yield of 1.3 pounds.  Thirty percent more than the Magnum hop harvest, less than the 1.8 pounds of Cascade hops.  I harvested the Nugget hops September 10th, the other hops August 25th.

Not a bad harvest for first year hop plants.  Next year should yield significantly more hop cones as the hop rhizomes planted have become sizable crowns / root stocks from the photosynthesis and organic nutrients from this year.

An essential ingredient for beers and ales, these hop cones will make an excellent IPA (India Pale Ale).  Nugget hops are for bittering with a high IBU (International Bittering Unit) measurement.  I will use my Cascade hops for aroma to complete the IPA experience.

Nugget Hop Cone Lupulin

Shown here is the yellow lupulin of the Nugget hop cone – the active ingredient of the hop.  Although known for their bittering effect and not as an aroma hop, the Nugget hop aroma is exquisite.

If you are a homebrewer and live where you can grow hops (between 30th and 50 parallels), you have to do this.  Hops are an amazing fast growing plant and fun to watch grow.  Hops have been scarce in recent times so be self sufficient and grow your own hops!  Growing hops will complete the beer making experience and camaraderie of home brewing.

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Hop cones are forming from the hop burrs nicely.  It looks like it will be a staggered hop harvest which is ok by me.  The Cascade hops are the most mature and abundant followed by the Magnum and the Nugget hops are still burrs.

Nugget Hop Cone Burrs

From spiney hop burrs to hop cones, this is what it is all about.  These hops are loving the sunshine and thriving.  I can’t wait to see what they will do next year!

Baby Magnum Hop Cones

I am definately going to use a different hop trellis system next year.  The hop bines are not producing lateral shoots and cones where they are wrapped around the hose hangers.  It was worth a try but not producing any additional hops cones.

Baby Cascade Hop Cones

I will be doing more research this fall and winter for hop rigging / hop trellis ideas.  Trying to figure out an easy way to spiral the ropes and provide additional hops bine length for my limited vertical area I have along side of my garage.

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Hop Garden Starting to Flower

A hop garden is mesmerizing to watch grow.  Each day there is new growth and never a boring watch.  You will find yourself checking them every day, it is that addicting.  Although these hops bines have topped out their trellises, they are now spreading lateral shoots out from the hop bines and growing wider.  I call these guys the 3 amigos – Nugget, Magnum and Cascade.

These hop plants are also starting to flower.  It starts with the hop burrs or florets.  The burrs or florets are comprised of spiny looking styles.  This is when the female hop flowers are receptive to hops pollen.  As the hop flower matures the styles will fall off.

Hop Flowers Forming from Burrs / Florets

The flowers fill in with petals and lupulin glands becoming hop cones.  They look like green pine cones.  Some hops are round and some hop cones are long depending on the hop variety.  Hop Cones are the harvest we are after (unless grown for shade / cover).  You can expect from 1/2 to 2 pounds of dried hops per plant (after a couple of years).  First year hops expend a lot of energy on establishing the crown or root system.

As you can see here, hops like to go high.  The Magnum hop bine is 15 feet tall.  The cascade and Nugget bines are over 20 feet tall.  You can’t see it in the above photo but there are hop bines looped around hose hangers (an experiment in bine height with limited vertical real estate – see some other posts on this blog and you will see it).

Start planning your hop garden now for next year.  Select a site, work the soil – dig at least a foot down and 2 feet in diameter.  Amend the soil with compost and other organic material – grass, leaves…  make sure it is mostly soil and organic material is well mixed with the soil.  Figure how you will rig the hop bines (to a pole, a deck, up the side of a building… you have til next spring to actually worry about it).  Start reading up on growing hops and you will be well on your way to a successful hop garden.

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