Less than 80 days till the little monsters show themselves ;D
We need a Groundhog day for hops.
The only gardening I do.
It’s been so warm here that I am worried they are going to sprout up too soon. It’s cold for a day or two then warm for 4 or 5. Last year was the first year I planted hops and they grew nice but no hops. Hoping for some this year. I just think it would be cool to see hops come in.
I purchased some rhizomes this year for the first time, cant wait to get started
We’ve had an extremely warm winter here and I’m also fearful shoots will start to appear in the next few weeks only to get killed off by a late couple of cold days at the end of the month. I replanted my crowns over the winter and had to hack off the bottom of the taproots so the shoots may be a little late to rise.
I’m pulling mine out this year. Too much hassle. Anybody want a giant 12 year old Cascade rhizome? Pickup only!
Denny, how about you raffle off the crown for new book funds ?
Excellent idea!! Denny, remember a few years back when Dave@Freshops raffled off some historical Cascade crowns on ebay? ;D Big money!!
I doubt you could get enough to buy the Bus,
but maybe some gas money?
You are going to need a backhoe to dig that crown out!
I dug out a few crowns last fall in order to plant more latitude 39-friendly cultivars. I kept the hop with no name, Cascade, and Spalt Select (which performed surprisingly well). I added Early Cluster (Cluster is an awesome, but overlooked hop), another Challenger selection, Southern Brewer, Southern Cross, and Yeoman.
I am very interested in Early Cluster. Was looking at Late Cluster myself. Super Alpha would be a good one for your latitude. Beautiful foliage as well. I will continue growing it as an ornamental if I don like the flavors.
I checked on the plants yesterday and two of four crowns have already broken through. Weather predictions say we’re done with cold weather for the year but I don’t put too much faith in that.
I wouldn’t sweat any early shooters a whole lot. Even if it frosts, they’ll die and be replaced by others.
I looked at that New Zealand culivar, but decided against it because I already have a “super alpha” cultivar that grows like a weed at lattitude 39. Sadly, this hop has no name because it was mispropagated at some point. There is no exact match from an alpha/beta and oil point of view either.
Here are the reports that I received from Alpha Analytics (Hop Union’s lab) for the hop with no name:
Just curious as to what they charged you for the oil analysis as I’ve got some seedlings that have made it through the first couple years of hurdles and am thinking that they’re worth spending a few bucks to see what’s actually inside now?
It wasn’t cheap. If I recall correctly, I think that I paid $85.00 for the “Hop Profile Package.” However, that was an AHA member special offer. The “Volatile Oil Profile” test by itself is $80.00.
That sounds about right, thanks!
70 days… but who’s really counting when it’s -4 outside
If the past in any guide I’ll see mine in 63 days, right around April 12.