I thought it was about that time of year to start showing off your crop. I have three varieties this year just as I did last year. They are off to a pretty good start.
Lookin’ good, Ron! Like Pinski said, here in OR it’s cold and wet, about 10F below normal so far. My hops are way behind. Of course, I still have lbs. of them left from the last 2 years so if I don’t get any at all this year I still have more Cascades that I can use.
I pulled mine up this spring and gave them away. The sunniest spots in my yard are already spoken for, and the place I’ve tried them the last few years didn’t work out. Maybe someday I’ll plant some again, or convince a neighbor to plant some.
After three years I was getting maybe a dozen scraggly cones combined from the 3 rhizomes. I can plant some other stuff there that will do better, so the hops had to go.
I had a similar problem. My hops were struggling until I decided to replant them in pots. They’re still tiny due to the cold, wet spring we’ve had in upstate NY and the fact that I repotted them, but they’re much happier now. Better drainage and I can relocate the pots so the bines get maximum sunlight.
That probably would have been a good option, but I they’re replanted already at some other brewers’ houses. Maybe next year I’ll plant some in barrels.
I didn’t get them in the ground until the last week of Apr so they got a late start. This is the first year and I am hoping they just survive the summer.
Noticed the first signs of pest damage on my Spalter hops. I sprayed them down with a mild solution of pesticide (no cones yet). The cones are forming nicely on the Cascade and Magnum but not on the Spalter as of yet.
These are all second year plants. I’ll give the Goldings another year to prove themselves, then I might have to use that space for something that will actually grow.
Edit: Its my ability with a camera that is crooked, not my shed and yard. :-\
Thanks - at this rate, they’ll hit the top of the trellis (~15 ft) by early July. I’m already seeing lateral runners, so that’s a good thing, maybe I’ll get to harvest before mid- September.
Yeah, while the weather around here has been less than ideal for human inhabitation this spring, my hops are loving it. They’ve already matched last year’s growth.