I had no idea it could impact yield.
I noticed some of my bines were a bit brittle a few weeks ago when I was training them. I kind of thought the sooner my hops were growing, the better. I guess I’ll have to try this different next year. I have noticed that one of my columbus plants whose bines snapped off when I first tried to train them seems to be taller than the rest now.
I’m surprised they didn’t cover this management practice when you were out at hop school? Most backyard growers would never really notice the impact that training date has, but a large operation has to take this into consideration, especially on varieties that ripen close to the same time. Hops are easy to grow, but to consistently grow high quality year after year takes some doing!
They did talk about having the different varieties hitting the wire at the equinox. I don’t remember anything about yield and cone size. That part was new to me.
Or it could have been my memory clouded by the beer they had on hand.
Hahaha, the beer ends up getting to me every time too.
Where is this hop school?
YCH Hops in Yakima WA. Happens in the beginning of Sept. No date has been announced for this year so far.
Interesting. Wish I had seen that earlier, but I believe my practices are in conformance with their recommendations. I cut all of my Cascades and Centennials down at the end of April (both are late varieties) and the selected new bines are on the strings. I did not cut down my Northern Brewer (its an early variety) and they are well up the strings.