Hop plants/rhizomes - growing report

[johnnyboy1965]

Godsdog, from your pics it looks like there maybe a slight fungal infection. This is nothing to worry about.
Hops are very heavy feeders and need a lot of nutrient from the soil/compost.
This problem begins at the size of your pot, its way too small. What is happening is that the rhizome has used all the food available in the pot and only sending the nutrient to the growing tip, leaving the lower leaves to weaken, this is where the infection has taken hold.

1, pick of the infected leaves and disgard.
2, scrape of the top 2 inches of soil in your pot and replace with a mix of:-
25% garden compost
25% top soil
25% well rotted manure
25% horticulteral grit
3, if any flowers do appear this year, cut them off. This will send all the energy back into the rhizome.
4, in the autumn, when all the leaves have fallen off, cut it right back to ground level and move to a sheltered position.
5, next spring, move to the biggest pot available and pot on with the above mixture

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Caterpillar control.....Take 6 cloves of garlic and smash then into 1pt of water. Bring to to boil and let cool overnight. Strain the liquid and put into a spray bottle. Liberally spray the plant with this.....even French butterflies/caterpillars dont like this and will soon go elsewhere

 

[marlon]

I find that snails can also benefit from the same treatment. That extra weight makes them fly further.

Yep.....! Snails get an early tennis lesson from me. The extra purchase they get with a racket enables them to fly amazing distances...:lol:

 

[marlon]

I found them on my plant and they pretty much destroyed it in 12 hours.

Yeah, they do..! Think the professionals use insecticide, but being a wet nature lover, I prefer to use the sudden relocation method. :whistle:

 

[BeerCat]

Mine now have whitefly. I give up. What with them, caterpillars and elephant sized slugs i think my plant is doomed.

 

[Bigjas]

Mine are doing great (I think)

This is the first time I have grown hops, I am not a gardener at all..... Just lucky I think. Its their first year, I'm amazed how well they have done in their first year.

My Fuggle

I'm getting really excited now.....

My Progress

My Progress hop has always been a little behind the Fuggle

 

[marlon]

Your hops are definitely more advanced than mine Bigjas. :-?
Top two pics are my 2nd year Phoenix
3rd is first year Fuggle

 

[MagnusTS]

I just got back from holiday to find quite a lot of these Comma caterpillars on my hops. They don't look like they are doing too much damage :-?, and many are starting to pupate. Do you think I will lose my plants if I leave them to turn into butterflies?

There is also a 2nd type of caterpillar, much smaller, 2nd photo. Don't know what this one is.

And quite a few of these pupa, 3rd photo. Can any butterfly experts identify these?

I didn't realise hops would be such a magnet for wildlife. It's quite cool really.
Might not end up with any hops, but should have a shed load of butterflys !

 

[MmmmCitra]

Well done Magnus, give the butterflies a chance, we ALL need to work with nature rather than just squish them :thumb:

 

[terrym]

Which is the best place to get your hop rhizomes from? I know its not the planting time until spring (isn't it?) but I was planning on having a go with First Gold/Prima Donna next year especially since its a dwarf hop variety and you all generally seem to be having some success. :thumb:

 

[Bigjas]

I don't know the best place to get them, but I got mine from http://www.willingham-nurseries.co.uk/hop.html last year and they have done very well in their first year.

 

[Godsdog]

Which is the best place to get your hop rhizomes from? I know its not the planting time until spring (isn't it?) but I was planning on having a go with First Gold/Prima Donna next year especially since its a dwarf hop variety and you all generally seem to be having some success. :thumb:

had my baby centennial from Aplus hops in june £18 including next day delivery:thumb:

 

[johnnyboy1965]

+ 1 for Aplus Hops. Although Godsdog...£18.00 is a lot for 1 plant.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Hop growers...Its nearly the time of year when you must check your bines daily. The harvesting season is only 7 days long, to get the maximum out of your harvest.
Peel back the outer petals of the cones to reveal the lupulus (yellow dust) This is the stuff we want. Try to leave as long as possible, but not too long as it goes over. Try to harvest on a dry day.
Get a large sheet of plastic and lay it out on the ground.
Cut the bine about 12 inches from the ground and drag onto the plastic sheet.
Now you have to pick every cone of the bine. You might want to wear gloves for this as they are a bit prickly and a glass of beer next to you always helps.

You now have to dry the hops to preserve them.
Line a "mushroom chip" with newspaper.
Weigh the hops.
Put the hops in a warm place (airing cupboard is ideal, airing cupboards are designed for drying hops, not airing clothes) a warm window sill also does the job.
you want to loose 75% of the weight when drying...ie 100g of "wet" hops should finish at 25g. These can be kept in a air tight container until you want to use them. I do recommend freezing them at this stage, because if they are still too damp they will rot (past experience).

 

[Bigjas]

Thanks for that info Johnnyboy. Looking forward to my first harvest

 

[marlon]

Which is the best place to get your hop rhizomes from? I know its not the planting time until spring (isn't it?) but I was planning on having a go with First Gold/Prima Donna next year especially since its a dwarf hop variety and you all generally seem to be having some success. :thumb:

I got mine from these people www.essentiallyhops.co.uk
They stock loads of different varieties including foreign ones. But, if I'm being honest, I use them because they're nearby.

 

[Godsdog]

+ 1 for Aplus Hops. Although Godsdog...£18.00 is a lot for 1 plant.

It was £6 inclusive for the next day delivery so the plant was £12 and not a rhizome

 

[marlon]

It'll soon be time.........maybe this weekend. Keeping an eye on the local hop gardens. When they harvest, so will I... :party:

 

[Gunge]

I reckon mine are 2 weeks from picking. Just plucked one of the biggest and it's only slightly sticky when rubbed and the aroma is there but not very strong. I don't know - every harvest I think maybe a couple more days wouldn't have hurt.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

It'll soon be time.........maybe this weekend. Keeping an eye on the local hop gardens. When they harvest, so will I... :party:

These look ready to me.