Hop plants/rhizomes - growing report

[dtashmore]

I have cascade hops growing in South Africa and they are growing clockwise, I believe it is the norm as the sun travels in the same direction no matter the hemisphere.

 

[531Man]

Hi @dtashmore and welcome to the forum thread for crazy hop growers.
A warning - some of the postings here may have a touch of April 1st about them.
Othertimes known as 'that homebrew must have gone to their head'.
Back to hop growing, what success do you have growing hops there, are there others also growing their own, and is there much commercial hop growing in S. A. ?

 

[dtashmore]

hi @531Man
I have only recently begun to grow hops with the assistance of a hop growers group, this is my first year and have only harvested 40 grams so far but they are still active and may give some more yet, the group have 4 main varieties available, cascade, NAK (cascade/chinook cross), kracanup (also a cascade/chinook cross) and drakgold (not sure of it's provenance).
we are unable to legally grow any of the south African varieties of which there are quite a few, African Queen, Southern Aroma, Southern Passion, Southern Star, Southern Sublime (N1/69), Southern Tropic (U1/108), and XJA2/436,

to name some. no problem though as I am quite happy with my three bines, cascade, NAK and kracanup, only had hops off the NAK so far. we tend to have a long growing season generally August to April and sometimes as many as 3 harvests.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Back to hop growing, what success do you have growing hops there, are there others also growing their own, and is there much commercial hop growing in S. A. ?

The big problem for South Africa is that most of it is too close to the Equator - they're roughly the same latitude as Morocco and Arizona - and they struggle to meet the daylength requirements of a temperate crop like hops. So historically there was a little bit grown right at the southern tip (although that is still <35°S compared to the traditional hop regions of Europe which are all around 45-50°N) until SAB supported breeding efforts that led to daylength-neutral varieties (the "Southern...." family) which will still flower properly even with short summer days.

From what I've seen over on the HBT hop forum, the classic European varieties really don't like growing in California-style conditions (which won't just be the daylength, they don't much like heat, dryness or too much intense sun), whereas things like Cascade are more tolerant. Obviously locally-bred varieties make a lot of sense, I might also be looking at some of the neomexicanus hybrids as well.

 

[prog99]

Need to select some shoots now out of this lot.

 

[Nucbrewer]

Mine aren’t that big yet, which ones do you choose to train around the twine? First time I have grown them so no idea how to identify bull shoots as they are all green ones.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Hops and Gnarly on you tube has piece about growing your hops.

Most hop yards just leave everything to grow the year of planting a rhizome, no training needed and not likely to get any crop either of meaning. Invest the first season in getting strong root growth and reap the rewards the following years. You could train everything of course for neatness and practice but get as much leaf early and it means a longer root growing season. If you chop them back and train a few you'll get few and fewer the next year than if you'd kept it all.
Feed well, water well and be patient.

 

[Nucbrewer]

I will definitely have a look on you tube for that thanks.

 

[Sandimas]

I just train them all. Works for me, been growing hops maybe 7 years, 3 varieties, and always have a good crop.

One of the easiest things to grow: once they're in the ground, just let them get on with it :-)

 

[prog99]

Mine aren’t that big yet, which ones do you choose to train around the twine? First time I have grown them so no idea how to identify bull shoots as they are all green ones.

No particular strategy involved in the past however this plant seems to have produced loads of initial shoots.

 

[Nucbrewer]

I have a chinook and a cascade just growing them for fun really. I will let them run wild this year and see if they survive. Soil is pretty heavy on my allotment plot so not sure they are going to be completely happy.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I have a chinook and a cascade just growing them for fun really. I will let them run wild this year and see if they survive. Soil is pretty heavy on my allotment plot so not sure they are going to be completely happy.

Quite the opposite, they love clay - one reason why they like East Kent is that there's something like 20' of the stuff.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Quite the opposite, they love clay - one reason why they like East Kent is that there's something like 20' of the stuff.

Should I dig some clay out of my garden and add it to the large container I've lovingly made with fine soil, fertiliser and a reservoir to help my EKG grow?

 

[prog99]

Quite the opposite, they love clay - one reason why they like East Kent is that there's something like 20' of the stuff.

My current and previous houses both had clay soil. That must be why my hops grew like weeds.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Should I dig some clay out of my garden and add it to the large container I've lovingly made with fine soil, fertiliser and a reservoir to help my EKG grow?

Well it's not so much clay itself they love, as the effect it has in giving them a predictable water supply. Each hop plant has a huge amount of leaf area, which means they transpire a lot of water, in the field a full-grown plant can "drink" 60 litres a week (that doesn't mean you should be giving that much to potted plants). So they're really thirsty, and 20' of roots in clay can feed that thirst. But if you're helping the water supply by other means then you don't need to add more clay. Also they don't like water sitting on the surface as it promotes disease, they want the water down by the roots.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Well it's not so much clay itself they love, as the effect it has in giving them a predictable water supply. Each hop plant has a huge amount of leaf area, which means they transpire a lot of water, in the field a full-grown plant can "drink" 60 litres a week (that doesn't mean you should be giving that much to potted plants). So they're really thirsty, and 20' of roots in clay can feed that thirst. But if you're helping the water supply by other means then you don't need to add more clay. Also they don't like water sitting on the surface as it promotes disease, they want the water down by the roots.

Thank you. I'll just make sure they get enough hydration, next season as they are heading to dormancy now.
But they did suffer I think from a lack of water, difficult to get that right as hot sunny windy days increased transpiration a lot.
However yield was nearly 500g this year up from 80g last year so a usable amount.

 

[531Man]

Hi happy hop growers.
It's gone all quiet on here for a while.
This is one of my three, 1st year Prima Donnas (aka First Gold). A dwarf variety. I'm in Ashford, Kent, they were initially bred in Wye, Kent, and I bought and collected them from Bekesbourne, Kent.
Very few carbon miles involved here.
Anyway, as to hops more generally, short laterals have been appearing of late and are starting to lengthen as we approach Midsummer's day. That sounds about right, yes?
The one pictured is only now 2 meters high, the others are shorter.
Should I really not have pricked out all the early growths at 10 weeks before Midsummer as recommended in one one of the links on here?
Perhaps that only applies to you standard tall hop growers who remove early bull bines to encourage the later 'short internodal gapped' desirable bines.
Ah well, we live and learn and so do the hops, hopefully.

Humulus lupuli vive in aeternum

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Some don't cut any growth year one and remove cones as they form to maximise rhizome and plant growth to improve year 2 performance. Others trim and train.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

View attachment 86980
Hi happy hop growers.
It's gone all quiet on here for a while.
This is one of my three, 1st year Prima Donnas (aka First Gold). A dwarf variety. I'm in Ashford, Kent, they were initially bred in Wye, Kent, and I bought and collected them from Bekesbourne, Kent.
Very few carbon miles involved here.
Anyway, as to hops more generally, short laterals have been appearing of late and are starting to lengthen as we approach Midsummer's day. That sounds about right, yes?
The one pictured is only now 2 meters high, the others are shorter.
Should I really not have pricked out all the early growths at 10 weeks before Midsummer as recommended in one one of the links on here?
Perhaps that only applies to you standard tall hop growers who remove early bull bines to encourage the later 'short internodal gapped' desirable bines.
Ah well, we live and learn and so do the hops, hopefully.

Humulus lupuli vive in aeternum

Looking good. Just keep an eye out for pests, particularly Red Spider Mite (RSM). I grew my Fuggle and Centenial hops up against a wall in the first year and they seemed to be doing really well but the wall created the perfect hot and dry environment for RSM to thrive and the little buggers are so tiny you don’t know they are around until it’s too late

 

[531Man]

Looking good. Just keep an eye out for pests, particularly Red Spider Mite (RSM). I grew my Fuggle and Centenial hops up against a wall in the first year and they seemed to be doing really well but the wall created the perfect hot and dry environment for RSM to thrive and the little buggers are so tiny you don’t know they are around until it’s too late

Thanks for that.
I'll try and keep my eyes peeled for the nasty little creatures.