Hop Rhizomes

General brewing information, questions and discussion. Topics that do not seem to fit elsewhere.

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Legman
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RE: Size of cones

Post by Legman »

That would be correct Bill. Nitrogen produces green growth. Potassium is an essential element for healthy development of plant roots. Potassium also acts as a natural agent for providing a protective shield against numerous types of plant diseases .Phosphorus is essential for the maintenance of proper health of plant root system.
Later in the season, increasing Potassium and Phosphorus levels while keeping Nitrogen levels low, it will produce more flowers....whether it be hops, flowering plants or veggies.

Also I agree with the number of bines. To many of them and all the energy goes into the bines rather than the flowers.

My first year rhizomes, I followed Freshops guidelines and let everything grow. They say not to prune baby hop plants, which I'm sure is the reason for why I have very little flowers forming. I guess their theory is by letting everything grow that it will cause the root system to be more developed to support the foliage. Next year will prune them down.
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billvelek
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Bines per plant

Post by billvelek »

Thanks, Legman. Next year I will try adding a little bit of potassium and phosphorous just as the first burrs appear and hopefully my cones will be larger.

As for the number of bines, I run two strings per plant and three bines per string, for a total of six bines per plant, and I seem to do fairly well. I believe that is the generally recommended number.

Cheers.

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Legman
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re:Bines per plant

Post by Legman »

Yeah, I was kinda thinking 5-6 bines myself. As of right now I only have 1 string per plant and I'm not sure how crowded that will be. I may try it anyway just to see what happens, then change it if I see fit.
Like every thing else, I've seen so many different opinions.

Thanks for your input Bill.
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My strings are farther apart than most

Post by billvelek »

I guess I should have added that my strings are spaced about 23" apart, which is greater than the more typical 15" spacing when rhizomes are planted 3' apart. I have 10 plants spaced along each 37' trellis; I was originally planning for 12 with 3' spacing, but decided to give them a little more room. With the extra room for roots and lateral bine-growth, 6 bines/plant is definitely not a problem for me.

Cheers.

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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

So, I've finally got a bunch of cones forming. They're a lot bigger than I was expecting so I'm excited. As for harvesting... from what I've been reading, I need to wait until the tips turn brown and the lupelin (sp?) is a golden yellow. Is this about right? Also, they should feel papery?

Right now, the lupelin is yellow, and the tips on some are turning brown, but when I squeeze them, they feel pretty green still. A lot of my cascades are starting to form cones, but some still have burrs. Should I just wait until all are cones, or harvest twice this season? My growing season will likely extend into late september with the way our weather has been.
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Legman
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Harvest

Post by Legman »

From what I understand, when they feel papery, then it's time to harvest and dry them.
As far as how many times you harvest is up to you. In general, they won't all be ready at the same time, so you could do more than one harvest. In commercial growers, I think they just typically do one harvest, in which some hops are past their prime and other are not quite ready yet. It's kind of a mix.
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Anyone harvesting yet? I've got a few cones that are just starting to come around, so I'm going to wait until this weekend. By that time, most should be ready to come down.

I've been told that I should have a good hop aroma when they are ready....but I'm not getting much. Anyone else noticing this?
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Legman
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Post by Legman »

I don't think I'm going to get anything this year. I had a few Goldings starting to for, but it looks like they've shriveled up. It's been raining almost every day here for the past 2 1/2 weeks and I think I'm starting get some disease. A few of them are starting to look pretty bad. Leaves are turning yellow and brown. I'm not sure exactly what it is.
Kinda sucks though. I hope it doesn't kill the plant for next years regrowth.
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Post by shaggyt »

I'm seeing about 2 dozen or so cones on my tallest Horizon plant that seem to be getting close to harvest. Try picking one that seems ready and cut it open to look for lupulin. IF there's a lot of the "yellow stuff" you're probably ready to pick those cones of similar maturity.

I've been checking my Horizon cones and the lupulin seems to be increasing very slowly. I'm leaving for the beach so when I come back, I'm sure the largest cones will be ready.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

Most of my cones have the yellow lupelin, but it's a bright yellow. I'm not sure if it's supposed to get darker.
Primary - Belgian Dubbel, Belgian IPA
Secondary - Cherry Lambic
Bottled - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Porter, Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Imperial Nut Brown, Apfelwein, American Amber Ale w/Homegrown Hops, Breakfast Stout
Kegged - Bass Clone, ESB
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Yellow to gold

Post by shaggyt »

Suthrn...I bet it gets darker in appearance in higher concentrations, much like beer in a carboy. My Centennial and Horizon cones are about the same color lupulin, though Horizons are further along and have more dense lupulin.

Because I don't expect much yield (not enough to brew at least) this year, I may just let the cones go to see how they age on the vine, or at least how long they're on the vine before turning brown...just for experience sake.

I will say this...only a few with lupulin production present have a hint of hop aroma...nothing pungent yet.
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Suthrncomfrt1884
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Post by Suthrncomfrt1884 »

That's what I was concerned about. I figured they would stink pretty good. Maybe I'll use the "let one turn brown then pick the rest" trick.
Primary - Belgian Dubbel, Belgian IPA
Secondary - Cherry Lambic
Bottled - Bourbon Barrel Coffee Porter, Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout, Imperial Nut Brown, Apfelwein, American Amber Ale w/Homegrown Hops, Breakfast Stout
Kegged - Bass Clone, ESB
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Post by winedoggybag »

hops are grown and i've really reallllly enjoyed them this time around. Loaded these into 4 pack carriers and beer boxes the other day for a friends birthday and my god, EVERYONE was in love with this batch. :shock:


http://boozebin.com/
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