Autumn 2009 Hops cuttings WANTED

[geoffclifton]

Is anyone pruning back their hop vines yet?

I'm wondering if the lower prunings were put down in potting mix and kept in a mild spot over winter if they may sprout come spring? If the pruning job is anything like my pruning grapes and passionfruit then you'ld have a barrow load. I'm happy to pay for post etc and or play barter with my garden. We've got a monster crop of passionfruit this year and I know people who had the graft fail on their plants but have a fantastic root stock so we shall play cut & graft mine to theirs in spring. I'm also pulling and moving Clivia, Dietes and Agapanthas. Dividing rhubarb & bush basil plus most of the winter veg seed trays produce at least twice what I can plant. All available for barter.

OT, but still booze, am having great success brewing excess tomatos, rhubarb and oranges in gallon demijohns. Beer is etting closer to my 32 dozen long necks target. Mostly simple summer beer plus a couple of crates of double malt and kick arse honey stout. I'm in Nowra but often up to Sydney and doing a run up to Gold Coast country end of July.

Cheers, Geoff.

[Trough Lolly]

Propagating hops is easy...

Take some 3 or so inch cuttings and trim back so that you only have a couple of leaves on the stem. Stand in a tall jar of water and leave for a couple of weeks, keeping the water level up. The lack of leaves will induce the immersed end of the cutting to grow white hair-like roots and once you've got a small rootball on the base of the cutting, it's ready to pot out. Keep it out of the frosty weather and you'll have a plant ready by next season. Don't expect much growth in the pot, and besides, it's the root ball / rhizome that you want to establish, not plant leaves, during winter. Don't overwater or you'll rot the roots.

I haven't slashed back my hops yet but I've got about a dozen cascade cuttings getting hairy right now!

Cheers,
TL

[geoffclifton]

I haven't slashed back my hops yet but I've got about a dozen cascade cuttings getting hairy right now!

I've got everything except the cuttings

TL you were coming through Nowra when ............................

I know you'll bag my simple beer but you'll love the orange wine

Cheers, Geoff.

[Slash]

About to trim back my Chinook vine and propagate... anybody want to swap a cutting of Chinook for a Cascade?

[Swifty]

I'm looking for some cascade Rhyzomes, will be getting a cluster one soon (hopefully) but don't want to spend the $50+ on ebay for some Cascade. I'm willing to pay, but not that much!!

[goq11k_76]

ebay has some if you are willing to pay

[billybushcook]

Has any body had sucsess with Hops in the Hunter area?

Iv'e got a bid on a PoR ryzome at the moment but if any of you can spare some cuttings of any varierty, I would appreciate it.

This brewing thing is getting out of hand now!!

Cheers, Mick.

[Bizier]

Keep with it guys, growing your own hops is awesome.

You will not get cuttings at this time of year, as everyone's plants are dormant with dead bines that have drawn the nutrients back into the rhizome. I have only swapped one whole plant for another that I really wanted (male of same species for breeding). I have some tiny plants that I have split off, but they are too small to risk shipping etc at the moment.

[billybushcook]

Well I won the bid on the PoR Ryzome, so I guess I will see how they go here, I'm inland a bit & frosts in winter are not un-ussual.
So far Iv'e been using PoR flowers for bittering in all my AG brews & @ 5 Mins in some steeped crystal K&K brews which has given some good results, so I hope I can get consistancy from my home grown stuff now!!

Mick.

[drsmurto]

Bittering can be a bit hit and miss with home grown hops as you don't know the AA%.

I use mine for flavour and aroma and guesstimate the AA%. My chinook pale ale keg is about to blow and was spectacular.

As for frosts, plenty of those where i am. Brutal ones too that make you think it has snowed. Since hops are grown commercially in tassie and NZ (2 of the coldest places on earth other than ballarat....... ) i assume that the frosts in winter are actually good for the hops as they are dormant during the winter.

Mine have thrived, so much so i recently split up several of the rhizomes and sold them. I had shoots appearing a metre from where i planted the rhizome and had roots more than 2m away taking over the vegie patch!

At this time of the year mine are covered in a thick layer of well composted horse manure and left to their own devices. Once the first shoots poke their heads through to the horse shit i will be giving them a dose of a seaweed based fertiliser, one of only a few feeds they get during the growing season.

One of the biggest killers of hops is over fertilising them, along with over watering.

They are weeds, almost as invasive and hardy as blackberry. Treat them like weeds.

Cheers
DrSmurto

[Planner]

Well I won the bid on the PoR Ryzome, so I guess I will see how they go here, I'm inland a bit & frosts in winter are not un-ussual.

Mick.

Mick

Not having grown hops myself I have no personal experience, but I have spent some time around the hop gardens of Myrrhee and Myrtleford in Victoria (some of which are PoR) during winter. I have seen, and camped in some savage frosts and the area still seems to be the preferred area for commercial crops in the state. I wouldn't worry too much about the Hunter Valley frosts.

Planner

[Bizier]

To elaborate on the doc: overwatering and over fertilising are a concern in the first year of their growth. If you are going for increased pungency (as with American varieites) you will want to give them regular doses of fertiliser through flowering.

Again, frost is only a concern in the first year, chuck it in a pot and keep it close to the house and plant to the ground after the last big rain and frost. Once it is established, frost is actually good, and tells the plant that it is winter.

If anyone is interested, I am writing a basic article on AHB relating to hop growing and use: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... article=91 (sorry Oliver)

[billybushcook]

so I guess I will see how they go here, I'm inland a bit & frosts in winter are not un-ussual.

Mick.

That was my thoughts too, they should go OK here because of the cold winters.

Mick.

[Daron1973]

I've got a story on growin hops at home that will be in the next issue of Beer and Brewer magazine.

Spoke to some interesting characters with reems of info.

Out in early August.

[billybushcook]

I'm excited!!!

First shoots from my PoR rhyzome have broken through & reached day light,

Now, I'm trying to remember what I read, do you cut back all but 1 or 2 bines to grow to full height??

Mick.

[Slash]

G'day Billy,

For a manageable hop vine, I train the three strongest shoots anti-clockwise up an individual string, tied to a wire 5 metres apart, and cut all other shoots off. The wire is threaded along three star posts, at shoulder height which allows easy harvesting. In subsequent years, the posts can be moved further apart to accommodate a larger vine. Also, cow manure is your friend!

Cheers
Slash

[Slash]

Propagating hops is easy...

Take some 3 or so inch cuttings and trim back so that you only have a couple of leaves on the stem. Stand in a tall jar of water and leave for a couple of weeks, keeping the water level up. The lack of leaves will induce the immersed end of the cutting to grow white hair-like roots and once you've got a small rootball on the base of the cutting, it's ready to pot out. Keep it out of the frosty weather and you'll have a plant ready by next season. Don't expect much growth in the pot, and besides, it's the root ball / rhizome that you want to establish, not plant leaves, during winter. Don't overwater or you'll rot the roots.

I haven't slashed back my hops yet but I've got about a dozen cascade cuttings getting hairy right now!

Cheers,
TL

TL, any chance you would want to part with one of these Cascade cuttings for adequate financial compensation?

Cheers
Slash

[Trough Lolly]

G'day Slash,
The Cascades are a work in progress at the moment. The cuttings were taken off a very immature 1st year plant so I've no idea about their viability.

At the moment, none of the pots are showing anything so I can't/won't sell/trade pots of dirt. I had planned on planting whatever survived, giving them at least a year or two to grow before I look at taking rhizomes - but if I do, I'm sure you'll hear about it.

So far, I've seen Mt Hood shoots and the rest of the hopfield is still asleep - which is good because we're getting more frosts next week here in Canberra...

Cheers,
TL

[Slash]

No worries TL, I think I've left it a little too late this season to secure any Cascade rhizomes from the usual channels this season! Next year for sure.

Cheers
Slash

[Daron1973]

I tried for cascade rhizomes and they were going for at least $70 on ebay... fuggit!
opted for a chinook that i got for $35. Will plant mine this week