2012 crop

[Ian Grant]

So how is everyone's hops doing this year?  Mine was growing great until the catapillars ate the shit out of them while I was away the last 3 days.  I hope they'll recover.

[Richard]

I had to build an extra 20' line for the climbers to get on with - the combination of sun and blue water I've been feeding them every 2 weeks has had them go absolutely nuts. Probably up to about 12' at the moment.

[DandyMason]

I have one cascade and yeah been having some trouble with bugs eating them.. I basically go out everyday and pick bugs.. They seem to be slowing down.

Mine is right about 6 feet right now.. It seems to be speeding up the last week or so.

[fakr]

I have 6 all together, and two of them have taken off like crazy.  I can't reach the top of them...I should have planned them out better as they are too tall for where they are at.

I noticed slugs around them so I made a slug trap...cut a beer can in half and fill it with beer...place in the middle of your hops and dump the slugs out every few days....they apparently like beer more than hop plants.

[DandyMason]

Anyone able to harvest any of their hops yet?

Any advice on when to harvest? The forums ive read say pick them when they feel really papery and when if you squeeze them, they don't rebound... haha

Any better advice out there? Ive been keep an eye on them making sure they dont dry out and turn brown...

[Richard]

I'm going with the papery thing for now - I think mostly it's a moisture thing, and my bines are clearly still living plant material.

[DandyMason]

Ill go with that too Richard. Cant wait to make a wet hopped pale ale with them.

[sdixon]

So mine didn't make it at all. I think it was frost damage but not certain.

2 questions:

1. Is it too late to try and get some hops to take root before fall?
2. If so, does anyone have rhizomes that I could plant?

[Richard]

Just cropped mine (Cascade and EKG, but I'm pretty sure only the Cascade took hold)... hard to say how much I'll have by weight once they're stripped and dried, but I'm guessing about 6-8oz. Hops had taken on the advertised "papery" feel, although they still need to be dried considerably.

I'm planning on leaving them hanging in a dry shed with ample air flow for a week. Here's a pic

[jeffsmith]

I've only harvested my Columbus so far and ended up with 3.5lbs. of wet cones. I figure I have nearly 4 times that much of Cascade. I'm going to try and jam them all in a massive fresh hop IIPA so I won't be drying any of them. Just vacuum sealing and freezing fresh for the time being.

[Chris Craig]

Awesome Jeff!

[sdixon]

Very nice guys! Were these first year plants?

[jeffsmith]

Mine are second year.

[Richard]

Second year, about four rhizomes planted - two cascade and two EKG. EKG has been... disappointing. Cascade has pretty much taken over the nest.

[sdixon]

So is it too late to plant rhizomes now?