16 replies to this topic

[North]

my hops are growing like mad. when do i cut the vines i dont want? i have strung up 3 and need to trim.

[Mynameisluka]

i have never grown hops, but i would imagine it's about like anything else. trim the vines you don't want as soon as you realize you don't want them. this way, the plant doesn't waste energy on the parts that eventually get cut out anyway.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

i have never grown hops, but i would imagine it's about like anything else. trim the vines you don't want as soon as you realize you don't want them. this way, the plant doesn't waste energy on the parts that eventually get cut out anyway.

That's what I did. I trimmed them a little bit below ground level and then covered them up.

[RommelMagic]

trim the vines you don't want as soon as you realize you don't want them. this way, the plant doesn't waste energy on the parts that eventually get cut out anyway.

This. Once you've chosen the lucky bines that will grow, you can cut the others away. I've already got some cones on mine. A few of them are going over 20 feet already. I may have to harvest early and more than once.

[North]

cool, will do that this eve.

[Brewski]

I've got 6 different hops, about 16 bines.I try to trim as much of the lower foliage as I can, like up to 3'-4', forces the growth higher up, where the cones are.More work, but I think, more hops.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I've got 6 different hops, about 16 bines.I try to trim as much of the lower foliage as I can, like up to 3'-4', forces the growth higher up, where the cones are.More work, but I think, more hops.

I haven't trimmed any of the lower growth stuff. I've only trimmed excess shoots. Should I cut right up next to the main bine?

[BarelyBrews]

trimmed my plants about three times now,hate to cut off a nice growth but last year i did not get anything from the lower extremities anyhow.

[gnef]

I trimmed the number of bines to 4-6 per plants, with most around 6. Next year, I will trim all of the plants to only 4 bines, as the ones that have only 4 had much stronger vertical growth, and seem more vigorous - more energy into fewer shoots.I have also trimmed some of the lower foliage, but only about a foot or so. From the sound of it, I may trim a bit more. Trimming extra bines is a continuous job, as it seems every week there are more bines popping up from the ground that I need to cut.A number of my bines have been producing cones for a while now. I expect to do a continual harvest in stages. I like this, as I was expecting to harvest all at once, and having to build some sort of oast, which would have been a pain. I have a total of 25 bines (all second year), so if I were to harvest all at once, that would have been a tremendous amount of hops.

[BrewerGeorge]

I think I may have killed mine. We had a couple of weeks where it rained almost constantly and the hops grew uncontrolled the whole time. The were starting to climb up gutters and were twisted all around each other. I couldn't get anything untangled, so I cut it all off at the ground - expecting it to come back. That was a week ago, and so far nothing.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I think I may have killed mine. We had a couple of weeks where it rained almost constantly and the hops grew uncontrolled the whole time. The were starting to climb up gutters and were twisted all around each other. I couldn't get anything untangled, so I cut it all off at the ground - expecting it to come back. That was a week ago, and so far nothing.

I just trimmed all the leaves about 1.5' my hop bines. Makes it much easier to see what's going on under there now. There were a few side shoots so I left those and just trained them to go upward so hopefully they'll stay out of the way.

[Stout_fan]

I think I may have killed mine. ...

You can't kill it George, it's a weed!I knocked mine back after harvest in Oct. Cut the suckers back to a foot or two high. Two weeks later, they came back.Your harvest will be less this year, but they'll be back.

[Kremer]

I've been going out almost daily and trimming my Chinook, they are insane right now --cones all over too! So far they are on the same track as year where I cut them all down to harvest in July then they regrew and I got another harvest in September.These are three year old plants now, the cuttings I took from them to start new hills in the fall are just reaching the tops of their strings. I'll probably only get one harvest from those.

[ANUSTART]

I try to keep it to 3 per plant, but two (magnums, I think 3rd year) of my 5 keep putting up new ones. It's an almost daily task trying to keep it to 3. My 2nd year Cascade is growing over 6 inches per day now, but still only has 2 bines. That's an easy one. I'm not sure what it'll do when it reaches the top of the rope.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I try to keep it to 3 per plant, but two (magnums, I think 3rd year) of my 5 keep putting up new ones. It's an almost daily task trying to keep it to 3. My 2nd year Cascade is growing over 6 inches per day now, but still only has 2 bines. That's an easy one. I'm not sure what it'll do when it reaches the top of the rope.

I'm already there! Right now I'm just letting them keep going and flop over.

[Stout_fan]

Since I was on crutches, I ain't trimmed nothing no how!Hallertau is up, Cascade still in flower stage.

[Kremer]

I just chopped out another pile of stuff from my chinook plants. Those things are insane, there were side shoots sticking out 5' from the vertical bine looking for something to grab on to. I wish I had a huge arbor or something for them to climb over.