Growing Hops

[jonvi]

The Centennial continues to do well.



Not bad for first year plants.

The others continue to struggle.....meh...they are doing ok. But this emphasizes the importance of he soil quality over the "entire" field. I must get better at preparing ground for hops.

This ain't like growing potatoes.

 

[broncosmitty]

I wonder if that post has rerooted itself.

That's kinda crazy. Always figured it was soft wood that held onto life so long.

 

[jonvi]

I wonder if that post has rerooted itself.

There's no way. The leaves are finally starting to wither.

That's kinda crazy. Always figured it was soft wood that held onto life so long.

Yeah....same here. The only thing I can think of is that I cut it at just the right moment. Sap just came pouring up out of the stump ..... this nasty red/orange thick sap that drooled onto the ground. Then dried hard as a rock. I'm guessing it was just that moment when nature had turned on after a long winters nap.

 

[broncosmitty]

There's no way. The leaves are finally starting to wither.



Yeah....same here. The only thing I can think of is that I cut it at just the right moment. Sap just came pouring up out of the stump ..... this nasty red/orange thick sap that drooled onto the ground. Then dried hard as a rock. I'm guessing it was just that moment when nature had turned on after a long winters nap.

Future Amber maybe? Lol

 

[jonvi]

Future Amber maybe? Lol

You remember in science class where they showed us some million year old bug encased in that shit. This could be the stuff.

 

[jonvi]

Centennial getting narly.

 

[jonvi]

A few of the Centennial have almost reached the top strings.

 

[jonvi]

Fuggel continues to struggle. There's been some improvement since adding in the lime.

 

[jonvi]

Same with the Cascade.

 

[jonvi]

More Cascade. Considering when I planted them, I thought I was going to see extensive losses. The Cascade has made a fair gains since the addition of lime.

 

[jonvi]

Saw my first major pest on my centennial crop. Something called a potato leaf hopper. Below is a write up from the Northeast hops alliance web page, July 2015 edition.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.cce...nts/16669/July_2016_Newsletter.pdf?1467818330


It is leafhopper season again and those pesky insects have been spotted at our research
hopyard at Borderview Research Farm, in Alburgh, Vermont.

This is a great time to start scouting for insects as well as for disease to ensure proper management of all hop pests. So far, this season has not been conducive for the hop pests that thrive in wet conditions,
such as downy mildew and aphids, but the potato leafhoppers have arrived right on
schedule.

Potato leafhoppers are migratory insects transported via wind currents from
the southern United States, generally appearing in the Northeast between late May to June.

Our first sighting was on June 2, 2016.

To scout for potato leafhoppers, examine the back of a hop leaf for little torpedo shaped
insects with distinctive green coloration.

Young potato leaphoppers, or nymphs, are flightless insects and can be seen scuttling around the leaves in a side to side fashion. Adults can also be scouted by checking the backs of the leaves, or for a easier approach, you can just give your plants a little shake and watched the adult potato leafhoppers fly off the plant or jump from leaf to leaf.

The nymphs are what I saw....the little green guy with a side to side motion is a dead ringer.

At our hopyard, we have only observed adults so far, but that means the nymphs aren’t far behind. Within one
season, there are usually two or three generations of leaphoppers present in northern hop yards.

Potato leafhoppers are an economically damaging pest that can cause hopper burn, which is a distinctive yellowing of the leaves in a V shaped pattern, eventually leading to leaf tip necrosis. Hopper burn decreases leaf photosynthetic activity and can cause plant production to suffer. One of the best ways to combat potato leafhopper damage is by planting an alfalfa orred clover trap crop. Potato leafhoppers prefer to feed on these legumes and can be redirected from your hop yard with strategic plantings on the outskirts of the yard or
in the drive row. Stay vigilant and keep scouting!

 

[jonvi]

I'm not liking the looks of these. The cascade seems to be getting a yellow patch in the leaves. Can't be good.

 

[jonvi]

Different plants with yellowing on the leaves.....These are not the plants with the potato leaf hopper referenced in post 51.

 

[jonvi]

A while back I mentioned I had 60 more plants to get in. I picked those up on 5 July and planted them on 6 July. But I didn't plant them in my hops field. I don't like the soil so I put them in my garden, setting up temp poles. The soil is better there and I'll transplant them next year. This variety is called Crystal.

 

[jonvi]

More of the Crystal....

 

[Gatorchip]

Nice work. how are you combating the leaf hoppers?

For the slow growing hops, have you tried cutting off some of the shoots? I understand this is supposed to help the others grow better.

 

[jonvi]

Nice work. how are you combating the leaf hoppers?

These are great questions.

I'm not set up to spray this year so poisons are not yet an option. A sprayer is on my list of things to purchases this winter. Cornell ag is suggesting hops growers plant either clover or alpha in an adjacent yard which is the potato leaf hoppers preferred food source. The theory is that they'll stay in the clover and leave the hops alone. I'm not a fan of that yet.....it seems to me that the clover would attract them to the area.

An extract from the Northeast Hops Alliance:

One of the best ways to combat potato leafhopper damage is by planting an alfalfa or red clover trap crop. Potato leafhoppers prefer to feed on these legumes and can be redirected from your hop yard with strategic plantings on the outskirts of the yard or
in the drive row.

Also, I'm trying to catch up with other growers in the area to see what they are doing and what their advise is. But everyone is busy this time of the year so tracking folks down isn't the easiest. I don't think I have a major infestation yet. These being first year plants, where I'm not expected to get any yields, I feel like I have some time. But I'm a newb in the business.

For the slow growing hops, have you tried cutting off some of the shoots? I understand this is supposed to help the others grow better.

I read the same but when I asked my friends that already are growing, they said not to do that in the first year to encourage root growth. First year plants are not expected to run far up the strings so I was told to leave the lower growth alone this year.

 

[jonvi]

When plowed in, Red Clover is a great source of nitrogen. So I'll most likely put in a half acre of Red Clover in August next to my existing hops yard where I plan to expand in a few years. If Cornell Ag is right about that keeping the bugs out of my hops, that will help next year.....But that's not going to do much to combat this years infestation.

 

[jonvi]

I need to figure out what this browning is. Pix going to the ag center today. They'll want me to do a leaf test....pfft.....I hate spending money.

 

[jonvi]

A different plant with the browning on the leaves. It seem to run right up the plant.