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o last year I planted Brewer’s Gold, Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Newport, Nugget, and Zeus around May first after having them started in the house for a month, maybe less. The cats ate all the first shoots, so they were delayed and I was pissed.
The Centennial snapped during transplanting (I tried it again this year, again fail); everything got some sort of yield, Zeus getting about 2 ounces dry, the Chinook topped out around 12 feet probly.
This year, the second years were all eager, and popping around the beginning of March, being slowed but not really hurt by the frost. At this point I think they are all in the 10-13 foot range, and all of them budding.
Its funny though, because the different bines of each plant are very staggered in their flower maturity; some of the Zues, Brewer’s Gold, and especially Newport are already very close to ripe.
I’m assuming this stupid-early harvest is the result of me not doing a new growth cut-back. Can anyone confirm or deny, or better yet tell me if I’ll get a second harvest? I mean last year it was September by the time I was done harvesting.
Also, I followed the ’strip 3 feet’ rule for the lower leaves, but didn’t think that this is done on plants that do get hacked back, so the flowering stage is still way off; I think I did it blindly, not considering that the flowers had already started, so I think that may have stunted the flowers (but I’ve heard its latitude dependent, and that southern hops don’t develop as fully as northerners).
Next time I should either strip the first flowers, or cut back, I think.
Sorry that turned rant near the end...
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