tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26280603049464277962024-02-19T01:57:36.845-06:00HopstarterHopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-39037933663726864522017-04-30T14:28:00.000-05:002017-04-30T14:28:37.842-05:00Welcome 2017<div style="text-align: justify;">
Winter has come and gone without leaving nearly as much devastation as the previous one. Our fig trees have recently started leafing out and setting new fruit without the need for excessive pruning. Last year everything above ground died. I'm hoping this bodes well for this year's hop harvest, last year's was <a href="https://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2016/09/another-busy-summer.html" target="_blank">disappointing</a>.<br />
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After seeing no signs of the Willamette last year I have completely given up on seeing it again. The Columbus and Cascade both produced shoots once the cold started to break. I let them get a little wild before stepping in to tame them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4A71zqpABksxG_M8hA61ZQdgdQK3l5N-NE4JcFrrE00gKcoM4NP1Sak1anUwE3Q3P2X1BkaCO6OzG3wA1ET86ZyfaJTA_69CA2xA0d_bEH4unCGlkEawLCCFv_RJKAdzkqMnX0X-U0zo/s1600/IMG_20170416_150544179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4A71zqpABksxG_M8hA61ZQdgdQK3l5N-NE4JcFrrE00gKcoM4NP1Sak1anUwE3Q3P2X1BkaCO6OzG3wA1ET86ZyfaJTA_69CA2xA0d_bEH4unCGlkEawLCCFv_RJKAdzkqMnX0X-U0zo/s320/IMG_20170416_150544179.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Time for some pruning and the bamboo poles and twine arranged in a helix:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3TXd3eJdK7kgjAb1Sgj8I_PdzGCg_A-CW0kMyvEDYCICUE7imdZ_pDQhrbHURm3HYvIQCx5O1vTSK17U7tLWxyFE1OXNwjPwTvUf13ROzzEqFMHokXkgTZ-oWJr4QWtsrJkUmJrUwdo/s1600/IMG_20170416_185244588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3TXd3eJdK7kgjAb1Sgj8I_PdzGCg_A-CW0kMyvEDYCICUE7imdZ_pDQhrbHURm3HYvIQCx5O1vTSK17U7tLWxyFE1OXNwjPwTvUf13ROzzEqFMHokXkgTZ-oWJr4QWtsrJkUmJrUwdo/s320/IMG_20170416_185244588.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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This year I've decided to have the helices grow up in opposite directions in an extension of previous <a href="https://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/twist-and-crop.html" target="_blank">experiments in handedness</a>.<br />
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When pruning I took extra care to eliminate <a href="https://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2016/05/first-burrs-and-split-bulls.html" target="_blank">bulls shoots</a> in case they were a contributing factor to last year's poor harvest. Difficult to say with the combination of hard winter, brutal summer, and not cutting back the bull shoots. Time and the summer weather will tell.<br />
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-13925386262467293392016-09-05T14:54:00.000-05:002016-09-05T14:54:07.980-05:00Another busy summer<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just like last year, this summer has been super busy with other things. Both this blog and my hops have been badly neglected. The summer in general has been <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2016/06/ooooops.html" target="_blank">pretty brutal</a> for the hops, which makes something of a contrast to last year when I was worried about the severity of the preceding winter. Hopefully next year will be a little more even keeled. Anyway, here's this year's harvest:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0n1JK9Q586yc-yQpZjOAY9HgRPoWw2GvQJq81wY-JMy_YxACsvUCtjiC0p_LRn1ieVzqtYcLISNWjrdCj11NKtr6pmycp4gGYEXC1NMHpPQ4Issuc3nCco9yByJVdSFOmLTiMgrc0wbI/s1600/IMG_6448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0n1JK9Q586yc-yQpZjOAY9HgRPoWw2GvQJq81wY-JMy_YxACsvUCtjiC0p_LRn1ieVzqtYcLISNWjrdCj11NKtr6pmycp4gGYEXC1NMHpPQ4Issuc3nCco9yByJVdSFOmLTiMgrc0wbI/s320/IMG_6448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Cascade gave me no usable cones at all. Here's the closest it got (I didn't find any others):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5AQJYuqfInXwJEMK98fTZUJwSGEjPnPXbEsn01nlgfHHDmhx_9IduvSXWG67hUeWM9SW-cpXtfmoHvWaDoG-vU5THXBWGD3xnqHkjeOfHzjy4BHT-AjAyJCz8g2EIxx2bg17HC8fD3c/s1600/IMG_6444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp5AQJYuqfInXwJEMK98fTZUJwSGEjPnPXbEsn01nlgfHHDmhx_9IduvSXWG67hUeWM9SW-cpXtfmoHvWaDoG-vU5THXBWGD3xnqHkjeOfHzjy4BHT-AjAyJCz8g2EIxx2bg17HC8fD3c/s320/IMG_6444.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm now wondering if I let too many of the bull shoots grow:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUIcD8wJwSb5es7uZz6oRr0mx1Fw2sNwUso0JGNKNluUaJudPBfmFHaV27mnlQscSMf3WCleH3K6Yv-Tsrv8ZCluvouxILevI2UmrO944PDfWp1G53RZC37fko4wsq1IUi8_NSV9FSow/s1600/IMG_6445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUIcD8wJwSb5es7uZz6oRr0mx1Fw2sNwUso0JGNKNluUaJudPBfmFHaV27mnlQscSMf3WCleH3K6Yv-Tsrv8ZCluvouxILevI2UmrO944PDfWp1G53RZC37fko4wsq1IUi8_NSV9FSow/s320/IMG_6445.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I did notice that the Columbus was much more productive on thinner shoots than the thicker ones. Next year I will be merciless with any that appear in spring time.</div>
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The rhizome I <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2016/03/coming-out-of-hibernation.html" target="_blank">transplanted at the bottom of the garden</a> in an effort to control the invading weeds from next door hasn't exactly flourished but nor has it disappeared:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJ5DPHFs1MmrSAKEsaRHxCjQe6hnTgSlJUGalvRXdoygy_sJ9kwIiR0VN5m8fPRITgIQ4SOtvQltJJ76Sqs9S2g7fhuupcqFm0cQPCC_9AfUnoGDWzcAn_Ac9kZ3CEtweiYCQV5DyDyQ/s1600/IMG_6449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJ5DPHFs1MmrSAKEsaRHxCjQe6hnTgSlJUGalvRXdoygy_sJ9kwIiR0VN5m8fPRITgIQ4SOtvQltJJ76Sqs9S2g7fhuupcqFm0cQPCC_9AfUnoGDWzcAn_Ac9kZ3CEtweiYCQV5DyDyQ/s320/IMG_6449.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm hopeful it will return next year with a vengeance and push back the invaders further.</div>
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One much cooler thing that came out of harvest day was that my better half did some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotype" target="_blank">cyanotypes</a>, including one of some hops leaves with a hop cone cut in half:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon3z7pPP9Vr0aEbWOKSK4h12-rSUyWBDdq3bIS5hdkAjW8_dAX3lT8ZF7eeAzphPrwiwHAZxVYJ5CPDaMSYV1nsVVIRPdFQjEipoRp2aBro9mI6IkS6m8qwLlCiVDExTbYWV_aHKwfXU/s1600/cyanotype+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon3z7pPP9Vr0aEbWOKSK4h12-rSUyWBDdq3bIS5hdkAjW8_dAX3lT8ZF7eeAzphPrwiwHAZxVYJ5CPDaMSYV1nsVVIRPdFQjEipoRp2aBro9mI6IkS6m8qwLlCiVDExTbYWV_aHKwfXU/s320/cyanotype+01.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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If you look closely you can see where the lupulin from the cone as interacted with the paper.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-27348812844515086652016-06-20T12:03:00.001-05:002016-06-20T12:03:41.257-05:00Slug damage<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was suggested to my that the damage to the leaves seen <a href="https://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2016/06/ooooops.html" target="_blank">previously</a> may be due to slugs eating them. While searching for images of slug damage I found <a href="http://www.thegardenerseden.com/?p=1126" target="_blank">this</a>:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOFVoA-TYjGVqbrwOcCH62xbiSI4Ntu_fsy28-euajhD4Z8XB_zp8nBcz8vHWQMiM3lJzxHtcQRJ2DjigN4b7r5UwanihrZnBeR8YNhZxrFX8agGCEpwCaYNgIQvpKEZdhUYYIzgVA5G8/s1600/slug-damage-on-broccoli-severe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOFVoA-TYjGVqbrwOcCH62xbiSI4Ntu_fsy28-euajhD4Z8XB_zp8nBcz8vHWQMiM3lJzxHtcQRJ2DjigN4b7r5UwanihrZnBeR8YNhZxrFX8agGCEpwCaYNgIQvpKEZdhUYYIzgVA5G8/s320/slug-damage-on-broccoli-severe.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Which in my eyes looks a lot like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqOqjUPQVG1oXE7vj6hiLBuRPsrcCa8Ggg6kufcZiJz42TBMGJAyhqhK0IRjOATxuKxbLtbHkRGKbrG7OUUQZ_avxHcXct0gYi-TqgeIHm2qpYUSfhWpKK3_6cbJfGVCUq5WexDOkFtw/s1600/IMG_5926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqOqjUPQVG1oXE7vj6hiLBuRPsrcCa8Ggg6kufcZiJz42TBMGJAyhqhK0IRjOATxuKxbLtbHkRGKbrG7OUUQZ_avxHcXct0gYi-TqgeIHm2qpYUSfhWpKK3_6cbJfGVCUq5WexDOkFtw/s320/IMG_5926.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Snail and slug damage would also explain why the newer leaves are nearly untouched and I have not caught any in the act. The past few weeks here have been very dry and less than ideal conditions for slugs. When things get wetter and more humid I will need to be vigilant. Hopefully in the meantime I can come up with a good slug countermeasure.<br />
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-228748802687301872016-06-17T15:07:00.000-05:002016-06-17T15:07:18.467-05:00Ooooops!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I thought that my <a href="https://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2016/04/watering-solution.html" target="_blank">watering solution</a> was going to mean that I could go away for three weeks without worrying about my hops. I came back to find this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdzSmQR0uaSnR2zqwGJcS3RaHjcz2q5QLfzL7RXM97ObCHk18PrT4OxzUSd699lHQGL1zcOXYktLUgYlIgChOyYwmtAnVLJwmwFEGS7iip3YU5F5UCk0WAsbjMMFz5JU-9bbAKDsS0Vo/s1600/IMG_5923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdzSmQR0uaSnR2zqwGJcS3RaHjcz2q5QLfzL7RXM97ObCHk18PrT4OxzUSd699lHQGL1zcOXYktLUgYlIgChOyYwmtAnVLJwmwFEGS7iip3YU5F5UCk0WAsbjMMFz5JU-9bbAKDsS0Vo/s320/IMG_5923.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I hope is obvious from this pic is that the Columbus on the left has basically stopped growing at just over 10 feet. The Cascade on the other hand has continued, mostly growing straight up the bamboo poles. I also found that the Columbus has well developed cones:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlSCWplMO97kDSAoEoYgPA7dQ7SYCYUM1hxJYNA575tx1zsoFUcZqJABKvu-_kzFF8TYiUXkp5meCCwQ08aiL2ymrCa2xVfOw2mstqnp0h2yyNJ83ifsY5Vggpy0oyQYa3ZQE7Cutz50/s1600/IMG_5930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlSCWplMO97kDSAoEoYgPA7dQ7SYCYUM1hxJYNA575tx1zsoFUcZqJABKvu-_kzFF8TYiUXkp5meCCwQ08aiL2ymrCa2xVfOw2mstqnp0h2yyNJ83ifsY5Vggpy0oyQYa3ZQE7Cutz50/s320/IMG_5930.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Cascade had still to produce any burrs. The earth in the raised bed was very dry. Apparently we had had no rain at all during three weeks away. My initial thought was that the drip line had not been programmed for long enough. Upon inspection of the timer I found that I had inadvertently set it to every other day rather than every day. Needless to say I have now returned it to the daily setting. The very same evening I made the change we had a torrential downpour so now I'm worrying if they'll drown. I have also picked the cones that are present and put them in a sealed bag in the freezer. They smell great and I'm hoping that picking them will inspire the plant to producing some more. Despite the apical meristem coming to a stop there are signs of new growth, so hopefully upward mobility can be restored.</div>
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Another potential problem I came home to is leaf damage:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqwdoRjo9u-qj4TYKRadcJYnN_uFvJIWVhBJUT-WW5M3PK4O0AQeum7JqIaBcYvIkalM7BzCQFODebucpB8DUrs1XTb1h8fDKX9lqyi9BjjpJYzhATeGwpQzS6S377o5K7WZSRYB5WFQ/s1600/IMG_5924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqwdoRjo9u-qj4TYKRadcJYnN_uFvJIWVhBJUT-WW5M3PK4O0AQeum7JqIaBcYvIkalM7BzCQFODebucpB8DUrs1XTb1h8fDKX9lqyi9BjjpJYzhATeGwpQzS6S377o5K7WZSRYB5WFQ/s320/IMG_5924.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This looks very much like the leaves have been eaten by bugs of some sort but I have been unable to catch any red handed. In this same photo there is also evidence of fresh growth that hasn't been eaten yet so I'm hopeful that both plants can recover.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-78545423301352475292016-05-02T13:24:00.000-05:002016-05-02T13:24:34.446-05:00First burrs and split bulls<div style="text-align: justify;">
Having installed the automatic watering system the weather promptly decides that it's time for some rain. Fortunately, this particular system has an easy rain delay feature. This all means that growth of the bines is continuing apace (see hop height graph). The first of the burrs (<a href="http://www.kingbirdjournal.com/2010/06/burrs.html" target="_blank">early stage flowers</a>) are appearing (hoping for an increased yield on last year):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatOj3o7TtInRZEvB2lp9DxEqMbKyF8BxbjO0FlIWwibgPwmmHbtr07SZgZfoT4tzPGuhVznTWvLByqHbz3hAbVybReGdUQxt16SeFvkyW8-SJG5BYhyphenhyphenuSaHJiV94i3LHygSMv67lJWko/s1600/IMG_4387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatOj3o7TtInRZEvB2lp9DxEqMbKyF8BxbjO0FlIWwibgPwmmHbtr07SZgZfoT4tzPGuhVznTWvLByqHbz3hAbVybReGdUQxt16SeFvkyW8-SJG5BYhyphenhyphenuSaHJiV94i3LHygSMv67lJWko/s320/IMG_4387.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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One aspect of training hop bines I have previously read about but not done much about is whether to prune bull shoots or not. It seems that <a href="http://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/selecting-the-right-bines-to-train" target="_blank">commercial growers prefer to prune these</a> as they can be more easily broken due to being hollow. Up to now I have let them grow as our back garden is pretty sheltered from high winds. Today I found a bull shoot that almost looks as if it pulled itself apart:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRwI_Jvy8JjN_BymYxBOXZlNtZ3rzcEDyoAAtCNDjcoS-jtoA-v-YObI7NiNTzYtimdNoyI6uBoqUJU-lXMUnkFjmlCuYyf6B6kkmkKanxbuuE2oU2e53I-3XcTvZXxeH48sQjxi9dko/s1600/IMG_4388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRwI_Jvy8JjN_BymYxBOXZlNtZ3rzcEDyoAAtCNDjcoS-jtoA-v-YObI7NiNTzYtimdNoyI6uBoqUJU-lXMUnkFjmlCuYyf6B6kkmkKanxbuuE2oU2e53I-3XcTvZXxeH48sQjxi9dko/s320/IMG_4388.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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In this case I have cut it back to just above the nearest node. I will keep a close eye on the bull shoots that are left to see if more breakages happen and whether they are less productive than the non-bull shoots. Hopefully next year I will have a better idea of how to proceed with pruning.</div>
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Bottom of the garden hops are also progressing nicely:</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-76671984671665413902016-04-25T11:21:00.000-05:002016-04-25T11:21:36.980-05:00Watering solution<div style="text-align: justify;">
I've never been a great one for remembering to water plants. Better to not have to. A really good way to do this is with an automatic watering system. In my case I'm using a drip line system that will provide water directly to the plants:</div>
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The watering is controlled by a timer on the hose:</div>
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Set to water the plants for 15 minutes everyday at 6am. With any luck, this will be the last time I have to worry about watering them.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-67731315793986470812016-04-22T13:33:00.001-05:002016-04-22T13:33:49.119-05:00Cascade trimming<div style="text-align: justify;">
Growth rates are definitely picking up. The Cascade has now got to being a little unruly and in need of some bine selection:</div>
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Time to cut back the bines that I'm not going to train up the helix:</div>
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Hopefully the Cascade will now concentrate it's growing efforts on these remaining bines. </div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-79830878046342360462016-04-17T10:17:00.000-05:002016-04-17T10:17:25.601-05:00Waving, not drowning<div style="text-align: justify;">
Another attempt at capturing hop growth (of the Columbus in this case) through timelapse. This video is made up of images taken every minute for the better part of a day:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzG0tGz3NySrfNwO5yRr2wSttoqNtDfU98_tFt6DvWQ4qJV2NlAiUsTdAskLBY0F8XcF5FdpeMNON-uJDxtpw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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There are two bines on the left of the video that start a dance around each other in an attempt to grow upwards. If you look very closely, there is a bine growing up the bamboo pole on the far right showing exactly how hops like to grow up things. It even appears to react to direct sunlight (they unfortunately do not get direct sunlight all day).</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-67309040209606166312016-04-14T12:32:00.000-05:002016-04-14T12:32:08.397-05:00How the time flies<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's often said that hops grow so quickly you can almost watch them. For a while now I've been trying to get some time lapse footage of exactly this just to make it clear just how fast they are:</div>
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This particular example doesn't really show them growing in length but it does clearly show how they swing around looking for something to wind themselves around so they can grow upwards. If I weren't trying to get them to grow up mine twine in a helix pattern it most likely would have found it. Perhaps this is a sign that my helix is too squashed and I should try to make it more vertical next time. Might help with the training of the bines.</div>
Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-71593720600095903262016-04-11T15:20:00.000-05:002016-04-11T15:20:37.694-05:00They grow up so quickly<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just a couple of weeks after appearing from their slumber it's time to start training the bines up their helical path via some new twine wrapped around bamboo poles, <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2015/04/you-turn-your-back-for-couple-of-weeks.html" target="_blank">much like last year</a>:</div>
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This also means it's time to select which I think are the strongest shoots and trim back the rest. The Columbus is again coming out the stronger of the two that are left (I've pretty much given up on seeing the Willamette again):</div>
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After some thinning out:</div>
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Thinning will come to the Cascade when it is ready:</div>
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The rhizome I transplanted at the bottom of the garden is also showing signs of life:</div>
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The hop shoot risotto wasn't attempted this year due to pretty underwhelming results <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2015/05/risotto-2-hop-shoots-0.html" target="_blank">last year</a>. Even the raw shoots when picked directly from the plants don't really taste of anything. Perhaps different strains of hops are used in the parts of the world where hop shoot risotto is prepared.</div>
Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-37620146505314116842016-03-27T18:49:00.000-05:002016-03-27T18:49:34.891-05:00Coming out of hibernation<div style="text-align: justify;">
Having been dormant since the autumn it's time to reawaken as the hops start to poke out of the ground again. <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2015/09/skip-forward-to-harvest-time.html" target="_blank">Last year's harvest</a> was a little disappointing compared to <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/08/harvest-time.html" target="_blank">the year before</a>. My current working theory is that the intervening winter was particularly harsh. This last winter didn't seem as bad although we did get some snow:</div>
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However, I took some precautions this time just to be on the safe side. This consisted mainly of raking leaves over the raised bed the hops are in to act as insulation and possibly keep some of the weeds down too:</div>
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Once all the snow had melted and the weather began to warm up I periodically checked under the leaves to see if there were any signs of life. About three weeks ago I found these Columbus shoots:</div>
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Time for this year's addition of compost, a lot of which consists of spent grain from brewing for the past year (I love the whole circle of life thing):</div>
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The Columbus very quickly found a way through the compost and is looking promising for another year of strong growth:</div>
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The Cascade has also made an appearance:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRanPYleMl2OLxQPYQcOouC8hLUuUnkkPO4p7i3fpfWzjzr7Fj75yAvQp31m8Jm-G2h1N-6Uue2IbxB_Txc2D7zeKpO5763Z6Nigj7d4VIWl714Rup6NoLe_o4Rh2UvJgOc4zK-yu2qzA/s1600/IMG_4348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRanPYleMl2OLxQPYQcOouC8hLUuUnkkPO4p7i3fpfWzjzr7Fj75yAvQp31m8Jm-G2h1N-6Uue2IbxB_Txc2D7zeKpO5763Z6Nigj7d4VIWl714Rup6NoLe_o4Rh2UvJgOc4zK-yu2qzA/s320/IMG_4348.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I don't have any expectations about seeing the Willamette this year. It seems that it has been very effectively pushed out of the raised bed by the Columbus and Cascade. The invasive nature of hops has given me the idea to use them for a bio-remediation experiment this year. The bottom of our garden has been overrun by wisteria and ivy from our neighbours' yards for years. We've done our best to pull it up but also being invasive, it just keeps coming back. Now that my hops have been in the ground for a couple of years they should be sturdy enough for me to take a some rhizome and plant it at the bottom of the garden in an attempt to out compete the invaders. A two inch section from the Columbus was transplanted with some of the compost. A couple of weeks later and they've made an appearance:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpy6EZTBm6AxEfIYshN4_62nYzwFWX5bogbYqwioAMtXPP3nrfOZ9ITdIjgJvM1nEfVCjiR1O4gwHfDJjnGr1kF6UFdAKDF-ka86Vqzq5mhEDYfz3jnsp_X9GLIdeV64Tg0Owp_Trdp8/s1600/IMG_4349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpy6EZTBm6AxEfIYshN4_62nYzwFWX5bogbYqwioAMtXPP3nrfOZ9ITdIjgJvM1nEfVCjiR1O4gwHfDJjnGr1kF6UFdAKDF-ka86Vqzq5mhEDYfz3jnsp_X9GLIdeV64Tg0Owp_Trdp8/s320/IMG_4349.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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With any luck they will spread and prevent other things from taking up that space and I might even end up with more hops. Win-win in my book. I'll be keeping an eye on them but won't be cultivating them in the same way I do with those in the raised bed. I really do want them to run wild.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-65773251884752323852015-09-07T18:07:00.000-05:002015-09-07T18:07:01.898-05:00Skip forward to harvest time<div style="text-align: justify;">
This summer has been a very busy one. Various other responsibilities (including a new job) have left me with very little time to keep up with this blog. Fortunately, my hops can look after themselves to a great extent, especially with an automatic drip watering system in place. I was able to take a picture for the weekly overview and I've put the progression down the right hand side of the web-version. You can see from these that both plants do very little growing over August and September. Can't really blame them though, it's been very hot here (even the grass has stopped growing).</div>
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The whole reason for growing hops is to have cones that can be harvested and put in beer. The first cones appeared at the end of May:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjibM5DUsPt1xKSYiTc2PKZHmEltOfzZb8aqTHBhQPHlZ6-kpULlnFalzaIrvUuqafBJzGvhXZKHrx-4O3lzXjxlhPpnOnWGch6ZKkO5nNQ_BN5M46cKGecUMY1GHaK2CNIz1fMpooF28/s1600/IMG_4014+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjibM5DUsPt1xKSYiTc2PKZHmEltOfzZb8aqTHBhQPHlZ6-kpULlnFalzaIrvUuqafBJzGvhXZKHrx-4O3lzXjxlhPpnOnWGch6ZKkO5nNQ_BN5M46cKGecUMY1GHaK2CNIz1fMpooF28/s320/IMG_4014+Cas.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is in a very early stage of development. <a href="http://freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-gardening/" target="_blank">My understanding</a> is this is the stage at which they may be pollinated if there are male plants in the vicinity. <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/07/on-complicated-sex-and-harvesting.html" target="_blank">As with last year</a>, the Columbus produced both male:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJeSNY8ruMEKBWANlJwpl5SLpzpg6J9eaoZghF93gQpQa992LoWRMm-65y4iHhnkoO_QsWWTor1ePHVFaPIpyhToqxIgcqmBEHBjyopl7JnyCR_udJLdGxJIo0rwH1OduIab8zRWdz20/s1600/IMG_4130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJeSNY8ruMEKBWANlJwpl5SLpzpg6J9eaoZghF93gQpQa992LoWRMm-65y4iHhnkoO_QsWWTor1ePHVFaPIpyhToqxIgcqmBEHBjyopl7JnyCR_udJLdGxJIo0rwH1OduIab8zRWdz20/s320/IMG_4130.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And female cones (you can see some male flowers in this pic too):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rvLM9sX0OwVSidBC09YGbo0xAZ3crvfp1I4fXfaZ2AWN6NzbKF4oDsG6oTYVe-lSknfs4FCFZcss0fThOtSNxU4Ct9lXC8V5TAGBxRbwcdhKfHcqIMaqLYi58duOlS_fGNO7ZMR48zM/s1600/IMG_4131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rvLM9sX0OwVSidBC09YGbo0xAZ3crvfp1I4fXfaZ2AWN6NzbKF4oDsG6oTYVe-lSknfs4FCFZcss0fThOtSNxU4Ct9lXC8V5TAGBxRbwcdhKfHcqIMaqLYi58duOlS_fGNO7ZMR48zM/s320/IMG_4131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have yet to see any indication that there has been any successful pollination happening, either with itself or the Cascade which is right beside it. Some of this is presumably due to the timing, the male flowers always appear after the female flowers (on both plants) are no longer in the receptive "burr" stage.</div>
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The final result of all this growth and cone formation was this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCkC6kCDp6ld87T5z2tJ4pdtYzif_H7llbvcXCJODwB4gK1GqdLIDXLqLYlau-rFKXFgIuUKu-VhSwmHsxL1k225hm9VDDHCJ2_10ErpMqH9ux5W-XxcC5Uup5jrZ524toL114yk0H2E/s1600/IMG_4135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCkC6kCDp6ld87T5z2tJ4pdtYzif_H7llbvcXCJODwB4gK1GqdLIDXLqLYlau-rFKXFgIuUKu-VhSwmHsxL1k225hm9VDDHCJ2_10ErpMqH9ux5W-XxcC5Uup5jrZ524toL114yk0H2E/s320/IMG_4135.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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12oz of Columbus and 1oz of Cascade were vacuum sealed and thrown in the freezer. Shame that the Cascade proved to not be very productive this year. Perhaps this will improve once it has established itself more. Alternatively, the Columbus may just push out all of the competition. The Willamette has been almost absent this year. Here's what it looks like at the start of September (you might just be able to see it growing up along the string of lights to the right):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYF2D1w36RJ3dH0dOm58hXprTKkJy5kvSjvjAynPu2fjCFUU4kvSx91u1TCf5sqNCZN-gta0ShHWBSSHtDZ7n0pRiwgtlFCI2OrASKQL4ITEFxoE1d3H2kjvh3ckpe9FA06iO3fhx8JA/s1600/IMG_4146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYF2D1w36RJ3dH0dOm58hXprTKkJy5kvSjvjAynPu2fjCFUU4kvSx91u1TCf5sqNCZN-gta0ShHWBSSHtDZ7n0pRiwgtlFCI2OrASKQL4ITEFxoE1d3H2kjvh3ckpe9FA06iO3fhx8JA/s320/IMG_4146.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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One of the nice things about having a nano operation like this is that I can get more than one harvest per year. While I was picking these first cones I saw this on the Columbus:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesq2zAd-MyVMu7fAyro5SmNOasdW47H16vlQebxJRB1TY8xWSs0O3R7tQoNX9xAu2b_vp6DX5eR6ixFBtmUjVhAOSzsXKLN4QUPQ3rZssdhTOM99vVjMvSZifRxpBXYz9IHnNabUq0dk/s1600/IMG_4134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiesq2zAd-MyVMu7fAyro5SmNOasdW47H16vlQebxJRB1TY8xWSs0O3R7tQoNX9xAu2b_vp6DX5eR6ixFBtmUjVhAOSzsXKLN4QUPQ3rZssdhTOM99vVjMvSZifRxpBXYz9IHnNabUq0dk/s320/IMG_4134.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Which led to this second harvest (close to another 5oz of Columbus):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXU3aREKjF6_wMswA-uJzqM40gno_n4w1z68zYh5A2D43BKE6lpIxUGWK-TlitE_Fc-R2nzB1-AbaLoGRZx9EeLgcptSp6AT_Trudxe3XzwLdjU2s3C09uHBKI4KVUlZ_PTgCe-XZSecQ/s1600/IMG_4137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXU3aREKjF6_wMswA-uJzqM40gno_n4w1z68zYh5A2D43BKE6lpIxUGWK-TlitE_Fc-R2nzB1-AbaLoGRZx9EeLgcptSp6AT_Trudxe3XzwLdjU2s3C09uHBKI4KVUlZ_PTgCe-XZSecQ/s320/IMG_4137.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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Looking forward to putting these into some beer later in the year.</div>
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Bugs have caused as much of a problem as they did last year, which is to say not enough to make a noticeable difference to the growth of the plants. Here's a typical example of the worst kind of leaf damage I've seen:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGntS9d528GkrXS0dlB6IBXfHwyl_Aw84-Yzn71yji4HJzWhjXgIvdtguM6lLNCxN4tlChOyWJNu6UkjjzivpCPzxkQmirq5L8srHmT-zVKBsJtEupz4Gr1-ndsY6c9Es1vO4Z6dBG4Zs/s1600/IMG_4144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGntS9d528GkrXS0dlB6IBXfHwyl_Aw84-Yzn71yji4HJzWhjXgIvdtguM6lLNCxN4tlChOyWJNu6UkjjzivpCPzxkQmirq5L8srHmT-zVKBsJtEupz4Gr1-ndsY6c9Es1vO4Z6dBG4Zs/s320/IMG_4144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anybody following from my days in Houston might remember I had previously found a <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2012/06/turning-over-old-leaf-and-more-bugs.html" target="_blank">tobacco hornworm</a> on our tomato plants next to my hops. Same thing happened this year too, only with a worse outcome for the hornworms:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFc9LFLxJZgoSSIdZ6EAYsrfejYrD-YMWbhGVXDxLxCnN5zOgOvisMitfLd49HcivNN5pWI0fYatDojhq9s5n4uuGq6qidhGrnBQDTNkmc_C064MBu-pERag6qMqJThe7J2sBZS1wt_sY/s1600/IMG_4122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFc9LFLxJZgoSSIdZ6EAYsrfejYrD-YMWbhGVXDxLxCnN5zOgOvisMitfLd49HcivNN5pWI0fYatDojhq9s5n4uuGq6qidhGrnBQDTNkmc_C064MBu-pERag6qMqJThe7J2sBZS1wt_sY/s320/IMG_4122.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNb6Q_0lgL3sZEnmCBUnMsKepzVjundyFgD8RgE1e2ZYBstN2q9HVQTxMuGSjn33cHzI52DQ5B3ADT_r-5OUxyR9W7N06z08FKWBPHoqDhb8ykMW-oGX95Uo2MkJTRWQqOjEBA_AoKHQg/s1600/IMG_4121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNb6Q_0lgL3sZEnmCBUnMsKepzVjundyFgD8RgE1e2ZYBstN2q9HVQTxMuGSjn33cHzI52DQ5B3ADT_r-5OUxyR9W7N06z08FKWBPHoqDhb8ykMW-oGX95Uo2MkJTRWQqOjEBA_AoKHQg/s320/IMG_4121.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This rather gruesome end comes thanks to a parasitic (<a href="http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-04_braconid_wasp_on_hornworm.htm" target="_blank">Braconid</a>) wasp that lays its eggs inside the worm. When the eggs hatch they eat the hornworm from the inside. When the time comes they chew their way through the skin and form a pupa on the outside (those small white things hanging from the worm). Not entirely sure how they convince the hornworm to grip the underside of the plant like that but then I'm also not entirely sorry for them either.</div>
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Now we are into September there are signs that Autumn may be on its way. The Cascade, which has always been less productive in comparison to the Columbus, already has some bines that have died off:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisV9HXsw7lep_Sgdj5qP46dSzhflkJpsOjQd0meHa1hu-S2iGgYe4QII9fE78x7DewMmaQPPmIVf_RrvcvqnKglxkCCICeRPH1j6Cvb97sNQHwWrz1j0UX9y_bRcheQM6Yk-R2Yl3OvwU/s1600/IMG_4142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisV9HXsw7lep_Sgdj5qP46dSzhflkJpsOjQd0meHa1hu-S2iGgYe4QII9fE78x7DewMmaQPPmIVf_RrvcvqnKglxkCCICeRPH1j6Cvb97sNQHwWrz1j0UX9y_bRcheQM6Yk-R2Yl3OvwU/s320/IMG_4142.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Columbus also has some signs of the oncoming autumnal purge, even if not quite as dramatic as the Cascade:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1UHRI1_ibOWDuKIjOMHkGk7eOXxyWKaswC7SWNe7bu3fNo0A5m-9agLH4XQbUYT9e1alUP2MYOumwX4LQ76x_y0vUQixcgnwNpmI2dQCh7N4L29tf0u52Jh0KU3RNsSR0ipdjUbYtHs/s1600/IMG_4143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU1UHRI1_ibOWDuKIjOMHkGk7eOXxyWKaswC7SWNe7bu3fNo0A5m-9agLH4XQbUYT9e1alUP2MYOumwX4LQ76x_y0vUQixcgnwNpmI2dQCh7N4L29tf0u52Jh0KU3RNsSR0ipdjUbYtHs/s320/IMG_4143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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All told the summer appears to have been much less productive compared to <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/09/harvesting-home-and-away.html" target="_blank">last year</a>. The Columbus gave me a ~1lb this year compared to nearly 2lbs last year, the Cascade a handful of cones vs nearly 2oz last year, and the Willamette barely even appeared and didn't produce any cones at all. I'm wondering if this is due to neglect on my part or perhaps the extreme heat of this summer. I don't remember the grass stopping growing altogether last year. All of this after the extreme cold of last winter. I had to entirely cut back a pair of well established fig trees that didn't make it through the cold. Obviously, I'm leaning towards the climate being the problem, especially given that we used an automatic drip system this year which should have taken a lot of the neglect out of the equation. Hopefully the coming winter will be milder and the following summer kinder. Regardless, I will still be using what I've gathered for a fresh hopped beer of some description in the coming months.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-72928999581919616472015-05-14T12:12:00.000-05:002016-05-10T15:58:13.127-05:00Risotto 2 - Hop shoots 0<div style="text-align: justify;">
Time has again arrived to thin out the hops so that only the strongest shoots are left to climb. <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/05/thinning-hop-shoot-risotto.html" target="_blank">Last year</a> I only felt that this was necessary with the Columbus as the growth of the Cascade and Willamette was not that prodigious. This year we have something of a contrast, the Willamette has not appeared at all yet and the Cascade is out growing the Columbus.<br />
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<a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2015/04/you-turn-your-back-for-couple-of-weeks.html" target="_blank">Previously</a>, I talked about using a different system for training the growing hops. They have since done a very good job of ignoring it. Here's the Columbus:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6l7pQAgFL0Gsnr1Gf3bvvvIiTnMDVaRyF4Xa0dWk0FTlbef_QWbjTZPkfFITi9vz1RVIhAF510d2hvPDRPZm0dANwg4peB0wfgs8LouYTuSHs2LyqnTo5lZha0Jq4-nrzWRsPuJ_w8E/s1600/IMG_3965+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD6l7pQAgFL0Gsnr1Gf3bvvvIiTnMDVaRyF4Xa0dWk0FTlbef_QWbjTZPkfFITi9vz1RVIhAF510d2hvPDRPZm0dANwg4peB0wfgs8LouYTuSHs2LyqnTo5lZha0Jq4-nrzWRsPuJ_w8E/s320/IMG_3965+Col.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can probably see some bines trying to climb up the bamboo directly rather than sticking to the twine. Admittedly, this is what they prefer to do. Here's the Cascade clearly trying to sneak straight up:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQsjci1mEglJ69bj4LvslrrbH2fm8rtJGKHKlSd-sctiQxU-zLR-Ofh1dCnB_xiYqN2t6S5SE3MI4KLXlNhePuQg4X1ig0g_FuZP-S9x3wbuGwXgM0rHO_kqefteAw_e0WhEans8iBIo/s1600/IMG_3966+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQsjci1mEglJ69bj4LvslrrbH2fm8rtJGKHKlSd-sctiQxU-zLR-Ofh1dCnB_xiYqN2t6S5SE3MI4KLXlNhePuQg4X1ig0g_FuZP-S9x3wbuGwXgM0rHO_kqefteAw_e0WhEans8iBIo/s320/IMG_3966+Cas.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Both are clearly in need of thinning out. Last year I had three lines of twine per plant with three bines on each. As a consequence I'm hoping to be able to grow nine bines up my helical arrangement. After deciding on the strongest nine looking the rest were cut off at ground level leaving the Columbus looking like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiD5XWW4fNqQtu4uXJ579aOYBukjpAdicaR_gfSCRR5sliA9oHaBEDKk8mLTtgLNTd7Ezec7m7QZrForqigROve8qK3aVUFfyl3_MZrVqig-8pxx6YdV1yDpM6eoMYpoe7lkjN3gqJaMc/s1600/IMG_3969+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiD5XWW4fNqQtu4uXJ579aOYBukjpAdicaR_gfSCRR5sliA9oHaBEDKk8mLTtgLNTd7Ezec7m7QZrForqigROve8qK3aVUFfyl3_MZrVqig-8pxx6YdV1yDpM6eoMYpoe7lkjN3gqJaMc/s320/IMG_3969+Col.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the Cascade:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoX1t7gMQjL-F4ZhXpVSfaB3ZI61jtgQqtkBzmtDwdzjXy9MMLiMxwjMD5dHOlqVQTIG_36KD7-FDSxvCptPMoXj5xdGx8R_PMswb4tFqahU45qPAjuxFGa3OLQGOz4BiZv-dodfwmm0/s1600/IMG_3970+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoX1t7gMQjL-F4ZhXpVSfaB3ZI61jtgQqtkBzmtDwdzjXy9MMLiMxwjMD5dHOlqVQTIG_36KD7-FDSxvCptPMoXj5xdGx8R_PMswb4tFqahU45qPAjuxFGa3OLQGOz4BiZv-dodfwmm0/s320/IMG_3970+Cas.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And a quantity of shoots and leaves:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6Bbd0BUwtLbfYdwy5iZUHNwmMYgbJ2nNJwCWXH8K1MVC5HtcUtU1h0dt1VVwvFKqCsDbdAbDVUdQ6v08fRbKMi92FI-0KZI0B0mYlE1XzAJ6GPTBeHzB-hgJ1HGAODFPDjf1B-Myq6M/s1600/IMG_3971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6Bbd0BUwtLbfYdwy5iZUHNwmMYgbJ2nNJwCWXH8K1MVC5HtcUtU1h0dt1VVwvFKqCsDbdAbDVUdQ6v08fRbKMi92FI-0KZI0B0mYlE1XzAJ6GPTBeHzB-hgJ1HGAODFPDjf1B-Myq6M/s320/IMG_3971.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/05/thinning-hop-shoot-risotto.html" target="_blank">Like last year</a>, the plan was to make a hop shoot risotto. I was hoping that this year there would be stronger growth as the plants are in their second year. Certainly the initial growth as been very encouraging. The amount that I pruned this year (pictured above) is more than I would look to put in a risotto, especially as there are a lot of leaves. As a consequence I removed the tips from the rest of the bines:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtd4WnBAWoQr49g1hFnPKFNUt6y0L4-TRZ7rZfSl2y1hHE4SMlgDeVK_jWzYgSEnjcvFlnnaZeMmZ4hlExtaevs8khUU0PeOsIn2fLJ02jWEYrYAJBnEsUIqcvzHTGvFp5Yp8CvDv6Bo/s1600/IMG_3972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWtd4WnBAWoQr49g1hFnPKFNUt6y0L4-TRZ7rZfSl2y1hHE4SMlgDeVK_jWzYgSEnjcvFlnnaZeMmZ4hlExtaevs8khUU0PeOsIn2fLJ02jWEYrYAJBnEsUIqcvzHTGvFp5Yp8CvDv6Bo/s320/IMG_3972.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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To give this pile:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwsu1F4h4gSIWIjjPbbQO6rjrzxFUurfz97Cj6o-fGzQHY-ePDC70Fb__ldfQcWoELTqdYrpKKR00VTKGwI1uYrewUQn5ewXMu70_Wx9POxC_nPyydSGH7cezXC6k48-FHFzS2ffoD-Q/s1600/IMG_3973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwsu1F4h4gSIWIjjPbbQO6rjrzxFUurfz97Cj6o-fGzQHY-ePDC70Fb__ldfQcWoELTqdYrpKKR00VTKGwI1uYrewUQn5ewXMu70_Wx9POxC_nPyydSGH7cezXC6k48-FHFzS2ffoD-Q/s320/IMG_3973.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was further thinned out by removing any leaves. The tips of the shoots were taken off to act as a garnish for the final product:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy88jrjTT6CcEd8FLefkUun22PSdHgC77ES2eAursHitYIwOnxUq05ETJ1qXFuQmHPxx6bpUfa8BYR7QQ7r4Yi1ABnvUd3c04u2sgFwPh9yES4kE7E0h2x-ShIXd6IfjEPiFE_zrOi4s/s1600/IMG_3977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy88jrjTT6CcEd8FLefkUun22PSdHgC77ES2eAursHitYIwOnxUq05ETJ1qXFuQmHPxx6bpUfa8BYR7QQ7r4Yi1ABnvUd3c04u2sgFwPh9yES4kE7E0h2x-ShIXd6IfjEPiFE_zrOi4s/s320/IMG_3977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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With the rest being included with the rice, shallots, garlic and white wine:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdEaV0Pw7HgHIuBmz8oVycQKRBPv3Rh0aNWit4v6k9wf6XsYKU52o2zeiJ2sXe6qQbMcihgiXGp_VGF7VPGbET63XmO6wPloAujLvbnPVb2THN-JkA12vNAcHi63VdkY6S448Egi3iqQ/s1600/IMG_3978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdEaV0Pw7HgHIuBmz8oVycQKRBPv3Rh0aNWit4v6k9wf6XsYKU52o2zeiJ2sXe6qQbMcihgiXGp_VGF7VPGbET63XmO6wPloAujLvbnPVb2THN-JkA12vNAcHi63VdkY6S448Egi3iqQ/s320/IMG_3978.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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To give a very tasty dish that had almost no flavour of hop shoots:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KNIPtNv68jhySXe9pFa15XEDMtd-5-cnT6odKSdpbrDMp1nVN6GfPQgkUvX5bRPneN9_SXF-osHA8rXen73diXOW_Vg0tJONy_wyC7LE1gwpr4RDqKzBwt8bycH8l6R5U1ZGriAZYjs/s1600/IMG_3979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KNIPtNv68jhySXe9pFa15XEDMtd-5-cnT6odKSdpbrDMp1nVN6GfPQgkUvX5bRPneN9_SXF-osHA8rXen73diXOW_Vg0tJONy_wyC7LE1gwpr4RDqKzBwt8bycH8l6R5U1ZGriAZYjs/s320/IMG_3979.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even when eaten raw, the tips had almost no flavour. The flavour wasn't unpleasant just absent. As this was the second year of disappointment I decided to do some research / investigation. Fortunately, Geoff at <a href="http://thehopyard.com/" target="_blank">The Hopyard</a> very kindly responded to my questions. It seems that part of the problem may be that I need to cut shoots for the risotto a lot earlier. <a href="http://thehopyard.com/eat-hop-shoots/" target="_blank">If you look here</a> you can certainly see that what they are offering are shoots that a lot closer to the ground than mine were. It's also possible that my plants are still a bit young still, being only in their second year. Perhaps next year they'll give me stronger initial growth. If you look at the <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2015/04/get-move-on.html" target="_blank">pictures of my early shoots</a>, they clearly have the same purplish colour to them as Geoff's do, I just need more of them. Hopefully next year will provide more shoots and if I cut them earlier we might just end up with the intended dish. In the meantime, Geoff tells me that the majority of their crop of shoots went to <a href="http://liquidriot.com/" target="_blank">Liquid Riot in Portland</a>, <a href="http://www.earthathiddenpond.com/" target="_blank">Earth in Kennebunk</a> and a distributor in Pennsylvania. If you're anywhere near those please do give them a try and report back on any hop shoot recipes.<br />
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I will continue to persevere with risotto experiments if for no other reason than the final dish is still tasty and it's better than just throwing the thinned out bines on the compost heap. Something to look forward to for next year.<br />
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-65357287336830474172015-04-22T15:56:00.000-05:002015-04-22T15:56:15.683-05:00You turn your back for a couple of weeks (but more so this year)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Have been out of town for the past couple of weeks (<a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/04/you-turn-your-back-for-couple-of-weeks.html" target="_blank">much like last year</a>). Main difference is this year we're a couple of weeks later in the year. When I left there were just a couple of shoots appearing that were <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2015/04/get-move-on.html" target="_blank">just a few inches long</a>. Getting back I was greeted by this sight:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ooEtl3By0bkwkKeW8ELSU3bAsQIM4EM3VhwiEmSyBnPHhYsqdofain4JsutDP7LiLD2q36oxXYZpdW8KWoEx3uO7x7rczkIDjM7eO5pQAesjTMKzN_-4Gi3PEnEoAoAcnc2gBe_v4g/s1600/IMG_3908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk7ooEtl3By0bkwkKeW8ELSU3bAsQIM4EM3VhwiEmSyBnPHhYsqdofain4JsutDP7LiLD2q36oxXYZpdW8KWoEx3uO7x7rczkIDjM7eO5pQAesjTMKzN_-4Gi3PEnEoAoAcnc2gBe_v4g/s1600/IMG_3908.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Amazing just how much growth you can get in such a short period of time. They were even picking fights with the poor tulips that are just trying to flower:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVJ1SuCMbPuXuqR7NAZiFJAWy9iNBmewAYG559N5ZCG1ULteMngzFBQuIzLvofyg3T2JQWXHrpEqDHF22byyIIQhJiSIE0x2I5-93wlnGlo_XpAJTLoATnYKkR7iR5OIMmFt9OTdM9BI/s1600/IMG_3909+Cas01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIVJ1SuCMbPuXuqR7NAZiFJAWy9iNBmewAYG559N5ZCG1ULteMngzFBQuIzLvofyg3T2JQWXHrpEqDHF22byyIIQhJiSIE0x2I5-93wlnGlo_XpAJTLoATnYKkR7iR5OIMmFt9OTdM9BI/s1600/IMG_3909+Cas01.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unfortunately, despite all this growth there is still no sign of the Willamette. This is all I found where it should be:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNE6U1ZwWUTfQsW2_euVJ7qLQfMly5-9sF5ATTgL8kkwgUY3v6p_AVP-FZmyykr51zdKcOBeYCYtb5Fe_x3lTi4QtU9_fHVHxU7d27l-BxLA_uT4ODjUSVyKwIW_W-nhic731QDcihVic/s1600/IMG_3910+Will01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNE6U1ZwWUTfQsW2_euVJ7qLQfMly5-9sF5ATTgL8kkwgUY3v6p_AVP-FZmyykr51zdKcOBeYCYtb5Fe_x3lTi4QtU9_fHVHxU7d27l-BxLA_uT4ODjUSVyKwIW_W-nhic731QDcihVic/s1600/IMG_3910+Will01.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pretty sure this is just a tomato volunteer from the compost and as such has been discarded.</div>
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In previous years I have initially used tomato cages and then <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/04/onwards-and-upwards.html" target="_blank">strung twine up to the window above</a>. The hope was that they would provide some shade during the hotter summer months. The amount of shade actually provided was quite pitiful so I'm trying a different method this year for corralling them. The plan is to use four bamboo poles per plant and string up the twine around them in a helix fashion. I'm afraid I don't remember where I first saw this arrangement otherwise I would give a reference. Fortunately, we have a wooded trail near us that has a couple of stands of bamboo that are constantly being cut down as they try to invade everything else. From here I dragged out several lengths which were further cut in half:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvl7LlVuDMypisL3DTMEb2MW_bmdykjYuPHMkBlhDNJg-JjJxvdE5P_dv6aPcwoISQADLF47FGMI-LyVvP1Bn_UGxGf_QSKAZDSeXNOOo6rNz3H2YqyxAcbcL2nkl7550wSDk8TVPUSeY/s1600/IMG_3915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvl7LlVuDMypisL3DTMEb2MW_bmdykjYuPHMkBlhDNJg-JjJxvdE5P_dv6aPcwoISQADLF47FGMI-LyVvP1Bn_UGxGf_QSKAZDSeXNOOo6rNz3H2YqyxAcbcL2nkl7550wSDk8TVPUSeY/s1600/IMG_3915.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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One of the nice things about bamboo is that it is very easy to work with. The only real problem is convincing it not to split. To ease embedding in the ground I cut angles off the bottoms:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MB7QIpbIIeNC87iqSxZf5wNe_c-U-sEeGg1jZSKdoJPoLhJY8EagfcJZkVsR41IV0LgkKou9dejC8060d-DGnL5albcHsS8mK2HG7ven1foYPi6nyvtlkwQnUaxXjYcs2fZvx6WHyj0/s1600/IMG_3914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MB7QIpbIIeNC87iqSxZf5wNe_c-U-sEeGg1jZSKdoJPoLhJY8EagfcJZkVsR41IV0LgkKou9dejC8060d-DGnL5albcHsS8mK2HG7ven1foYPi6nyvtlkwQnUaxXjYcs2fZvx6WHyj0/s1600/IMG_3914.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Come the zombie apocalypse I'm making bamboo spears! Once completed it was a matter of making holes in the raised bed with a crowbar and then stabbing downwards with these newly sharpened poles:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOa4DSAzQf9mbLXr3W45vaAq__m7mwCWU7FgteHf9Jbdt7G6320NfZoeTgYNepiB_u5G4eF4LUSCzaFDGtvWA5nlP1jyfyIu6vV84gRIba5jrYAjOrA1yHf3lftEyDycqFy5dmfttu3k/s1600/IMG_3916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOa4DSAzQf9mbLXr3W45vaAq__m7mwCWU7FgteHf9Jbdt7G6320NfZoeTgYNepiB_u5G4eF4LUSCzaFDGtvWA5nlP1jyfyIu6vV84gRIba5jrYAjOrA1yHf3lftEyDycqFy5dmfttu3k/s1600/IMG_3916.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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The idea with this arrangement is that harvesting will be a lot easier as I will hopefully have managed to grow up to 30 feet of hops with only 8 feet of bamboo pole. All being well I should be able to do the harvesting from the upper reaches of the plants with just a small set of steps. Next up is twine. This year it occurred to me to try and make measuring their heights a little easier by marking 5 foot lengths in the twine with knots:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWsbaA3Tlthka_VDGqZADPIXaQLun20bTLq4EA8q0i7YFE3eAYxzDGCycWXXRWuoTPzPlKuwz-UWqQLJgeFEiUYbjwj_-A6Lwqb47fBaowAll2bQsHifkXzpZXNwRoyIzrwUJlHKxeqQ/s1600/IMG_3921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWsbaA3Tlthka_VDGqZADPIXaQLun20bTLq4EA8q0i7YFE3eAYxzDGCycWXXRWuoTPzPlKuwz-UWqQLJgeFEiUYbjwj_-A6Lwqb47fBaowAll2bQsHifkXzpZXNwRoyIzrwUJlHKxeqQ/s1600/IMG_3921.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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This way I only need measure to the nearest knot to work out how tall they are. Next step is winding the twine around the poles in a helical fashion. Obviously this alone will not ensure it stays put so I decided to staple them in place each time they go around a pole:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FZUj6sehKPwQpKDglffi-EGQ0NU_ABqvUWQufovPs3ulPHPuTDV_lxufEUwGTLLNzoF7rRCOS1fFWH9w_0UGJmTygWGdBWyOWjhAM5B-7rn8boSXNb4WfJ2v1qd4AMGbKLGjg9Bb1NA/s1600/IMG_3922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7FZUj6sehKPwQpKDglffi-EGQ0NU_ABqvUWQufovPs3ulPHPuTDV_lxufEUwGTLLNzoF7rRCOS1fFWH9w_0UGJmTygWGdBWyOWjhAM5B-7rn8boSXNb4WfJ2v1qd4AMGbKLGjg9Bb1NA/s1600/IMG_3922.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I appreciate there's a chance putting staples in like this might result in splitting of the bamboo. No sign of that yet but I will be keeping an eye out for it. Worst case scenario, I'm sure splits can be dissuaded from spreading further with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaffer_tape" target="_blank">gaffa tape</a>. Final step is just to gather hops and train them along the twine. Here's the Columbus:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VotaToIsTzmZZhvYqoY_AkMMpa6SDaswXuARvps8cyDx-K_kw7eV3i9Zrgjr9Cm7XUwJLTlTdp2F6fpYbBX7c6gYoa3Kr-csKOMf0QkNZPUWzADjwd2d1G8Q0nt1HJudN2gjdU-oE90/s1600/IMG_3927+Col07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VotaToIsTzmZZhvYqoY_AkMMpa6SDaswXuARvps8cyDx-K_kw7eV3i9Zrgjr9Cm7XUwJLTlTdp2F6fpYbBX7c6gYoa3Kr-csKOMf0QkNZPUWzADjwd2d1G8Q0nt1HJudN2gjdU-oE90/s1600/IMG_3927+Col07.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the Cascade:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEWLjY8yT-OAxriS_BrBc6bCI7jPKY8NHZaRpKacZh78ADM9G41bkEXTfW1JhRpHzsAS3san2NEUQEXEis6t6ueHkNFE_31GU17PQ_-jCOUvCgxOzTkscQsJWhzlR1h3SkI672d67PAA/s1600/IMG_3928+Cas03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZEWLjY8yT-OAxriS_BrBc6bCI7jPKY8NHZaRpKacZh78ADM9G41bkEXTfW1JhRpHzsAS3san2NEUQEXEis6t6ueHkNFE_31GU17PQ_-jCOUvCgxOzTkscQsJWhzlR1h3SkI672d67PAA/s1600/IMG_3928+Cas03.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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As the twine is not even close to being arranged vertically (what the hops would prefer) there will be a need for pretty much daily supervision to make sure the bines are sticking to the twine. In previous years this hasn't been a problem at all as I still get a kick out of having plants grow several inches per day. During the peak growing period there is a noticeable difference in height between the morning and evening. I'm also hoping that my Willamette will make an appearance this year even though it <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/08/you-cant-keep-all-hops-happy-all-of-time.html" target="_blank">wasn't looking very happy at the end of last year</a>. There's always the possibility that it has been squeezed out by the other two plants though. As always, only time can tell. I don't really want to go poking around in the earth looking in case I do some damage to shoots that are just about to appear.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-89662140067453230682015-04-07T12:02:00.000-05:002015-04-07T12:02:09.047-05:00Get a move on!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Seems that my addition of compost was a wake up call for the Columbus plant at least. Here's what I found just a couple of days after applying it:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxI1QrY8K9PO32dvjgJar00vK8aO03XDSzkcpFgsx9IDtoHzYtVw9Qyl1A4GMgchDDaC4qu8gyLvk7_7S0_5D3S94fT4Wt9lOT3CRs6ZQFWHBuGKnrtULOOefGapVRg-eH-016EdJynM/s1600/IMG_3402+Col04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxI1QrY8K9PO32dvjgJar00vK8aO03XDSzkcpFgsx9IDtoHzYtVw9Qyl1A4GMgchDDaC4qu8gyLvk7_7S0_5D3S94fT4Wt9lOT3CRs6ZQFWHBuGKnrtULOOefGapVRg-eH-016EdJynM/s1600/IMG_3402+Col04.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then a couple of days after that:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSGk6ZX3TcXVSTwau5n8zf9EwK7uy1KTDdnqNo8iU8ABJnE0PfBoVm963YYPRz036dRZL_utkHLBJ6M_yoE2Ub6gg-c4QGmE_5KgxycuU2iiT-z2nbvXfz83w9rMMq9KqxOI7A1AURqI/s1600/IMG_3403+Col05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSGk6ZX3TcXVSTwau5n8zf9EwK7uy1KTDdnqNo8iU8ABJnE0PfBoVm963YYPRz036dRZL_utkHLBJ6M_yoE2Ub6gg-c4QGmE_5KgxycuU2iiT-z2nbvXfz83w9rMMq9KqxOI7A1AURqI/s1600/IMG_3403+Col05.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Still no signs of life from the other two plants. Seems winter means that we'll be <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/03/shaking-off-winter.html" target="_blank">starting a little later this year</a>. I'm going to be away for 10 days so it will be interesting to see how much the Columbus grows in that time and whether the other two decide to grace us with their presence.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-3583480384100027162015-04-02T12:49:00.000-05:002015-04-02T12:50:21.942-05:00It's that time again<div style="text-align: justify;">
Spring is trying really hard to begin here. There are few tentative buds on the trees. My hops have been covered in snow several times <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/03/shaking-off-winter.html" target="_blank">just like last year</a>. It also seems that they have been the victim of something trying to dig them up. I'm tempted to blame the dog as his paw prints were everywhere but he's not really that much of a digger. He was probably just investigating upheaval in his back yard:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanzLfloi9Xiqg3Y-XQl6ZT7KRVP6CK1CXwaT7xgpIWxXDub6OWFyU3MSmGAi71dhFtF1Z9DGk8_I1ryxbS1ryjciVSgz5MdIxP5UPffUOLRk32mNb031JPB41SHKe8VdBjo-NyYO3h6Q/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjanzLfloi9Xiqg3Y-XQl6ZT7KRVP6CK1CXwaT7xgpIWxXDub6OWFyU3MSmGAi71dhFtF1Z9DGk8_I1ryxbS1ryjciVSgz5MdIxP5UPffUOLRk32mNb031JPB41SHKe8VdBjo-NyYO3h6Q/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Fortunately, it's time to give them some more compost which will help to cover any exposed roots. The compost has been collecting all year and even contains a good amount of spent grain. All very cycle of life. It does seem somewhat magical that biodegradable material goes in the top and compost come out the bottom:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7jVz7F4xUpWb3MDFaP3LNL29NGI88G5rP4FL22RP6gJNMfUdP6tl2hCe27VUmgtEZG_6sr9gUoLWphsup2PrmUn9jeYB196-yHplB-9X1o9ctaAkd9zA4sA-LmJ5tBEBPMQZbGdedA4/s1600/IMG_3345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM7jVz7F4xUpWb3MDFaP3LNL29NGI88G5rP4FL22RP6gJNMfUdP6tl2hCe27VUmgtEZG_6sr9gUoLWphsup2PrmUn9jeYB196-yHplB-9X1o9ctaAkd9zA4sA-LmJ5tBEBPMQZbGdedA4/s1600/IMG_3345.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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To give a great looking (if somewhat pungent) dark compost:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ytM1LFuH3asod1qC2yVPhru8fIgwfiBkSubnaznpI_Vh6iXx-4zDQ-naGjPFC5DycXyq_UJZATOv3WaeA2_HMlqvbFSVn7zjycENWO_2r6cuQqvFKbEnkNw-_8jE2ZCB7JAz-rpcD3k/s1600/IMG_3344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ytM1LFuH3asod1qC2yVPhru8fIgwfiBkSubnaznpI_Vh6iXx-4zDQ-naGjPFC5DycXyq_UJZATOv3WaeA2_HMlqvbFSVn7zjycENWO_2r6cuQqvFKbEnkNw-_8jE2ZCB7JAz-rpcD3k/s1600/IMG_3344.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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You may be able to spot the odd eggshell in there. We've also been adding avocado stones and skins which really don't seem to break down much, although I suspect they leach all sorts of nutrient goodness into everything around them. There was also a <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_subject" target="_blank">wriggle</a> of worms (yes I had to look that up but I'm glad I did). <a href="http://compost.css.cornell.edu/worms/basics.html" target="_blank">Worms in compost</a> are apparently a very good thing. Here's the end result:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslPCPGehahV_u9gzNwk0uZw57oxzKptzj7g1FC6LnzSsHWn9VvQPDxob6E2rzj3ocUQV89_toxOzs0AlqCR6wVh25KmdhM0pa1zmQOy_x-0bmX8rC8UPxlTROCkhRIIo-katuM_vk3Oc/s1600/IMG_3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslPCPGehahV_u9gzNwk0uZw57oxzKptzj7g1FC6LnzSsHWn9VvQPDxob6E2rzj3ocUQV89_toxOzs0AlqCR6wVh25KmdhM0pa1zmQOy_x-0bmX8rC8UPxlTROCkhRIIo-katuM_vk3Oc/s1600/IMG_3346.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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The pungent smell passed in a couple of days. Now I'm just looking forward to seeing shoots come up through. No sign just yet but I'm hopeful it will happen very shortly.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-90745758853882511822014-09-24T17:06:00.001-05:002014-09-24T17:06:27.207-05:00Harvesting home and away<div style="text-align: justify;">
Harvest time has come and gone for all three of my plants. Fortunes were somewhat switched around this year. The Cascade did not seem to have a very happy year, at least as far as producing cones is concerned. I actually picked its cones some time ago as it had stopped producing more and I hoped that it would put some energy into making new ones. This is all I got:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStiJtG8Jz2C_i_lYhiOw3B2RuROQGZxxTom-txXUyyKKU3hD_xEorvrkaryQsn3x2AHvQL_2Kp-uDGHhHXgrfXEIrC7YO976LwPqYwXLZwr3-NAFKOnV4dQplWrFuENhpegEl0926Tv0/s1600/IMG_2753+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStiJtG8Jz2C_i_lYhiOw3B2RuROQGZxxTom-txXUyyKKU3hD_xEorvrkaryQsn3x2AHvQL_2Kp-uDGHhHXgrfXEIrC7YO976LwPqYwXLZwr3-NAFKOnV4dQplWrFuENhpegEl0926Tv0/s1600/IMG_2753+Cas.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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No more were forthcoming. The Willamette on the other hand did much better than last year. Not difficult to do as I only got three cones from it. This year, <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/08/you-cant-keep-all-hops-happy-all-of-time.html" target="_blank">despite the plant looking decidedly unhappy</a>, I ended up getting more cones than the Cascade. This is what they looked like prior to picking:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLG3nmMSNR5DA_S6IvrWXSkEEF7D_L-EPkDroUN54_S17jilY0gJ-zykXto1QXAEzb_eFvU4TpC7IEW4tH5H2m9edMZqr2d2c6ksE_GzNomfcDaTyrXHRikEJseqNG9Z9psvCQgFwIIk0/s1600/IMG_2761+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLG3nmMSNR5DA_S6IvrWXSkEEF7D_L-EPkDroUN54_S17jilY0gJ-zykXto1QXAEzb_eFvU4TpC7IEW4tH5H2m9edMZqr2d2c6ksE_GzNomfcDaTyrXHRikEJseqNG9Z9psvCQgFwIIk0/s1600/IMG_2761+Col.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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They may have been picked slightly early but I was concerned that I was losing some due to heavy rains. I previously found this when I came out to check on them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWk2D0hDjg9nBO3y3LxSyC2kSV_-5YjDvQK78hplqxW1A_1QHSlfF78jnT09cm7kZ9sKt5kMyHaLXLWWvncJNZy-utwJE8adyQbA9r-SFwujTuC09FR4Vr-uDasEEOcDxjUvFht41dnE/s1600/IMG_2758+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWk2D0hDjg9nBO3y3LxSyC2kSV_-5YjDvQK78hplqxW1A_1QHSlfF78jnT09cm7kZ9sKt5kMyHaLXLWWvncJNZy-utwJE8adyQbA9r-SFwujTuC09FR4Vr-uDasEEOcDxjUvFht41dnE/s1600/IMG_2758+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I figured it would be better to harvest them early than lose more to unpredictable weather. This is what I ended up getting:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnT-DSTEcW48MJwb-h-Pz-5bjTxCDl94Jbg5MKoQEpQ4HP5yNxSXoOrhucTg3PT_xqGOoLcv81mL0bMsC_KqA_F4s0HLPviz3zOVyueIGb_Oi63PZt_dNn4Ee5xf8a_pU4AYxvx_MZ174/s1600/IMG_2769+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnT-DSTEcW48MJwb-h-Pz-5bjTxCDl94Jbg5MKoQEpQ4HP5yNxSXoOrhucTg3PT_xqGOoLcv81mL0bMsC_KqA_F4s0HLPviz3zOVyueIGb_Oi63PZt_dNn4Ee5xf8a_pU4AYxvx_MZ174/s1600/IMG_2769+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have read that the ratio of wet hops needed per dry hop weight is ~5:1, so this is roughly equivalent to an ounce of dried hops. Not exactly breaking the bank.</div>
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The Columbus on the other hand did much better than the other two and slightly better than last year:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWE2lxVktX3_TSuNUdbEoh6B8wneGfxvxuHqJXVA_9LXYxWmU_zxlcDAr9isFdnS2yNiFR3TFFWpnoMMCiEEshjYXS7QquXGoZwHcBTIy4yd9RUw39alVWHuADJb_MAAtZ8eGkX07_xPQ/s1600/IMG_2773+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWE2lxVktX3_TSuNUdbEoh6B8wneGfxvxuHqJXVA_9LXYxWmU_zxlcDAr9isFdnS2yNiFR3TFFWpnoMMCiEEshjYXS7QquXGoZwHcBTIy4yd9RUw39alVWHuADJb_MAAtZ8eGkX07_xPQ/s1600/IMG_2773+Col.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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The year I got and extra 6oz compared to last year's Columbus harvest. What with this and the much larger quantity of Willamette, I'm thinking that there should be enough to hop an entire brew with just my home grown hops, a mouth watering prospect.</div>
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On a bonus note, I recently went to visit a cousin in Maine. Turns out he had some long neglected hops growing round his patio:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNcKIqjUqNeBgSokS0nLxSxjoDlpV1TXVGbbLx-3ohPmgSTusWQkzCHLI_WoTIHhVT3qVIQGq_156mJLDAT-bKZ0bp_KrJLIU58LzRcr6cyE0IRlSscR0tn2t3cWQ5UsYOEf__f5wqbQ/s1600/IMG_2994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNcKIqjUqNeBgSokS0nLxSxjoDlpV1TXVGbbLx-3ohPmgSTusWQkzCHLI_WoTIHhVT3qVIQGq_156mJLDAT-bKZ0bp_KrJLIU58LzRcr6cyE0IRlSscR0tn2t3cWQ5UsYOEf__f5wqbQ/s1600/IMG_2994.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Very much in need of some care and attention. As he does nothing with them, he was happy for me to pick what I wanted and take them with me. Some cones were in pretty good shape:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDUF1U4W-eOT0iiYTbVx32iiG7BhapDFhTbn7C2Z8Jk9ypBNq8XHp4c7bpQ7t9YE2xWFqJJyYnAmxok4mIDSV4cFchyphenhyphenUqCmoRZyNeyBuA7D_kYvCV0NAjjYVjW1YLQpbQ68Zf-KXT-lk/s1600/IMG_2995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDUF1U4W-eOT0iiYTbVx32iiG7BhapDFhTbn7C2Z8Jk9ypBNq8XHp4c7bpQ7t9YE2xWFqJJyYnAmxok4mIDSV4cFchyphenhyphenUqCmoRZyNeyBuA7D_kYvCV0NAjjYVjW1YLQpbQ68Zf-KXT-lk/s1600/IMG_2995.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Others, not so much:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ5DIwF9EJt5itaNQiqj-8S0AkHpkC9R5jtdJD44wHsVaN0BIdzCKAI-IGcRzBNcbUriV5JvbySpnIIGjbG82SIzqCdE9UBQ6fhVUVyHF9O6kpLcBuNLCC4x17vy9iugbDzWTD65FcR4/s1600/IMG_2998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZ5DIwF9EJt5itaNQiqj-8S0AkHpkC9R5jtdJD44wHsVaN0BIdzCKAI-IGcRzBNcbUriV5JvbySpnIIGjbG82SIzqCdE9UBQ6fhVUVyHF9O6kpLcBuNLCC4x17vy9iugbDzWTD65FcR4/s1600/IMG_2998.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the end this is what I managed to get home:</div>
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They may not be the best looking hops but 10oz is better than a kick in the teeth. I may well try and use these to supplement another recipe with commercially dried hops.</div>
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Overall, it's been a productive year. The Cascade seemed to be much less happy but the Willamette seems to have made up for it by perking up, at least in terms of cone production. The rest of the plant seems to be the other way around, with the Willamette looking less healthy compared to the Cascade. Perhaps the Cascade is just a bit fussier about having everything just so before it's prepared to commit much energy into cone production. There are no plans for us to move again next year so I have high hopes that production will only get bigger and better. I may well briefly post when I use them but until then they will sit in the freezer until they are unceremoniously dumped into boiling wort.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-378941787636931132014-08-04T11:00:00.000-05:002014-08-04T11:00:25.620-05:00You can't keep all the hops happy all of the time<div style="text-align: justify;">
My Cascade is not very happy at all. It has stopped producing new cones altogether. There are still a few left on it that I hope will continue to mature. The weird thing is that the plant doesn't appear to be suffering that much, particularly in comparison to the Willamette beside it (on the left):</div>
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As you may be able to see, the Willamette is producing a huge number of cones despite not looking very happy. I have found a few dead and withered shoot tips on the Cascade recently though:</div>
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We have had something of a dry spell recently. It's quite possible I was not fastidious enough about keeping them watered. As neither the Columbus nor Willamette are showing similar symptoms, I wonder if my Cascade is just more sensitive to drying out. The cones that are left on the Cascade still look healthy (even if those particular leaves have been attacked slightly):</div>
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There is new growth on the Cascade, so I'm hopeful that it will make a full recovery:<br />
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The Columbus is going nuts in comparison, with new cones forming all the time while the older ones continue to mature (looking forward to harvesting more):</div>
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In the last few days we have of course had a good amount of rain. I think I will need to make a concerted effort to keep an eye on how much rain we're getting and water accordingly.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-40737757005983566912014-07-29T10:47:00.000-05:002014-07-29T10:47:41.926-05:00Horton hatches the cone<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have previously seen what I thought was an assassin bug in amongst my hops, particularly the Columbus. For the past couple of weeks there is one that has remained on station in the same spot:</div>
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I think I have now identified this as a juvenile <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_bug" target="_blank">wheel</a> <a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/454" target="_blank">bug</a> that hasn't yet developed the characteristic wheel on its back. Staying patiently in one place like this immediately made me think of Horton hatching an egg:</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b5/Horton_hatches_the_egg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b5/Horton_hatches_the_egg.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
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The big difference being that instead of waiting for an egg to hatch, it's waiting for another bug to come along so that it can stab it with its beak and inject digestive enzymes that will liquify it from the inside which can then be sucked out. Yum! The intention may be very different but it is always in the same spot every time I look. I just hope it's getting enough to eat. Never thought I'd be coming over all maternal for an assassin bug. As Dr Michael Raupp of the U. of Maryland is quoting as saying on the Wikipedia entry: "<b>They're the lion or the eagle of your food web. They sit on top. When you have these big, ferocious predators in your landscape, that tells me that this is a very healthy landscape, because all these other levels in your food web are intact.</b>"<b> </b>Needless to say, I'm feeling a little better about my efforts at organic hop farming.</div>
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Just so as to update where the hops have gotten to. The Columbus has come on with an extra growth spurt, despite producing what I thought was a <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/05/terminal-cone.html" target="_blank">terminal cone</a> previously. As you can see from this pic, it has reached the top of the twine available and is starting to just fall back down. Fortunately, it hasn't grown over to where the Cascade is, as that would make telling them apart a lot more complicated. You can also see that cone production has continued vigourouly despite my <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/07/on-complicated-sex-and-harvesting.html" target="_blank">earlier harvesting</a>:</div>
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The Cascade has also continued to produce cones after earlier picking:</div>
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The Willamette is producing a huge number of cones but they are some way from being ready for harvesting. They also look as if they will be ready at roughly the same time, in contrast to the other two plants:</div>
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Not bad for a plant that was <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/08/harvest-time.html" target="_blank">pretty stingy last year</a>.</div>
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Overall, there appear to be a lot of cones to look forward to in the very near future. Fresh hop beer awaits.</div>
<br />Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-81242690113418231382014-07-21T12:21:00.000-05:002014-07-21T12:21:18.610-05:00On complicated sex and harvesting<div style="text-align: justify;">
Last year I saw some smaller cones on my Columbus around the time I <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/08/harvest-time.html" target="_blank">harvested</a>. I had hoped they would turn into a second harvest but had to <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-big-move.html" target="_blank">move them</a> and that stopped that dead. I have seen them again this year:</div>
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Doing some reading this year I found <a href="http://www.greatlakeshops.com/hops-blog/hop-identification" target="_blank">this piece</a> that clearly states that these are in fact male flowers. I had known previously that hops are dioecious, that is they have two sexes. What we think of hop cones are the flowers found on the female plant. The presence of male plants nearby is not desirable as there is a chance of pollination and subsequent formation of seeds within the female flowers which are not something we want in our beer. What I had not know was that some strains of hops are "triploid" and can thus have both male and female flowers. The above article specifically names Columbs (as well as Zeus) as an example of a "triploid" hop variety.</div>
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"Triploid" means that the plant has three copies of each chromosome, in contrast to us humans who normally have just two copies in most of our cells ("diploid"). The exception to this rule being our gametes, which have half the normal number (ie one of each, that is referred to as haploid). In contrast, plant genetics can get very weird and complicated very easily. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyploid#Polyploidy_in_plants" target="_blank">Some crops</a> (such as strawberries and sugar cane) can be up to octoploid (8 copies of each chromosomes).</div>
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The above article is written by the head hop grower at <a href="http://www.greatlakeshops.com/" target="_blank">Great Lakes Hops</a> and she says that male flowers in Columbus appear when the plant is severely stressed. This year has been a bit dryer and hotter than last year but I don't think they could be described as "severely stressed". Certainly last year it did not appear to be stressed at all and there were a good number of male flowers. However, last year they did only appear after all of the female cones had developed. This year, with a bit more stress, I have seen them appear much earlier. Perhaps this is sign to make sure I water them more regularly. I have mostly been relying on our weather so far this year, which has provided plenty of rain but not at regular intervals.</div>
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Although there are some signs of stress this year, it doesn't seem to have affected the production of cones much. I have already started harvesting some from the Columbus:</div>
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And Cascade, with plenty more to come:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdDwg1bogY5HYct_Eb7X5rwz-s_H0bJ1pWGpPcqMtKv1Mfn_V78z6Dkm-au9cFTGem2A0iPGTePu0n84_-iopookbFNCsXdelqBRklT3QbnRsknY4Va6bxRsW608WLFTaFJs9L008loc/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdDwg1bogY5HYct_Eb7X5rwz-s_H0bJ1pWGpPcqMtKv1Mfn_V78z6Dkm-au9cFTGem2A0iPGTePu0n84_-iopookbFNCsXdelqBRklT3QbnRsknY4Va6bxRsW608WLFTaFJs9L008loc/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The cones on the Willamette are not yet ready to pick but there are plenty of them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-OjRuPg0LWxdoAOBzgp27zGAQ0rzJ5GxWe3p5Qo82oSgQ1U2wN2hR04OjGomXxttXA13fx2bNSSV3JHhwGI_q1lRzLkPlcZenXo7EBdT830MTbqp4tcQvMbVYP5LxTUKPd0_-pbkLi0/s1600/IMG_2650+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-OjRuPg0LWxdoAOBzgp27zGAQ0rzJ5GxWe3p5Qo82oSgQ1U2wN2hR04OjGomXxttXA13fx2bNSSV3JHhwGI_q1lRzLkPlcZenXo7EBdT830MTbqp4tcQvMbVYP5LxTUKPd0_-pbkLi0/s1600/IMG_2650+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is just one lateral arm. If you remember <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/08/harvest-time.html" target="_blank">last year</a>, this is a plant that gave me a whopping total of three cones. I'm particularly pleased with this as the plant itself does not look overly happy in comparison to the others:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0dtEG53ahcyJ3XlQF9UPNF4QkFW6wo4A1u17xu6BEAnJb2cT_PAymr7bRC9EWiiipISjabvkTJiPrtQ_iBIqqI_vehgZYwzHL15bjXjRLNYWzAiOaUZK9Vyw_0DXLKO5tE4N6-oYMQk/s1600/IMG_2651+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0dtEG53ahcyJ3XlQF9UPNF4QkFW6wo4A1u17xu6BEAnJb2cT_PAymr7bRC9EWiiipISjabvkTJiPrtQ_iBIqqI_vehgZYwzHL15bjXjRLNYWzAiOaUZK9Vyw_0DXLKO5tE4N6-oYMQk/s1600/IMG_2651+Will.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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I am hopeful that I will be able to continue picking hop cones for several months to come. If I'm very lucky I might even get an increase in production in relation to last year. The Willamette is certainly set to give me a lot more than its first year.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-75845532188933916802014-07-14T14:04:00.001-05:002014-07-15T00:06:06.475-05:00Middle-aged spread<div style="text-align: justify;">
The sharp-eye will have noticed that vertical growth has almost stopped. The graph (top right) showing heights has almost entirely levelled off. This hasn't meant that growth has stopped though. There has been much more in the way of secondary growth further down, something I can sympathise with (if only in my case it were a sign of continued vigour). The Columbus has been putting out lots of new secondary shoots:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1utjHYEJ0H8pAYSu_7mGkmKQOJxR7yECqEyFitYWDamrjC7LzAPJ7JR1K9FwOngeam82cO9ysFsPmjp24smRxVXRaOHuxS294quuiSDpMgwogSAfAZlOKh9WRqzCkkqYcjX0UwPlAj8/s1600/IMG_2558+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1utjHYEJ0H8pAYSu_7mGkmKQOJxR7yECqEyFitYWDamrjC7LzAPJ7JR1K9FwOngeam82cO9ysFsPmjp24smRxVXRaOHuxS294quuiSDpMgwogSAfAZlOKh9WRqzCkkqYcjX0UwPlAj8/s1600/IMG_2558+Col.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's cones are also looking like they are getting close to harvest time (I haven't used soft focus for this pic, it really is just that hot and humid here now):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52WjAG2uj5kp6sPZjgEm7P1k-4byINt081MDekRUkvBZJn3wA2T65U-YQx4nJW6rIi9E1rJ0zddF02FLUeBI03hS2QXEAeU7a4dm_jMFzcc6eY1n6nGbDT3JUxEeTvFWJe7CKRGRgBZY/s1600/IMG_2637+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52WjAG2uj5kp6sPZjgEm7P1k-4byINt081MDekRUkvBZJn3wA2T65U-YQx4nJW6rIi9E1rJ0zddF02FLUeBI03hS2QXEAeU7a4dm_jMFzcc6eY1n6nGbDT3JUxEeTvFWJe7CKRGRgBZY/s1600/IMG_2637+Col.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Cascade is also showing signs of the same kind of spreading lower down:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn40rDvB651cAXpEgMZfYTx86zU91hdJeJNhsqcF2_Xv1v06VLIZPLtgng8hzaD7c6b5Ub9hVU1M3j2eenn3KzRKtjZ4mnlw9XoxT9FBRuFrAdWBD_LSyy6XhzlkKKgEykzWJgK6H5_Rc/s1600/IMG_2559+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn40rDvB651cAXpEgMZfYTx86zU91hdJeJNhsqcF2_Xv1v06VLIZPLtgng8hzaD7c6b5Ub9hVU1M3j2eenn3KzRKtjZ4mnlw9XoxT9FBRuFrAdWBD_LSyy6XhzlkKKgEykzWJgK6H5_Rc/s1600/IMG_2559+Cas.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Cascade is also producing lots of nice looking cones, although not quite as many as the Columbus. The Cascade cones are also a little different in that they are appearing and maturing from the top down whereas the Columbus is from the bottom up:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7xfykj4N9qqicgpRPRarEweIdNRmTbJIKteZyLk0ey8wtGR0TVjglFk6S2uvYaLX3Wt7pTRTp8cP6OJgWvGk1QT1nqNOqhkigEjTX7eMe6B_YQ9YrJxUwEm9-o7Jy8AUT05GAMpgl74/s1600/IMG_2639+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7xfykj4N9qqicgpRPRarEweIdNRmTbJIKteZyLk0ey8wtGR0TVjglFk6S2uvYaLX3Wt7pTRTp8cP6OJgWvGk1QT1nqNOqhkigEjTX7eMe6B_YQ9YrJxUwEm9-o7Jy8AUT05GAMpgl74/s1600/IMG_2639+Cas.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Willamette is also showing plenty of lateral growth but primarily higher up:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_Ov5G3K-8NJnH0KSEdK7YCfF0M4vQ4lqdCPjRflZtHCeJPLOYZF5ngmdEfyGt5IBvwTA9UeTcoovSTkHUsVuAuWfun_Sw3BxFS28tfCpyc2HaC9azD80WiZAL71qIoXvbSzqmL__6D8/s1600/IMG_2585+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_Ov5G3K-8NJnH0KSEdK7YCfF0M4vQ4lqdCPjRflZtHCeJPLOYZF5ngmdEfyGt5IBvwTA9UeTcoovSTkHUsVuAuWfun_Sw3BxFS28tfCpyc2HaC9azD80WiZAL71qIoXvbSzqmL__6D8/s1600/IMG_2585+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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One very nice change this year is that the Willamette is making a lot of cones:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWZGradxPyqgqFpbrLg2b2aOWcnbJGS9Ttqt1JJbS8Jb1VNSlir3L3bs8CJ73KkMxH8wCt_fKd01McLoRKnhWGlSQ14JUoOiWSYnXoeUxq8KDzbsoz1sOQocSzYF4_VS4y23UtBsB598/s1600/IMG_2640+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWZGradxPyqgqFpbrLg2b2aOWcnbJGS9Ttqt1JJbS8Jb1VNSlir3L3bs8CJ73KkMxH8wCt_fKd01McLoRKnhWGlSQ14JUoOiWSYnXoeUxq8KDzbsoz1sOQocSzYF4_VS4y23UtBsB598/s1600/IMG_2640+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Compared to the three whole cones I got from the Willamette <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/08/harvest-time.html" target="_blank">last year</a> this is a huge improvement with dozens of cones in their early stages.</div>
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I've also had some more sightings on the bug front. Found this one sitting on a leaf shooting eggs out it's butt (at least that's what I hope they were). If you look closely you can just see a white streak behind it:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDx7tXywAlU19mb_7lnK0LSLSa4wxL9yIx1aT66Q4HWvna2Cv05H2TtwPkTddxyv4Rxx735WMIXsvKDFYQlNzfTt7cjOqi1FvLZREHOlUqPg4OuujYS3WmV2tbjYo_wukn3F2vGAaNjIs/s1600/IMG_2581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDx7tXywAlU19mb_7lnK0LSLSa4wxL9yIx1aT66Q4HWvna2Cv05H2TtwPkTddxyv4Rxx735WMIXsvKDFYQlNzfTt7cjOqi1FvLZREHOlUqPg4OuujYS3WmV2tbjYo_wukn3F2vGAaNjIs/s1600/IMG_2581.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I've no idea what kind of bug this is but it's clearly not going for a parent of the year award. Also found this bug, which I'm hoping is an assassin bug of some description:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xh-K816XSboc4NnOqvf_TVMmxZqNaFnaYqv4RhEymcKZVA7ypdV7gJ_Hm8AeybjfQwPUofi576tJNIxNVK4r_RmTVaR6bKegp0cGvBt418Hf50geh6xqFWZYvyx8D7b-UlbAR2O2sYM/s1600/IMG_2567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1xh-K816XSboc4NnOqvf_TVMmxZqNaFnaYqv4RhEymcKZVA7ypdV7gJ_Hm8AeybjfQwPUofi576tJNIxNVK4r_RmTVaR6bKegp0cGvBt418Hf50geh6xqFWZYvyx8D7b-UlbAR2O2sYM/s1600/IMG_2567.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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What with the efforts of this bug and some of the others I've seen <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-growing-community.html" target="_blank">this year</a> there has been relatively little in terms of actual leaf damage. There have been one or two that I've felt the need to discourage though:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSH1Ds3U4C3OIzZHmON5aOaP9sy9GxrGzaoYI0s7N1iqYoIxclI0QcvohgarNeS-2eNzQhXrVAaoJvVUZh8enEDKuJG30wZJo4-ekR269YbGpPKWHDxLrEVmlULq3-H_SIicyZgp-Vk3I/s1600/IMG_2587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSH1Ds3U4C3OIzZHmON5aOaP9sy9GxrGzaoYI0s7N1iqYoIxclI0QcvohgarNeS-2eNzQhXrVAaoJvVUZh8enEDKuJG30wZJo4-ekR269YbGpPKWHDxLrEVmlULq3-H_SIicyZgp-Vk3I/s1600/IMG_2587.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Again, I'm not sure what kind of caterpillar this is but I know I don't want it eating the leaves of my hops, as it's been caught red-handed doing here. I suspect the fact that it's hairy probably means that the spiders and assassin bugs didn't fancy it, so I took matters into my own hands. Haven't found any others since.</div>
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Overall, everything is looking pretty good and I suspect I will start harvesting some of the Columbus cones and putting them in the freezer for brewing at a later date. </div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-70748074094591299442014-06-06T14:53:00.001-05:002014-06-06T14:53:29.369-05:00First major infestation and other mystery die-offs<div style="text-align: justify;">
I found the first signs of a significant infestation today. Here's what I spotted initially from above:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0GODNarep-3kAw1Wm0Yq9zgJJY0M2uVAg7Beo2Gsm_Xnp5WALDUz32lVuaOnhRCGbL-h_iMjj9PYcm0BKQpXlY0AW6QV0WIvxZYqxB0JNpIazc7u7JwVGQ0tu1MbMmd6vSbr2qGtRBM/s1600/IMG_2526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0GODNarep-3kAw1Wm0Yq9zgJJY0M2uVAg7Beo2Gsm_Xnp5WALDUz32lVuaOnhRCGbL-h_iMjj9PYcm0BKQpXlY0AW6QV0WIvxZYqxB0JNpIazc7u7JwVGQ0tu1MbMmd6vSbr2qGtRBM/s1600/IMG_2526.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Underneath I found these guys going about their evil doing:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHSVVhTIZFnyoHVrQD5XmQfE7BX__kEjCippM-1bnD7j6q4nIO3Rqis2oGJCbeLGQKDFDuOM2baQ1ekJQwH7gwcPKf3rfjA8y2_uhf-G_iYjJhdFRLv63XMy6X0GOmpjy5DWIfYBbHUc/s1600/IMG_2527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHSVVhTIZFnyoHVrQD5XmQfE7BX__kEjCippM-1bnD7j6q4nIO3Rqis2oGJCbeLGQKDFDuOM2baQ1ekJQwH7gwcPKf3rfjA8y2_uhf-G_iYjJhdFRLv63XMy6X0GOmpjy5DWIfYBbHUc/s1600/IMG_2527.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Needless to say I removed the leaf immediately, which is why it's on our outdoor table rather than still on the plant. They were subsequently disposed of. I didn't find any evidence of them being on any of the other leaves but will be keeping a very close eye on things.</div>
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I also noticed this somewhat mysterious dying-off of some of the lateral, secondary shoots on the Columbus:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXdg-LuIWr7ayCPb8En0sR4OaDAOkf4dvdJtIHa2KDZ3eUjdOYd-A9LigcwNAIZPj3OVECXqj7RBwOwRksaVwlddlE_JA7H_yS8iFOxAg3O9thQ4xZORuqAeEHGeKprEQ1LUmqcQKNDE/s1600/IMG_2529+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXdg-LuIWr7ayCPb8En0sR4OaDAOkf4dvdJtIHa2KDZ3eUjdOYd-A9LigcwNAIZPj3OVECXqj7RBwOwRksaVwlddlE_JA7H_yS8iFOxAg3O9thQ4xZORuqAeEHGeKprEQ1LUmqcQKNDE/s1600/IMG_2529+Col.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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As there is a very neat distinction between the dead & dried part vs the green & alive part I'm hoping that this is a case of the plant deciding to concentrate its efforts on forming cones further up the plant. All of the dead lateral buds I found like this are lower down than the newly forming cones on this particular bine. There are a good number of cones forming though:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfn9l-SPPsXv9tMiux7wMTb72v7AWYtX2fZrvWLpthV1yMKoWCurG6tbHY6tfhWjazXXaSA4jULrs-yYJYCrkPIVWlHRZ7uyI97zZwp4f99OpX7sIRWd9jx24onjphpKsV6NU2QVQjDM/s1600/IMG_2523+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfn9l-SPPsXv9tMiux7wMTb72v7AWYtX2fZrvWLpthV1yMKoWCurG6tbHY6tfhWjazXXaSA4jULrs-yYJYCrkPIVWlHRZ7uyI97zZwp4f99OpX7sIRWd9jx24onjphpKsV6NU2QVQjDM/s1600/IMG_2523+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are the cones that have developed the most so far. If my harvest only includes the cones that are visible now I will still be happy. The other bines of the the Columbus have yet to produce any so I am hopeful I will be getting a lot more. The same is true for the Cascade and Willamette. There is still plenty of growing left to be done this year so I'm in no hurry.<br />
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-43161867299996455452014-05-29T13:46:00.000-05:002014-05-29T13:46:03.340-05:00Terminal cone<div style="text-align: justify;">
So in previous years I have noticed that my hops get to a certain height then decide that they've grown far enough and produce a cone on the apical meristem, which is the origin of vertical growth. In Houston this happened at the <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2012/07/end-of-line.html" target="_blank">start of July</a> and last year here in Maryland it was closer to the <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2013/07/on-moving.html" target="_blank">end of July</a>. The Columbus has already produced an apical cone on the tallest of the shoots and we're still in May:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIjJx4x7BP6NUjzB9FMVHdh9A4qCdUNZG7Sv40HE7Pfrq1IwG9C8TRYVWjcGSmp8Bn6CrjEfaRKgcC1XJ15UzGew_3VaNLTM753JwGKShV_7WQW1-ZLF8Haw5CQhFsv2SgaLkTjNquis/s1600/IMG_2492+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIjJx4x7BP6NUjzB9FMVHdh9A4qCdUNZG7Sv40HE7Pfrq1IwG9C8TRYVWjcGSmp8Bn6CrjEfaRKgcC1XJ15UzGew_3VaNLTM753JwGKShV_7WQW1-ZLF8Haw5CQhFsv2SgaLkTjNquis/s1600/IMG_2492+Col.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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As with previous years, I'm hoping this will mean that the rest of the plant will begin to fill out and hopefully produce more cones as a consequence. There are already a lot forming on the Columbus:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknnkhKzEBFSd3eY5FN2A87Wc_PEOuQ_EISfE6DIrjOwcQKfVx3bwF6xP8pgtIhTtw6ELgXf2J9SfHC3sy8YJXMRPvoRj3IzaJ-OiHjdPzvNeEZjdLbb-_mDGR59xwfQCSkRlk7aFo2Uw/s1600/IMG_2491+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknnkhKzEBFSd3eY5FN2A87Wc_PEOuQ_EISfE6DIrjOwcQKfVx3bwF6xP8pgtIhTtw6ELgXf2J9SfHC3sy8YJXMRPvoRj3IzaJ-OiHjdPzvNeEZjdLbb-_mDGR59xwfQCSkRlk7aFo2Uw/s1600/IMG_2491+Col.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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There's currently no sign of cones (let alone terminal ones) forming on the Cascade:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8msMXUWMwoMYIIGVvUzP4Dt0pR9ndKUEVtTr1yNp02jV-uLcj5xTyj3rjTW8hXNgTd2gLeHoaDMkXYeoqmDtMFtwUaMuYHj3pYQj7XzCz45sQWmrY4JuNj0y-ZDZFsiAgibUtDLn0wZ8/s1600/IMG_2494+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8msMXUWMwoMYIIGVvUzP4Dt0pR9ndKUEVtTr1yNp02jV-uLcj5xTyj3rjTW8hXNgTd2gLeHoaDMkXYeoqmDtMFtwUaMuYHj3pYQj7XzCz45sQWmrY4JuNj0y-ZDZFsiAgibUtDLn0wZ8/s1600/IMG_2494+Cas.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Or Willamette:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-vjdOBQCznRMo1AqzHFWYtVxNe1J4sIPguDXlamabohx56j_jDciVKweBx02oxwZjI53obF7eZJ5lDjXAE3wL18J2uf07dxhLrR_1fS4HxIO9cMkKdsqcKjMCpKF6e-XNN0N2PmodUs/s1600/IMG_2495+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-vjdOBQCznRMo1AqzHFWYtVxNe1J4sIPguDXlamabohx56j_jDciVKweBx02oxwZjI53obF7eZJ5lDjXAE3wL18J2uf07dxhLrR_1fS4HxIO9cMkKdsqcKjMCpKF6e-XNN0N2PmodUs/s1600/IMG_2495+Will.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I guess this means that they haven't stopped growing vertically yet. There is still plenty of growing time left this year so I am still very hopeful the Cascade and Willamette will end up being more productive than last year in terms of cones.</div>
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I'm really not sure what determines the height hops grow to. It seems to me that at less than 14 feet tall the Columbus is somewhat short of what would be considered normal growth, especially for commercial growers. Perhaps I've ended up with a dwarf variety somehow. It's also possible that they are not getting enough water. I have only actively watered them once so far this year as (I feel) we have had plenty of rain so far. It is also possible they are just not able to transport water any further up the stem than this. I have a vague memory from a botany class a very long time ago that plants rely on evaporation through the stomata in the leaves to achieve transport of water up from the roots. If this is the case I can see that living in an environment with high humidity (such as we have here) would make this more difficult and thus limit vertical growth. This would also explain why (relatively arid) Eastern Washington state is an ideal growing area for them. There may well be a trade off though between having the plant putting energy into vertical growth versus cone production. What is the ideal point for switching from one to the other?</div>
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The shorter stature may well make it easier to harvest, so no complaints from me on that front. My biggest concern is successfully getting cones from these plants that I can use in my beer. I suspect the reason for the apical cone appearing earlier this year has a lot to do with these being in their second year of growth and are thus much more vigourous. The Cascade and Willamette still have over a month to produce an apical cone if they are to stay on the same timetable as previous years so I'm not worried at all. I'm still quietly confident that this year will provide an increased harvest compared to last year.</div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-10024915103511990462014-05-19T14:03:00.000-05:002014-05-19T14:03:27.129-05:00A growing community<div style="text-align: justify;">
In previous years I have had more than a few problems with <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2012/06/nightcrawler-ii-this-time-its-personal.html" target="_blank">bugs</a> and <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2012/06/turning-over-old-leaf-and-more-bugs.html" target="_blank">pests</a>. So far this year there has been surprisingly little. With any luck the cold winter we had here has knocked down our resident bug population a little. We've also had fewer in the way of mosquitoes so far too, so fingers crossed. This doesn't mean that there have been no signs of damage though:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pqb4KGRAGFNNTEMxcefEcJg3fcuD1zvf7Ywod8zTSLwVHWAss8Fqp_EKEIms7sZRwSNTSxvpe4I_9-VJU4Yi_A0NE6aC2irwPxWSpI0Elflrjs3af9_mjiHHbvDu6Q8wO7yshTwc-R0/s1600/IMG_2470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1pqb4KGRAGFNNTEMxcefEcJg3fcuD1zvf7Ywod8zTSLwVHWAss8Fqp_EKEIms7sZRwSNTSxvpe4I_9-VJU4Yi_A0NE6aC2irwPxWSpI0Elflrjs3af9_mjiHHbvDu6Q8wO7yshTwc-R0/s1600/IMG_2470.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the worst of what I've found so far, which really isn't that bad in relation to the whole. I haven't been able to spot anything doing this kind of damage. The suspects so far:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvN4SuHasLqL9YmBChgqjDpXYiZc4pEvdiTet0tkjdAi_YK_EX_lsaE8Sm3vpACGXQ3UA41horI-vBQSozJt4s-ETEaZ4JVn4P6WNiZ85JfafdO0t0iD_0S2xsADU8ZbHydPflwB05hs/s1600/IMG_2437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvN4SuHasLqL9YmBChgqjDpXYiZc4pEvdiTet0tkjdAi_YK_EX_lsaE8Sm3vpACGXQ3UA41horI-vBQSozJt4s-ETEaZ4JVn4P6WNiZ85JfafdO0t0iD_0S2xsADU8ZbHydPflwB05hs/s1600/IMG_2437.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm reasonably sure that this is a juvenile <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stink_bug" target="_blank">stink bug</a> of some sort. Apparently the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug" target="_blank">brown marmorated version</a> has become a particular problem in Maryland and Northern Virginia. It does sound like they particularly target fruit rather than the plant itself, so I'm quietly hopeful that it does not pose that great a threat. Still, having said that, this one was eliminated with extreme prejudice.</div>
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I also found this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n05nPwYD1U8DYEf_sFalUOX6yT2NkS-DIecDonkUq8ghcpJ5EnPsUNf7zbnFcyaIbynLxm1wyif47EoB-Oy9v19xsw1RtfFa7VbDC0OIqNtqpxc1sJBBcP_mNMHBTeiCMCB1ONVB_wQ/s1600/IMG_2473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9n05nPwYD1U8DYEf_sFalUOX6yT2NkS-DIecDonkUq8ghcpJ5EnPsUNf7zbnFcyaIbynLxm1wyif47EoB-Oy9v19xsw1RtfFa7VbDC0OIqNtqpxc1sJBBcP_mNMHBTeiCMCB1ONVB_wQ/s1600/IMG_2473.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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No idea what this is or who it belongs to but it gives the impression of being eggs laid by an unwelcome pest. A fair bit of prejudice was used in disposing of it too. Hopefully I wasn't eliminating something that might help me. Speaking of which, I have observed these guys:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhFKoVef5Or2TdpApSjLgoX1W8ra4XA0WaqgMirYoMRf3URSSeQUZb_fT6RbyHCoxVO7iRJ0rXjldv6o26BIL9lEq1BtOnKyWfjhX39SkC0NtQ8woKW0l_XRauMswrkRn49KBlP2MUYk/s1600/IMG_2432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhFKoVef5Or2TdpApSjLgoX1W8ra4XA0WaqgMirYoMRf3URSSeQUZb_fT6RbyHCoxVO7iRJ0rXjldv6o26BIL9lEq1BtOnKyWfjhX39SkC0NtQ8woKW0l_XRauMswrkRn49KBlP2MUYk/s1600/IMG_2432.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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This looks like what I would call a hunting spider, which in this case appears to be dealing with a <a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/91189" target="_blank">red mite</a> of some description. Always happy to see bug predators to help keep down the numbers of things that might damage the hops. I've also seen spiders of the web-making variety:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIInV53Yl59qyHeFF9sapjfCk7EGQtNgvtfOfe_9Mq5meeKRMFRTFjPX0qmE_ulKctDxXi1BvO-jAaUBAjmhiQB7B6Got2tvsN7CIFo8FINA_dbpkLaw0_RYG97ttoNQXyYL4fIFzZcDc/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIInV53Yl59qyHeFF9sapjfCk7EGQtNgvtfOfe_9Mq5meeKRMFRTFjPX0qmE_ulKctDxXi1BvO-jAaUBAjmhiQB7B6Got2tvsN7CIFo8FINA_dbpkLaw0_RYG97ttoNQXyYL4fIFzZcDc/s1600/IMG_2434.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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As well as this one that also looks like a hunting spider of some sort but with a bright red spot on its abdomen:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tPH4DE46K3c9_C7HIbY-kMn3xyHuRWyAMtq8tkku72iwqkZhA6pcUAHZVpKn2UoUTc7Flhaj7PJms4Es78hEknbg-jd7iAPJpDKff0jBscGy8QuJcaxbr9MhTqEW6t8HfbTg5DIrRP8/s1600/IMG_2475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tPH4DE46K3c9_C7HIbY-kMn3xyHuRWyAMtq8tkku72iwqkZhA6pcUAHZVpKn2UoUTc7Flhaj7PJms4Es78hEknbg-jd7iAPJpDKff0jBscGy8QuJcaxbr9MhTqEW6t8HfbTg5DIrRP8/s1600/IMG_2475.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's not just spiders that seem to be on my side. I found this and was initially unsure:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGqi3_IEdpVQMaVjMlFJ6qateEWJL8vCDPxwFndmRZT9FBEf1o2Uc2Yd9mUw3uy9Isj7NblKM1o_M0KPo4cKJbuqRs1tWKEUeqZHVLYUey4lS96fA41mr6TpPyGCfXkQ4VPZK6d-NocI/s1600/IMG_2468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGqi3_IEdpVQMaVjMlFJ6qateEWJL8vCDPxwFndmRZT9FBEf1o2Uc2Yd9mUw3uy9Isj7NblKM1o_M0KPo4cKJbuqRs1tWKEUeqZHVLYUey4lS96fA41mr6TpPyGCfXkQ4VPZK6d-NocI/s1600/IMG_2468.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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I now think it's a <a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/101100" target="_blank">two-lined leather wing</a>. This <a href="http://mobugs.blogspot.com/2011/04/two-lined-leather-wing.html" target="_blank">reference</a> says that their larvae eat others insects, so again, very welcome.</div>
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All told, this year has seen very little in the way of damage to the hops from bugs and pests in general. The presence of these predators would indicate that there is certainly enough for them to survive on. I will just have to hope that they keep on top of their numbers. </div>
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Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2628060304946427796.post-1274461281662495902014-05-12T14:25:00.000-05:002014-05-12T14:25:10.025-05:00Thinning & hop shoot risotto<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-gardening#pruning" target="_blank">Standard advice</a> for growing hops suggests pruning back excess growth so that the plants can concentrate their energy into growing their most successful shoots. I have decided that only the Columbus is in need of pruning as the other two still need to establish themselves more. Here's the Willamette:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERgzMwzFqET6vCk0nO4Z9vrz4XJ-Vscoitlh36OakVoPfxARLWO4nRcCABAS0kFi7ONa9Tb6x2Iu3cymEBsKxO9md2o7FV1TI7oDpPqmcO-pExMkFi9d_mXJHftooni9yvzLySbw9GhQ/s1600/IMG_2417+Will.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERgzMwzFqET6vCk0nO4Z9vrz4XJ-Vscoitlh36OakVoPfxARLWO4nRcCABAS0kFi7ONa9Tb6x2Iu3cymEBsKxO9md2o7FV1TI7oDpPqmcO-pExMkFi9d_mXJHftooni9yvzLySbw9GhQ/s1600/IMG_2417+Will.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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And the Cascade:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1OC2le85hILjsbK4R92OVqrmTzSefsiYSDkSA5r18C-TUA0-GzjmGHJjRrkrSDDMLpOZ0rH0l8tIbhKuhukEcTL65iaEs8V9mnp88uuWrBDLnhW3Zd3Uax2OMhyXT5zcNTa2YyIhgaQ/s1600/IMG_2418+Cas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM1OC2le85hILjsbK4R92OVqrmTzSefsiYSDkSA5r18C-TUA0-GzjmGHJjRrkrSDDMLpOZ0rH0l8tIbhKuhukEcTL65iaEs8V9mnp88uuWrBDLnhW3Zd3Uax2OMhyXT5zcNTa2YyIhgaQ/s1600/IMG_2418+Cas.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Both of these plants could certainly do with filling out. The Columbus on the other hand is much thicker at this point:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApXljpcwocm0XgLuZX6m8IuIoMSHtHVgwrwtxWkXA9d4lf1npPgidSk1h_bpnprhvZeQqjUL95u68kW9GRs48uS8VNVBWqRC1Fr5cZDyn96pfP103M8z9mFHFvnjOK2zIO9ir5ibVT8g/s1600/IMG_2419+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApXljpcwocm0XgLuZX6m8IuIoMSHtHVgwrwtxWkXA9d4lf1npPgidSk1h_bpnprhvZeQqjUL95u68kW9GRs48uS8VNVBWqRC1Fr5cZDyn96pfP103M8z9mFHFvnjOK2zIO9ir5ibVT8g/s1600/IMG_2419+Col.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />It has even been trying to escape. Here it is throttling a nearby daffodil:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg88X70MuRCquKIPKCHzNUr64hRssyTPmLvyjBauF8OennNJ2wJsrcYIIqSKNtAz7VM8lleH_YiYTzwUWRCXl5IkIounMwUI0N-MCLRctXte0zUYoIcWbNGJZU237DB99SK8BB_Wp7o9M/s1600/IMG_2420+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg88X70MuRCquKIPKCHzNUr64hRssyTPmLvyjBauF8OennNJ2wJsrcYIIqSKNtAz7VM8lleH_YiYTzwUWRCXl5IkIounMwUI0N-MCLRctXte0zUYoIcWbNGJZU237DB99SK8BB_Wp7o9M/s1600/IMG_2420+Col.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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From the pruning advice above, I have settled on nine shoots overall (three per line of twine). Once I'd identified these nine shoots I cut everything else back to the rhizome. Here is the slimmed down result:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_00hhh3AzRbbjAl3_aWdYcwu6W6AO2qOC04o5XCrE5FfX4MPTwipoFgX8StcG0zOBDWK16Zm7oxmdbUjIARfFBVuY0twilGj5uMl9OLwn7vGh0FkHrSdwa-PL-Rp7SksCVxo4TL7Qugc/s1600/IMG_2421+Col.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_00hhh3AzRbbjAl3_aWdYcwu6W6AO2qOC04o5XCrE5FfX4MPTwipoFgX8StcG0zOBDWK16Zm7oxmdbUjIARfFBVuY0twilGj5uMl9OLwn7vGh0FkHrSdwa-PL-Rp7SksCVxo4TL7Qugc/s1600/IMG_2421+Col.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />That gave me a quantity of hop shoots:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlkP3Txu5N3OHZdvnv-_qsnxrtx9aLlCSAR45vmhfqNu2BbOzNzC32seg1GC9Sd_ME7681safoTG9G8AMW8jbyTnltKT7Nxp8RQ3lLmW9cN9NXRXF2-dC7xXuFBUJonXjqRkZb0ckMx8/s1600/IMG_2422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlkP3Txu5N3OHZdvnv-_qsnxrtx9aLlCSAR45vmhfqNu2BbOzNzC32seg1GC9Sd_ME7681safoTG9G8AMW8jbyTnltKT7Nxp8RQ3lLmW9cN9NXRXF2-dC7xXuFBUJonXjqRkZb0ckMx8/s1600/IMG_2422.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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As <a href="http://hopstarter.blogspot.com/2014/04/what-difference-year-makes.html" target="_blank">mentioned earlier</a> my plan had been to use them to try making a <a href="http://www.cookinvenice.com/venetian-recipes/first-courses/risotto-di-bruscandoli-hop-shoots-risotto/" target="_blank">hop shoot risotto</a>. The shoots on their own are not unpleasant just a little bland. This unfortunately proved to be true once they were included in the risotto, which was eventually reverted back to having more flavour by adding mushrooms. Some of my own homebrew was used instead of wine though, which definitely enhanced the flavour :) There was no hop shoot flavour perceivable in the finished product, which was nevertheless pretty tasty.</div>
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Not entirely sure why this wasn't more successful. Perhaps I just didn't have enough in terms of shoots, perhaps I pruned too late in the season. There are many possible reasons. Unfortunately, this is a dish I can only try making once a year. According to the page on which I found the recipe this is a Venetian delicacy. I don't really think of the Italians growing hops so it's also possible that the varieties they use for this risotto are quite different to those used for making beer. Hopefully I will be able to try again next year with an even greater quantity of pruned hops. I may also try pruning a little earlier in the year. There's also the possibility that the Cascade and Willamette will be thick enough to need pruning and thus contribute to the harvesting of shoots. Many possibilities to try, just a very long time between experiments.</div>
<br />Hopstarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15856693266798046700noreply@blogger.com0