April 29 2016 Hop Bines Between 5 and 7 Feet Tall
ByAs of April 29th 2016 the hops are (left to Right) – Nugget 7 feet, Magnum 7 Feet and Cascade 5 feet tall. It has been cloudy, cold and rainy for the last 6 days other than today. Today started out at 33 degrees fahrenheit (just above freezing) but reached 60 degrees for a high. They grew about 2 feet over the last week. They would have grown double that if we had sunny weather.
These bines should top their ropes in about 2 weeks. We will see what the weather brings. This is year 8 for these hops (and the rope they climb). It is about time to give them some fertilizer to help them grow. I stay organic and use kelp, fish emulsion and Azomite (minerals). I will also top dress the soil with compost and may feed them some compost tea. That should get them rocking.