Magnum Hop Bines

Hop Bines May 1st

May 1st, just 2 weeks since the last post.  The hop bines were 10 inches tall on April 17, now they are over 5 feet tall!  I thought first year hops were fun to watch grow, this is insane!  They grew over 4 feet in 2 weeks and this is not even planting time for my zone (zone 4A).  Last year it was about June 7th before the hops reached this height (first year hops).

I was going to double the ropes per hop plant this year but had no time to do it.  Oh well, they will be thick this year.  I expect the laterals to go crazy and at least double the harvest of last year of 4.1lbs wet.

I have not fertilized or amended the soil at all this year.  I must have done a good job when I prepped the soil the fall before I planted the hop rhizomes.  The hop mounds were heavily mulched with grass and leaves over the winter and perhaps the decomposing grass and leaves were seeping a compost tea into the soil.

What the hell is going to happen when summer comes?  At this rate, I may lose my garage to the hop bines.  I expect the bines to reach the top of their ropes(15 feet) by June.  I’ll keep you posted.

I also started 2 container hop plants this year – a Fuggle and a Mt. Hood.  We’ll see how these do – only about 9 inches tall so far.  I am more interested or concerned about how long I can keep them in the containers as hop crowns and roots grow massively.  I also need to think about how to over-winter the containers as it can get to minus 30 during the winter here.

Expect future posts of massive bines!