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This story needs a re-write. I ask for the second time "What kind of story is it when nothing happens"?. Aasish had a couple of interesting chapters in the middle, but it's been nothing ever since then. The thread has fallen so far off the radar screen that I discovered it halfway down page 2!
Did a dog pee on the hops and stunt their growth? Did the hops become Buddhists and move over to the temple to meditate all day? Did the hops experience their first sexual intercourse with little bees and get sent away so as not to embarass Doug? Are the hops in a depression because the bees didn't come north this summer? Did the hops fall in with a bad crowd of marijuana plants and become zoned out delinquents? Or move to Columbia where they are now underlings with a drug cartel? Do the hops now party every night in Rochester since the curfew law is declared unconstitutional? Did Doug imprison these hops in a dungeon where they mark each day with a chink in the wall? Has there been some foul play by the same people who did in Michael Jackson? I ASK: WHAT HAS BECOME OF THESE HOPS - OUR LITTLE FRIENDS?
THE TRUE STORY OF THESE HOPS CRIES OUT TO BE TOLD!!!
Thought I'd resurrect this thread from the thread graveyard. How are the hops doing Doug? You told me at Knapp that you expect to see a harvest this season. Got any pics
Originally Posted by Triple-H,Jul 1 2009, 06:55 AM
No good photos online, best I can find.
I keep telling John to come over and shoot this place, but alas, he has not...
Um, that could be arranged... I've been looking for a reason to visit ever since you stopped tracking your S and don't need someone with the hardtop anymore.
I can take these pics, look at your hops, say hi to Ganzo, and test drive the Frontier!
The biggest hop plant is up, well over my head, in fact it has gotten so big I have to go borrow my sister's extension ladder again. The yellow nylon rope I used as the thing the vine climbs on is not a good solution once the plant gets big. The problem is the nylon has stretched and the vine is no longer straight and taught, and it makes me nervous when I see it getting whipped around in the wind. Finally a Saturday at home so I can address this issue.
The other hops are not tall enough to create this issue, but they are coming up slowly and are good and healthy.
The blogs and websites for growers all seem to say the same thing, no fruit can be had on the 1st growing season, the plant is too busy getting it's roots established. For sure this describes my situation, the plants looks good, but they are just not exploding with growth. Next year should tell me a lot more, it is entirely possible I will need to haul in some manure next year as my somewhat sandy soil may not be making them real happy.
I can take some pics this weekend. I think the thing that will blow people away will be the view onto my neighbor's yard. He spent like $2k and had almost all the apple trees removed, and the lawn re-seeded. Now their property is a wide open bland and I'm even happier than before I got the trellis started. The big decision I have to make is if I'm going to extend it another 12' section, and if so what direction.
This is the 2nd growing season, almost all of the vines I put in last year, are already higher than they were by the fall of last year. They say I should have fruit the second year, but so far I'm not seeing any signs of that.
I ordered 6-more plants in January. They were delivered to me last week, all dead. It seems they were in the hands of the USPS for 2+ weeks, thus they molded and dried out, I reordered on Wednesday, and I got some replacement plants on Saturday. Not all of them look healthy, but I think I can bring them forward this year so they are in better shape next year.
I got another 4x4 yesterday, and have to get it into the ground, I'm hoping to do that tonight. I'll post a pic of the 16' long 4x4 in the 6' bed of the Frontier, it looks so silly, but the Utility Track System is so awesome that 4x4 was held perfectly firm even though 63% of the 4x4 was hanging outside of the truck's bed...
Originally Posted by Triple-H,May 26 2009, 07:50 AM
Yea baby, it's a full 20-feet out of the ground, with 3-feet in the ground. I pieced a 7-foot section onto the top of a 16-footer. The chair is there to put it all into scale.
So this was last year on May 26...
Now, check this out, this is now, the 2nd growing season, and just not even a full 2-weeks later than last year.
That means this sucker has grown over 19' so far this year.
I'm not sure what it is going to do when it gets to the top, but for sure it is now starting to fill out, lots of shoots are now popping out from the main vine, this one is indeed looking good!
So I worked until it was very dark out last night, but I got the 2nd 12' section of trellis up. The 4x4 was planted about a week ago, but I needed the extension ladder to get the upper board in place, and I got the ladder this past Sunday.
I'm really pleased with how the 2 sections came together, for sure I planned ahead last year, and I'm glad I was indeed thinking last year "gee, maybe I'll do another 12' section, I ought to make room for it now...".
And yes, your eyes are not fooling you, the vine way on the left of the 1st trellis section has indeed gotten to the top already this year. These are the 16' 4x4's, so that vine has already grown 14' this year. I can't wait to see what it does next...
07-23-2009, 02:37 PM
This story needs a re-write. I ask for the second time "What kind of story is it when nothing happens"?. Aasish had a couple of interesting chapters in the middle, but it's been nothing ever since then. The thread has fallen so far off the radar screen that I discovered it halfway down page 2! 
wholeheartedly. Wonder whats happened to the Hopmeister?
I've been looking for a reason to visit ever since you stopped tracking your S and don't need someone with the hardtop anymore.
