SkipperHops
Member
- Joined
- May 31, 2022
- Messages
- 7
- Reaction score
- 11
Hey,
I have some Centennial, Cascade, and Willamette hops growing right now and I am starting to see some side arms... I know not to prune them as they are cone producing, but there are some reaching 4ish feet and others have even started producing their own side arms. I am worried that at this rate of side arm growth, and the amount of time left in the season that they will have trouble supporting themselves at the node from which they came.
SO, I have an idea. I was thinking of using some sort of netting like a scaled down cargo net which I think could help those side arms out nicely. I see a couple issues with this - first being cost (I work for a small brewery and manage a fittingly small hop yard so my budget is close to zero), the second being ease of harvest, and the third being how I'd even get the netting up there (would have to secure it to a beam about 25' in the air).
Obviously my plan won't work but I am still concerned. Does anyone have suggestions to tweak my idea, new ideas, or is this just a completely unfounded concern altogether? Let me know if pics would be useful!
I have some Centennial, Cascade, and Willamette hops growing right now and I am starting to see some side arms... I know not to prune them as they are cone producing, but there are some reaching 4ish feet and others have even started producing their own side arms. I am worried that at this rate of side arm growth, and the amount of time left in the season that they will have trouble supporting themselves at the node from which they came.
SO, I have an idea. I was thinking of using some sort of netting like a scaled down cargo net which I think could help those side arms out nicely. I see a couple issues with this - first being cost (I work for a small brewery and manage a fittingly small hop yard so my budget is close to zero), the second being ease of harvest, and the third being how I'd even get the netting up there (would have to secure it to a beam about 25' in the air).
Obviously my plan won't work but I am still concerned. Does anyone have suggestions to tweak my idea, new ideas, or is this just a completely unfounded concern altogether? Let me know if pics would be useful!