UNPACKING YOUR PLANTS

AND PLANTING YOUR NEW HOPS

UNPACKING YOUR PLANTS

Thank you for purchasing your hop plants from us.

Most plants you receive from us will be either a previous season propagation or Fastrax™ and can be planted straight away. If the plants are sent to you when they are dormant (during Winter) wait until they show signs of growth before planting. Keep them in a frost free environment if possible and keep the potting mix moist.

In order to minimise any soil based pathogens, we use a peat based soil-less potting mix which is light and crumbly until the roots permeate through the mix.

If you receive current season propagation varieties (sent only in late Spring and they will have a notification on the packing sleeve), the plants may need more time in the pot to grow their roots and adhere to the surrounding soil.  Planting your current season propagation hop plants too early will result in the potting mix falling away from the plant and the risk is that the plant will die from losing it's feeder roots. You will know when they are ready to plant when they have a significant amount of white root hairs sticking through the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. (SEE PICTURE - MORE INFORMATION BELOW)

REMOVING STANDARD PLANTS FROM THE PACKAGING

When you take the plant out of the post bag or posting box you will see the hops are individually protected by a cardboard sleeve. Please stand the sleeve upright with the opening of the cardboard at the top. There is a piece of cardboard pushed in about half way on one side to stop the pot from moving during transport. Push this back out and remove the plant (which will be wrapped in a plastic bag, the top of which is taped to the cardboard) by removing the tape and pulling the plant out of the cardboard sleeve by the top of the plastic bag.

DO NOT TIP THE CARBOARD SLEEVE UPSIDE DOWN TO REMOVE THE PLANT AS IT CAN DAMAGE OR BREAK THE NEW SPRING GROWTH.

(This paragraph applies to)
CURRENT SEASON propagated plants only:
REMOVE PAPER FROM TOP OF POT - IT IS THERE TO PROTECT THE PLANT AND STOP THE POTTING MIX MOVING DURING TRANSPORT.
IMPORTANT: This hop plant is a current season propagation and requires just a little more care in handling than a 1 to 2-year-old plant. Firstly, the plant needs to be grown on in the pot, fed once a week & watered every day until white root hairs appear through the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Secondly, extra care should be taken when removing the plant from the pot. Water the plant first, then dig the hole while the plant is draining. Then use a knife to cut around the inside edge of the pot, tip the pot upside down with one hand ready to catch the plant while the other gently squeezes the pot. The plant should slide out and be flipped right way up and immediately placed in the hole and back filled. Firm soil around the plant & water.
Please read the CUSTOMER FEEDBACK below for an alternate method of planting.

(This paragraph applies to)
FASTRAX™ propagated plants only:
REMOVE the plant from the zip lock bag upon arrival.
FAST TRACK™ plants have been grow for minimum of 1 year, some longer. Remove them from the plastic zip lock bag. We created an air bubble in the bag to minimise damage during transport. To plant them place the black plastic PB bag in the hole you dug for their permanent position and simply cut & remove the black plastic grow bag and back fill with soil. The top of the plant should be level with the top of the hole. The bottom of the hole can have fertiliser and bioinoculant (see below) added. 

ALL PLANTS:
• Your plant(s) have had the minimum amount of time possible getting to you. They will need a water immediately. They will also need a feed and acclimatisation to their new environment over the next few days. These plants have been grown outside - please do not put them in a sunny window sill inside. Instead, put them outside in a shady spot and gradually move them into part shade/part sun and then full sun over the next few days. They may need watering several times a day at this stage depending on the temperature.

IMPORTANT: If the plants do not have a substantial amount of root hairs growing through the bottom of the pot, we suggest growing them on in the pot for around 2 - 6 weeks so they develop a stronger root system and leaf structure before planting them out in their permanent position. 

• The longer you leave them in the pot (within reason) the more successful the transplanting will be. Removing the plants from the pot too early may cause them to die. Watering daily and feeding every week with liquid Yates Thrive for Fruit & Flower will speed up the process. Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed can also be used once the plant is in the ground and well established. No, we don't have shares in Yates. These products are water soluble for speed of result and are easily available.

• We use the NZ Biodynamic Calendar for all our planting & harvesting endeavours. We have made a table of important times for planting hops for 2021. Use the link below.

NZ BIODYNAMIC PLANTING CALENDAR

USEFUL PRODUCTS

PLANTING TIME

• When removing the hop from the pot, the object of the exercise is to get the plant out with as much soil adhering to the roots as possible and get it into the hole with the least amount of disturbance or damage.

• 1) Water the plant in the pot and let it drain. We want to saturate the soil in the pot so the soil adheres to the roots.

• 2) While the pot is draining, dig a hole slightly larger than the size of the pot where the plant will be permanently grown. You will want to line up the top of the soil in the pot with the top of the soil surrounding the hole. You can put some fertiliser in the bottom of the hole but cover it over with a bit of soil and allow the plant to grow into it. There is also a NZ product called Rootmate (or Daltons Bioinoculant Granules) that contains multiple strains of Trichoderma (a beneficial fungi) in granule form that act as a 100% organic biofungicide that helps to protect plants from various fungal diseases, helps stimulate microbial activity in the soil and promotes strong and healthy root growth. Add Rootmate to the planting hole at the rate of one teaspoon per plant.

• 3) Once the pot is drained, press the soil in the pot down to firm it and then use an old knife to cut around the inside edge of the pot wall to loosen the plant. We are wanting to get a firm root ball with all the soil in the pot intact.

• 4) Do this next part kneeling right beside your permanent planting hole. Hold the pot base in one hand and with the other hand, put 2 fingers on each side of the stem or stems (making a "V") then tip the pot upside down and gently squeeze the sides of the pot until the plant slides out, hopefully intact, into your hand. Flip the plant upright while placing immediately in the hole that you dug before. Back fill with the soil you dug out of the hole. Firm the soil down and water the plant in with Thrive (2 tsp per 9L watering can) and Plantmate or Daltons Biofungicide Powder (2 tsp per 9L watering can / mixed to a paste with a little water before adding to the watering can)

• Hop plants are heavy feeders and they will respond well to a balanced fertiliser with N (nitrogen) for leaf & stem growth, P (phosphorus) for root growth and K (potassium) for flower production. A sprinkle of Osmocote is a good choice to get your plants established. Blood and Bone is a good organic fertiliser at this stage. Sprinkle the fertiliser in a circle a few centimetes away from the plant to avoid burning the foliage and to encourage the roots to spread. Water every few days with Thrive (or organic substitute) and add Plantmate (or Daltons Biofungicide Powder) every 2 weeks until the plant is well established.

• Later you can use well composted (should look like soil) animal manures (cow manure is best, then sheep, however not pig) preferably as a diluted liquid. You can buy a bag of mixed animal manure and soak it for a month or two in a plastic rubbish bin to make the tea. Dilute 10 to 1. The danger of using animal manure that is not well composted is that it can attract fungal diseases to your plant(s) and may weaken or kill them.

• You can use weed tea (made by soaking weeds in water), liquid fish or seaweed (Yates make one) as fertiliser and nutrient additions also.

• There is more information about growing hops and around 100 photos of hops growing at other people's homes which may give you some inspiration for your growing situation at the links below.

• We use the NZ Biodynamic Calendar for all our planting & harvesting endeavours. We have made a table of important times for planting hops for 2021. Use the link below.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

(Here's some interesting feedback from a customer regarding planting CURRENT SEASON PROPAGATION plants)

Hi, My order arrived today (overnight) in perfect condition. Many thanks. Your packaging system is brilliant! All 3 plants are now in the ground including the current propagation Tangerine Dream, (despite your advice to the contrary). I reckoned the risk of damage was outweighed by the advantages of early in-situ establishment. You may be interested in my technique which I have used many times in similar situations.

Basically I cut the pot into 2 vertical halves. I just use a pair of nail scissors but any fine pointed scissor, secateurs or cutting tool will do. The pots you use will cut easily. Then holding it together, I place it in the pre-dug hole. The hole needs to be big enough so each half of the pot can be moved horizontally clear of the root ball before being lifted vertically out of the hole. I then carefully remove one half of the pot and pack round this side with soil, before doing the same for the other half. Using this technique the Tangerine Dream was in the ground with zero soil loss and is growing well. Once again many thanks. Cheers.

HOW TO GROW HOPS

WHEN TO HARVEST & DRY HOPS

MAKING HOPS COMFORTABLE IN WINTER

BIODYNAMIC PLANTING CALENDAR

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