Do you have a lot of hop bines to train in your beer garden, and you’d like an easier method than banging in stakes? In this video, I give you an alternate way to ground the hop twine. If you haven’t attached the twine to the overhang, please see my first video, “How to Train Hops.” Then check out this video to learn the method with clips and a clip gun that commercial growers use!
Transcript for “How to Train Hops Part 2” with additional notes
I’m going to demonstrate how to attach twine to the top hill without having to use a stake. This is what all the commercial growers use. It’s called a clip applicator, a clip applicating tool.
The Clip
This little piece of metal that looks like a W is the clip. The clip goes right here in this little jaw [of the clip gun] here. Just pinch it [the clip] and put it in there [the opening of the clip gun].
Insert The Clip Into The Ground
So now that the clip is in the tool, I’m going to gather up my twine- like this- to get equal tension on it. Bring it [the twine] down to the ground, and put both strings right there in the clip. I’m going to get a little bit of slack [on the rope] here because when I ram it down, it’s going to tension it down. When I stand up, [put my foot on the clip gun’s foot pad], and ram this down, it shoots the twine down into the ground.
Train Your Bines
Now! There you go! It’s in. These [hop bines] come along and just train a few on here. Grab a few more, and wrap them on. Train them on!
Hop 2 It!
Clips in the ground, bines are trained. Now you’re Hopping 2 it!
Helpful Products
Freshops Hop Twine (Coir Yarn)
Dave recommends and uses this hop twine because the hop bines have a good surface to grab and grow on. Made from the coir fiber of the coconut husk and imported from Sri Lanka. Commercial Growers have been using Coir Yarn for years. A bundle of coir is 10- 20 ft. strings. Tested to 85 lbs.
In addition to agricultural twine, coir yarn is used in the manufacture of mats/matting and carpets, brush mats/matting, netting, geotextiles (for landscaping and on embankments of road construction to prevent soil erosion), and building construction. So you know it’s strong and weather -worthy.
In the video, you see Dave demonstrate how to use this clip gun, also called a clip applicator or clip application tool. He recommends it for hop gardens that have many rows, and you want to set up the twines for the hop bines quickly. Works with metal clips (sold separately, below).
In the video, Dave showed how to insert the hop clips into the clip gun. Hop clips are W-shaped anchors used to secure twine into the ground. 50 per pack.
Also, see the first video, “How To Train Hops,” for more tips.