Growing Hops....

I'm thinking about trying to grow my own hops. Not really to replace ones I get with the recipes I use, but in addition to, and just to see if I can do it. Has anyone else done this? I was thinking of trying about 2 Cascade rhizomes.

Reply to
DragonTail
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On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 15:33:26 GMT, DragonTail said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

I grow cascade and columbus. It's not difficult - just throw some rotted manure (you can buy a bag in any garden supply place) into a hold, cover it with a little soil, place the root on it and cover and water. Plant them no closer than about 6 feet from each other. When they start growing, pinch off everything but the 3 most vigorous bines on each plant. You'll have to keep the root well watered the first year, and don't expect a large supply of hops till the third year.

Oh, and you'll need something for the bines to climb on. I planted mine about 15 feet from the house and strung rope from the ground near the plants to the eave of the house. I train them onto that.

Reply to
Al Klein

You didn't mention where you live, but location has a definite effect on ability to grow certain varieties. I live in Zone 7 in the Carolinas and have no problem at all growing Cascade. It reminds me of kudzu! But I've also tried Kent Golding and Saaz but haven't had much luck with either of those varieties in three or four seasons. My Saaz came from a guy only 100 miles from me, and his were prolific. My brown thumb gets in the way, I guess.

If you get into growing your own, be sure you take good care of your harvest. I ruined a recent American pale ale when I used 100% homegrown Cascades. Some were a couple of years old and had definitely picked up other flavors from the freezer. Ziplocs don't seal as well as I had hoped! I'll be using freshly harvested hops from now on.

Reply to
Tom

My wife and I are 5 weeks away from moving into our own home. Well, the loan office's home, but you get the idea. It has a pool, and I'm wondering if my hops which are first year hops in a large pot will train onto a pool fence? I planted my hops in a pot because we were still renting. They haven't grown very far this summer, but I think it has something to do with being in the pot and the lack of water I gave it. Hoping to harvest soem hops next year.

Reply to
Josh Button

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 06:39:58 +1100, "Josh Button" said in alt.beer.home-brewing:

They'll train wherever you feed the bines to. They try to go up, though, so you'll have to keep feeding them along the fence rail.

Ouch! Hops need a lot of water. Keep them wet from now on. Don't expect a lot of fruit the first 2 years, though.

If you transplant them from the pot to the yard this summer, next summer will be the first year. Plan on a harvest in the autumn of

2007 or, more likely, 2008.

Invest in some plant watering spikes. They're cheap - about a dollar or two each. You screw them onto 2 liter (or whatever size you have down there) soda pop bottles filled with water, invert the whole thing and shove the spike into the ground near the root. It'll keep the plant watered for a couple of weeks, at least. (Make sure the holes in the spike don't clog - the water should be a little lower each day.)

Reply to
Al Klein

I am currently a lowly apartment dweller myself and will liely be for at leats another year or two. :( I have gotten the interest in growing my own hops and have thought about growing them in pots for at least a year and then either keeping them in pots(for another year) or putting them in the ground on some family property. Since I saw that you had your hops in pots may I inquire for some further details? What size pots did you use? What varietie(s) of hops have you planted? Where did you get the rhizomes? Would you recommend using them? Did the hops produce a noticeable if not a pleasant or unpleasant fragrance? How big did they get in the first year? Was this manageable or did you have a room full of vines!?!? And finally, do you think that hrowing them in pots endangered their development at all? That is, do you still expect fruit in their second or third year? Thanks!!

Reply to
The Gist

I'd suggest growing them i nthe ground from scratch after my effort. I got my hops ordered through grumpys

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who are just a distributor for some mob in Tasmania.

My plants struggled to grow, mainly due to the lack of watering. The pots were about 30L pots.

I would definitely recommend having a go, and if you have to do it in pots because of where you live, keep the water up.

Reply to
Josh Button

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