Archive for grow hops
First Year Hops
Posted by: | CommentsFirst year hops update. It has been 2 months since I planted the hop rhizomes. I figured it is time for an update (and a reason to visit the hop growing blog). When they were first growing, the Nugget and Magnum hops were significantly ahead of the Cascade hops (by about 50% in height). At the 2 month marker, the Nugget hops are 7 feet tall, the Magnum hops are 5 feet tall and the cascade hops passed the Magnum and is at 6 feet tall.
First Year Nugget Hops
The Nugget hops are the tallest hop bines at this point in time (2 months). The Nugget bines do receive just a little bit more direct sunlight so I don’t consider this a fair race to the top. I have 2 bines sharing this rope and they are perfectly spaced and growing as a double helix (as are the other 2 hop plants).
My neighbor says he thinks the hops are cool. I was a bit worried about using the white rope as it sticks out like a sore thumb against my brown garage. White was not my first choice in color, I was actually looking for green but white was all they had. I did not have time to shop around so white it is.
The only fertilizer I have used is a little bone meal and blood meal. I am staying organic all the way with these hops. I will soon use some compost tea (as soon as my compost nears completion).
So far I have not had an issue with deer or rabbits eating my hops bines. I believe a rabbit got one of my nugget bines but that was before I had selected the 2 best bines to grow and I clipped the rest of the hop shoots. Since then the bines have been left alone.
I am looking at buying / using a soil inoculant as the soil on the side of my garage has been neglected forever. My wife’s peonies, surrounded by rock mulch has not seen much organic matter. I had to dig up rock and plastic to make holes for the hop plants. Last fall I dug down a foot and 2 feet in diameter. I mixed in grass, leaves and wood ashes to supplement the soil. There wasn’t much black dirt or topsoil so I added some with the organic materials. The hop bines seem to be doing ok for first year hops. I am looking at some beneficial ground bacteria and mycelium (mushroom type fungus) which helps the roots – root stalk / crown absorb nutrients from the soil.
Magnum Hops First Year
- First Year Magnum Hops
First Year Cascade Hops
Hop Plants for Sale
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Grow Hop Plants from Hop Rhizomes or Garden Center Hop Plants
Grow hops from hop plants! I was shopping for some flowers for my mother (Mothers Day) and I stumbled across some Nugget hop plants (humulus lupulus) for sale! These were 2 to 3 feet tall and doing better than the ones I planted from rhizomes almost a month ago. This was in the parking lot of our local Cub Foods (Cub Foods parking lot greenhouse). I have never seen hop plants for sale before at a garden center.
Hop rhizomes are getting hard to come by these days (out of season) so there is still the possibility to get some hop plants in the ground this year. Nugget was the only variety this particular plant shop had available but it gives hope to finding other variety hop plants in the garden centers. I thought I would pass this on for folks who still want to grow hops this year.
I have come across a place that sells hop plants online (not hop rhizomes). If you want a bit of a jump on the growing season. Highhops.net – 30 varieties of hop plants 48 US states.
Planting Hops in Minnesota
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April 4, 2009 - WTF?
Planting Hops
Ok, I am from here and know better, but damn, we have had a couple of 60 degree days – 55 the previous day then this. Generally the frost free time of year for here to plant your garden is May 15th. Hop rhizomes are hardy but the new bines won’t be able to take a hard frost.
I have the soil prepared since last fall on the south side of my garage, it is protected and receives sunlight all day long. It is the only garden space I have right now that isn’t frozen ground. I was figuring on getting the rhizomes planted and mulch about 4 inches over them to maintain the cool soil temps and delay the shoots from breaking ground. I get nervous about the hop rhizomes developing mold or fungus – and sometimes my refrigerator will freeze items in the back (where my family tends to push things they can’t or don’t want to eat).
Well, I am going to wait a bit, do a little more research and determine the best time to plant hops for my area. I guess I will hit a hop growing forum or 2, double check with a couple of my Minnesota home brewing, hop growing friends and see if my theories hold out. One friend of mine planted too early last year, the new bines froze and died and the rhizome was done – no other shoots from this hop rhizome. Next post, when they are in the ground.
Growing Hops from Rhizomes
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Hop Rhizomes Ready to Plant - Humulus Lupulus
Growing hops from hop rhizomes is easy and almost foolproof. Hop plants (humulus lupulus) are a very hardy perennial and once established, will provide all the home brew hops you will need. Hops are dioecious (male and female) only the females produce hop cones. When you start with rhizomes, they are female so you don’t have to worry about that. You can expect a hop yield of half to two pounds of dried hop cones per plant. If you are into home brewing, growing hops will save you a lot of money and put you in control of your supply and avoid the hop shortage.
Hops grow best vertically so plant where they will have room to grow – at least 16 feet – but will take what you give them. Hops can grow to 30+ feet in a single growing season! The first year the crown is establishing itself so hop cone yield will be much less than following years. Hops will need rope or twine for the bines (not vines) to climb. Hop bines cling to the rope by wrapping clockwise (you train them) around the rope or twine and stiff “hairs” hold on to the rope. It is best to rig the ropes so they can be lowered for harvesting the hop flowers (cones).
Hops rhizomes should be planted in well drained, fertile soil between 6.0 and 8.0 PH once the threat of frost has past. Hops require plenty of water, sun and nutrients to sustain their high growth rate. A good organic fortified soil with decent drainage and lots of sunlight will give the hop rhizomes the environment they need. During the growing season fertilize with compost tea and other gentle organic fertilizers.
The hop plants should be spaced a minimum of 3 feet apart – 5 feet apart if different varieties. Generally hops rhizomes are planted horizontally with the white buds facing up, about 1 to 4 inchs deep (I go 3 to 4 inches deep), one or 2 hop rhizomes per mound (I do 1 per mound). A slight mounding of the soil helps with drainage and does not let the root stock or crown of the plant drown in heavy rainfalls or waterings.
These are rhizomes, they do self propagate by sending out more underground shoots (rhizomes). So if you do not want them taking over your hop garden, you will have to “limit” the rhizome spread by trimming the root stock or crown after 2 or 3 years. To trim hop rhizomes, just cut a 1 foot radius from the center of the hop plant with a shovel, down 4 inches and pull up the rhizomes on the outside of the circle you cut. You can take these cuttings and plant elsewhere or give to friends to grow their own hops or sell them.
I will be posting about this years batch of Nugget, Magnum and Cascade hops from rhizome to harvest so check back at least monthly. Those are the actual rhizomes I will be planting in the picture above. You will see the methods and rigging of the ropes I use – there are many ways to do this, I go for ease and efficiency.
There is still time to do this this season so get to it. The more friends you get interested in growing hops and homebrewing, the more home brews you will have available to you. Home brew beers and ales are meant to be shared and is a growing hobby for many. Join a local home brewing group, join some forums, read some books on growing hops. You can never know to much. Hop onboard!
Hop Rhizomes on Order
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Hop Rhizome It All Starts Here
It’s that time of year to get going on ordering rhizomes if you have not already. I am in Minnesota so our soil is still frozen and will be for another month. Hop rhizomes are hardy so they can be planted before most plants in Minnesota (once the soil thaws). In Minnesota, May 15th’ ish is the generally the frost free date for most plants. Hops can handle frost (rhizomes will be underground for a bit once planted and are more “northern climate” tolerant than most vegetables and other plants.
I will be chronologically documenting this years hop garden from rhizome to harvest (if any the first year). They should be arriving soon and I will document the life cycle of this years planting. This batch of beer hops will be Nugget, Magnum and Cascade hops. Two high alpha (bittering) and one aromatic (cascade) – there is crossover with bittering and aroma with hops but they are generally under those classifications.
More to come soon!
