Archive for hop rhizomes
Hop Sprouts
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Nugget Hops Have Sprouted
Hop Sprouts – all 3 of my hop rhizomes have sprouted! Magnum was first followed by Nugget and finally the Cascade. The hop rhizomes were planted April 11, 2009. When growing hops, this is your first sign of progress – hop sprouts.
The Magnum sprouted April 21 (10 days), the Nugget sprouted April 24 and the Cascades finally broke ground April 26th, 2009. I had mulched heavily over all 3 mounds to keep the ground cold. I was attempting to delay sprouting until after the danger of frost. It appeared to work . Generally May 15th is the safe time to plant in Minnesota. I’ll have to keep an eye on the weather and cover the bines if it drops below freezing.
Magnum Hops Have Sprouted
Now I just have to worry about a possible frost, rabbits, deer and maybe squirrels will dig up the rhizomes – they dig up my garden. Of course I will also have to worry about insects, viruses and other hop diseases like powdery mildew, downy mildew, high winds and hail. Hail obliterated a friend of mine’s hops last year. They never recovered – whole hop season ruined!
I am still contemplating on how I am going to rig the ropes for the bines. I have the materials – rope, pulleys, hardware… I have a couple of ideas. Functionality and ease of lowering the hop bines without needing a ladder (once the pulleys are fastened high up on my garage).
Cascade Rhizome Produces Hop Sprouts
I am going to use a hybrid idea I have which is a combination of some other tricks I read about. The hop bines will be lowered when they get close to the top of the rope. I will loop the bines on a hook type apperatus, possibly a mountable half circle hose rack. When they near the top again, lower and loop the bines again.
This will effectively allow them to grow as long as possible and keep them off the ground. I will have to allow breathing room so the bines will not suffer from dampness and possible molds or mildew (powdery mildew, downy mildew…). I am sure I will need to make adjustments along the way. Wish me luck.
If anyone has ideas about how to do this or how they have done this, let me know. The whole idea here is to share ideas and especially what works.
The first major milestone has ocurred, all the hop rhizomes have sprouted! Magnum, Nugget and Cascade – bitter, bitter and aroma hops. I have to finalize my bine rigging ideas and implement them.
I am still investigating how I want to feed the hops, organic and naturally of course. Green sand, fish emulsions, compost tea and looking into mycelium products to permeate the soil bring nutrients to the rhizomes / root stock.
Where to Buy Hop Rhizomes
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Where to Buy Hop Rhizomes
Where to buy hop rhizomes. I have been asked over and over so I figure I would just put together a post and answer the question of where to buy hop rhizomes online. I got my 2009 hop rhizomes from a local homebrew store Northern Brewer (ordered online even though they are local – still 20 mile drive) – as it turns out, they get their hop rhizomes from www.freshops.com. You might as well go straight to freshops.com and cut out the middleman.
You can sometimes find a local homebrew shop or hop grower selling rhizomes, but generally, online buying is more convenient, better selection and you can compare shop. Don’t forget friends and other local hop growing enthusiasts, they may be willing to part with some rhizomes. Barter a couple of homebrews to your friends that are growing hops for some hop rhizomes!
It’s 2010, 2011, 2012 Let’s Do It Again!
Where to Buy Hop Rhizomes Online:
www.NorthwestHops.com – Choice Hop Rhizomes and the best prices. Don’t pay reseller markup! Family owned and operated Northwest Hops is your only rhizome connection.
www.barleyNvine.com – Our southern connection. Check ‘em out, any southern climate questions – they will be better able to answer than I.
www.willamettevalleyhops.com – We offer hops and hop rhizomes. All product grown and obtained from generations old Willamette Valley, Oregon hop farms.
Highhops.net – 30 varieties of hop plants 48 US states
www.thymegarden.com – 2010 – Taking orders now for our organically grown hop rhizomes while they last. Also wholesale varieties available. Shipping begins in order received approx. March 1st depending on the weather.
www.gorstvalleyhops.com (lots of 10 to 100+)
www.coloradoorganichops.com/?page_id=19 – 2011 update – We will be offering Cascade,Chinook,Nugget and Willamette rhizomes, http://www.coloradoorganichops.com/ Certified Organic for the 2011 growing season. Pre Orders will start the 1st week of January Cheers Glen
www.mainbrew.com/pages/rhizomes.html
RNV Enterprises Yakima Valley – Vickie.rhizomes@yahoo.com
http://www.rnventerprises.com/
http://www.ebrew.com/beer/hop_rhizomes.htm
www.fourhorses.ca <== Canada Hop Rhizomes
There are more hop rhizome sources, this is what I found Googling “buy hop rhizomes” and supplied links from readers. If anyone has a hop rhizome vendor they have used and are happy with, let me know and I will include it in this list. There you have it, not much time left to get your hop rhizomes planted for the 2009 growing season(now 2010).
Cheers
Hop Rhizomes In the Ground
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April 11, 2009 – Well I did it. I couldn’t wait. Let’s hope I don’t regret this early hop planting for Minnesota. I checked all available potential hop garden spots in my yard. The ground was frozen in every one of them except on the south side of my garage which was my intention and first choice. The soil preperation I did last fall seems to be working well. The soil is loose and full of decomposed organic matter (leaves and grass clippings and wood ashes).
I built mounds and planted the Cascade, Magnum and Nugget rhizomes 2-3 inches deep and mulched over them with a couple inches of leaves to insulate and keep the soil from warming up from the sun. Where I live, Bloomington, Minnesota will freeze several more times so I am trying to delay the rhizomes from sprouting (I don’t care if the roots grow, I just don’t want the bines to sprout yet and freeze).
Next weekend I have a wedding, I have to work the weekend after that… I just didn’t feel comfortable letting the hop rhizomes sit in my refrigerator that long (my vegetables don’t last long and it has a tendency to freeze now and again) it has already been a couple weeks. Wish me luck!
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!
