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Anyone grow hops?

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
Well, the time has finally come. I bit the bullet and ordered some organic hop rhizomes last night. Anyone currently growing hops?

Here is what i went with:
Tahoma
Cascade
Chinook
Centennial
Nugget

Please tell me how bad i messed up. Currently only interested in brewing Ales (Pale Ale, IPA, etc) and the occasional stout.

The last freeze/frost day in my county is april 15, depending on the weather as it gets closer, i may plant before. i plan on taking used pallets from work and re purposing them into raised beds (due to the mole problem we have) and lining the bottom with hardware cloth. Not 100% sure on what soil/potting mix/whatever its called, but we have a big mulch pile primarily with horse poop, so that will make its way in there along with some home dirt as well.

Now, ive had two different parties tell me that i can use the first year harvested hops as long as they were picked and dried correctly, but the second year is of better quality due to the maturity of the hops. Any one else have anything to add to this?

Lastly, i need to get my home-brewing butt in gear. I still have not tried any home brewing, i need to get to an acceptable level before i start using my hops. Glad i still have 6-7 months before harvest. :)
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
Hey where are you located? I may know a few things about hops... JonKranked grew a bunch last year. I'd say pick his brain but I think his brain is already being picked by his new baby.
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
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448
Well, the time has finally come. I bit the bullet and ordered some organic hop rhizomes last night. Anyone currently growing hops?

Here is what i went with:
Tahoma
Cascade
Chinook
Centennial
Nugget

Please tell me how bad i messed up. Currently only interested in brewing Ales (Pale Ale, IPA, etc) and the occasional stout.

The last freeze/frost day in my county is april 15, depending on the weather as it gets closer, i may plant before. i plan on taking used pallets from work and re purposing them into raised beds (due to the mole problem we have) and lining the bottom with hardware cloth. Not 100% sure on what soil/potting mix/whatever its called, but we have a big mulch pile primarily with horse poop, so that will make its way in there along with some home dirt as well.

Now, ive had two different parties tell me that i can use the first year harvested hops as long as they were picked and dried correctly, but the second year is of better quality due to the maturity of the hops. Any one else have anything to add to this?

Lastly, i need to get my home-brewing butt in gear. I still have not tried any home brewing, i need to get to an acceptable level before i start using my hops. Glad i still have 6-7 months before harvest. :)
If it's anything like our experience, you won't have a huge harvest in your first year. We're now on our third, and last year we had a LOT more than year one. We have Cascade and Zeus hops. We have ours on a south facing wall, and it grows like crazy. Nothing special accept occasional chicken poop added to the dirt.
It's funny- we did the exact same thing that you did. We bought hops, which inspired us to learn to brew. It's been a really fun hobby for my wife and I. Good luck!
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
Hey where are you located? I may know a few things about hops... JonKranked grew a bunch last year. I'd say pick his brain but I think his brain is already being picked by his new baby.
close to placerville, ca. hoping he will chime in, although im assuming the kid has been keeping him 'occupied'. ;)
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
If it's anything like our experience, you won't have a huge harvest in your first year. We're now on our third, and last year we had a LOT more than year one. We have Cascade and Zeus hops. We have ours on a south facing wall, and it grows like crazy. Nothing special accept occasional chicken poop added to the dirt.
It's funny- we did the exact same thing that you did. We bought hops, which inspired us to learn to brew. It's been a really fun hobby for my wife and I. Good luck!
the more i think about it, i am more concerned about the quality of the hops the first year and making sure its okay to brew with (as well as making sure that i harvested at the proper time and dried correctly), versus the quantity.

i dont have any crazy ambitious plans to start brewing something every week (not enough time), so i think having a smaller quantity to start with will help with not feeling overwhelmed.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
so, hoping the place will ship my rhizomes this week (that is what i was told last week) and hopefully be in my possession by saturday.

I cut up all the disassembled pallets i had and started on the raised hop beds yesterday. so far, ive managed to make the beds from all reclaimed wood and screws; which is good cause im cheap.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
Right on, They will be sensitive until the roots really take. Lots of heat or over/under watering may be your biggest threat besides pests. Its true that most varieties don't do well the first year, but second year onwards production is better.
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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be extremely careful with the pallets. many are treated with harsh chemicals that are not at all safe to be in contact with the soil of the roots of anything you plan to consume. especially if the pallets came from outside the US. here's a good guide to figure out if the ones you have are safe to use:http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-determine-if-a-wood-pallet-is-safe-for-use/

as much light as possible. TONS of water (i'm getting rain barrels this year, and wanna figure out some sort of automated watering system). first year harvest will be small. if you're building any sort of trellis contraption (see my threads in this forum), build for the heights at year 3-5, not year 1. my trellis is something like 16'.

what else ya got?
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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also, my hop yard is chinook, cascade, and 2 centennial. the chinook was by and far the best first year yield. but it was also the largest rhizome clipping.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
thank you for the help Jon. I will look into the pallet MB issue.

i dont recall seeing any 'MB' on the pallets i picked up, but i will definitely check.

other than that, i think i have found a good spot to put them in.. i live in a 'rural' area so trying to find a spot where the deer wont much on them (assuming they will) and still get sufficient sunlight was somewhat of a challenge. Although, i think i have figured it out.

updates hopefully tonight!
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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thank you for the help Jon. I will look into the pallet MB issue.

i dont recall seeing any 'MB' on the pallets i picked up, but i will definitely check.

other than that, i think i have found a good spot to put them in.. i live in a 'rural' area so trying to find a spot where the deer wont much on them (assuming they will) and still get sufficient sunlight was somewhat of a challenge. Although, i think i have figured it out.

updates hopefully tonight!
i've got about 8-9 deer that pass through on a regular basis and help themselves to stuff, they never touched the hops.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
cool. good to know.. i figured if they were going to eat something, it would be the leaves and not the actual hops.

will report back later tonight with what i managed to get done later today. thanks again Mr. Kranked!
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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and light is really crucial. someone told me that they need a certain quantity of day in order to trigger flowering, or maybe lupin production, can't remember which. but if you can get sunrise to sundown you're good.

and water at the roots. keep water off the leaves.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
well, from what i could tell, they all had the IPPC logo and indicate that they were heat treated. I think one also stated it had been debarked.

whew! so glad i didnt have to start over.. i didnt manage to get any pics last night due to getting home late and having only 10-15 mins of daylight. will try and get some tonight. ive only got a little bit more to go.
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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well, from what i could tell, they all had the IPPC logo and indicate that they were heat treated. I think one also stated it had been debarked.

whew! so glad i didnt have to start over.. i didnt manage to get any pics last night due to getting home late and having only 10-15 mins of daylight. will try and get some tonight. ive only got a little bit more to go.
i'm sure that was a big relief. any plans for your setup you can share?


one thing i forgot to mention, you want about 4' in between plants.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
ive got 4/5 raised beds done..

i believe the inner dimensions are 21"x12"x14" (LxWxH) per each raised bed (5 total). i know its a weird size (and probably a little small), but i believe i will be moving in 2-3 years at most, so i took that into consideration.. worst comes to worst, i will just dig them up from the raised beds and put them in the ground. ive seen people growing them out of buckets online, so it cant be that small.

the biggest need for the raised beds is the mole problem we have.. i will post a pic later.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
sorry, you are correct. i get moles and voles mixed up all the time. the voles appear to be what eat roots.

i found a site that states i need to dig into the ground and place 1/4" hardware cloth all around, like a basket.. i will make sure to do that.

edit:
here are the 'raised beds'. i just need to finish the sides on the last one. pretty excited, ive been bothering the rhizome place to get my stuff shipped out ASAP.

 
Last edited:

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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I did mine vertically because I had to plant them in garden pots since my planter wasn't finished at the time.

Those planters might only last you two or three years the way these things grow
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
cool, good to know. i think i am sold on vertical.

about the planters, i think that is a good thing. i believe i will be moving in 2-3 years, i would like the option to be able to take them with me if needed. judging from what i have read, it seems like it would be much harder (borderline too much work) to move the rhizomes if they were planted in the ground.

and, if needed, i can put them in the ground anytime. :)
 

jonKranked

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Nov 10, 2005
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cool, good to know. i think i am sold on vertical.

about the planters, i think that is a good thing. i believe i will be moving in 2-3 years, i would like the option to be able to take them with me if needed. judging from what i have read, it seems like it would be much harder (borderline too much work) to move the rhizomes if they were planted in the ground.

and, if needed, i can put them in the ground anytime. :)
another option (if it comes to it) when it comes time to move if you can't take them because the root ball gets too big - take your own rhizome clipping(s). you'd be essentially starting over with your hop yard, but it'd be something. you might be able to take a larger root section so the replanted bines would have a little more oomph to regrow once replanted (does botany even work this way?) if you go this route be sure to research it some to make sure you take viable rhizomes
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
so, the place i ordered from contacted me on monday and let me know that tahoma is out of stock. super bummed, i was really excited about that guy, i did a little reading on the (short) history of the tahoma.

oh well, i substituted it for a crystal rhizome. either way, i know ive got some solid varieties. i believe the place said my stuff is getting shipped today. if all goes well, they will be in the ground on caturday or sunday.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
we have a bunch of cut bamboo stalks that i plan to turn into a trellis system.

other than planting the rhizomes, it is the only thing left i have to do.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
i should have been more clear, the bamboo is just for the framework; i still have to go get twine or something similar for the vines to grow up.

on a couple of the sites that had rhizomes that were selling hemp twine, gonna shoot for something like that.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
managed to plant the rhizomes on caturday. super excited. will take pics when i get a sprout.

im also amazed at how well they did being shipped in a plastic bag with a little bit of water added.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
Badass dude! I do not grow hops but I do work around commercial hop yards and work with dried hops, running cold storage facilities and processing dried hops for breweries. If you are interested I can share some pics of what's happening around here in the fields as spring erupts.
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
nice! feel free to post pics, i would love to see them!

cascade is really starting to take off; centennial finally sprouted another, normal sized vine.

chinook and nugget have still not sprouted. waiting for them to join the party anytime!