Anyone grow hops?

boostindoubles · Mar 10, 2015

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 · Mar 10, 2015

blindboxx2334 said:
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!

-BB- · Mar 10, 2015

tagging along...
Tried to grow hops a few years ago, but couldn't get them to sprout.

boostindoubles · Mar 16, 2015

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 · Mar 16, 2015

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 · Mar 16, 2015

more info on translating the pallet stamp codes:

http://www.1001pallets.com/pallet-safety/

jonKranked · Mar 16, 2015

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.

jonKranked · Mar 16, 2015

here are my threads for reference:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/threads/hop-growers-whats-your-trellis-setup.268017/

http://www.ridemonkey.com/threads/brewing-with-fresh-hops.269902/

jonKranked · Mar 16, 2015

blindboxx2334 said:
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.

jonKranked · Mar 16, 2015

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.

jonKranked · Mar 17, 2015

blindboxx2334 said:
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.

jonKranked · Mar 18, 2015

moles shouldn't be a problem. be sure to mound them.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/hops-moles-gophers-245523/

jonKranked · Mar 18, 2015

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

jonKranked · Mar 18, 2015

blindboxx2334 said:
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

jonKranked · Mar 25, 2015

what are you going to let the bines grow up?

jonKranked · Mar 25, 2015

blindboxx2334 said:
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.

be sure to give them enough height to grow. my plants all reached at least 10' first year. my chinook was about 14'

jonKranked · Mar 26, 2015

the bamboo might be a touch on the thick side for them to grow on. i use sisal rope for them to actually climb.

Westy · Apr 1, 2015

Don't forget the Brawndo.

boostindoubles · Apr 4, 2015

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.

Anyone grow hops?

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