13 replies to this topic

[CaptRon]

We are getting some landscaping done in our back yard really soon. I have an area that I have picked out that I would like to grow some hops. How much sun should they get? The spot I'm thinking of for them gets sun until about 2 in the afternoon. Would this be sufficient or do they need sun all day?

[Jimmy James]

I think you'll probably be fine in that location. My understanding is cone production is triggered by hours of daylight, but the plant doesn't need to be in direct/full sun for that entire time - it just needs to "see" the difference between daylight and nighttime. Full sun until 2PM should work as you'll get the brightest sun of the day on them,but then a little shade in the afternoon when it's hottest.

[Deerslyr]

I concur with JJ... although I am not much of a green thumb and my ability to grow hops is linked more to sheer dumb luck. My hops are positioned on the West side of the house, so I get the full effect in the afternoon until sundown.By the way, I trimmed off a nice chunk of my Mt. Hood. I gave it to a buddy and we are both hopeful that the buds and root system on the rhizome will be healthy enough to produce something even this year. Damn those suckers know how to grow underground!

[Kremer]

My hops are positioned on the West side of the house, so I get the full effect in the afternoon until sundown.

Same here, my chinook love it and have gone bonkers, the fuggle right next to them grew very wimpy. In the fall I removed the fuggle and moved some chinook cuttings to their spots.

[BarelyBrews]

Hops Talk , im so glad its almost spring.My plants (i have two now) don't get much sun until about two hours after daylight. MY biggest problem is my Acidic dirt in my yard.Caused by walnut trees in my area.I cleaned around my hops plants today, now if i could avoid that snow there calling for next weekend.

[CaptRon]

I think acidity might be a problem here as our soil is Adobe Clay mostly which I think has a pretty high acidity content if I'm not mistaken.

[harryfrog]

I think acidity might be a problem here as our soil is Adobe Clay mostly which I think has a pretty high acidity content if I'm not mistaken.

You can add hydrated lime (available at garden stores) to raise soil pH...

[Kremer]

Two of my Chinook have broken the surface. Woo!

[gnef]

Almost all of my 15 cascades have broken the surface, and only a couple of my centennials have broken the surface. I will probably fertilize once they grow to be about 6 inches or so, probably within a week or so.

[rac]

hello, just wondering ? what is a good time to plant and where is a place one may obtain sstarts of hop plants? I see that PH is important, what about soil additives? manure etc? is to rich bad for hops? also what is a good all around hops to grow? just one that is easy to grow and harvest for use. sorry for all the questions but I am new to brewing. thanks!

[gnef]

There are a number of sites where you can get hop rhizomes from now: hops direct, colorado organic hops (only have cascades, but they are 3.50 each!), and a number of online homebrew shops will have rhizomes for sale.Colorado organic hops ( https://www.colorado...com/?page_id=19 ) has some basic information on growing hops as well. I bought 15 cascades rhizomes from them last year, and they all grew quite well. I also bought centennial rhizomes from hops direct last year (8) that also did well, but not nearly as well as the cascades.As long as the manure is composted, it should be fine. I heavily fertilize the hops when they are actively growing. You don't want to fertilize after they have started flowering though (the excess nitrogen can be detrimental to the quality of the hops, at least from what I recall reading). I just use a general purpose fertilizer, one that I use with the rest of my garden and fruit trees.Cascades in general grow well, just make sure you like cascades. Also make sure you have an area that has good drainage and a decent amount of sun. You also need to set up a trellis of some sort to let the hops grow vertically. The hops like to grow as high as they can, and they flower best above 10ft, if I recall. They will still flower below 10ft, but just not ideal.There is a yahoo group that I used to be a part of, grow-hops, I believe. Just know that the moderator can be a bit heavy handed at times. Once I got enough information, I got tired of the massive number of emails.As for drying, if you don't have too much, a screen door will work fine, if you plan on doing a lot, then you will need to figure out a good way to dry the hops (an oast is best).

[denny]

Freshops also sells rhizomes and has some growing info...https://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/rhizome-information

[CaptRon]

I think I have a spot picked. But I need to figure out which varieties. The area that I am going to grow them is the same spot where SWMBO wants to plant a bunch of strawberries. Do you think the two will be ok with each other to coexist in the same area? They will be on a drip system with some sprinking drippers so irrigation wont be a problem.

[Deerslyr]

I think I have a spot picked. But I need to figure out which varieties. The area that I am going to grow them is the same spot where SWMBO wants to plant a bunch of strawberries. Do you think the two will be ok with each other to coexist in the same area? They will be on a drip system with some sprinking drippers so irrigation wont be a problem.

both of them spread their roots in a prolific manner. I think that they will be competing with each other for nutrients.