Hop Growing in So Cal anyone? - Page 2

**david_42** · 01-29-2008, 10:36 PM

Hot is good, as long as there is enough water. 100F for weeks is common in up here and Yakima is even hotter.

**gwood** · 01-30-2008, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby_M

Put some eye hooks up high on the house and string heavy twine or cable to stakes in the ground near where you plan. They'll climb that.

That was the idea I had cookin but I'd like to rig something that is a bit higher up (single story bungalow).

MR. Zak · 01-30-2008, 12:47 AM

you could always look into dwarf varieties that only grow about six to ten feet and if put into a planter (say an old 15 gal. extract drum cut in half) you can move them to any location to get better sun or to keep them out of the elements as well i use the extract drums cut in half and keep them in front of my garage and move them inside when it gets cold
just a thought!
Z

**gwood** · 01-31-2008, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MR. Zak

you could always look into dwarf varieties that only grow about six to ten feet and if put into a planter (say an old 15 gal. extract drum cut in half) you can move them to any location to get better sun or to keep them out of the elements as well i use the extract drums cut in half and keep them in front of my garage and move them inside when it gets cold
just a thought!
Z

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll do a search for dwarf varieties tonight!

**pjj2ba** · 01-31-2008, 02:30 PM

It is not how much light is needed. To get hops to flower they need a short night. If the night is too long, they won't flower no matter how much light you give them during the day. The general rule of thumb is hops don't flower well south of 35 degrees latitiude and a quick check shows Santa Clarita at ~34.

I posted some stuff on a thread about growing hops in southern Florida you might want to check out for more details.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/hop-growing-south-florida-52264/

**gwood** · 01-31-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjj2ba

It is not how much light is needed. To get hops to flower they need a short night. If the night is too long, they won't flower no matter how much light you give them during the day. The general rule of thumb is hops don't flower well south of 35 degrees latitiude and a quick check shows Santa Clarita at ~34.

I posted some stuff on a thread about growing hops in southern Florida you might want to check out for more details.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=52264

Thanks for the info. I'm sure I could trick them into a longer day without TOO much effort (hence a shorter night) - I have an old HPS and a metal halide but I think that would be a bit much

I'd be concerned about the squirrels more than anything else. Our area is just infested with them at every turn. They have caused quite a headache already in our gardens and have been a constant battle.

**pjj2ba** · 01-31-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gwood

Thanks for the info. I'm sure I could trick them into a longer day without TOO much effort (hence a shorter night) - I have an old HPS and a metal halide but I think that would be a bit much

I'd be concerned about the squirrels more than anything else. Our area is just infested with them at every turn. They have caused quite a headache already in our gardens and have been a constant battle.

I'd watch the threads on this board in the summer and wait until I'd heard reports of other people plants having cones starting before worrying about adding the lights.

I've got lots of squirrels around and they leave my plants alone. Of course there is plenty of other food around. The rhizomes get big pretty fast so I wouldn't worry about that. They might however go after your first new shoots. Once there 12" or so I don't think you'd have a problem anymore

**gwood** · 01-31-2008, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjj2ba

I'd watch the threads on this board in the summer and wait until I'd heard reports of other people plants having cones starting before worrying about adding the lights.

I've got lots of squirrels around and they leave my plants alone. Of course there is plenty of other food around. The rhizomes get big pretty fast so I wouldn't worry about that. They might however go after your first new shoots. Once there 12" or so I don't think you'd have a problem anymore

I would hope they'll be fat and happy between our two gardens and the orange tree next door!