I've been reading on the subject and wanted to give growing my own a try. I'm starting out somewhat small with a vine each of my two most often used hops... Nugget and Fuggles. I ordered the rhizomes so they're on the way, just need to get the plot prepped.
My house is surrounded with tall, fairly thick trees and is well shaded as well as no gutters so, I kept an eye out throughout the day for the spot with the best sun exposure... fortunately, there are two trees about 6' apart right in the middle just off the back of my house...
Spent the morning clearing the ground and all the limbs on the trees up to 17' ...that was as far as I could reach standing on the tippy-top rung of my extension ladder while hugging the tree trunk with one arm while sawing.
I then tilled the soil, removed as many roots of plants that I could then built a box. Filled the box with a mix of new topsoil mixed with some manure compost and sand then covered with mulch. For the bine support, I concocted a support that I could attach ropes to then raise/lower.
Only thing I'm somewhat concerned about are the bines getting tangled together in future seasons or reaching the top and climbing the trees... an issue for another day... this should get me started... just need the rhizomes.
I'll add some pix as things progress...
Great looking trellis though your spot looks kinda shady (as in filtered sun). Hops are pretty sun hungry and if they don't get at least 6-8 hours of full sun, you yields will suffer.
Yeah... that's the bee-yotch about my yard and house... it's surrounded by oodles of tall pines. The spot I chose gets the most sun throughout the course of a day and as the days get longer and the sun's arc shifts going into summer, it'll get several hours of direct light.
I wonder if they didn't make the winter I dug down today and the roots are not woody at all. Like a noodle consistency and there is a blue mold on the roots.
The soil drains well...
I will give them another two weeks and then start over with a rhizome or two.
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