Getting my hop posts ready...

Hey all. I know I'm waaaaaaay late getting started on this, but I'm going to plant some hops this weekend. I've got 8 rhizomes, two each of four varieties, hanging out in the fridge (been there about 6 weeks now, so impatient they've started sprouting runners...), and I need to get them planted.

My plans are to get four 16 foot 4x4's, and sink them about two feet into the ground, with concrete at the base. That should leave me about 14 feet of post above ground. They will all be in a single file line, about 8 feet apart.

At the top of these posts, perpendicular to the line that they are in, I am going to put 2x4 cross pieces, four feet long. They will stick out two feet on either side of the posts. At the end of these, I will put an eyebolt, for running the coir twine through.

Each post will host a single variety, with 1 rhizome planted on either side of each post. I will run coir twine from the eyebolts in the ends of the 2x4's, down to posts in the ground right next to the rhizomes.

This will give each variety of hops 4-6 feet between rhizomes, and will give different varieties 8 feet from their neighbors.

I will also either run 2x4's across the top of the posts, to keep them a constant distance apart and to provide stability, or else just use rope and eyebolts to keep them from connected.

Does this sound like a good plan? Any changes I should make? I'm picking up the wood tomorrow after work, and we'll be dropping the posts in the ground Saturday afternoon.

Thanks
Conner

Your distancing between rhizomes and between varieties sounds great, even more generous than mine. What you are describing sounds like a good setup. What varieties?

I've got 2x Centennial, 2x Cascade, 2x Newport, and 2x Nugget.

If those all do well, I may see if I can work in another pair or two of varieties, if I have room and *need* them. But I figure that these are a good base for my brewing, and I can buy anything else that I need. And 8 plants, if they all do well, should give me more hops than I can possibly use in a year. I figure to be giving some to friends that brew.

Here's a couple pictures showing the posts I put up. I ended up making them 14 feet tall, with 4 foot cross pieces at the top. I'm going to plant 1 variety per post, 1 rhizome on opposite sides of each post.

I'm hoping to get the rhizomes planted sometime this week. Trying to decide if I want to build a 1x4 or 2x4 box around them, add some quality topsoil, and cover with some kind of large mesh to keep the dogs off of them, or not.

What do you guys think?

Oh, yeah, I ended up spacing the posts 8 feet apart. 1 rhizome of each variety will be planted halfway between the post and the fence, the other rhizome on the opposite side of the post.

Also, these are running in a line from east-southeast to west-northwest, so they should get quite a bit of sunlight during the day. I may end up trying to trim up some of the trees above and to one side of them if they aren't getting enough sun, but we'll cross that bridge if we need to...

Kinda looks like something out the "old south".

You can do like I did to keep my dogs out. Tomato cages wrapped in chicken wire .

That's a pretty good idea. I may try that, rather than fencing off that whole section of the yard... Plus if they can roam around the posts, they'll help keep squirrels and other animals away from the plants... Thanks for the suggestion! I was actually thinking about using tomato cages, but was pondering how to keep the dogs from reaching right through them...

Well, I still haven't gotten my rhizomes planted yet . Been too busy with life atm. However, I've done some thinking (and reading) and I think that I am going to do all of my rhizomes in raised beds. I've come to this conclusion for 3 reasons:

1. I can load the raised beds up with better soil mixed in with some of my existing soil, to make sure they have the best growing environment possible.

2. Ease of attaching some kind of guard around the raised beds to keep the dogs (and other animals) away from the lower portions of the hops bines.

3. To attempt to limit the spreading of the hops roots to its neighbors and other parts of the yard. I don't want to have to do a lot of digging/cutting every fall to keep these from spreading, and by planting them in raised beds, that *should* help minimize this issue. I do plan on digging up rhizomes to spread around to friends/family though.

What do you guys think? I'm leaning towards making the raised beds 2 feet square, and 12-16 inches high.

I hope they will still grow for you! Good Luck!

onthekeg said:

I hope they will still grow for you! Good Luck!

Click to expand...

They'll still grow (heck, they've started bines in the fridge already), I just probably won't get a crop this year. They'll be good to go next year though.