If you are going to grow hops, please do it right

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KoedBrew

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Ok, so I wanted to throw out some suggestions for growing hops and honestly not just hops but anything that you want to consume in some way or another.

First soil care and health- known as fertility. Things like Miracle Grow and other commercial fertilizers do not really do anything except give your plants a temporary boost, but it actually causes more problems unless you are going to put your plants on a regular schedule of miracle grow (waste of money).

What you need to do is keep your soil healthy!
1. Use a good compost on your entire garden. I create my own compost but it isn't that hard to find some. If you are having a specific defiency, like nitrogen then add some kind of animal manure. If you like fishing (or have a kid) you catch a bunch of little bluegills? Take them (humanely kill them) and plant them gently near your hops (nitrogen problem fixed for a year).

2. Once you have a good layer of compost blended into your soil and your hops are planted, Place a good layer of mulch on top of your soil. Mulch is the key to keeping all the moisture and those nutrients in the soil.

3. Do not cover your hop plants with insecticides! Plant some beneficial flowers and herbs around your hops and the pests will be taken care of. If you try to do what the big hop farms do and just grow hops you will have insect problems.
Some suggestions. Mints! All mints are great but Catmint repels Aphids! Yarrow attracts ladybugs which will control aphids! Onions, garlic, Chives!
Parsley! Sunflowers, Dill, corriander, Marigolds, hyssop...

4. You want insects in and on your plants, certain insects will hurt your hops, but most will leave them alone. Especially the hop cones. Ants, bees, ladybugs, wasps, spiders and some others are all good to have around your hops, they will kill the bad guys. Ants are the baddest mofos out there, but won't eat hops.

5. Grow some other edibles as well especially beans! If you grow some peas or beans around your hops they will naturally fix nitrogen problems in the soil. Growing other edibles like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers will attract some pests away. Plus you will be creating diversity in your garden.

6. Last, at the end of the season when you pull all of your hop vines down and pick those cones off compost the dead hop vines, as well as all the other plants from your garden. Those leaves from your trees that you hate raking, compost those, if you have a bag for your lawnmower, compost the grass, ect.

DO THIS AT LEAST!! If you do not want to make a compost pile at your house, ok, but at the end of the season take all of your dead plants, the hop vines, the mint, the tomato plant, the tree leaves, ect...and run them over a couple times with your lawn mower. Now gently rake back your mulch, put about a 1-2 inch layer of this stuff right on top of your soil, then put your mulch back on top. By the next spring that layer of fertility you put down on top of the soil will be about 50% gone...into your soil!

Happy Hop Growing!
 
Some really great advice here. I'm lucky enough to live in N.Idaho one of the best places on earth to grow hops. My wife is an avid gardner and just purchased a $300 composter and I said WHAT! After she explained it to me it made sense,plus now I'll have some nice compost for my hop plants. She's also growing a bunch of chives (indoors now) so that's a good thing. I can go down to several lakes here and catch 100 bluegill and sunfish easy in a few hours, the ones to small to fillet will now be fertilizer for my hops, I remember my dad and uncle telling me to fertilize with fish when I was a kid growing tomatoes. Anyway great post.
 
Thank you, Good luck with that composter...your trash will be a lot lighter.

Yeah the Bluegill thing is the easiest trick in the world, though I am probably going to piss some PETA folks off by saying it :D
 
Great primer! I'd like to add a couple of things, though.

As discussed here recently, mint can be a very invasive species. You should strongly consider growing these in a planter near your hops, not directly in the ground. Also, keep the planter slightly elevated - if you place it right on the dirt, the mint will just grow out the bottom then take over your garden. It's just my personal preference, but I'll only plant annuals directly in with my hops so the roots aren't competing year over year. I plant helpful perennials nearby, but slightly separate.

Don't compost diseased plant material! If your tomatoes, one of your hops :)eek:) or anything else shows signs of powdery mildew or any other disease, do NOT put it in the compost. Many diseases can survive the composting process then infect other plants. Either throw the diseased plants out or burn them. If you can't do either, compost them in a far corner of your yard but don't use that compost in the garden.
 
Nice opinion. Good luck with all that. If it works and makes you feel good then great. I just want to point out another opinion here. A lot of people try to make exclusive organic vegetable gardens yet they have no problem using chemicals off the shelves for the rest of their landscape or when cooking up a dinner with chemically treated foods or putting on clothing that was chemically treated. Non "organic" Chemicals are perfectly fine if used as intended. I have no issue with people that want to go organic or whatever but lets not pretend that it doesn't take a lot of money and time to do it. Good IPM practices along with insecticides can in fact be more effective and environmental than strict organic controls if done right. Not to sound like a quack, but in the big picture, bringing in exotic plants and animals for pest control can and will create a new problem down the road if not considered in advance like weeds, death to other beneficial insects, over populations, etc. I'm all for biological pest controls but I don't use that approach at work with blinders on either. Miracle grow is expensive- that is correct, but it does work at what it does and it is not a unique product in this industry nor did it invent foliar feeding. Miracle Grow to foliars is like starbucks is to coffee. It feeds the plants at a slow and constant rate that cannot be achieved by organic methods. It also allows you to grow your way out of decline caused by environmental elements and to strengthen the plant when going up against stress. The cost can be high, but price it up against an organic fertilizer and the difference is not too great.

As for soil, drainage, drainage, drainage is the first priority. Then consider moisture retention, toxins (ph, salt), and vegetative matter.

With that said, I plan to use organic fertilizers on my hop garden experiment because of their added benefits and the fact that I have some in stock along with insecticides and gas for the gophers if necessary. I have very sandy soil so I will apply a topsoil in the top layer and maybe cover the surface with gravel or something. Trying to grow mint or buy lady bugs is a huge waste of money for me. The lady bugs will not hang out at my home and the mint will be another non native plant that I am trying to avoid.
 
Good tip on the mint I have some growing between my hops and I just trim it back but having some growing in pots is a good idea.

As for the diseased plants, sorry I thought that was something that was like a understood fact...

Thanks, any additions are more than welcome
 
Good stuff guys, thanks.

For those of you composting, don't forget to compost your spent grains. I dump my yeast/trub in the composter as well.

Also, I like clover. Big-money lawn care convinced America it's a weed, but its amazingly beneficial.

And FWIW, I haven't noticed catmint to be as invasive as the other mint (spear, pepper, garden, etc) mint varieties.
 
Nice opinion. Good luck with all that. If it works and makes you feel good then great. I just want to point out another opinion here. A lot of people try to make exclusive organic vegetable gardens yet they have no problem using chemicals off the shelves for the rest of their landscape or when cooking up a dinner with chemically treated foods or putting on clothing that was chemically treated. Non "organic" Chemicals are perfectly fine if used as intended. I have no issue with people that want to go organic or whatever but lets not pretend that it doesn't take a lot of money and time to do it. Good IPM practices along with insecticides can in fact be more effective and environmental than strict organic controls if done right. Not to sound like a quack, but in the big picture, bringing in exotic plants and animals for pest control can and will create a new problem down the road if not considered in advance like weeds, death to other beneficial insects, over populations, etc.

1) It doesn't take a lot of time and money, in my experience, and even if it did, so does any other hobby, so what is your point?

2) Every local situation is different. Some people are trying to grow things in climates that are not very conducive or friendly and they have to take more extreme measures in terms of water, ferts, herbicides, etc. There is no stead-fast rule one way or the other for these people (aside from trying to grow more climate tolerant options :D)

3) In my experience, being very judicious with pesticide and herbicide applications is most beneficial to the entire ecosystem. You don't have to be all "CRAZY ONLY ORGANIC", but you also don't have to apply every chemical on earth in a broadcast manner. It is not a black and white issue. I want to have veggies and fruits that have as few non-organic or chemical additives as is reasonably possible. It is still drastically better than commercially-grown non-organic for the vast majority of crops. I haven't sprayed in more than 4 years now (aside from occasional spot treatment in the lawn). Just because you see a couple aphids or spider mites does not mean you have to go apesh1t with the sevin.

4) Plants (yes, even non-natives), when chosen and grown properly, have never been an issue in my garden. Biodiversity is king. Mint grows well in potted situations here so long as you keep them from drying out. Lavender, rosemary, various peas and beans, aster, daisy, black eyes susan, dill, sunflowers, tarragon, yarrow, echinacea, bee balm, etc etc. I have many of these planted in and around my garden in addition to various other plants (edible or otherwise). I see tons of ladybugs, praying mantis, dragonflies, and lots of birds. Japanese beetles are about the only pest the companion plantings fail to control. Luckily, they much prefer the roses, birch tree, and pole beans over the hops.

For those of you composting, don't forget to compost your spent grains. I dump my yeast/trub in the composter as well.

Also, I like clover. Big-money lawn care convinced America it's a weed, but its amazingly beneficial.

And FWIW, I haven't noticed catmint to be as invasive as the other mint (spear, pepper, garden, etc) mint varieties.

Spent grains are great, but they overwhelm my compost tumbler. I simply don't have room for open compost bins or they would be burried in there most times.

Is that what you have convinced your wife of with respect to the clover? Your neighbors hate you, don't they? ;)

And for me, catmint sort of creeps along. It doesn't reseed and spread readily like some invasives, but it is more like chive in the way it slowly takes over. The bees just love the stuff, though!
 
Moving to a new house soon, I can't put up my hop trellis where it really needs to go, aesthetic reasons... So the place I could grow them is up the back of the house... north facing side. Will I run in to a lot of problems since they won't get any direct sunlight? I'm mostly just looking to get a few hops and keep the crowns alive until I move again in hopefully 5 years to a house I plan to build myself.
 
Moving to a new house soon, I can't put up my hop trellis where it really needs to go, aesthetic reasons... So the place I could grow them is up the back of the house... north facing side. Will I run in to a lot of problems since they won't get any direct sunlight? I'm mostly just looking to get a few hops and keep the crowns alive until I move again in hopefully 5 years to a house I plan to build myself.

N side of the house is going to be problematic, I imagine. You don't have any space on the east or west side? Without direct sunlight they are going to be leggy and fail to produce much in the way of a harvest.
 
:off:
Is that what you have convinced your wife of with respect to the clover? Your neighbors hate you, don't they? ;)
My wife likes the clover. But we usually have lawn pro companies knock on our door once a week -
Them - "Hey, you have quite the clover problem, we can get rid of it for you."
Me - "No thanks, I planted it."
Them - astonishment, shock "...why?"
Me - "It's nitrogen fixating, its deeper roots prevent compaction & aid drainage, it doesn't turn brown with dog, and great for pollination. Oh, and it doesn't turn brown in the summer...In the heat of the summer there's the dark-green chemical lawns, brown lawns, and mine - a bright green oasis ;)"
Them - No response. Write me off as a crazy person.

And the neighbors are "worse." I'm fighting wild violets on the left and creeping charlie on the right.


Oh, and agreed with the north-facing thing - not in Illinois, we're too far north, they won't get enough sun.
 
Hmm, I just planted them right in the grass around my deck last October. We'll see what happens with my "lazy-mans" method :)

Cascade is looking okay.
Hallertauer is looking sad, but growing.
Nugget is looking good!
 
Hmm, I am giving away most of my crowns, just keeping the cascade and centennial.

If they won't survive on the north side of the house then I can't give them room to grow up anywhere else, they'll have to be trained short (more work).

Edit:
P.S. Anyone want a Willamette, Hallertau, 2x fuggle crowns? (you dig)
 
Good stuff guys, thanks.

For those of you composting, don't forget to compost your spent grains. I dump my yeast/trub in the composter as well.

Also, I like clover. Big-money lawn care convinced America it's a weed, but its amazingly beneficial.

And FWIW, I haven't noticed catmint to be as invasive as the other mint (spear, pepper, garden, etc) mint varieties.

Maybe I missed something but some folks refer to catNIP as cat-mint, and with all the zillions of types of mint out there I'm sure there is an actual cat-mint. Semantics I know, but what I call catnip is pretty solitary and creeps slowly through very short rhizomes and is easily pulled out compared to many other of the mints.

Ever tried borax for control of creeping charlie? I played around last year with some impressive results at a rate of like 5 oz. per gallon. The violets can be contained (not controlled) with products containing triclopyr but you have to do repeat applications and the stuff is pretty 'hot' to work with. Clover = bees = FOOD! Grow on!
 
paulster,

The biggest problem you'll encounter by planting them adjacent to a grass area is that if the rhizomes spread underground into the grass area which they probably will, you'll never know it until you don't mow the grass for a month. You'll see some tiny little serpent heads poking out above the grass and when you take a closer look you'll realize that's them. So if you ever decide to sell the house, make sure the grass is cut and looks pretty before you sign the papers (hahaha).
 
Interesting, I always thought catmint & catnip were the same. But looked it up and you're right - they are different. I have catmint.

Heard of but never tried borax. Actually, between letting the lawn grow longer (less sun for charlie) and the clover out-competing it, it's almost completely gone.

And hops'll survive on the north side, just not thrive as Randar said.
 
Wow, I was just guessing about the mint thing but I've heard both of the terms so I figured their would be a chance of them actually being two different plants. All plants need a certain amount of Boron along with a bunch of other micronutrients, but I guess when you apply the borax to the ground ivy, the rate gives the weed an amount that creates a phytotoxic response (overdose) without harming the grass. I kinda like non-traditional controls, especially for stuff like ground ivy. Adios!
 
This is a really fantastic and informative thread. Thanks to all for the guidance. I, along with many here I would guess, are not only just getting in to hop growing but plant care in general. So please keep the info coming, even the stuff that seems obvious to the more seasoned horticulturists here because there are many just soaking it all up.
 
totally off topic

but has any one had the mint that looks like mint but tastes like lemon pledge?
i was on a property one dany and saw mint picked some smelt and tasted it and it tasted like lemon

jw
 
totally off topic

but has any one had the mint that looks like mint but tastes like lemon pledge?
i was on a property one dany and saw mint picked some smelt and tasted it and it tasted like lemon

Haha, yup! Lemon balm. Bee balm is similar, but a bit more spicy than lemony.
 
Wow, after reading the thread name I though it would be BS written by a ******. But it's all just sensible advice.

I wouldn't have gone as far as saying the "right way" because there isn't a right way, but some are better than others. Most commercial hops farms are not organic by any means. So there is something to be said about that approach too. With the home grower people tend to go crazy with the chem fertilizers and pesticides, where as with a farm operation you'd be spending lots of money for those chemicals and use them only as needed.
 
Good stuff guys, thanks.

For those of you composting, don't forget to compost your spent grains. I dump my yeast/trub in the composter as well.

Also, I like clover. Big-money lawn care convinced America it's a weed, but its amazingly beneficial.

And FWIW, I haven't noticed catmint to be as invasive as the other mint (spear, pepper, garden, etc) mint varieties.

Clover may be beneficial, but it looks like ****. No one wants a yard full of clover. dandelions and onions are green, why not have a yard full of them? Plenty of my neighbors do. If your grass turns brown in the summer it's either a cool season grass or it needs to be watered. Planting clover instead is ridiculous.
 
Good stuff. I have spearmint growing around the foundation of my house on one side. Close to my hops. Get what was starting to grow like crazy in my hops beds this spring??

Anyone?

You in the back? That's right, SPEARMINT!

Normally I don't mind it and it's an enjoyable smell when I cut the grass, but that stuff is really taking off in my hops beds! Luckily it pulls out easy.

I'll be taking a shot at more mulching this year. My pile has been going at it for a number of years and I've got a mulch barrel almost built to speed the process and keep it more contained.

And I wouldn't mind the bluegills. They will make more.
 
Clover may be beneficial, but it looks like ****. No one wants a yard full of clover.

To you maybe. I think it looks awesome. And I want a yard full of clover, therefore your statement is incorrect.

dandelions..are green, why not have a yard full of them?

I tried, but clover chokes out dandelions. Too bad, they're an awesome addition to summer salads. Their deep taproot also brings beneficial minerals into the soil, prevents compaction, aids drainage and helps tap into deeper moisture. Quite beneficial.

If your grass turns brown in the summer it's either a cool season grass or it needs to be watered. Planting clover instead is ridiculous.

When all my neighbors waste hours watering their lawn and have huge water bills during the summer, and I'm relaxing on my porch with a homebrew, planting clover doesn't look so ridiculous.
 
I'm not trying to be mean, but if you take pride in how your yard and home looks, having a yard full of clover is only bringing down the value of your home and makes you look lazy, which I'm sure you're not being that your probably out there all the time messing with you garden and hops.

So bascially you'd rather have a lawn full of weeds b/c it's easier and you don't have to water or fertize or mow it? Just listen to how that sounds.

The point of a lawn is to have nice looking grass for asethetics. Yes it requires work and money, but what doesn't?

I have wellwater for my outdoor water use so I water my grass and plants to my hearts delight for about a couple dollars a month. If I didn't have well water, I could set up a rain barrel system to avoid high water bills.
 
Alright, glad you're not trying to be a jerk. Tough to interpret tone via internet. Please excuse my defensive response.

I guess I'm a little sensitive to big-business lawncare calling clover a weed. It was commonplace and desirable in lawns until weed control products killed clover too, so they just called it a weed. The whole concept of a uniform, homogenous lawn strikes me as odd - where else in nature do you have something like that?

I'd rather have a diverse, healthy vibrant lawn that requires less maintenance and resources that is every bit as beautiful and functional as anything else.

I realize its not mainstream, but I'm not some hippie granola-head hipster, quite the opposite actually. And I don't buy the home value / lazy argument either...my neighbors come to me for gardening / yardwork questions and always admire my yard, for what that's worth.

I do have a rainbarrel (3 actually), but its nowhere near enough water for a full lawn in the heat of the summer.

Anyway, good conversation to have, I appreciate challenges to conventional wisdom. You're ok in my book ;)
And sorry to everyone else for the OT convo. Hops are cool, haha.
 
If I didn't have well water, I could set up a rain barrel system to avoid high water bills.
Maybe if you burried a huge cistern. Rain barrels for a whole lawn? They don't even keep up with my berries and tomatoes!
I do have a rainbarrel (3 actually), but its nowhere near enough water for a full lawn in the heat of the summer.
Nevermind... this.
 
Yeah, my bad for sidetracking (but informative sidetracking, no?). Still is a good, informative thread. E.g., Randar's post above - I did not know that Beebalm is crazy invasive.
 
Maybe if you burried a huge cistern. Rain barrels for a whole lawn? They don't even keep up with my berries and tomatoes!

Nevermind... this.

Yes, but you're assuming I have a big lawn.

Actually I do have a big lawn but luckily I do have the well water. But here in NC, centipede grass loves the heat and is very drought tolerant.

I have a 2-bin compost pile myself. I end up with a lot of compostable material from my lawn clippings, leaves in the fall, coffee grinds/filters, leftover food, and all the weeds I pull from my grass. I love how I can have it almost full, then check back a couple weeks later and it's shrunk to like half the size. This is only my second year growing hops, so I put compost around them a few weeks ago, but I'll have to read up on how to fertilize them as they get going this summer.
 
...I love how I can have it almost full, then check back a couple weeks later and it's shrunk to like half the size.

Agreed. Still amazes me...where's it all go?

IME good compost is plenty sufficient fertilizer for hops. But I'm not comparing it to anything else.
 
Yeah, my bad for sidetracking (but informative sidetracking, no?). Still is a good, informative thread. E.g., Randar's post above - I did not know that Beebalm is crazy invasive.

It's not... lemon balm is! :D


Sorry, my bad for not being more clear.:mug:
 
I'm just growing my hops for fun and taking advantage of the free energy the sun is providing to help supply my home brewing hobby. I'm not worried about fertilizing them to a science to maximize my yeild. I might add a little slow release fert at some point when there growing like crazy but that's about it.
 
paulster,

The biggest problem you'll encounter by planting them adjacent to a grass area is that if the rhizomes spread underground into the grass area which they probably will, you'll never know it until you don't mow the grass for a month. You'll see some tiny little serpent heads poking out above the grass and when you take a closer look you'll realize that's them. So if you ever decide to sell the house, make sure the grass is cut and looks pretty before you sign the papers (hahaha).

Not to worry my friend! My grass grows like a pile of poo so any hop-spreading will be most-welcome!

If I ever sell this place, I plan on returning every fall to harvest the old crop.
 
Right on! The garlic that doesn't make the cut for planting in the Fall gets tossed out in the yard. Adds for an interesting texture when things get growing the following Spring. Must be a good bit of 'N' in the garlic, or the sulfur compounds that are released lower the pH because those spots get really nice and dark green. Still haven't figured that one out yet. Hop to it . . .
 
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