$bill

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I have a bunch of rhizomes that I need to get into the ground. There are eight in all: Cascade, Centennial (x2), Fuggle, Goldings, Magnum, Nugget, and Zeus/CTZ.

Here's where I want to plant four or five of them:



I'm thinking to put them about a foot or two from the low brick wall. This is at the southern end of my property, so it gets good sun almost all day long.

The grass has some bermuda grass mixed in, and I'm thinking it might be wise to use some 5 gallon buckets with the bottom cut out as rhizome barriers, both to keep the hops out of the grass and the bermuda grass out of the hops.

I was thinking I'd dig out some holes that are big enough for the bottomless buckets, which I would fill with miracle gro, hops, and maybe some compost.

Do you saavy, experienced hop growers think the hops will bypass the buckets, eventually? Or do I need to even bother with the buckets?

I like low maintenance. The thought of having to constantly pull bermuda grass runners from the hops and vice-versa is very unappealing.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

buzzkill

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the grass will get in the buckets,and the hops will get in the yard. just plant them in the ground. you can prun the roots with a shovel every year.

B-Hoppy

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the hops will not take over your yard unless you discontinue mowing because the mower blade will 'whack' off the hops, keeping them in check. if you stop, there's always the potential for them to rear their 'ugly' heads. in theory, the buckets sound like they'd work. that's how i've been able to maintain my horseradish. keeping the stolons from the bermuda out will be a bigger challenge, unless something like 'Round-up' will work on that type of grass(it's been a long time since turf school and i never really cared for 'warm - season' grasses). one other point, make sure to plant the rhizomes VERTICALLY as they are easier to keep in check that way. good luck.

homebeerbrewer

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I don't know about the grass, but a bucket will keep the hops contained. They usually only go down about 5-6 inches. Leave a few inches of the bucket above ground as well as cutting the bottom off as close to the bottom as you can.

Also, make sure you have something really tall that they can climb. They'll grow to 30 feet.

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Randar

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rhizome barriers will work. Be aware that hops send tap roots down much deeper than this, but the rhizome runners will be within the top 12 " of soil. Like with bamboo, the runners will try to go down and under a barrier but will stop around 12 ". Personally, if I was going to go through the trouble, I would probably want something down at least 18"

I have seen people use culvert pipe and the like that is 24+ inches in diameter. This would certainly give more room for the rhizomes to grow and establish a root system. Be wary of something so small as a 5 gal pail. That is really small unless you're willing to replace it with something bigger in 2 years. Those guys probably will not be very happy confined in such a small space.

Weezknight

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Anyone ever try to use weed fabric?

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GilaMinumBeer

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Why not go up rather than down? A corrugated steel raised bed garden 4foot by 50 foot by 18 Inches cost me $50 in materials for the framework. Soil was much more.

Randar

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You mean that black or gray fabric you put down under mulch to prevent weeds?

That stuff won't work, I assure you (doesn't work to prevent things like raspberries or blackberries from coming up through them). If you are interested, you need to look for rhizome barriers used for bamboo. They are most similar to hops in terms of pervasiveness and rhizome propagation.

Randar

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You have a point there too. taking care of mowing around buckets or culvert pipe will be a PITA too. Probably easier to maintain a rectangular structure.

I still say KISS. Plant them with nice 24" or larger diameter mounds and then dig them up every 2 years to trim the crown and remove bermuda that has invaded.

GilaMinumBeer

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Ayup. And even those can be a pin to install. You have to lay them in at an angle to force the rhisomes upward rather than down.

FWIW, weed barriers don;t even work for weeds.