Sunny South Georgia, hoppy future?

shlegminitism · 10-30-2009, 06:34 AM

I was curious as to what hops might successfully grow in Georgia, about an hour north of the Florida line. I have heard of some success in warmer climates with some more than others.

Also, while were on the hopic (if i may), does anyone know anything about whether or not any special licensing or anything is needed to grow hops for selling?
I have my first home-brewing experience bucketed up and it has some activity which seems a good sign; not sure what to expect. I used about a pound and a half of medium crystal malt, a half pound dark crystal malt (too much altogether?), 6 pounds of munton's amber DME, a little less than a cup of brown sugar (overkill?), and some danstar windsor ale yeast. Anyone know specifically what kind of ale this would be classified as? If she's a dirty little vixen like i hope she is, i will name her Alevira.
Thanks!

shlegminitism · 10-30-2009, 06:43 AM

Oh yea, forgot the hops i added to my brew while writing a post about hops. Shameful. Anyways, i had an ounce of northern brewers and an ounce of fuggles, all pellets. I'd say about 2/3 of the northern brewers made it in for 60 min, the rest of the NB and about half of the fuggles for 15, and the rest of the fuggles to finish it up. It smelled pretty good. Any better methods of hopping up an ale or better choices of hops/yeast/etc would be appreciated.

johnnyc · 10-30-2009, 12:38 PM

I grew Cascade this year in Atlanta and it grew very quickly. Only got a few cones but that's expected the first year. With our climate we can plant them much earlier than up north. I'm moving mine in Feb and expect them to take off in April.

rotary_full · 10-30-2009, 05:37 PM

I was wanting to grow some this upcoming season too. Where did you buy your hop rhizomes from?

shlegminitism · 10-30-2009, 05:43 PM

You can just google "buy hop rhizomes" to find plenty of sources, but i haven't found any that weren't waiting until around march to sell them.

johnnyc · 10-30-2009, 05:44 PM

www.freshops.com It says look for them mid March.

**david_42** · 10-30-2009, 08:14 PM

The are a few places that will take an order now, but you still won't get them until Spring. It does put you at the head of the line.

pilotdane · 11-01-2009, 01:50 AM

I'm a first year hops grower in North Carolina with Cascade, Sterling, Nugget and Magnum. Cascade and Nugget took off and produced well and each bine produced more than a half pound dried. Magnum was a slow starter but produced well at the end of the season. Sterling only produced a few cones and seemed lucky to survive.

Atl300zx · 11-01-2009, 01:03 PM

i grew cascade and this is my second year. the vine was 20+ feet tall but i only ended up netting 3/4 of an ounce. im hoping for a better turn out next year.

MVKTR2 · 11-03-2009, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shlegminitism

I was curious as to what hops might successfully grow in Georgia, about an hour north of the Florida line. I have heard of some success in warmer climates with some more than others.

Also, while were on the hopic (if i may), does anyone know anything about whether or not any special licensing or anything is needed to grow hops for selling?
I have my first home-brewing experience bucketed up and it has some activity which seems a good sign; not sure what to expect. I used about a pound and a half of medium crystal malt, a half pound dark crystal malt (too much altogether?), 6 pounds of munton's amber DME, a little less than a cup of brown sugar (overkill?), and some danstar windsor ale yeast. Anyone know specifically what kind of ale this would be classified as? If she's a dirty little vixen like i hope she is, i will name her Alevira.
Thanks!

As for your bier, you've got too much crystal malt in there but otherwise I'd say you're probably okay. Look at an online recipator (recipe calculator) like the one at tastybrew.com or google another one up. Also read How to Brew online at howtobrew.com.

For hops it really depends on your growing location. How much high-noon and early afternoon (up until 5-6 PM) are they going to get in this location? That's the most important question we in the south can ask when selecting varieties to grow. My old home had 5 huge mature oak trees in the back yard providing fantastic cover through most of the day, from about 1:30 till a hour before sunset they were in shade. My Cascades and Goldings (Kent Goldings) did wonderful. Most people in the south have NO, NONE, ZERO (you get the idea?) luck with Goldings and other British or Northern European hop varieties because they get too hot for too long and too much sun. Yet I found with cover mine flourished to approx. 20' in their first year!

Now I've moved from that home to a new location, a parsonage. As such I moved my existing hops to a new location at my parents home as well as planting 2 plants on a small scale lattice work at my new home. Both locations are extremely similar with plants close to a tree line, but receiving hot southern sunlight for 80%+ of the day! As such my 2nd year Goldings produced exactly 0 cones at their new location under the care of my father who was a professional horticulturalist for almost 20 years! They simply will not produce in the amount of heat and sunlight they're under. My Cascades, Colombus, & Nuggets have performed admirably in their new homes. So if you've got a shaded lot, no problem, grow anything in the south as it'll have enough sunligh. But if there's lots of direct sun, avoid things like Saaz, Fuggles, or Goldings and opt for Cascade, Zeus/Tomohawk/Colombus, Sunbeam (an apparent sun loving breed), and Nuggets among several more. Also when planting do yourself a favor and pour a couple of square feet of potting mix into your hole as it helps to retain moisture in our climate. Don't mulch with pine bark or needles as hop plants don't like the acid. I made that mistake before!

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyc

I grew Cascade this year in Atlanta and it grew very quickly. Only got a few cones but that's expected the first year. With our climate we can plant them much earlier than up north. I'm moving mine in Feb and expect them to take off in April.

Johnny wanted to give you a word of warning on moving your hops. I'd do it in late January in our climate to ensure the plants dormancy. I waited too late this year, my plants already had shoots before I transplanted them to their new site at my parents home. It put all my plants in shock from which they didn't recover and produce nearly the crop they were capable of. As a side note, you'll be AMAZED when you dig these suckers up how big and how far the roots grow out. My first year cascades put out 1/2-3/4" sized roots growing to more than 30" away from the original plant/rhizome site. That's a 60" diameter!!! Freaking amazing for one year!

Schlante,
Phillip

Ps sorry I'm so long winded, can't seem to say anything in shorthand!