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DMCarson

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I started growing hops last year. Before I actually really got deep into brewing...partly cause I like growing veggies etc, and since I was a kid was always told I had a green thumb. Never believed em til I grew an orchid.

So I read in a brewing magazine a way to do it in tubs. I found at home depot the cheapest 19 gals for about $4-$6. Also take not I got a little bit of a slow start because I didnt plant til 4/03. You can order from freshops.com early in march. Because of this I had a limited selection. I chose Centennial, Chinook, Cascade, Mt Hood, Nugget, and Galena(later added willamete)

04/03/2009

Thats a larks head on a pvc at the bottom where I drilled holes.
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I then picked up potting soil, I went with the coir infused miracle grow moisture control, I wouldnt choose this again...I would go with the norm miracle grow.
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My father works/worked with aluminum angle for a curtan wall(skyrise construction) company so I have lots of experience with that so I threw something together for a at the time (temp?) trellis.
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I would say about 1 bag per tub. Also .... drip system will save your sanity and will allow your vines to get their water not only when they need it, how much they need, and every morning. I wouldnt leave it up to my memory or availability to do this. Drip systems arnt hard to put together and their not terribly expensive if your serious about this kind of venture.
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Freshops.com has lots of help on your rhizomes so check it out but basically put your roots in the fridge when they come(faster shipping helps based on your distance from them) One of my roots after a week or two had some white fuzzy spots on them and they recommended me to use a bleach solution brush it on the spots then rinse it and put it back in the soil. The reason for the spots was possibly humidity in transit. So also flip som manure and good blood and bone meal in your soil mixed toward the bottom and top. Ive heard 16-16-16 slow release pellets if your that lazy or I watered with mix in fertilizer food solution every 1-2 weeks.

The following are after a month, they vary because certain ones got sun almost all of the day. Some 3/4 of the day. Also remember to clip the first couple shoots that come up, give way for stronger ones. also allow about 2 vines per twine(rope). I have 2 rhizomes of the same kind in each tub because I ran 2 trellis twines. The twin is made of coconut husk fibers. when you plant them plant with the "knots" up or if you have shoots plant with those up. Also I placed wood chip mulch on the soil to keep the moisture from drying out with surface sun.

05/03/2009
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cascade

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centennial

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chinook

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willamette 2 weeks(planted later)

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galena

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mt hood
 
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nugget

OLD DOG RUN< FUTURE GARDEN AND HOME OF HOPS
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While working on the garden in the back I saw a fox which is wierd cause I live in Los Angeles Suburbia coyotes are much more common but yeah it was cool
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When the bines from the main vine start reaching a tip and also have off shoots these which will grow out and duplicate cell upon cell to produce the hops bracts.
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This all occurred at about 05/25/2009

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06/08/2009
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the rope is because wind blew the whole thing over.

GOTTA LOVE WHEN YOUR GIRLFRIEND MAKES AN EFFORT TO GET INVOLVED
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also 06/08/2009
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Now while I was away it fell over again...and I had some casualties. one galena broke low and grew back to the height by the end of my southern cal growing season(sept/oct/nov) but never produced substantial hop harvest. The other was a section of another vine.
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this hastened the move to my plan a little sooner.

galvanized fence pipe about 15' each in height. ran a rope over the top so I could lower the vines for harvest.
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I was lucky to have the fence posts cemented into the ground to slide the two coupled 15.5' pipes equaling to a 31' trellis.
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This is a picture of the smaller second harvest. the hops that each plant produces vary in size and amount depending on when you harvest. the goal is to harvest them when they reach their peak size but in year two I imagine they will focus their energy on he flower production and not as much the root. The bracts(flower pedals) will turn from a leathery texture to a papery feel and it is then time.

So after harvesting I dried them on a window screen in the shed allowing for no wind and a warm low/zero moisture temp even at night. Light is also discouraged. All info can be found on freshops.com I ended with about 3 low to medium harvests from 2 of my hop types, 2 from 2 others and 1 from 1 other. The galena never produced after the mishap. Hopefully this year.
From what Ive read they dont usually even produce a harvest the first year because their root focus takes energy. The hops are dry enough when the center twig in the middle of the cone snaps in half instead of just bending. You should then invest and buy a food saver and seal them in weighted 1 and 1/2 oz amounts then freeze them in a brown paper bag. They smash and I would suggest maybe placing them in nylon or musilyn hop bags before sealing them because the yellow lubilin will be squeezed out onto the inside of the seal bags when you want it going into your wort. Another idea to help with length of freshness is to purge the bag with co2 before filling it with your hops then foodsaver vacseal it.


Also this year I am moving the roots into the ground out of the tubs. I will be diggin about 2 feet down and placing manure in the bottom .5 foot then planting soil and some compost 50/50 mix the root will be in the 2nd foot and will place a hill mound on the top soil to allow for moisture assistance, also another trick to help with the morning dew is to remove the bottom 4 ft of leaves after the vines get to about 8+ feet. Allowing for the leaves towards the cooler bottom to not be there to be at risk for mildew(white cloudy sweat stain looking disease) that eventually turns to a yellow leaf which should be pulled off. if you have the white cloudy stain lightly spray a hydrogen peroxide/water 1-6 solution in the am to help kill the mildew spray.
 
Unrelated: after my jalopenos, bell peppers, 3 basils, and other stuff got into their rightful spots in the new box garden(also drip system)
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The following is after they started to die and cut back, certain ones sooner than others based on their type I believe or also some mildew effects. the two vines that had three "harvests" produced the last towards the end.
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as you can see they get rather large, this is the chinook, (they all have their own disctinct look also both hop and leaf, youll pick up on them)
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CURRENT PICS COMING SOON
:mug:
 
Today I did the "initial" cut of the first vines to start growing, giving some more energy to back to the roots prior to allowing the second set of vines to go and keep growing. Several of them had almost 10 starter vines and they were the healthy dark brown instead of the beginner, immature light green vines. This will be a great season I think, just need to drop them into the ground this week with some bags of manure under them.

:ban:
 
I can see all the pics...maybe his internet is running slow as they are larger sized images....
 
Today I did the "initial" cut of the first vines to start growing, giving some more energy to back to the roots prior to allowing the second set of vines to go and keep growing. Several of them had almost 10 starter vines and they were the healthy dark brown instead of the beginner, immature light green vines. This will be a great season I think, just need to drop them into the ground this week with some bags of manure under them.

:ban:

NEARLY A MONTH LATER:

I dug out the location of where the hops will be put into the ground. It was good I got to it. I would have to say that the first season in the containers I would still recommend but would have to say that immediately after the season ends...(if your in a zone like zone 9 that doesn't have to worry about frost) stick them in the ground when all is done in say...november. The roots as you will see below were very strong and developed and in search of more room. So much that they made their way into the ground through the drainage holes of the containers. This would not have been so bad if they could still drain but with roll of nickel size roots the holes were plugged. I luckily drip system water them sparingly and they werent too soaked by the time I got them out of the containers. I did lose one to it rotting from the moisture. So take a look at the photos below and lean from my mistakes and triumphs...>>>

Started out with digging out the trench, all the soil is basically clay because it was filler soil when the house plots/foundations were set.

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I tossed in some gypsum and cultivated it into the clay to allow the clay to absorb water instead of repelling it.
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next up some manure to help replenish the soil, I also evenly mixed 50/50 compost with the top soil(clay) with things like manure, soil amender, gypsum, and other 16-16-16 fertilizer to help feed the hops

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as you can see the roots were flourishing prior to the season ending. I was very happy to get them out of the containers.

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this is the cascade with the container removed. I actually opted to cut the containers in half and utilize the top half to provide support to the "mound" I also as you will see in lower pictures set up the hop twine to run up each side of the plant. I also was able to thin out the base of each vine. It is important to wait till the vine is about 3-4 feet long so that it has enough leaves on it that when it loses the bottom foot of leaves it still has enough to continue to grow strong. The reason that this is so important to cut out the bottom leaves is to allow the plants to have good air flow at the base and also has good loose soil that allows proper drainage. Watering just before sun up allows the leaves to be protected from being burnt when people water to late. Also only water the base of the plant. Refrain from letting the leaves get wet. White powdery mildew will inspire the leaves to turn yellow and limp.

Now for more pictures.

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The above pictures were before the vines were thinned out. I selected the best 3-4 per hop twine line and wrapped them around the twin clock wise to follow the sun.

You might also notice the bark ground cover to help keep some moisture in the soil. It helps cut down on the soils moisture evaporating out into the air.

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notice the williamette is taller than I am after a little more than one month.

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I was going to sink in stakes but decided to go with more stable eye bolts and running the lines up form the collars cut from the containers(fyi $6 at home depot)
 
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