South Florida Hop Growing

I live in Pompano...just North a couple of miles of Sunrise and am very encouraged about this. I just ordered 5 Rhizomes and plan to plant these....thanks fo rthe post

I too want to try in central Florida. Thanks for the tips. I have the perfect spot picked out if SWMBO let's me have a small spot in her garden. I hear home grown hops have much more flavor than the LHBS can carry.

durandf said:

I live in Pompano...just North a couple of miles of Sunrise and am very encouraged about this. I just ordered 5 Rhizomes and plan to plant these....thanks fo rthe post

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Glad to hear you are inspired, let me know which varieties produce cones. As Ive mentioned in the thread my cascades have grown like gangbusters but the nuggets did squat.

Morning sun and you should be gold, especially with cascades, they grow like weeds.

edecambra said:

Glad to hear you are inspired, let me know which varieties produce cones. As Ive mentioned in the thread my cascades have grown like gangbusters but the nuggets did squat.

Morning sun and you should be gold, especially with cascades, they grow like weeds.

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Yes I have read your posts and think I have the perfect spot. I just ordered from Williams.
2- CASCADE HOP RHIZOME
2- CHINOOK HOP RHIZOME

I had them shipped USPS so I hope I get them in good condition.

It sounds like I should get them in the ground soon and give the roots some time before the hot days of summer. I also hope I might get a jump on the growth cycle as the days are changing soon. I think most of the cold snaps are behind us now.

When would you plant in my case?

I have a second floor balcony above the garden I can throw a line down 14' for them to grow up. But,
I like your idea of weaving the trellis and keeping everything easy to pick.

Honestly, I would do the line down from the balcony. The only thing easy about picking my hops is that they are all in front of me. When you pick them it seems best to chop them down and pick the hops after you have chopped the bines, and a line would make that super easy. Untangling the hops off the trellis is not a huge pain, but not cake either. I just don't have a way to tie the lines to the roof, and I didn't think my HOA would like long bines up the side of the building (in a condo)

I would go ahead a plant them now. I let them grow through the "winter" and just cut them back a few weeks ago. I've yet to see any growth but I know they are healthy and kicking, the crown is HUGE underground.

Great, Thanks I'll let you know how it works out. I should have them this weekend I think.

edecambra said:

When you pick them it seems best to chop them down and pick the hops after you have chopped the bines, and a line would make that super easy. Untangling the hops off the trellis is not a huge pain, but not cake either. I just don't have a way to tie the lines to the roof, and I didn't think my HOA would like long bines up the side of the building (in a condo)

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dunno if it's different for a nice warm place like FL, but i've read that it is best to leave the bines in place after harvesting. once they've done flowering (and we've picked the cones), the plants get ready for winter by storing up energy in the roots. the bines will eventually die back, and can be cleaned up once they're mostly wilted. if you chop down the entire plant at harvest, it won't have time to transfer energy from flowering to root storage.

but maybe your warm location the plants don't hibernate, so they don't need that post-harvest-store-up-for-winter period?

im born in raised in south fl and ive done plenty of landscaping. the thing that works so well about our growth patterns is that they tend to stay vegetative almost year round with multiple flowering periods for certain plants..... so all in all, im not surprised as a fellow floridian it could be done. But thank you for proving it and giving me the inspiration to follow suit

also as a tip....the starbucks down here has a basketin their shop with bags of coffee grounds labeled 'Grounds for your Garden'......its all the coffee grounds they go through and they GIVE THEM AWAY 4 FREE. They are really good for your soil for many reasons and did i say free?

I would like to chime in i also am growin in fl i had luck getting sime cascades to grow and produce. Not as good as op bc of a few mistakes in judgenent i made which i am rectifying this year.

@ keywestbrewer
I grew up in kw myself i sent some rhizomes to my dad but he didnt plant them till like may or june and had very little growth out of them. Im interested to see how they do this year.

Got my hops, in the ground this weekend

rgarry said:

Got my hops, in the ground this weekend

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I'm still waiting for mine to arrive. They said they are not shipping till the 22nd.
Where did you get yours?
I’m really looking forward to brewing with home grown hops. I hear they are much more intense than the hops that have been shipped around and are old.

I'll let you know when I get home. It was a site that I saw recommended here. I bought mostly c hops and will hope for the best

My rhizomes arrived earlier this week; purchased from www.thymegarden.com

So I just finished my gardening for the year, and dug up the original nugget rhizomes. I was absolutey amazed how huge they were when compared with the tiny ones I planted. Like I've said in the thread, the nuggets did squat so they are gone and i split up the cascade roots and am looking to do all the same plant, for consistency and a larger yield with my limited space. I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

Also if any of you local guys want a bit of cascade cuttings and/or those nugget crowns, you can have em!

Ok as promised some photos of my roots.


Two on the right are nugget and the one on the left is half of the cascade.

Nugget


Cascade


And my puppy

I planted cenntinial, cascade, nugget and williamette. Will see what happens. If they grow, ten I will start makinging a trellace.

I am really stoked to see some others growing hops in FL. New breeds here we come! I grew 7 different types of hops last year and one thing I learned from it is to have something strong for them to climb on. I am going to use rope this year as the main support and let the coir twine spiral up it for the hops to get a good grasp. Hard rains and birds tore through mine. I guess the birds like to make nests with it or maybe it was the squirrels. I'd come out to find my twine in knots.
The pics above were from the first year which I first planted them in June of 2011 and most of the plants grew to about 15 feet which is the top of my trellis. I used all new soil from a nursery and a bunch of mushroom compost from bags. I went too deep with a couple of the rhizomes I think because this year when I went through and cleaned up the hop garden I found them down below in the same place I put them rotted and wet. That that was only 2 of them though.
The ones that grew well were Centennial, Mt. Hood, Nugget, Brewer's Gold, and Willamette. Northern Brewer was the only one that didn't make it. The roots on all the rest were CRAZY. These suckers love to grow. The ones in the pots went right through the bottom of the pots into the ground.
Another thing I wish I had done was to take out all the grass where I put the box bed and dig down a little then put a weed screen then all the dirt and compost on top of that. The guy at the nursery said with the amount of dirt and mulch I was putting down it would smother out the grass but guess what..... I HAVE FREAKIN BERMUDA GRASS ALL IN MY HOP BED, JERK. Finally I got it out to some people I am sure would sympathize with my anger.
I attached some pics for you to check out. I can't wait for year 2!

I hear you, it is like the last frontier.... well maybe not.

I am positive that you are in even a different climate than us down in South FL, and glad to hear that you can get some buds on the Nuggets, as they did nothing for me. I would suggest some cascades if you are interested. I heard on the Brewing network interview with a farmer that they are one of the heartiest varietals and can withstand most extreme conditions. My first yield was proof positive of that. i

Just like you I can't wait to see the second year yield, I got my sprouts starting as we speak.

Also, it looks like you are in more of a swamp than us down in the big swamp!

Planted mine and will see how they go. Was doing to use a twine to make a trellis up to the top of the pool cage. Was going to see if they grow before I spend the time. It won't look pretty but hopefully it will get the job done. I also just put it in the ground. The soil was pretty much clay with some top soil from the years of mulch. Will see

I am in Jacksonville by the beaches. I just got my cascade and magnum rhizomes yesterday along with a couple hundred feet of coir yarn made from coconut husk. This stuff looks really strong. I am going to give it a try this year. I got all my rhizomes and coir yarn from freshops.com.

I just put my •2 of: CASCADE HOP RHIZOME
•2 of: CHINOOK HOP RHIZOME
(I hate Fire Ants)
I will grow it to the 2nd floor balcony where it can go horizontal along the railing wires.
Good East / South morning sun with afternoon shade.

Sounds good, wish you both the best.

My transplant cascade is sprouting, and the established one is 6 inches already.

Glad I found this thread...I was told that I wouldn't be successful growing hops in South Florida. Just placed an order for the rhizomes (Centennial & Cascades) and heading to the Home Depot.

edecambra said:

Sounds good, wish you both the best.

My transplant cascade is sprouting, and the established one is 6 inches already.

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So how long should it take to break ground if I did everything right?
I know it is first year so I'm just in a rush.
I have rope ready to sting up to the second floor.
I can't wait.

ArcaneXor said:

Good on you. Pretty much everyone I have talked to hasn't had any luck growing hops in the panhandle and central Florida.

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I am smack dab in the middle of Central Fla and will show whatever results I get. I will have 4 varieties and 10 rhizomes in the ground when the final batch arrives. I have managed to grow all kinds of "southern averse" veggies with just a bit of patience and paying attention to the watering and shade schedules. I am pretty sure it can be done and am currently attempting to prove my theory with a short test plot and trellis system. HTH.

"I got my chair, let's ride...Bob"

Cascades from a crown I got from Thejiro(Thanks Man!!) Planted in early march. Sprouted the surface in like a week.

Took this pic this morning. Its about a month old now and really starting to take off. Each bine has been growing about 2 inches a day.

I'm in Tampa and planted just about a week ago. Checked them today and seen this. First time growing hops.

I am near West Palm Beach. I planted cascades and centennial almost two weeks ago. I planted the rhizomes nearly 4 inches deep. My cascades is like Gallaghers and the centennials are about half that.

Planted mine March 25th in Orlando and still nothing.
Do I need to keep them wetter?
More mulch?
Can I uncover them to check on them?

Gallagher said:

I'm in Tampa and planted just about a week ago. Checked them today and seen this. First time growing hops.

View attachment 57083

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Awesome!

CourtHouseBrewing said:

Planted mine March 25th in Orlando and still nothing.
Do I need to keep them wetter?
More mulch?
Can I uncover them to check on them?

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I would let them be, of you are watering them regularly and lightly. Mulch is always good but don't dig, it may do more harm than anything

edecambra said:

I would let them be, of you are watering them regularly and lightly. Mulch is always good but don't dig, it may do more harm than anything

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Yes I water with the garden every other day.
I have coffee grinds on them and they are in a mound about 2 to 3 inches deep.

(Coral Springs, FL) I received my rhizomes and planted (2) Cascades & (2) Centennial on April 7th. On April 12th, the first Centennial appeared and yesterday, the 14th, the first Cascade appeared. So far, so good.

CourtHouseBrewing said:

Yes I water with the garden every other day.
I have coffee grinds on them and they are in a mound about 2 to 3 inches deep.

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I wouldn't put fresh coffee grounds directly on them. Coffee tends to be pretty acidic and hops like a more neutral pH. Also be very careful not to keep it too wet or the roots may rot. Roots need AIR as well as water and nutrients.

Yeah I want clear, frequent light waterings are best.

Great; I'm jealous that others have seen the sprout already.
Thanks for the coffee tip I thought I read to do that.
Our soil here in Florida is mostly sand that we try to beef up with homemade compost.
So I think the roots dry enough in-between watering’s. Should I feed with Miracle Grow?

kirkc8099 said:

(Coral Springs, FL) I received my rhizomes and planted (2) Cascades & (2) Centennial on April 7th. On April 12th, the first Centennial appeared and yesterday, the 14th, the first Cascade appeared. So far, so good.

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How deep did you plant?