Can I grow hops in Tucson AZ?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HH60gunner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Messages
387
Reaction score
15
Location
Tucson
Like the title says I'm curious if I would be able to grow hops in Tucson Arizona. Also if I can which would be the best for this environment. Also how long does it take from seed to vine to start being able to harvest? I'm still a noob to brewing, and am an even bigger noob to gardening. Except for my little jalepeno plant that is pretty easily maintained.
 
I just bought 4 hop plants from High Hops in August, put 'em in, and now that they're a little established they're taking off. Some of the younger leaves are burned, but I think as long as you keep them on the North side of your house/residence, they should be fine. I have mine on the north side of my fraternity by the U of A.
 
I just bought 4 hop plants from High Hops in August, put 'em in, and now that they're a little established they're taking off. Some of the younger leaves are burned, but I think as long as you keep them on the North side of your house/residence, they should be fine. I have mine on the north side of my fraternity by the U of A.

Thanks man I appreciate it.
 
Resurrecting this thread.

How are your guys' hops doing? I'm thinking about planting some at my place in Tucson, but I'm not sure if they would be best in the back yard (west facing, full sun from noon-sunset) or along the north side where they would get much less sun. I understand they like "full sun" but that may not be the case in Tucson :D

Do you water daily in the summer?

Thanks for any help!

-J
 
I never got a chance to grow any because I accepted a contract job in Afghanistan so I haven't been home in the past 9 months. Buying a new house though, so hopefully when I get back I'll get my hop garden going.
 
My hops over-wintered nicely into the 2011 season, and now I've lost track of them. A friend offered to take care of them for now and I haven't seen them, lol. But when I did see them back in June 2011, they were really stout, healthy looking plants. I'll have to get a hold of the guy I'm growing them with.

Bottom line is, if you want to grow hops, just try it :) If it doesn't work, there's minimal wasted time and effort, and if it DOES work, you get hops!
 
Oh, I should mention: the gentleman that is taking care of my hops for me is an old hort guy from the UofA that did field trials of hops up in Phoenix (yeah, IN Phoenix before urban sprawl). The trials only lasted a couple years, so they never got full results because the funding got pulled.

He said the plants grew alright and even put on cones, but that they didn't put on all the vegetation needed to make it a commercially viable venture. IMO, this may have been an issue with not giving the field trials enough time for the plants to establish themselves (Dr. Bessey concurred). It could have been a day length issue as well. In any case, they grew and produced cones in Phoenix, which is hotter and nastier for plants than Tucson.
 
My experience with hops is that they'll produce according to several factors, but one of the big ones is soil quality and amount of water provided.

I don't know the price of water in Arizona, but with their water needs and the climate, you're going to need a lot of water for them to put out a healthy yield.

I'd get a 55 gallon bucket or two and set up a rain-catching/auto-watering system. Inexpensive and your girls would be a LOT happier.
 
I've got great pop-up sprinkler irrigation system in my yard already. I converted part of it to a drip system for a tree I planted last fall, and my SWMBO had a nice trellis built for me to plant grapes on... so I've got the infrastructure. I'll be overseas until April though, which should leave me a little time to get some rhizomes in the ground! Water quantity really isn't a problem; it's not too expensive in Tucson. And even though we sometimes get heavy rains in the summer, it is too hot and dry to make a rain barrel worthwhile IMO. I'll post some pics of the yard and hopefully some rhizomes when I get home.
 
Another BUMP of this old thread

Just joined this website and I'm also going to attempt to plant hops in our interesting climate (Tucson, AZ). I apologize if any of my questions are incredibly redundant or trivial and I thank anyone in advance who can help me.

1. When is the best time to plant the rhizomes? Feb, March? can i plant them in the fall if I wanted?
2. Where is best place to plant with our extreme heat (south, west, north) and do they do better in some shade?
3. Any recommended soil. Manually water daily or drip system for best results? Daily H20 requirements?
4. Which varietals do the best and have greatest yield here?
5. Any places in town that sell the rhizomes or just buy online?

I do grow vegetables, herbs, and some fruit so I thought I'd give this a go and give my friend who home brews some free hops so I can feel like I contributed to his tasty beverages. Thanks guys!!
 
Not yet a hop grower...but when I become one, I'm going to look into the Neomexicanus varieties, as they seem better acclimated to our dry, sunny Southwest.
 
Back
Top