1st Home Grown Hops

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.

BrewChem

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
388
Reaction score
459
I've been reading on the subject and wanted to give growing my own a try. I'm starting out somewhat small with a vine each of my two most often used hops... Nugget and Fuggles. I ordered the rhizomes so they're on the way, just need to get the plot prepped.

My house is surrounded with tall, fairly thick trees and is well shaded as well as no gutters so, I kept an eye out throughout the day for the spot with the best sun exposure... fortunately, there are two trees about 6' apart right in the middle just off the back of my house...

7152-hop-spot.jpg


Spent the morning clearing the ground and all the limbs on the trees up to 17' ...that was as far as I could reach standing on the tippy-top rung of my extension ladder while hugging the tree trunk with one arm while sawing.

I then tilled the soil, removed as many roots of plants that I could then built a box. Filled the box with a mix of new topsoil mixed with some manure compost and sand then covered with mulch. For the bine support, I concocted a support that I could attach ropes to then raise/lower.

7153-hop-spot-2.jpg


Only thing I'm somewhat concerned about are the bines getting tangled together in future seasons or reaching the top and climbing the trees... an issue for another day... this should get me started... just need the rhizomes.

I'll add some pix as things progress...
 
Great set up! Looks very well done. One thing you could think about is making the lines on your trellis adjustable so you could let out line (and lower the vine) as it reaches the top.

Don't be too disappointed if you don't get a great harvest this year, but next year you should be golden!
 
They are adjustable... the 2x2 at the top has ropes attached to each end that are theaded through eyelets in the tree trunks that are meant to be used to lower the top of the trellis as needed.

Yeah... from what I've read, the fist year is all about establishing a healthy root system. I don't have the greenest thumb in the world ... lol ... I'll be ticked to just get something out of the ground and a few feet up the rope..!
 
Wooo-Hooo.... my rhizomes were waiting for me when I got home today..! They were much bigger that what I was expecting, about 1" in diameter with several little buds popping out here and there...

7201-rhizomes.jpg


We've had some rain recently so the soil is nice and damp so... no time like the present...

7202-planting-rhizomes.jpg


Now ... I wait ... hate this part...
 
First sign of life... it's aliiiiiiiiiive..!! lol..!

7373-sprout.jpg
 
NIce, that was only about a week or so right? I just planted 5 rhizomes and am waiting for mine to sprout.... I think I got them from same supplier as you, tags look exactly the same.
 
Very nice, they will come up fast and with good soil and sun be little giants before you know it.
Good job!
 
Way to go....so jealous...I had 8 rhizomes in my shopping cart but had to cancel because I know they'd just bake and never survive here in Phoenix Az....
 
Proud of my little sprout...! We've been little short on sunshine here in MN lately but 'tis early in the year. I ordered them from freshops.com ... paid a few bucks less then if I'da went through the LHBS and got them in the ground a little quicker too..!
 
They'll be up before you know it. We've had some unseasonably warm weather in Indiana and those things have gotten pretty bushy in a few weeks. Since your weather is usually behind us a little, here's what you have to look forward to!

Got my cuttings from Tyme garden

120331_00a.jpg


120319_003.jpg
 
I've been reading on the subject and wanted to give growing my own a try. I'm starting out somewhat small with a vine each of my two most often used hops... Nugget and Fuggles. I ordered the rhizomes so they're on the way, just need to get the plot prepped.

My house is surrounded with tall, fairly thick trees and is well shaded as well as no gutters so, I kept an eye out throughout the day for the spot with the best sun exposure... fortunately, there are two trees about 6' apart right in the middle just off the back of my house...

7152-hop-spot.jpg


Spent the morning clearing the ground and all the limbs on the trees up to 17' ...that was as far as I could reach standing on the tippy-top rung of my extension ladder while hugging the tree trunk with one arm while sawing.

I then tilled the soil, removed as many roots of plants that I could then built a box. Filled the box with a mix of new topsoil mixed with some manure compost and sand then covered with mulch. For the bine support, I concocted a support that I could attach ropes to then raise/lower.

7153-hop-spot-2.jpg


Only thing I'm somewhat concerned about are the bines getting tangled together in future seasons or reaching the top and climbing the trees... an issue for another day... this should get me started... just need the rhizomes.

I'll add some pix as things progress...

Great looking trellis though your spot looks kinda shady (as in filtered sun). Hops are pretty sun hungry and if they don't get at least 6-8 hours of full sun, you yields will suffer.
 
Yeah... that's the bee-yotch about my yard and house... it's surrounded by oodles of tall pines. The spot I chose gets the most sun throughout the course of a day and as the days get longer and the sun's arc shifts going into summer, it'll get several hours of direct light.
 
First sign of greenage..!! Wooo-Hoooo...!!

7447-hop2.jpg


I'm so hoppeeeee..!! Haha..!
 
Hops have feelings... we ask an awful lot of them for our beer. Have you tried talking nicely to them and offering encouragement..?
 
Lol..! Just kidding...! Do you have them in soil that can drain.. i.e. not hard clay..? Give them a little fertilizer or compost..?
 
I wonder if they didn't make the winter I dug down today and the roots are not woody at all. Like a noodle consistency and there is a blue mold on the roots.

The soil drains well...

I will give them another two weeks and then start over with a rhizome or two.
 
If you do start over, you can spend a few extra bucks and buy year old crowns.
 
Crazy freakin' weather... had a mini snowstorm monday and a hard freeze overnight tuesday. Was worried about the sprouts but, appears those hops are heardy little buggers..!

7506-hop3.jpg


Still coming along nicely..!
 
Congrats on the sprouts! Keep up posted on the growth rates, etc. I'm still waiting for mine to come break the surface, but then again, it has only been 1 week for mine. I planted 8 rhizomes and if they all survive and flourish, I have no idea what I am going to do with all of the hops in a few years from now. It will be a good problem to have....I guess. I am in a similar situation to you, so I took advantage of trees on my property as well. It seems very similar to your situation, they get sun for several hours in the a.m. and early afternoon and then again in the evening from the back side. I hope it's enough, because it was a lot of work! Check out my thread and offer me any bit of advice that you can along the way, because I'm new at this as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/hoppos-hops-garden-320941/

Keep us posted! :mug:
 
Did you wind up restarting by planting crowns, or are those sprout photos from the original rhizomes?

I've had 6 rhizomes in the ground for almost 6 weeks and have 0 sprouts to show for it. I'm more than a little nervous.
 
These sprouts are from the rhizomes I planted 5 weeks ago... this was taken this morning, one week after the previous photo...

7543-hop4.jpg
 
Did you wind up restarting by planting crowns, or are those sprout photos from the original rhizomes?

I've had 6 rhizomes in the ground for almost 6 weeks and have 0 sprouts to show for it. I'm more than a little nervous.

If you don't see anything soon, I suppose you could carefully dig them up and take a look-see if they're budding any. Did you plant them right-side up..?
 
I did. Maybe they're just off to a slow start sure to the cooler weather we've had since I planted? I'll try to take a peek at them before I throw in the towel.
 
I'm trying to grow down here in South Carolina. I got 6 rhizomes 2 each of cascade, cent, and colombus. Planted 3 weeks ago, buds have sprung up on everything except the centennial. Hmmm....maybe I'll gently dig it up tommorow and see what's up
 
Won't be too much longer and the nugget bine will be ready to start on the rope... the fuggles will be a little behind. The growth pattern looks a little different... the nugget has one bine that's shot up with three really small ones just now starting to sprout leaves while the fuggles grew several shoots but aren't as tall as the nugget. Dunno if this is typical for these types of hops, just an observation. I'm just tickled to have green-age..!

Also noticed that the leaves are quite different. The fuggles is more of an oval, single leaf while the nugget has a tri-lobed (mapleleaf-like) look...

Fuggles....
7556-fuggles.jpg


Nugget...
7557-nugget.jpg
 
Is that spot you've done up for one plant or both? That's kind of close to be planting two varieties. They will tangle together something awful, which makes keeping them seperate during harvest a bit of a pain. Besides, once they reach maturity, you want two strings per crown with 2-3 bines per string.
 
Yeah... things I've thought about but I'm sorta short on space with access to sunlight so... I'll jump the hurdles as I get to them. Thanks tho..!
 
I wanted to share some picks o my set up.

I built an adjustable trellis out of some planks twine and eye hooks. I have three varieties cascade (1st year rhizome) Hallertau (2nd year crown) and fuggles (2nd year crown).

The Hallertau is taking off well, the fuggles alittle slower and the cascade just has a single small sprout.

I am anxious to see how well these bad boys take off. I just gave them some dilute fertilizer.

image-3043798570.jpg


image-1602390410.jpg


image-3704257175.jpg
 
NICE..!! Wish I had a spot with more sun exposure like yours. My fuggles is the slow-poke too... got your brews planned out for your harvest..?
 
The Nugget went on the rope today..! The Fuggles isn't quite there yet.

image-3573386815.jpg
 
Cut the bottoms out? Naw, I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom and side. I am in medical school so when I move to residency I'd like to take my plants with me. I figure I should get a few good years out of the tubs as they are 40 gallons. If I have too I can always cut the roots back for rhizomes.
 
Took a peek at the plot this morning... the Fuggles reached the rope and is starting to climb..!

7630-fuggles.jpg


And the Nugget has gained about 5 inches since I last looked...

7631-nugget.jpg
 
Back
Top