Is it still possible to get hops locally?

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7Enigma

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I'd like to give a try at growing a vine or two for use next year (after the initial year of root production). Sounds like I missed the boat on purchasing online. Would a local brew store carry these (I didn't see any when I went to mine), or are these specialty only?

EDIT: Oh I'm in SE PA if anyone happens to read this that is local and has a source.
 
7Enigma said:
I'd like to give a try at growing a vine or two for use next year (after the initial year of root production). Sounds like I missed the boat on purchasing online. Would a local brew store carry these (I didn't see any when I went to mine), or are these specialty only?

EDIT: Oh I'm in SE PA if anyone happens to read this that is local and has a source.

Keystone still might have rhizomes...call em. IIRC the sign was still up the other day when I drove past.

(215) 855-0100

http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/index.cfm?pgid=default
 
brewt00l said:
Keystone still might have rhizomes...call em. IIRC the sign was still up the other day when I drove past.

(215) 855-0100

http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/index.cfm?pgid=default

Thank you very much! I knew someone local would pop in here and give some local advice. Thanks to everyone else as well in case the local contact falls through. Can someone give a general recommendation for a hop species? I'm not looking for anything fancy. I'd love to eventually use this for brewing (either bitter or for aroma/flavor), but just as much I think it will give some uniqueness to the front of the house (I plan to put an iron 10ft tall spike in the ground near our front flower bed).

I think I might have to put a sign out front on the poll that says, "Attention POTHEADS, this is not for smoking!", otherwise I might just find some hippies smoking my hops in my lawn. :fro:

EDIT: So the keystone site has a great online shopper and here are my hop choices (I don't know if they are listed even if out of stock), so some advice would be great. I don't know how closely the rhizomes can be planted together? The space I'm looking to plant is very limited (probably 3 feet in diameter), so I don't want to crowd them out.

Here's the listed choices:

Cascade, Centennial, Goldings, Hallertau , Horizon, Liberty, Mount Hood, Nugget, Sterling, Tettnang, Willamette.


One last question, do these rhizomes keep? As in if I buy some now can I store them in a cool dry place for years or do they need to be planted when purchased? I would assume the former, but want to make sure. The prices on that site are really cheap and I assume shipping (even locally) will be more than a single rhizome, so why not stock up? Especially if the hop "shortage" were to get worse! :)

EDIT #2: Bah! I just called them up and even though they have them all listed and can be added to the online cart they have nothing left in stock.. :( I'm going to give my LHB a call but it looks like I might not be able to get any this year. It's a bummer too since I only need like 1-2 rhizomes.
 
Rhizomes have to be planted within a few weeks. You can keep them a bit longer, if they are cool & moist.

3 ft is only enough room for one plant. Recommended spacing is 5-7 ft. If you think you might have more room next year, I'd get a bunch of 1-2 gallon pots and plant 4-5 varieties.

As to which ones: what do you like?
 
david_42 said:
Rhizomes have to be planted within a few weeks. You can keep them a bit longer, if they are cool & moist.

3 ft is only enough room for one plant. Recommended spacing is 5-7 ft. If you think you might have more room next year, I'd get a bunch of 1-2 gallon pots and plant 4-5 varieties.

As to which ones: what do you like?

I don't think there will be more room (I'm pushing it with the wife even with a single plant). The only part of our property that gets adequate sun is at the front of the house, and so its kind of difficult to find a place that won't look horrible (WAF). I've been given the OK for just this one spot. And honestly I don't think she really knows how tall/large the hops grow... :)

I'm completely new to brewing and so thought something similar to what I purchased for my first brew would be acceptable (Cascade/Nugget). Honestly I don't have grand ambitions of completely being self sufficient with my hops. I just see it as something fun to grow, and if I get usable buds all the better to make a hoppy beer. Otherwise it should be fun to watch grow at such an explosive rate.

Unfortunately (if you saw my last edit) I jumped the gun assuming if they had the rhizomes listed on their website they would have them in stock. They're completely out as per my phone call. So unless my local shop has some squirreled away, or someone generous on this site is local and can spare a rhizome I'm out of luck.
 
So I just checked out Freshhops and they still seem to have quite a bit in stock. After some research and careful thought I put an order in for 2 Nugget rhizomes. I chose the Nugget due to the description of being a high producer, high alpha acid content (since from my very limited knowledge realize that bittering hops are normally used in larger quantities than aroma hops, and even if my yield is poor hopefully the high AA allows for at least a batch or two the first year), but most importantly the resistance to mold. In PA I see quite often mulch with the tell-tale signs of powdery mildew and would not want to lose the plant.

So hopefully with putting an order in for 2, at least 1 is acceptable for planting, and then maybe I can find another place for the second one (possibly a pot as many of you have suggested in other threads). Also wanted to comment on the shipping rate which was fantastic for priority shipping (<$5). Can anyone comment on whether these will actually be shipped?

The site said, "Click here for what is currently in stock" but I went through that with the local place.
 
My LHBS carries rhizomes till mid april. I bought three rhizomes for $3 a piece at the begining of March. So, you might try or atleast call your LHBS.
 
theclarkster85 said:
My LHBS carries rhizomes till mid april. I bought three rhizomes for $3 a piece at the begining of March. So, you might try or atleast call your LHBS.

I called yesterday when I got home...no luck. I'm just hoping the Freshops order goes through. They are still listing several varieties on their site as in stock, though I have yet to receive an order confirmation since placing the order yesterday. (EDIT: I did in fact recieve the immediate automated confirmation so hopefully that is a good sign)

If that falls through my father's friend has a Cascade hop plant used more for decoration and he is unsure of the AA content, but offered a rhizome clipping if I needed it. I'm hoping I don't need it since I'd prefer the Nugget if the description was accurate (high AA%, disease resisitance, high yielding).
 
well I prepped the ground yesterday for where the main hop plant will go (not the one near the lightpost but in the small planter box). I removed a large Hosta that had started to sprout, first cutting off all the green leaves, then removing the root ball. We are watching a rabbit until my MIL/FIL find a new house (seemingly never going to happen) and so I put a pound or too of rabbit droppings and the leaves from the hosta and mixed them in with the dirt. Then I covered the spot with 2" or so of my partially decomposed compost (still not true compost but definitely on the road to decay). I then lightly watered with some of my used fish water (virtually the perfect fertilizer since it has all the nutrients in low levels, as well as some bacteria). I have some sand I've thought of incomporating into the soil to give a bit better drainage (and get rid of the sand) but I'm not sure if I'm going to do it.

I figure by the time the rhizomes come in this bed will be the perfect nutrient feeder for explosive growth.
 
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