Starting my hops plants: a few questions

Hi,

So, having happily brewed and bottled my first two batches of beer (with a third on the way), I am now bursting with newbie eagerness to make this as DIY a hobby as possible, and seeing as gardening season is upon us, I am looking into growing my own hops. The closest supplier to me is Richter's, and rather than the usual rhizomes, they sell small hops plants. My question is, when should I put them in the ground, and is there anything I need to know or do to them before proceeding?

Also, my options are Cascade, Hallertauer, Mt Hood, Nugget and Williamette. I'm looking to get three varieties. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Generally, after the last freeze is the best time for plants. Hop rhizomes can go in the ground a week or 2 earlier as the sprouts would not be exposed until they break through. Make certain the hop plants are female - I don't know why anyone would sell male hop plants to the public, but ask to make sure.

Hop varieties depend on your tastes. Generally you want bittering and aroma hops. If you are not into IPAs, you could skip the bittering hops as all hops have some of both qualities. You can never go wrong with Cascade hops.

As far as what to do before you put them in the ground:

- Hops need lots of sun - southern exposure is best but east or west will work if no buildings or trees block the sun.

- Must have vertical space (up to 20 feet, minimum 12 feet) and a plan to run rope or a trellis system.

- Prepare the ground. Dig at least 1 foot down and 2 foot diameter and amend the soil with organic materials, compost, leaves, grass clippings... and ensure the soil will drain (not to drown your plants or rhizomes). Also mound the soil to help with this (be aware of roof runoff...)

- Keep plants / rhizomes a minimum of 3 feet apart, 5 feet for different varieties.

- Each spring you will need to cut and dig up the lateral running rhizomes or the hops will take over - very invasive.

- soil should be neutral PH 6 - 8

That's about it - easy!

Thanks! I am definitely into IPAs, so I think I'll go for some bittering hops as well. Maybe Cascade, Mt. Hood (because, so I have read, that it brews similar to Hallertauer, but is a more vigorous and productive plant), and Nugget.

A secondary question: We probably won't experience the last frost here for another month; is it worth getting the plants now and starting them indoors, or should I just wait until April and pick them up just before I plant them?

I would check with Richter's and see what they recommend - maybe they can reserve some hop plants for you until it is safe to plant in your locale. There are things you can do to prevent freezing like covering young plants in plastic domes or domed sheets of plastic. It will help contain some of the heat from the soil. Hops are pretty hardy and even if the shoots freeze, another set of shoots will likely replace them. Or keep them in a window until it is safe.

Generally, hop rhizome providers are taking orders and not yet ready to ship. Rhizomes do sell out so you don't want to wait too long (in case your provider does not have all the varieties you wish to grow). They store well in a refrigerator, just keep them slightly moist - not enough to promote mold. Check with the supplier and see when they ship.

You can start rhizomes indoors, but I don't see much benefit in that - easy to break off new hop shoots / sprouts during transplanting...

mavolio said:

Thanks! I am definitely into IPAs, so I think I'll go for some bittering hops as well. Maybe Cascade, Mt. Hood (because, so I have read, that it brews similar to Hallertauer, but is a more vigorous and productive plant), and Nugget.

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I'm sure you've seen this, but unless you have access to a lab or are growing enough to send some out to be tested, using home grown hops as bittering hops will result in significant variance between recipes from year to year. Makes formulating anything of a reproducible recipe almost impossible.

That being said, I have brewed a couple great harvest ales from mine... one of a kind batches, though.

Thanks Randar, I hadn't considered that. I don't mind a little variance on a seasonal brew--kind of an interesting concept, actually. I will keep it in mind, though, for recipes that I'm testing. Could you point me towards some further reading about this issue?

mavolio said:

Thanks Randar, I hadn't considered that. I don't mind a little variance on a seasonal brew--kind of an interesting concept, actually. I will keep it in mind, though, for recipes that I'm testing. Could you point me towards some further reading about this issue?

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Which issue, hop alpha acid testing? I have seen a few places online (sorry, I didn't keep links) that offer testing, but you have to send some in.

As for buying locally, go for it as long as you like the options. There is a lot of info here and out there on the web about growing.

Gorst Valley's website has some good info and even some "Midwestern Climate" specific stuff as they are in Wisconsin (and Dan from GVH posts here):
http://www.gorstvalleyhops.com/Hop_Production.html

For general growing information, you can also read this PDF that has a lot of historical and overview information and comparison of a few trellis designs:
http://www.crannogales.com/HopsManual.pdf

Freshops.com has lots fo info as well.

If you have access to a bio/chem lab you can also potentially test your own hops:
http://www.realbeer.com/hops/ASBC.html


Or, you can grow some hop varieties that you frequently use for late-addition aroma or dry hopping and not worry about the acid content too much. Many people do this while using purchased and tested hops for bittering.

Randar said:

I'm sure you've seen this, but unless you have access to a lab or are growing enough to send some out to be tested, using home grown hops as bittering hops will result in significant variance between recipes from year to year. Makes formulating anything of a reproducible recipe almost impossible.

That being said, I have brewed a couple great harvest ales from mine... one of a kind batches, though.

Click to expand...

I’m a virgin hop grower, Cascade and Chinook in the mail soon from Midwest, and the Question Mark IPA that I’ll brew (provided my green thumb is intact) is what I most look forward to! I can’t wait to see how a 100% homegrown hop ale, bittered and aromaed, turns out.

mavolio said:

Hi,

So, having happily brewed and bottled my first two batches of beer (with a third on the way), I am now bursting with newbie eagerness to make this as DIY a hobby as possible, and seeing as gardening season is upon us, I am looking into growing my own hops. The closest supplier to me is Richter's, and rather than the usual rhizomes, they sell small hops plants. My question is, when should I put them in the ground, and is there anything I need to know or do to them before proceeding?

Also, my options are Cascade, Hallertauer, Mt Hood, Nugget and Williamette. I'm looking to get three varieties. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Seeing that you live in Toronto the most fundamental question is if you grow hops. General advice speaks of hop growing as it requires 120 days between last and first frosts.

In my location in New England, last summer, my last frost as July 2nd and first frost was in the first week of September. This is not typical, as we generally achieve about 100 days of frost free weather. So, I'd take the general advice with a grain of salt.

I'd say it is better to ensure that your hops are able to receive full-day sun (8+ hours of direct sunlight). It also helps to keep them dry. Here, it is like growing tomatoes. Don't wet the plant when watering.

Taking both these items into consideration. Seek out several hop varieties that are reputed to do well in cooler weather, wetter weather than that is found than in the United States west of the Rockies.


Talk to these people. They located in New York State: http://www.foothillhops.com/AboutOurHops.html

Agree to seek out more northern-successful varieties, but Toronto is equivalent to Grand Rapids, MI or Madison, WI and is further south than Minneapolis, all areas where hops are and can be grown successfully. Willamette Valley is roughly 45 degrees latitude and Toronto is about 43.5 degrees. So light conditions are just fine. It's the generally shorter growing season that will affect the yield and total growth (they won't go 20 ft in some of these northern midwest regions, for example).

Randar said:

Agree to seek out more northern-successful varieties, but Toronto is equivalent to Grand Rapids, MI or Madison, WI and is further south than Minneapolis, all areas where hops are and can be grown successfully. Willamette Valley is roughly 45 degrees latitude and Toronto is about 43.5 degrees. So light conditions are just fine. It's the generally shorter growing season that will affect the yield and total growth (they won't go 20 ft in some of these northern midwest regions, for example).

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Although I failed to mention the latitude, I had been thinking it. Good on you for taking note of Minneapolis, Madison, and Grand Rapids, a harbinger of good news for you. Both of these locations typically have more rain than Toronto. And, Minneapolis has lower average daily winter temperatures than Toronto. The Willamette Valley has a cool Mediterranean climate and doesn't generally fall below freezing, even in the dead of winter, but the length of day is comparable.

I have only just started growing ten varieties here. Whichever don't fail due to the damp and cold, I will propagate. All ten varieties are European flavour/aromatic hops. In 18 months I should be able to give a report.

Some help I am....

i got my hop plants from richters in 2008- planted them the first week of june - and actually got a few ounces of hops off the approx 15 ft bines from 4 plants that year.
last year they got over 18 ft and i harvested about 3 lbs dried.
this should be a better year as last year was cool and rainy here.
i am 90 minutes west of toronto in brantford and grew cascade and hallertau.