Growing Hops in Florida

Hey Guys,
Question. Anybody ever try to grow and harvest hops in Florida. I'm in the tampa area. I've read everyhting from it grew great with great harvest, to terriable results.

Who has tried, and what where the results from this area. And for the record, sent some up to Rhode Island for my folks to grow and harvest for me!

My hops are growing, but they are definately not huge barn burners yet. So we will see how they come out as they grow.
Bob

Ive found growing hops in the south to be difficult. They flower too early in the season, producing grassy flavored cones. Last year i trimmed the bines down once to let them start over in mid-may and i got a september harvest that was much more cirtrusy. I already trimmed mine down once this year and planned to do it again.

So wack em mid spring, and seem to taste better...hmm....I have not tried here yet, buy was thinking about it next year. Have you brewed with them? and if yes, at what stage?

Just south of you set them so they only get early or late sun full sun is alittle rough on them Cascade, Centennial, do the best so far going to try others in pots to see where they like it then put them in the ground.

I have hops growing now and I live 90 miles north of Cuba. They have been coning for over a month. Been documenting everything here...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/cascades-key-west-333466/

How was this years harvest? What are the best varieties to grow here?

Thanks!

Mdsutton said:

How was this years harvest? What are the best varieties to grow here?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

It seems the "C" hops are the hardiest and seem to do the best here. I'm going to try my hand at some cascade and chinook hops this spring once the danger of the last frost has passed up here in Jacksonville.

The real issue with hops in FL is that the intense heat of the summer can burn the heck out of the plant. Definitely find an area around your home that only gets morning sun, and then shade throughout the heat of the day. You'll also need to give the plant frequent waterings, allowing the soil to completely dry out inbetween. This will force the plant to root well in search of water.

Since FL has sandy soil, you can containerize your hops using a good quality potting mix in a minimum of a 20" pot, or you can plant them in the ground with a soil mixture of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 perlite/vermiculite and 1/3 organic compost. Give the plants a 1/4 strength feeding of organic fertilizer for their first feeding (every 3 months or so) and then maybe a little bone meal for phosphorous once the blooming starts getting heavy.