Mulch?

Do you guys have an opinion about what type of mulch to use on the hop garden? Is the bagged stuff at HD/Lowes ok to use?

Do you mean to use it to amend the soil or as a topping? I use steer manure in the soil & don't top at all.

We get stuff from a local place called Panorama Farms called "Panorama Paydirt". It's an organic, active-composting mulch which slowly breaks down over the course of a year and turns into nice healthy soil in time.

Topping...

Being that I live in FL I will need some sort of mulch to slow evaporation.

Chris_Dog said:

Topping...

Being that I live in FL I will need some sort of mulch to slow evaporation.

Click to expand...

The obvious soution being, GTFO of Florida post-haste.

Failing that, I'd use an organic mulch of possible.

Evan! said:

The obvious soution being, GTFO of Florida post-haste.

Failing that, I'd use an organic mulch of possible.

Click to expand...

LOL... not gonna happen! Thanks for the tip.

Chris_Dog said:

Topping...

Being that I live in FL I will need some sort of mulch to slow evaporation.

Click to expand...

Mulch will undoubtedly slow evaporation, however, one of the biggest challenges you may face is periods of too much water. My Uncle lives down that way and he battles root rot quite often. You may want to think about ensuring you have good drainage if you are prone to getting a really wet season. If you have a thick layer of mulch and it gets water logged, you'll have to pull it back from the base of the plant to allow it dry out.

In subtropical (and tropical) regions, another issue is that your soil will be prone to more rapid depletion ...just something to keep in mind. Another way that mulch may benefit you there is it will help regulate temperature and provide Organic Matter to the soil as it breaks down.

One of the best things you can do is find your county extension office and find out what methods are predominant there, although you might be hard pressed finding information specific to hops in your region, but you never know.

Slowing evaporation isn't a good idea. Hops need good drainage and mulching will probably increase your chances of powdery mildew. The primary hops growing areas are hot & dry, and growers never mulch. I don't have any pictures of the fields right now, but they strip them bare in the Fall.

Honestly I am not expecting great things from these hop plants. I seriously doubt FL will ever compete with the Pacific NW in hop production. I figured I would give it a shot.

The soil here is very sandy I suppose it is a sand loam. I don't think it would be a loam at all if it wasn't for all the vegetable matter in the soil. It doesn't hold moisture like regular soil. Yes it is true that is rains most every afternoon in the Summer. The soil will usually be bone dry by the next afternoon. It is very humid here and hot. I would imagine mold will be a big problem.

Another problem will likely be the Nematodes. I don't imagine hops have any resistance these little worms chewing in the root sprouts. What I have done in the past to deal with them around the tomato plants. First of buying a Nematode resistant variety. Second is to plant Marigolds in the garden.

In subtropical (and tropical) regions, another issue is that your soil will be prone to more rapid depletion ...just something to keep in mind. Another way that mulch may benefit you there is it will help regulate temperature and provide Organic Matter to the soil as it breaks down.

Click to expand...

Very true without the introduction or organic material or fertilizer it will deplete rapidly.

I'd humbly suggest that all you hop growers start your own compost heap. I've had mine for years, and no longer have to buy any soil amendments or mulch for my garden. It develops fast too, when you're dumping coolers full of spent grain into it each weekend! Plus it doubles as a worm-farm, great for us fishermen.

I too have a compost pile! Spent grain, all of my fruit veggie scraps along with my coffee grounds.

Oh for those with nematode problems add seafood shells to the pile the chitin from the shells attracts a bacteria that nematodes do not like.

I would definitely mulch. Growing conditions in the PNW are completely different from the Southeast where mulch is pretty much mandatory in a sunny site unless you're irrigating on a daily basis (although, in FL you sometimes get that in the summer from t-storms!).

I have hops here and mulch heavily with pinestraw. I'll be switching to bark this year, however. The key to mulching hops, or any plant for that matter, is to pull the mulch back a few inches from the plant itself. This will prevent pests and fungus from attacking the vine while keeping the rootzone cool and moist. Keeping the soil cool is as important a function of mulch in the SE as retaining moisture is.

Speaking of rootzones, I recently dug up my rhizomes to divide with friends, as well as relocate my vine. One rootball had completely taken over my 6'x12' raised vegetable bed. And I was wondering why my tomatoes didn't do well last year...