just got my hop rhizomes but....

... we got 6-12 inches of snow coming on Friday. And I still have a fair amount of snow on the ground... i remember reading hop rhizomes could be stored in the basement until the ground was ready to plant. Anyone have any suggestions for keeping them safe and viable?

The directions mine came with the other day stated, to get them moist in their zip lock bags and store them in the fridge until ready to plant. I will plant them this weekend or some time early next week.

beerloaf.

Put either peat moss or paper towel in the bag to hold some moisture. DON'T soak the towel or moss. Leave them in the fridge and plant when ready. I do this with bulbs and rhizomes for planting.

why dont you just plant them in a pot inside and then transplant them later

BLM said:

why dont you just plant them in a pot inside and then transplant them later

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I agree here. I did this last year and everything seems fine for this year. Put them in a 2-3gal container with some potting soil, PREFERABLY WITH NO FERTILIZER (!!!), and keep them moist, but not drenched (think: a sponge you just wrung out).

+1 on starting them inside, got mine a week ago, and we have freeze and snow opportunities through April here in Colorado. I cut off the tops of some 1-gallon plastic jugs, punctured the bottoms for drainage, and dropped the RZs into these with a full complement of potting soil. They are now on a window sill happily sprouting; will transplant in May.

OK, so I'll put them in the fridge for the next couple days until I get a chance to start them in a pot inside. Thanks!

Mine came in a ziplock, stuck 'em in my fridge for a few weeks before I was ready to plant and they have already sprouted, 5 days after planting.

Put them in now asap or hold in the fridge no pots or windows they get to thin and will croke trust me I know I put some planting instructios up here and on my web site Cheers glen

Got mine today and watching the snow fall now

Already put them in pots waiting for warmer days...

oh thank god im just on the fringe of this storm! must suck for you guys

I love the snow but I'm ready for spring. Was just about to break ground on my garden....

i like the snow for like the first two snow falls other than that... but im still waiting on the ground to thaw completely... and water to dry up... im still trying to figure out where im putting my six rhizomes... 3 chinook and 3 cascade

ordering my seeds for my veggie garden tomorrow, since i wont be planting until may...

I guess you're not a skier

I planted yesterday. I read that snow on the forecast as rain. The temps are fine for planting, a little snow isn't going to hurt anything underground.

Since this thread appears to be a bunch of MA and NH postings, when is the right time to plant? I'm in southern Vermont (new to this whole snow thing.) Can someone tell me when is a good time? I've hops on the way and then in 2 weeks or so I plan on constructing my growing structure. Just don't want to plant too early and get shafted.

Where are you in So VT?

we dropped down into the 20's with light snow last night, but inside, things are 'hopping."

I will probably replant outside in 2-3 weeks.

To parrot a couple of the other posts, keep them in the fridge until you're ready to plant and plant as soon as you can work the soil.

I'm in Utah and I replanted some of my existing hops s well as added some new ones about a week ago. Most had at least broken through the soil and a couple of the replants are about 5-6 inches out of the ground. It was 70 degrees on Friday and then we got about 7 inches of snow Saturday night and Sunday. All the hops are just fine though. As long as you don't get a hard freeze, the emerging hops don't seem to mind a little snow. Hard freezes can kill the bines that have already emerged, but you'll soon see additional bines breaking through.

marcycaulkins said:

Where are you in So VT?

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Might call it central really, but the Sharon royalton area.

BLM said:

why dont you just plant them in a pot inside and then transplant them later

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I'm concerned about damaging the roots during the transplant. Should this be a legitimate concern.

You know. I dont think id worry about that erie. when i got my rhizomes 2yrs ago i got 10 in a bag. i accidentally tore some roots off untangling them all. all 10 grew wonderfully.

ToV said:

Might call it central really, but the Sharon royalton area.

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Yeah, that's definitely more central.

ErieShores said:

I'm concerned about damaging the roots during the transplant. Should this be a legitimate concern.

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I thought I'd chime in here - as I am a 2nd year grower and clearly still learning, but I started mine in pots last year (I'm in MN) and waited until after the threat of frost was gone. I had five plants going strong and had I thrown them into peat-pots instead of plastic pots I would have been much better off. I killed one going from the plastic pot to the ground and seriously damaged another one.

So, if you start inside, go with peat pots so you don't disturb the root structure when you go into the ground. If not, BE CAREFUL.

Gridlocked said:

So, if you start inside, go with peat pots so you don't disturb the root structure when you go into the ground. If not, BE CAREFUL.

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I really hate peat pots. They seem to always be too wet or to dry. I've killed many seedlings in them, and very few in plastic. Also you shouldn't plant the peat pots into the ground as they don't decompose as fast as they would need to. At least rip the bottom off of it before planting.
Re planting, out of plastic, take some practice. It's best to have the plant (what ever it is) fill the pot, so that there are roots filling all the soil. But you don't what it to reach the point of being root bound. You also want the soil in the pot to be a little bit on the dry side. This will help the soil mass hold together when removed from the pot.


To the Vermoster,
I don't think anyone answered your question about planting timing. You can plant rhizomes as soon as you can work the soil. They know when they can come up (most of the time at least). If you start them indoors you have to be more careful. You don't want to put anything with green growth out in a hard frost. They can take a light frost, but they are quite unhappy below about 28F, and most of the green stuff will die back. This is not a big problem for a second year plant, as it has enough bellow ground to support a second growth.

We should all spend some time working on the hop cultivation wiki page.

Ah, thanks DrJerryrigger!
I figured peat-pots would just fall apart allowing the whole thing to go easily into the ground. I suppose I'll re-consider my plans. I was able to move four of the five successfully, and as Meatloaf says, two out of three ain't bad.

Gridlocked said:

Ah, thanks DrJerryrigger!
I figured peat-pots would just fall apart allowing the whole thing to go easily into the ground. I suppose I'll re-consider my plans. I was able to move four of the five successfully, and as Meatloaf says, two out of three ain't bad.

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Meat's rant on Celeb Aprent was funny as he11! :rockin:

marcycaulkins said:

Yeah, that's definitely more central.

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Where abouts you at?

Where I moved from we had south and north, not really a central, not used to it.

And when the heck do people plant things up here? I've got the hops to get started, but I've also got a garden to plant and some seeds to start.

DrJerryrigger said:

They can take a light frost, but they are quite unhappy below about 28F, ...

We should all spend some time working on the hop cultivation wiki page.

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Hearing this I'm glad I didn't get mine in the ground yet. We were -3C last night (about 27F). My rhizomes arrived Monday (it's now Thursday) I'm going to get them in the ground tomorrow or more likely Saturday.

Thanks to everyone for all the tips and ticks about hop growing. My wife got me a book about it, but I much prefer to hear from folks who have and are doing it.

DanPoch said:

Hearing this I'm glad I didn't get mine in the ground yet. We were -3C last night (about 27F). My rhizomes arrived Monday (it's now Thursday) I'm going to get them in the ground tomorrow or more likely Saturday.

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I planted a 72 tray of cabbage yesterday. The forecast for last night here (Northampton) was a low of 33F, but I woke up to 29F grrr.
For rhizomes, even a hard frost doesn't matter much. It has to be very cold for a long time for the ground to freeze down to your plant. A frost like last night will only be a problem for above ground growth.

Thanks DrJerryrigger! Sorry to hear about your cabbage

I won't have time to plant them tonight before it gets dark, but I can get them down this weekend for sure. My wife had a bunch of plants she's aching to get in the ground too, so we can work together

Hopfarmer said:

Put them in now asap or hold in the fridge no pots or windows they get to thin and will croke trust me I know I put some planting instructios up here and on my web site Cheers glen

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Totally agree with Glen. Fridge them and open the ziplock a little to get air to circulate. I am having the same prob in PA. I had to toss around 50 rhizomes because they froze in my garage.