Growing hops question

Question for all you hop growers out there. I'm going to try to grow a couple this year for the hell of it, and had a question. I have a shadow box style fence in my backyard that is 6 feet high. Do you think it would work if I train the vine to go up to the top of the fence and then travel down the shadow box? They would be traveling towards the south. If I understand correctly, each fall I cut the vine about 1 inch above the ground and remove all of the year’s growth from the fence and start from scratch the next year?

Thanks for any help.

6' is pretty low. Should have 12 - 15' vetically or at an angle. 6' should work the first year though.

I've been thinking about growing hops, but I'm only going to be living in my current place for one harvest season. Is there any point in growing hops for one year, or do they take a while to acclimate and produce good quality hops?

Does anyone out there have pictures of their "hop garden?"

vasie said:

Does anyone out there have pictures of their "hop garden?"

Click to expand...

Check out my gallery. I took a picture of my hop garden today...not much to see this time of year except twine, stakes & lots of compost. I planted one Nugget rhizome about 3 years ago and started getting a good crop the 2nd season. I was on a homebrew sabbatical so I made insomnia pillows out of the hops. This year they will find their way into my kettle. They should be coming up through the soil within a couple of weeks. Once they sprout I will choose 4 of the strongest shoots and train them on the twine, carefully winding them around clockwise (as viewed from the top) a few turns to get them started. I will try to take progress pictures once a month and post them on my gallery.
Jeff