Growing hops in planters. Any advice?`

Has anybody out there grown hops in planters? I have two cascades and a chinook planted in large planters(20 in opening) and I have them planted in miracle grow. Has anybody done this that can offer me some advice? I plan on growing them on hop cord(can't remember what it is really called) and runnung the cord through a hook so that as the vines grow up I can run more cord when they reach the top I can coil the vine and give the hops more room to climb. Is this a solid plan or is there something else I could do?

it is a solid plan. i am doing it as have many others on this forum. the root balls get pretty large, just make for sure you use a big enough planter...i am using those 20gallon big ass buckets from Lowes, others have used those rectangle bins. drill holes for drainage and you are set.

Thanks for the input. I didn't drill any holes in the bottom of my planters for drainage. Is it something that I should do?

BrewsterT said:

Thanks for the input. I didn't drill any holes in the bottom of my planters for drainage. Is it something that I should do?

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You will want to get holes in the bottom as soon as you can. You don't want mold and root rot going on at the bottom.
Here are my hops:

yeah, otherwise you have a bowl. they need drainage. you can put a couple in the sides that way water will collect in the bottom and not drain completely out. a few 1/8 holes should work. you just don't want water filling the container and drowning/rotting the plant plus it would invite other nasties that would damage your plants.

I would also suggest putting a layer of rocks or broken pots into the bottom of your planters as well to allow even more drainage.

Here's an example of one years difference:

05-18-09


and 05-18-10

steinsato said:

I would also suggest putting a layer of rocks or broken pots into the bottom of your planters as well to allow even more drainage.

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I would not suggest to do this...this actually hinders drainage. I've been told the reason a couple times before but cant remember the logic behind it. Search the forums if you want the reason but just do soil with no rocks, gravel, broken pots, etc...

EDIT: Here is the latest time it came up...

GilaMinumBeer said:

I forget the term but it's to do with dissimilar material transference. For example, the soil locks in betwen the gravel and essentially creates a dam. Wheras if the entire bed where of the same composition fluid would move through it with no change in resistance.

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Cut the drainage holes, but place something underneath the pot. I had roots running out of the bottom of my pots and into the ground...somewhat defeating the purpose of putting them in pots.

I also do the drop coir from top and keep feeding it, but additionally, I'm using a telescoping pole this year so I can extend it up to 12 feet but still retract the whole thing at the end of the year.

I'd say that theory only "holds water" (pun intended) if you use a lot of gravel.

GVH_Dan said:

Cut the drainage holes, but place something underneath the pot. I had roots running out of the bottom of my pots and into the ground...somewhat defeating the purpose of putting them in pots.

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I'm with ya on the roots into the ground thing. Drainage holes are very necessary but placing something under the pot is a great idea. Check out my gallery for some pics of what I found last fall when I moved my pots into the garage for the winter...

BrewsterT said:

Has anybody out there grown hops in planters? I have two cascades and a chinook planted in large planters(20 in opening) and I have them planted in miracle grow. Has anybody done this that can offer me some advice? I plan on growing them on hop cord(can't remember what it is really called) and runnung the cord through a hook so that as the vineup I can run more cord when they reach the top I can coil the vine and give the hops more room to climb. Is this a solid plan or is there something else I could do?

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I'm growing cascades and chinook in exactly the same way. 18 gallon containers filled with a good quality potting soil.

I give them quarter-strength Miracle-Gro every two or three weeks, and they've been doing great.

This is their second year. The first year, I let all the bines grow with no pruning, trying to build the root system.

This year, I've been cutting back everything except four bines per plant. (Incidentally, the cuttings will root and grow on their own...I've been giving them away.)

The miracle grow tomato powder fertilizer stuff that you add to water is best taken in by the leaves of the plant, not the roots. So put the solution in a spray bottle and spray all over the leaves in the morning\night so it doesnt evap. I did this about every other week or as they looked like they needed some "help."

I planted in large pots using miracle grow soil....I guess this stuff is pre-fertilized. The bag says it feeds plants for 6 months....has anyone used this soil? I'm wondering if I should still feed the plants....any thoughts? Thanks

I would hold off for a while. If you keep a close eye on the hops as they grow you'll notice when they start to slow down and need some fert...even before they turn yellow from nitrogen deficiency. For me it was about once a month...so I would count the fert in the soil as the first application and see how long it lasts. In the next couple weeks if the conditions are good and you dont see as much growth as they did the prior weeks it may be time for the next application. Remember that you can over fert a plant too...

Wino24 said:

I planted in large pots using miracle grow soil....I guess this stuff is pre-fertilized. The bag says it feeds plants for 6 months....has anyone used this soil? I'm wondering if I should still feed the plants....any thoughts? Thanks

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I've used it for tomatoes, cucumbers and beans but never with hops. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work well, though.

I'm interested in planting hops in planters as well. I'm going to put it on my elevated deck to get it out of reach of the damn deer around here :-/ I was considering a single pot per plant or a long planter box and just plant a row of them. Does anybody have any advise on this? Which is preferable? In any event, how much space do i need for the hops? If I put a plant in a single pot, what size pot should I get?

I have mine in half wine barrels. Two third year and two second year. The third year plants have quite large crowns that I think wouldn't be suitable for a long planter. Not only that, the root system of the hop plant will travel a long way. So if you're going to grow more than one variety in one planter the roots will intermingle and after a couple of years you won't be able to tell which variety is which.

So I want to grow on the balcony at my apt. I have grown for a couple years now but at my parents house and not my new apt. I can keep the growth manageable but my question is if I grow in a large planter with holes in the bottom how do I keep the drainage from running on to the guy's balcony below me? If I place the planter in a saucer or pan doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the holes for drainage? Sorry If I am jacking a thread, just didn't want to start a new one for one question.

No, a pan underneath does not defeat the purpose. The purpose of the holes are for any extra water to run out and not rot the roots with too much water. The pan will fill up and can be dumped (away from the guy below) and not cause any damage to the root system.

Coming from a guy that lived under an avid container vegetable grower on a balcony...please use a "pan" and make sure you dont over water the containers. There were numerous times when we would sit outside and the guy above had dirty water dripping on us...

Thanks for the advice. I am on the top floor so I would not want it dripping down on the 4 apts below me.

I'm in South Florida. Mine are in big 20"-24" (I forget which) plastic containers I got at my local nursery that I drilled holes in the bottom of and used good potting soil. 1st year I placed squares of landscape fabric underneath and a few small roots snuck through - not to mention the lawn man shredded it with his weed-whacker and made a mess. I just so happen to have some round concrete stepping stones that are the exact size as the bottom of the pots, so they are sitting on those now. Now the only problem I have is ants getting in and moving some of the soil out to make a colony, but I think this is minor. Strangely, I haven't fertilized more than once (last year) and they already have rich, green 12" shoots coming up. I need to fertilize, but this simple set up seems to work.

I've had mine in the same pots for multiple years now without fertilization or root pruning and they've done fine. I have a simple trellis of 16 foot vertical 2x4s connected by a 12 foot 2x4 cross beam at the top, and all of my hops reach the top and make a bush up there - which makes it a pain to get them down! I'm sure the fact that the hops have grown out the bottom and into the ground helps them grow with my less than optimal fertilization effort, but they just keep on growing.

I do plan on digging them up soon and moving them, as well as trimming the roots. Perhaps I'll take some pics soon and share how far they've grown.