soil mix for hops

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krenshaw

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i made a partially raised garden to use for my hops, though i am looking to add to the existing soil and mix in a bunch of my own compost and some better quality soil that what is there now.. what would be the best product to mix with my natural soil (which doesn't' seem to great) along with the compost.. would like a miracle gro potting soil mix be good, or would just some topsoil with some peat added in be ok? i really don't want to spend too much money but i need to add some material to what i have there now
 
I would think that any sort of top/potting soil would work fine. I wouldn't add any fertilizer until I read about what hops actually require. Although, the miracle grow is pretty mild in terms of nitrogen, pot ash, and phosphate.
 
Sand and perlite.

An ideal soil for hops will have good nutrients, good drainage and good water retention. Consider adding 1 part clean sand for every 2 parts original (clay) soil. This will create what is typically known as a "Sandy loam". With heavy additions of compost/manure and maybe some perlite (for water retention) - you should be in great shape.
 
Im a pretty clay heavy area, and my Rhizomes just got shipped today. Im going to go with breakup up my soil and mixing in copious amounts of perlite and compost/manure mix. I figure about a 40 pound bag of compost and equal amount by volume of perlite mixed into a one square meter of garden bed. I want to loosen and mix about a foot deep, and ring with a 2x10 cedar frame. this is per each crown, so that's my plan.
 
still haven't planted mine yet.. the area is all ready but we keep getting freak snowstorms and its still getting under freezing many nights.. funny, the calendar says its spring
 
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