Frost protection?

Well I have two out of three variaties sprouting right now in Central Jersey
and we are expecting temps down to 29 deg tonight. I'm going to cover the plants
with plastic and remove in the morning, just to be safe.

Any addt'l thoughts?

Move to Florida ...




you gotta love the year-round summer. The only thing that sux is that it gets a wee bit hot

Cloth is better than plastic. The plastic tends to condense water inside which sticks to the leaves then freezes and bursts the cells of the plant. Towels and/or sheets are the best choice.

I covered mine with plastic. Better than nothing. I'm not that worried though...it's 9:30 and it's still 60f.

It was 27 for two nights here, and my plants did fine. I'd still cover if you are concerned though.

where in central NJ are you, im in brick?
i covered mine with grass clipping, which worked good and also helped to fertilize.

Paper bags, beer boxes, towel, grass clippings, plant pottery, etc.

Mine are out of the ground and recently buried under 3 inches of snow. They're doing fine and I didn't cover them at all.

Battery_BreweryNJ said:

where in central NJ are you, im in brick?
i covered mine with grass clipping, which worked good and also helped to fertilize.

Click to expand...

<------ Jackson

Down right summer weather today. I think it hit 78 and my bines are taking off.
Cascade has lots of shoots, Northern Brewer has 3, but my Williamette hasn't broken ground yet.

Good thread- its supposed to snow here in Portland OR tomorrow (SAT) after it was nearly 80f least weekend! My hops will be covered with old towels till the freeze is over.

Cover completely with straw or leaves and remove in the morning.........otherwise use cloth if you're worried.

I'll report back if there is any damage. It's frosted twice this week and this morning:



Late April snow in the Cascades


[This is a pajamas & mud boot shot.]

Arn't hops mostly grown in Oregon? I doubt they are covering them when there is a frost. I wouldn't worry about it.

I had two days of frost this week, and the only hopling that's shown up yet seems to have suffered a little, but grows on...

Hagen said:

I had two days of frost this week, and the only hopling that's shown up yet seems to have suffered a little, but grows on...

Click to expand...

I am very proud of that rhizome! I can't wait to do my own next year! :cross:

After five years in the ground my Cascade plant has never suffered from frost despite my lack of protection. I dont' even protect against it here on the frigid nights anymore in my SW MI yard. If a shoot dies, it was weak anyway and would eventually be pruned. I think that RDWHAHB fits for hop growing as well.

I mentioned it in another thread (or 3) that there's probably a big difference between newly planted rhizomes and established plants. There is so much stored energy in the rhizome and roots of a 2+ year plant compared to a new plant that you could probably lop off the shoots for the first 3 months and still get them to come back and grow.

But a new rhizome that has sat in the fridge for a while, planted, and had its first couple shoots frozen might not make it.

I planted mine and we had 2 nights of frost. I wrapped a plastic tarp around the central pole (looked like a teepee), and then took it off when I left for work in the morning (after the sun came up). Probably would have been fine, but I didn't want to chance the little guys.