hops in pots?

anyone grow hops in enclosed planters? well, actually i'd like to try growing them in one of those half whiskey barrels, and training up a wire. our soil here is mostly clay, and gets really hard in the summer where nothing grows well. also wondering would they grow back year after year if they are in an enclosed planter?

Yep. I did it last year, and several people do it for a several years before the rhizomes outgrow the pot. The newest edition of BYO has an article about growing in pots.

outgrowing pots? do they stay hardy and produce good yields? can the rhizomes be split once they "outgrow the pot"

Basic Brewing Radio also did a podcast a few weeks ago about growing hops in pots.

Basically they recommend to use a half-barrel size pot for the best results and then transfer them to the ground after a couple growing seasons.

There is a great article in the most recent BYO about this. I would check it out.

Yeah I read that BYO article...good stuff. To those who have tried it, once the growing season is done, do you just move the pots inside? I'm assuming the they would die down once frost hits (New England).

I can't recall cuz I'm at work but I think the article said to install the trellis before the root as to not damage the root with the trellis.

My first yr hops in pots did decent even with moving in may and having to bring them 500 miles. Got some hops out of my cascade and would have gotten hops out of the others but I went on a long weekend and the baby hops dried out on the other vines. I left them out all winter no worries, they are starting to sprout right now.

I was doing mine in half wiskey barrel size and the only thing I had to watch out for (In Southern California) was the hops drying out and nutrients. My hops became a bit nitrogen deficient for a bit until I added more to the soil. The hops use up so much energy growing. Be mindfull of how they look and you should do well.

I just planted a 2nd year nugger and 2nd year EKG plant into their each planter... 2cuft of dirt in each one. They are smaller than half 55gallon wine barrels, but are much larger than 5 gallon pots. Hell, I grew that EKG last year in a pot with like .5cuft of dirt and it grew 12' planted in late july!!!!

I just grew a cascade plant in a pot and had pretty good luck. I was curious if anyone knows if I should repot the plant next spring? I will not be moving it to the ground for a few years but want to get as much as I can from it. any ideas?

My cascade hops growing in a ~6gal pot.

I grew them in 18 gallon tubs. They did very well.

how many years? did you ever repot or fertilize?
thanks, Mike

Have only had them for one year. Each 18 gallon tub took, if I remember correctly, 3 cubic feet of potting soil. I fertilized them with 1/4 strength Miracle Gro whenever they started to look like they needed it.

I plan to keep them in the same containers and just continue fertilizing them next year.

Oh and the other question is if I should bring it inside for the winter? or maybe bury the pot or do something else to insulate it.

I plan to leave mine right where they are over the winter. They're really hardy plants.

SWMBO has said that I can try out growing hops. I've ordered a golding rhizome from more beer and now its time to make sure I have a large enough pot and some potting soil. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated.

Skrazybrews said:

SWMBO has said that I can try out growing hops. I've ordered a golding rhizome from more beer and now its time to make sure I have a large enough pot and some potting soil. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated.

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Buy a pot big enough to grow a tree in, plan where you'll want to plant them next year. A brewer in the club has his in trash cans after 1 year.

I have 10 half barrel planters that I have been trying to establish for two seasons now. I also have about 15 plants in the ground which are well established and producing, so I have been able to take note of the differences between container gardening and ground gardening.

My first issue was with drainage. Although I drilled holes in the bottom of the barrels and layered each with gravel (something I am now told actually hinders proper drainage...?) I did not anticipate that I would need some space beneath the barrel to allow air to flow to the lower soil. a few 2x2 wooden spacers helped a lot.

I encountered another problem last summer with the soil being too compacted for the young root systems to get through. I had to dig them all up and amend the soil with a bit of peat moss. This seemed to have helped, though some of the plants have yet to really take hold.

At the end of last season after cutting down the bines I topped up the containers with new soil (soil will both compact and leak out over time) and a thick layer of mulch thinking it would be smart to provide some additional insulation for the Colorado winter (Front Range winter, so pretty mild actually).

As far as nutrients, I find that my container plants can utilize more frequent feedings than the ground plants. For both gardens I use a fish fertilizer from home depot...its mild and balanced and only slightly higher on the nitrogen.

This year my goal is to nail the pre-flowering nutrient additions. In the past I have added small amounts of bone meal as flowering begins but I have not noticed it having a significant effect; I am told by a gardener of a different variety that a more specialized fertilizer would do the trick. Anyone have suggestions?

As far as watering, I probably did it way too much in the first season. Everyone likes to talk about how much water hop plants drink, and although it's a valid fact it just leads to wasted water and soggy roots. In the second season, I paid close attention to the moisture level in the containers and only watered when all the soil had dried out. This technique is supposed to encourage the little rootlets to stretch and grow to find water. What i found was that the barrels were actually quite good at retaining moisture and I only needed to water once per week (a good soaking).


I am looking for more advice on growing in large containers if anyone has any. I'll try to get some pictures up too. Cheers!