ben the brewman
Well-Known Member
here are the pics i said i would take.
magnum
nuggett
cascade
cascade
cascade top
cones!
trellis
Growing in Tennessee?
- Thread starter jamesrm
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
here are the pics i said i would take.
magnum
nuggett
cascade
cascade
cascade top
cones!
trellis
There is simply one thing to say to all the Tenn. folks...
ROLL TIDE!!!
couldn't help myself!
Seriously though I'm in central MS, Jxn area, and have had very good luck with Cascades & Goldings in my hop yard. I've added Centennials this spring & have just ordered some Nuggets. Many people in the deep south, which many areas of eastern TN don't qualify as deep south due to elevation/temps/climate, have problems growing Goldings and other British hops. Mine are in afternoon shade starting at between 2-4 in the afternoon. I attribute my Goldings robust growth to this fact. Just my $.02, it's no big deal to grow hops in our region. As a matter of fact I imagine there's a few farmers in the Mississippi river delta that would be very happy with their results if they switched to hop farming!
Schlante,
Phillip
ROLL TIDE!!!
couldn't help myself!Seriously though I'm in central MS, Jxn area, and have had very good luck with Cascades & Goldings in my hop yard. I've added Centennials this spring & have just ordered some Nuggets. Many people in the deep south, which many areas of eastern TN don't qualify as deep south due to elevation/temps/climate, have problems growing Goldings and other British hops. Mine are in afternoon shade starting at between 2-4 in the afternoon. I attribute my Goldings robust growth to this fact. Just my $.02, it's no big deal to grow hops in our region. As a matter of fact I imagine there's a few farmers in the Mississippi river delta that would be very happy with their results if they switched to hop farming!
Schlante,
Phillip
Boodlemania
Well-Known Member
ROLL TIDE!!!
Don't you blaspheme in here!
yuppiecruncher
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Last spring I decided to grow my own hops. I can't really tell you today why, but it sounded like a good idea at the time. Having a large stock of fresh hops is never a bad idea. Plus it sounded like a challenge. As the growers in Tennessee will know, the conditions are far from ideal for hops. The humid hot climate combined with water logged soil don't meet the criteria for most hops. They are traditionally found in higher latitudes and colder climates. For a complete run-down on small scale hops gardening, visit http://brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.3/montell.html
My first big challenge was to find the rhizomes. This sounds simple but this year they sold out very quickly. It can be difficult to find them unless you get them early in the season. No one stocks rhizomes in great numbers because they are expensive to keep cold, they are difficult to harvest and there is no large market for them. I also found a spot in the yard that recieves at least 12 hours of sunlight during the summer. This is very important as hops cannot get too much sun.
I chose Cascade and Hallertau hops because they are practical hops. By that, I mean that their AAU and secondary contribution flavors are used in many of my favorite types of beers. My reasoning was that I could use these hops for the majority of my brews and only have to supplement recipes with small amounts of specialized hops. Your needs will differ, consider your favorite beers to brew when making your purchase.
If you forecast a little bit you can save yourself a lot of trouble down the road. I know that my hop garden will take years to fully mature into productive colonies. Assuming no real return on investment in the first year is very important. The obvious dilemma became; what do I do with this years crop? How can I put it to use? One idea was to use the harvest as hop-fodder in experimental beer. It would also be good to try some fringe hopping practices like hop-tea and extractions. In my case, I decided that extra-IPA dry-hopping was something I could never do if I was paying for the hops. So instead, I would use my hops to try it out.
Once I received the rhizomes, I wasted no time in putting them in the ground. The hops are on a biological clock. Waiting too long will have severe consequences to the health of the plants. The first year is a fragile time for a new hop rhizome, treat it well. Since most of middle Tennessee is flat and soggy, I had to raise a planting bed so that the roots of the hops would be above the water table. They must also be able to grow down to the water table for year round water access. Hops prefer well drained, aerated soil. I ended up with 3 Hallertau rhizomes and 3 Cascade rhizomes (one per drum half).
Using some resources around the house, I found some old plastic drums and cut them in half with a skill saw. Its important to note that the bottoms and the tops of the drums were cut off to allow root access to the surrounding soil at ground level. I simply set the half-drums, which were hollow cylinders at this point, on the ground and filled them with dirt from a nearby source. I fertilized with cow manure, ash and rotting vegetable matter. I Fertilized very sparingly, only about a shovel of each fertilizer went into each drum of dirt. Each drum contained about 10 shovel-fulls of raw dirt (to make an approximate 3:10 ratio which is completely arbitrary, I have no science to back it up). It was all mixed together and watered down. The hop rhizomes were carefully buried 1 below the surface and watered lightly. Never plant your rhizomes unless all threat of frost is completely gone. A snap freeze will destroy the tender rhizome.
I next constructed vertical supports for a trellis from old 2x4's I had lying around. I drilled holes in the tops of the poles to allow twine to run through them, rather than tying it directly to them. I dug post holes and sunk the poles into the ground, securing them with quickrete and gravel. Nothing fancy, but enough to hold them up against strong winds. I pounded a 4 rebar stakes into the ground behind the 2x4's to act as anchors for the twine. See the diagram.
After the heavy work, I went to Lowes to get an automatic timer and a misting system. This little beauty is a godsend. The timer hooks into any standard water outlet or hose fitting and runs all year on two AA batteries. You can set it for pre-programmed watering days and times, I set it for every other day for 30 minutes and left it all year. I connected the timer to some tubing I had lying around and ran it out to my hops. I connected the misters and stuck them in the center of the drums. Now my garden was automated. All together it was probably $50. Some professionals say to use a drip line system to avoid wetting the leaves. If you have to run the hose a long distance from the house or water source, I highly recommend getting some black plastic hose from Tractor Supply or even better; the local Co-Op. It lies flat after a day in the sun and I even ran it over with the lawn mower, it never got hit.
To prevent deer and other pesky herbivores from eating my hops I put up a construction fence. I got it at a yard sale, but I would highly recommend you do this as well. IF YOU HAVE PETS: DO NOT let them eat the hops. It can kill them! Read about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_health look under dangerous foods. The fence was supported by removable stakes and wrapped around the garden.
My first big challenge was to find the rhizomes. This sounds simple but this year they sold out very quickly. It can be difficult to find them unless you get them early in the season. No one stocks rhizomes in great numbers because they are expensive to keep cold, they are difficult to harvest and there is no large market for them. I also found a spot in the yard that recieves at least 12 hours of sunlight during the summer. This is very important as hops cannot get too much sun.
I chose Cascade and Hallertau hops because they are practical hops. By that, I mean that their AAU and secondary contribution flavors are used in many of my favorite types of beers. My reasoning was that I could use these hops for the majority of my brews and only have to supplement recipes with small amounts of specialized hops. Your needs will differ, consider your favorite beers to brew when making your purchase.
If you forecast a little bit you can save yourself a lot of trouble down the road. I know that my hop garden will take years to fully mature into productive colonies. Assuming no real return on investment in the first year is very important. The obvious dilemma became; what do I do with this years crop? How can I put it to use? One idea was to use the harvest as hop-fodder in experimental beer. It would also be good to try some fringe hopping practices like hop-tea and extractions. In my case, I decided that extra-IPA dry-hopping was something I could never do if I was paying for the hops. So instead, I would use my hops to try it out.
Once I received the rhizomes, I wasted no time in putting them in the ground. The hops are on a biological clock. Waiting too long will have severe consequences to the health of the plants. The first year is a fragile time for a new hop rhizome, treat it well. Since most of middle Tennessee is flat and soggy, I had to raise a planting bed so that the roots of the hops would be above the water table. They must also be able to grow down to the water table for year round water access. Hops prefer well drained, aerated soil. I ended up with 3 Hallertau rhizomes and 3 Cascade rhizomes (one per drum half).
Using some resources around the house, I found some old plastic drums and cut them in half with a skill saw. Its important to note that the bottoms and the tops of the drums were cut off to allow root access to the surrounding soil at ground level. I simply set the half-drums, which were hollow cylinders at this point, on the ground and filled them with dirt from a nearby source. I fertilized with cow manure, ash and rotting vegetable matter. I Fertilized very sparingly, only about a shovel of each fertilizer went into each drum of dirt. Each drum contained about 10 shovel-fulls of raw dirt (to make an approximate 3:10 ratio which is completely arbitrary, I have no science to back it up). It was all mixed together and watered down. The hop rhizomes were carefully buried 1 below the surface and watered lightly. Never plant your rhizomes unless all threat of frost is completely gone. A snap freeze will destroy the tender rhizome.
I next constructed vertical supports for a trellis from old 2x4's I had lying around. I drilled holes in the tops of the poles to allow twine to run through them, rather than tying it directly to them. I dug post holes and sunk the poles into the ground, securing them with quickrete and gravel. Nothing fancy, but enough to hold them up against strong winds. I pounded a 4 rebar stakes into the ground behind the 2x4's to act as anchors for the twine. See the diagram.
After the heavy work, I went to Lowes to get an automatic timer and a misting system. This little beauty is a godsend. The timer hooks into any standard water outlet or hose fitting and runs all year on two AA batteries. You can set it for pre-programmed watering days and times, I set it for every other day for 30 minutes and left it all year. I connected the timer to some tubing I had lying around and ran it out to my hops. I connected the misters and stuck them in the center of the drums. Now my garden was automated. All together it was probably $50. Some professionals say to use a drip line system to avoid wetting the leaves. If you have to run the hose a long distance from the house or water source, I highly recommend getting some black plastic hose from Tractor Supply or even better; the local Co-Op. It lies flat after a day in the sun and I even ran it over with the lawn mower, it never got hit.
To prevent deer and other pesky herbivores from eating my hops I put up a construction fence. I got it at a yard sale, but I would highly recommend you do this as well. IF YOU HAVE PETS: DO NOT let them eat the hops. It can kill them! Read about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_health look under dangerous foods. The fence was supported by removable stakes and wrapped around the garden.
yuppiecruncher
Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2009
- Messages
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After about 2 weeks I had a small budding hops plant about the size of a quarter.
My hops grew slow and I kept cutting them back, only letting two bines grow unhampered from each rhizome. Its my understanding that this promotes root growth which is vital to healthy hops in their first year. I would set aside about 30 minutes maximum per week to prune and weed the dirt in the bins. Every month or so I would have to weed-wack the area inside my fence and around the drums to keep the hay down. I fertilized the six plants with a gallon of miracle grow solution 3 times during the year.
After 3 months the two bines of one Cascade rhizome began to produce hops. It was followed shortly after by the other two Cascade rhizomes. 4 months after planting I harvested the first crop of Cascade and used them to Dry-hop an IPA. The Hallertau took about 5 months to get any real hops on the bine and these were small and insignificant in number.
After the first harvest I let the hops produce cones without harvesting them. I continued to prune the new bines back, leaving the original two until the end of the growing season (October). Late October, I cut them off at the soil level leaving nothing but nubs above ground. To protect them through the coming winter, I piled leaves into the drums, my hope is they will smother any weeds and insulate the rhizomes in the ground. Next spring I intend to make a few changes.
Most of the problems I encountered were only mild irritations at worst and will likely be easily remedied by simple fixes next spring. The first and most obvious problem was hanging the twine. I bought some really cheap twine that turned out to be inconveniently short. It also rotted as the year went on, becoming brittle and stiff. Another problem was that it did not stay anchored like I intended. I tied it to the rebar, but the knots would loosen in the rain and there was not enough excess twine to make a decent knot. I had to re-attach them every month or so with crappy square knots. In addition, I only allowed two bines to grow, so I only attached two runners from the drums to the trellis twine. Next spring I will need to run many runners from each drum, but I do not believe the trellis twine will hold. I will have to figure out something else.
Another problem is insects. I had significant bites taken out of all of the leaves. I believe it was the work of grasshoppers and snails or possibly spider mites and green aphids. I also noticed small flies and ants inside the cones. The cones didn't seem to suffer much from insects, only a few exploratory bites. I do not want to use pesticides as I'm kind of an organic dude, but I might cover the ground around the garden with leaves to keep the hay back from the drums. I believe that the pests were coming from the grass which was growing over the tops of the drums. I think if I can keep the grass back I can keep the bugs back.
I also noticed the bines wouldn't grow over 10 feet high. I've read that 18 feet is a common height for hops so I'm surprised mine stopped just short of my trellis twine (about 10'). Perhaps it is because of the immaturity of my hops plants that they weren't able to grow to their full height. We'll find out next year. I do believe that there is sufficient room on the trellis for them to grow to 18 feet unimpeded.
I am especially concerned about the Hallertau not producing. Compared to the Cascade they were nearly stagnant for the first 3 months having a lot of difficulty growing bines that would reach the vertical runners. I noticed some leaf discoloration (yellowing) as well. Perhaps the rhizomes were damaged or injured from frost. It could also have been from adjusting to soil Ph. The Cascade hops seem to be very robust compared to the Hallertau. Again, we'll have to see next year. I harvested no Hallertau cones this year, those that were produced were puny and quickly browned with little lupulin.
Overall, this season has been a success. My learning curve won't be too steep for next spring. I think I'll add a third hop variety as well. My hope is that you will find this information useful in your own gardens. I ask that anyone who has had success in dealing with these problems let me know what your solutions were.
My hops grew slow and I kept cutting them back, only letting two bines grow unhampered from each rhizome. Its my understanding that this promotes root growth which is vital to healthy hops in their first year. I would set aside about 30 minutes maximum per week to prune and weed the dirt in the bins. Every month or so I would have to weed-wack the area inside my fence and around the drums to keep the hay down. I fertilized the six plants with a gallon of miracle grow solution 3 times during the year.
After 3 months the two bines of one Cascade rhizome began to produce hops. It was followed shortly after by the other two Cascade rhizomes. 4 months after planting I harvested the first crop of Cascade and used them to Dry-hop an IPA. The Hallertau took about 5 months to get any real hops on the bine and these were small and insignificant in number.
After the first harvest I let the hops produce cones without harvesting them. I continued to prune the new bines back, leaving the original two until the end of the growing season (October). Late October, I cut them off at the soil level leaving nothing but nubs above ground. To protect them through the coming winter, I piled leaves into the drums, my hope is they will smother any weeds and insulate the rhizomes in the ground. Next spring I intend to make a few changes.
Most of the problems I encountered were only mild irritations at worst and will likely be easily remedied by simple fixes next spring. The first and most obvious problem was hanging the twine. I bought some really cheap twine that turned out to be inconveniently short. It also rotted as the year went on, becoming brittle and stiff. Another problem was that it did not stay anchored like I intended. I tied it to the rebar, but the knots would loosen in the rain and there was not enough excess twine to make a decent knot. I had to re-attach them every month or so with crappy square knots. In addition, I only allowed two bines to grow, so I only attached two runners from the drums to the trellis twine. Next spring I will need to run many runners from each drum, but I do not believe the trellis twine will hold. I will have to figure out something else.
Another problem is insects. I had significant bites taken out of all of the leaves. I believe it was the work of grasshoppers and snails or possibly spider mites and green aphids. I also noticed small flies and ants inside the cones. The cones didn't seem to suffer much from insects, only a few exploratory bites. I do not want to use pesticides as I'm kind of an organic dude, but I might cover the ground around the garden with leaves to keep the hay back from the drums. I believe that the pests were coming from the grass which was growing over the tops of the drums. I think if I can keep the grass back I can keep the bugs back.
I also noticed the bines wouldn't grow over 10 feet high. I've read that 18 feet is a common height for hops so I'm surprised mine stopped just short of my trellis twine (about 10'). Perhaps it is because of the immaturity of my hops plants that they weren't able to grow to their full height. We'll find out next year. I do believe that there is sufficient room on the trellis for them to grow to 18 feet unimpeded.
I am especially concerned about the Hallertau not producing. Compared to the Cascade they were nearly stagnant for the first 3 months having a lot of difficulty growing bines that would reach the vertical runners. I noticed some leaf discoloration (yellowing) as well. Perhaps the rhizomes were damaged or injured from frost. It could also have been from adjusting to soil Ph. The Cascade hops seem to be very robust compared to the Hallertau. Again, we'll have to see next year. I harvested no Hallertau cones this year, those that were produced were puny and quickly browned with little lupulin.
Overall, this season has been a success. My learning curve won't be too steep for next spring. I think I'll add a third hop variety as well. My hope is that you will find this information useful in your own gardens. I ask that anyone who has had success in dealing with these problems let me know what your solutions were.
cuinrearview
Well-Known Member
Very nice journal yuppie. The fact that you got them to go ten feet in the first year is impressive. The harvest was even better. Don't be concerned that the hallertau did worse than the cascade. They are completely different varieties and most growers of hallertau struggle to get a decent harvest at home. Cascade are the universal best growing hop for anoyone. That being said, you'll definately want to plan on full vegetal growth next year and a ten foot trellis WILL NOT CONTAIN THESE BEASTS. The Zues rhizome that I put in this year only grew seven to eight feet but produced an oz. and a half and some cones that were over two inches long. Be scared, be very scared....
Sorry for bumping an old post but wanted to see how things are going years later?
I'm in Ridgetop/Goodlettsville and wanting to start a couple of bines.
Any issues with mildew or other from our humid climate?
I'm in Ridgetop/Goodlettsville and wanting to start a couple of bines.
Any issues with mildew or other from our humid climate?
