Hey guys, seeing as this thread started in '05 I don't feel so bad bringing it back to life. Besides, since when did it become uncouth to revive an old thread you're interested in??
I'd love to hear how your hops are coming along that you've ordered years ago. Many of you placed orders in '09, plenty of time for hops to get up to their full potential (3 yrs to maturity?) so I'd love to hear how you made out growing them, pics of hauls or the plants etc.
I'm just getting to the point where I want to grow some hops myself. My options are limited living in a high-rise condo in Calgary but I'm going to take a shot at it anyway. I've got a south facing balcony with a massive planter (I've read the root balls are prolific) so I'm going to give that a go, but i've also been getting into Hydroponics and I'm really eager to test out hops in a hydro system like DWC.
Given hops are a relative of dope and they grow like weeds themselves, I'm really surprised more people don't attempt these with hydroponics/aeroponics. I'm not sure how a rhizome based plant will end up but I'm really curious to try. I'm also wondering how the plant will respond to being grown year around.
After searching the net, I've found very little info on hydroponic hops with the exception of this lengthly blog:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/hydro/msg0404205731932.html
I realize it's a little early for ordering rhizomes but I've got to get my pre-order in early this year (was too late last year) and I also found Hops seeds for sale on Ebay. This surprised me, I hadn't heard of them being sold as seeds before. It seems to me like growing from seeds would set you even further back as it would probably take a year to grow a basic rhizome from a seed. I ordered 10 to give it a go and see what happens but they haven't arrived yet.
I'm hoping to revive this thread and get some input. Anyone out there who have tried hydroponic hops first hand?
Looking for input as well on varieties suitable to the climate here in Alberta (Calgary). Sure I know hops are prolific growers and weed-like, able to adapt to any environment... however I cannot stress enough how arid the climate is here. From all I've read on the subject, hops prefer more humid environments and often grow best under shade or less light. This is why they grow great in the Maritimes and the Pacific NW.
Currently in Alberta we're hovering around 5% RH in the house although that is usually around 10%. This past summer I took trip home to Halifax and took some cuttings (and rhizomes) from a friends Cascade vine. Safely packed in a large Zip-Lock with water in the bag for moisture. Hopped on the plane home, took the hops carefully out of the bag the second I walked in the door, prepared a soil bed for them, transplanted them, watered them etc... I came back an hour later and the leaves were completely shriveled and dried. I touched one and it spontaneously turned into dust. Now that was definitely my fault for failing to recognize just how arid it is here compared to there but I wanted to describe that experience so you guys would realize just how dry it is here!
paul_beer mentioned earlier in the thread doing some research on the best varieties for his area... if you're lurking out there, could you share what you came up with?
Any extra info or input is invited! Thanks guys.