Any canadians growing hops

[AlbertaBeer]

Just curious if anyone farther north has had and luck growing them. I haven’t really put any thought into it, but it would be cool to grow my own just to say I did!

We’re usually in the low 50s for chu, so we come up about 10-15 heat units shy of the southern prairies and likely anywhere else that actually grows hops. Another issue is likely winter kill, from the little bit I’ve read they don’t usually winter too well below -20c, so chances are -45 will kill them im thinking. Or can a guy just mulch heavy over them in the fall and save them?

It’s probably a lost cause trying to grow them here, but if there’s a chance it’ll work I’m game for trying it!

 

[EricR]

Lots of Canadians growing hops in the more southern regions, but not sure about up around your parts. You might get some growth but likely not as much as anywhere else. Fortunately rhizomes aren't overly expensive so I'd say go for it and see what happens. When it comes to mulch I'd definitely say go heavy in the fall and keep your fingers crossed for not TOO deep of a freeze.

 

[AlbertaBeer]

Yea I’ve looked around and they definitely aren’t expensive. I just don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a spot prepped for them and a lattice to climb if they aren’t going to produce anything!

Probably would have been a good idea to have them in the ground 3 weeks ago too, but I haven’t even had the time to put the garden in yet

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Just curious if anyone farther north has had and luck growing them....It’s probably a lost cause trying to grow them here, but if there’s a chance it’ll work I’m game for trying it!

Well depending on where you are in Alberta, some of the classic hop-growing regions could be "further north" than you. Calgary is roughly the same latitude as Hythe and Salisbury so all English commercial hops are grown north of Calgary, ditto most Polish hops. And there's certainly people growing hops in Sweden, which would take you up to at least Fort McMurray latitude, probably further north.

Obviously the climate is a bit different, but at least you don't have to worry about day-length like some people. Remember - these are a temperate crop, they're adapted to pretty high latitudes. BB1, the hop that was the foundation of most modern hop genetics, came from Morden, Manitoba at about the same latitude as Vancouver.

I imagine the likes of Great Lakes Hops could give more advice but I'd say give it a go, but be generous in protecting the rhizome in winter.

 

[AlbertaBeer]

I’m in northern Alberta, quite a bit north from Edmonton!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I’m in northern Alberta, quite a bit north from Edmonton!

You're a southerner by Erik's standards, he's growing hops (admittedly Swedish heritage varieties) above 65N in Sweden, so north of Sawmill Bay on Great Bear Lake... Admittedly, I imagine being near the northern tip of the Baltic helps.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/about-to-order-a-bunch-of-hop-plants-need-some-guidance.699289/

 

[lurker18]

grew them in Winnipeg for years and did absolutely nothing to protect them. Zero issue with winterkill. Issue I had was when it was time to get rid of them, they are harder to kill than grow. They develop a huge taproot that goes down several feet, and it you don't get it all, they will grow back.

 

[Apimyces]

Can't really compare Europe to Canada just by latitude to predict weather and growing conditions. Europe gets warmed by Atlantic currents, while we get chilled by Arctic ones.

Hop bines are renewed every year, you just need your rhizomes to survive. Provided they are in the ground, I'd presume most cultivars could survive, though I'm really not familiar with Northern Alberta. Snow's a fairly good insulator, though. Might be trickier to get decent yields though when you combine the short growing season and photoperiod of that latitude. Also "Northern Alberta" is a bit vague. Grimshaw height? Fitzgerald? There's a few hardiness zone differences between those.