Anybody Grow Hops?

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Gilbey

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Anybody else here propogate their own hops? I have Chinooks and Tettnangers growing in my back yard here in NJ. It appears that this year for the first time I will have a harvestable amount of hops. The book I have suggests picking and drying in open air and storing in the freezer. I likely only have enough for one batch though, so they will not be stored that long :D .

Anybody else??

Gilbey
 
Gilbey--where in NJ are you growing hops (not that I'm about to hop your fence for some...)? I haven't tried yet, but gave thought to it.
 
I grow hops here in Little Rock, AR. I have Cascade and Tettnanger. I planted them late last growing season so this is my first season that any hops have shown up. My problem is that bugs/disease/etc. have taken their toll on the Tettnanger. My other problem is that I severely underestimated the ability of hops to grow in good sun and good soil. Also, hops do not like to grow horizontally. I had about 7' of vertical trellis and then figured I could make the vines grow laterally to the extent they exceeded 7'. They do not like growing sideways at all. Next year I have to figure out a way to get at least 12' in vertical growing space.

On the bright side, it looks like I'll probably collect a few ounces of Cascade hops to use in a brew or two.
 
I am in Hillsborough, Somerset County, NJ. The Japanese beetles have plauged my vines this year, but I should get a few ounces of Chinooks. The Tets are not growing as well. My friend in Hunterdon County has cascades and one other variety, and his are doing very well. I am going to try to pinch some of his cascade vines in the Spring and get them going at my place. Once you get them established they literally grow like weeds!!!

Mine are trellaced up a flag pole that is 15 feet high, and the Chinooks this year outgrew that. I have heard from others that they will only grow vertically and are difficult to train horizontally. Mine like lots of water and direct sunlight, but when it's too hot they slow substantially.

Gilbey
 
I got some roots from a visit to a hop farm in WA State way back about 10 years. I moved around a lot so I gave them to my son-in-law. They are all over his fence...so growing horizontally is possible.

I took a couple of ounces off of his plant the other day. I have them air drying in wicker baskets on the deck.

I'm not concerned if they come out alright or not since I have over 6 lbs of assorted hops in my freezer at the moment.

I planted a root from one of his a couple of months ago along with some German Hallertau. They really haven't taken off all that much. I'm hoping next year will be better.

I'm from Jersey also, Camden, Atlantic City, Ocean,
Manahawkin. I'm in IL for the second time, 87-97, 04 to present.

I lived in NC 3 times. Twice at Bragg and once in Raeford (outside of Bragg) - 73-74, 79-80, 97-99.

Come to think of it...I'll be in Washington State this weekend and most of next week. Maybe I'll pick something up... :D
 
Chicago area and I planted Cascades, Nugget and Willamette this past spring. It doesn't look like I'll see any hop flowers this year; maybe next year. The Cascades vines are growing like crazy!

The Willamettes are having a hard time because I underestimated the amount of sun they would get in the location I planted them. The Nuggets are doing a little better, but they are suffering from the same problem. I didn't take into account the trees that back up to my yard. They limit the amount of sun the Nugget and Willamette plants get. The Cascades are in an area of the yard where they get nearly twice as much sun during the day.

When they go dormant, I may try and transplant the others closer to the house where they will get more sun. Don't know if it would be better to do that when winter begins or prior to spring. :confused:
 
I'm growing some too but I think they are struggling with the amount of heat we've had here this year. One plant, the Northern Brewer, is turning yellow. The Mt. Hood plant got ripped off by some strong winds after it first sprouted past about 2-3 feet. It came back and its well behind, but seems to be trying to grow at least. I don't expect much of a yield this year but if I get enough of each to do just one batch of beer with my own hops I'll be happy.

:cool:

Hopefully I won't be in this godforsaken state after this year so I can transplant them to wherever we move. :)
 
Do you know anyone who can dig one up for you? They're just roots from an offshoot that comes up from the ground.

It's actually too late to start growing them now. The season is almost over. It's time to harvest.

Where do you live? I doubt I'll have time to visit a hop farm in WA, but I can probably send you some rhisomes from my son-in-laws growth. Best wait until next spring though.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Do you know anyone who can dig one up for you? They're just roots from an offshoot that comes up from the ground.

It's actually too late to start growing them now. The season is almost over. It's time to harvest.

Where do you live? I doubt I'll have time to visit a hop farm in WA, but I can probably send you some rhisomes from my son-in-laws growth. Best wait until next spring though.
Click to expand...

Actually it looks like I live just down state from you. Quincy, IL.

clef
 
You must have just put Quincy on there or else I would have seen that.
I haven't been down that way in over 10 years.

My S-I-L lives in Galva. We used to live there until I transferred to NC in 97 then in 99 I transferred to Germany for 5 years. Now I'm back with only a little over 4 years to go to retirement.

Here's where we're staying unless my wife wants to become a snowbird. :D
 
Yep, I just added it. I hadn't gotten around to working on my profile again.

I can't say that I've been to Galva except maybe passing through on the train, but I've been to Galesburg several times for my stepsons high school football games.
 
clef said:
Are there any other places to get starts for hop vines?

clef
Click to expand...


Every spring, parts of the roots called rhizomes, are available from most of the online homebrew shops for like 3 bucks a piece. The large hop growers sellthem too. You have to order them in the spring, cause that's the only time they are offered. And you have to get them quick, cause they sell out fast!
 
ORRELSE said:
Every spring, parts of the roots called rhizomes, are available from most of the online homebrew shops for like 3 bucks a piece. The large hop growers sellthem too. You have to order them in the spring, cause that's the only time they are offered. And you have to get them quick, cause they sell out fast!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info.
 
What is the ideal climate for growing hops?
 
Best climate? The Pacific Northwest! Hops are sun loving crops, so long sunny summer days are best, but not too hot. For all of the reputation the PNW has for rain, the summers are dry and bright. 16 hours of sunshine every day.

There are a few types of hops that grow well horizontally. Mainly Goldings and they are hard to find in the USA.

I've got Nugget, Fuggles, Cascade and Northern Brewing; so far.
 
I have hops growing wild all over the place, but unknown as to what types. I may try them out next year though. Probably Cascades or Williamette. Their like weeds here.
 
I thought the best climate for hop growth was found in Holland. Aren't they the biggest hop producer, or did the Thirsty Traveller decieve me ? If this is true, wouldn't the southern UK, Norhern US, and Southern Canada have the best hop-growing climates ?
 
Live in MA, USA. Moved from another town three years ago and this year was the second year for a number of Cascade plants. They take a few years to really take off...you should cut back all but the best 6 to 8 of the shoots from each plant each year and then once they start to get bigger, remove the bottom leaves to prevent mold, etc. Cut back to the ground following harvesting but before the winter. Cover with compost and some ash and a bit of straw for the winter. I expect next year they will start really kicking in. The season here is plant in April/May (I think) and harvest in Aug/Sept or just before the cones start to show signs of turning brown.

Once they mature for a few years, you can literally split the plants in half and start new plants. I am fairly certain you can also plant cuttings. I had a dozen or more Cascade plants at my old house that were only 5 or so years old. I grew them on tripods of pine posts that were 15 feet tall...believe me when I tell you that I could not harvest all of the cones myself! Can't wait a few more years to be back to that!!! :p
 
I read somewhere that more than half the commercially used Hops grow between Eugene Oregon and Seattle Washington. I am assuming that is half the hops grown in the US.
 
growing hops would be sweet. But i'm in a apartment rightnow so not enough room. Is growing hops just like growing anything else?? I grow some tomatos and peppers on my paitio and usally get a few out of the batch. Need more sunlight.
 
Hops are real easy to grow, they are like weeds if you tend to them even a little bit (see my previous reply). I'm fairly certain you could even grow a vine or two in a large container...even in a small space. They just need something to climb up, say even a telephone pole out in the street or along your cable line up your house...they die back every year so not to worry...you can just pull them down and cut back. They take a year or two to catch on so be patient. Cheers.
 
So they need low humidity? I wonder if they will grow good in Florida (hot as hell but good for sun....bad on humid/bugs). Think they will work?
 

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