Buying rhizomes from Yakima Valley

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BongoYodeler

BongoYodeler

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I bought rhizomes through Adventures in Homebrewing last year. Apparently they contracted with a hop farm in Maine and when they finally shipped it took nearly 10 days to reach me in California. Not only that, they looked sickly when they arrived, all limp, no growth, they looked like black soggy twigs that I feared wouldn't grow. My pessimism proved true as none of the eight rhizomes produced despite following the directions and a large variety of fruits and vegetables all growing fantastically well in the same general area. I've been in contact with AiH and they agreed to replace my order this season. To up my chances I'd like to also purchase some from Yakima Valley but I'm confused about what's on their website. I can't tell if they haven't started pre-orders for shipping rhizomes this spring, or if they mean 2023 rhizomes are already sold out and pre-orders for rhizomes shipping in 2024 will begin this spring. Other companies (including AiH) are already accepting orders for rhizomes shipping this spring. I've sent a message last week to YVH though their online messaging option, but it's been a week and no response. Any ideas what to make of their process?

Screenshot from 2023-02-02 08-41-14.jpg
 
FYI...a few years ago I ordered hop plants from Great Lakes Hops and they shipped them out on April 26. I think that is a common shipping time for many sellers.

BTW, Great Lakes Hops might be worth checking out. They are one of the few vendors that sell hops other than the very common varieties. I got 4 plants and they all survived planting. In their 3rd year, the Chinook is thriving, the Triple Perle is coming along...the Tahoma and Goldings are struggling (though I would blame that more on the plants not being a great fit for my Virginia climate).
https://www.greatlakeshops.com/retail---shop-now.html
 
Heard back from YVH today.

Thank you so much for thinking of us when it comes to your rhizome needs!
We will have a variety of Rhizomes on-line for preordering very soon.
To find out when, please make sure you subscribe to our newsletter with your on-line account.
Rhizomes are dug up after the last frost. Here in WA, that can by March or even April.
 
I wonder what/if new types will be available to the public this year.
 
I've never ordered rhizomes from Yakima, but they are my go to for hops, great prices and always good customer service.
 
Joggin said:
I wonder what/if new types will be available to the public this year.
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I’d be surprised if any. The only cool, fun new rhizomes I’ve seen are from Great Lakes hops. Id love to get some Neo Mexicana from GLH but for the small amount I want and climate/growing uncertainty, they want way too much to ship to CA.

GHL will take preorders now. YVH, you have to wait until they begin accepting pre orders.
 
Two years ago (2021) I purchased eight varieties of rhizomes from AIH. Three were dark moldy and had a bad smell in the sealed plastic bag they were shipped in. I planted them any way and of course they never sprouted. I notified AIH and they sent replacements for those late last spring (2022). Again they arrived wet and moldy however one did survive and eventually sprouted. At this point I am two years into trying to establish a home hop garden with three void/bare hop spots in said garden. Soooo, I'm now searching for reliable source to purchase hop plants to replace the failed rhizomes as I want get better results in year three. I will admit of the hops that survived, survived because 4 of the 5 grew into plants but failed to produce cones but one, a Nugget is a beast. I'm open for suggestions for a supplier of established plants. Saaz, Centennial and Chinook are the replacements I need. But I want to add a couple more while I'm at it this year.
 
I recommend Great Lakes Hops. It's been several years but I bought mine from them, they sell small plants rather than rhizomes, and have a nice selection. The plants arrived looking very healthy and are still going strong.
 
Bongo I ordered Chinook, Fuggles, Saaz and Hallertau MF. I hope to get them planted early this spring so maybe they can catch up with my established varieties. Last year's drought was not good for my garden. I did get a few of some and over a pound of Nuggets from last year. Hoping this year gives me enough to supply my brewing needs and share some with a local brewery.
 
I can confirm that it's still freezing/frosting here in the Yakima valley (I'm looking out my window and see a frost covered yard)

Thursday is forecast for an overnight low of 12F and a high still in the freezing zone of 28F
 
Circling back. I ended up ordering a total of nine rhizomes from YVH - three Cascade, three Centennial, and three CTZ. They arrived a couple weeks ago, and they looked fantastic. They were planted last Thursday, Apr. 13th and within 48 hours there were already several sprouts breaking though the soil.

I'm still waiting for AIH to send me the replacements from last year's failures from Maine. Looking back at my saved emails they arrived mid-May last year so should be another three or four weeks.

**As a bonus, see post #5 above, about three weeks ago while waiting for the email announcement from YVH I popped on their website to check for updates and they were taking orders. So I ordered the nine rhizomes - $9.99/bundle of three. A few days later I received the email announcement from YVH and the price had jumped to $14.99/bundle of three. Yay, I saved $15 by checking early.
 
I haven't had good luck with hop rhizomes from AIH. 2yrs ago I had some that failed to sprout. They did replace them but like @BongoYodeler they arrived late, early summer, and while they did finally sprout they didn't produce cones worth using.

I ordered 4 hop plants from Great Lake Hops this year and they are scheduled to arrive Saturday. However my plants from the last two years are all looking good with lots of shoots this spring. We cut them all back and we are hoping for a bumper harvest this fall.
 
T Murph said:
I haven't had good luck with hop rhizomes from AIH. 2yrs ago I had some that failed to sprout. They did replace them but like @BongoYodeler they arrived late, early summer, and while they did finally sprout they didn't produce cones worth using.

I ordered 4 hop plants from Great Lake Hops this year and they are scheduled to arrive Saturday. However my plants from the last two years are all looking good with lots of shoots this spring. We cut them all back and we are hoping for a bumper harvest this fall.
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Murph did you get an email informing you of shipment? I ordered from them as well and have yet to hear anything.
 
We also planted Centennial and CTZ. The Centennial are doing equally well, but the CTZ has yet to break the surface. Not surprised, when they arrived from YCH the CTZ rhizomes didn't look as good as the other two. Hopefully it'll come around soon.
 
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@Airborneguy have heard from GLH yet. If not email them and or give them a call. I made my original order back in Feb then decided to add one more in Mar. I contacted them, they added it to my order and all arrived boxed and billed together.
 
T Murph said:
@Airborneguy have heard from GLH yet. If not email them and or give them a call. I made my original order back in Feb then decided to add one more in Mar. I contacted them, they added it to my order and all arrived boxed and billed together.
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I haven’t. If I don’t hear from them by Friday, I’ll email. I have my order number in a screenshot.
 
Mine are having a tough time. The Hallertau is doing the best. It’s about a foot high. Cascade is just behind it, maybe by a few inches.

The Fuggles and the free Teammaker are only at about 6”. They’re barely grasping the strings.

Saaz died immediately.
 
Airborneguy said:
Mine are having a tough time. The Hallertau is doing the best. It’s about a foot high. Cascade is just behind it, maybe by a few inches.

The Fuggles and the free Teammaker are only at about 6”. They’re barely grasping the strings.

Saaz died immediately.
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I haven't had good luck with Saaz either. One that I planted last year is up and looking healthy but only about 6" tall. I bought a new potted Saaz this spring that is doing better. I'm hoping to get a good harvest from the two of them.
 
BongoYodeler said:
The Cascade hops, planted a little over six weeks ago, are now taller than I am.

View attachment 821316
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Thats great! Your centennials from this year are doing well?
None of the 3 centennial rhizomes I purchased this year have produced. But, a columbus plant I’ve ignored the past few summers is going strong 🤷
 
hopfenstopfen said:
Thats great! Your centennials from this year are doing well?
None of the 3 centennial rhizomes I purchased this year have produced. But, a columbus plant I’ve ignored the past few summers is going strong 🤷
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Along with the Cascade, both the Centennial and the CTZ are growing, look healthy, and are wrapping themselves around the strings. The CTZ rhizomes had the least sprouts on them of the three varieties I ordered, and were slowest to break ground. But they're now overtaking the Centennial plants. Both are between 2 and 3 feet tall. The Cascade is a little over 6 feet tall as of yesterday.
 
BongoYodeler said:
Along with the Cascade, both the Centennial and the CTZ are growing, look healthy, and are wrapping themselves around the strings. The CTZ rhizomes had the least sprouts on them of the three varieties I ordered, and were slowest to break ground. But they're now overtaking the Centennial plants. Both are between 2 and 3 feet tall. The Cascade is a little over 6 feet tall as of yesterday.
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Best of luck with them. My CTZs produced enough for a small brew the first year!
 
hopfenstopfen said:
Best of luck with them. My CTZs produced enough for a small brew the first year!
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Excellent!!
I don't really know what to expect with these this first year, but I'm tempering my enthusiasm. I'm primarily viewing it as any cones produced this first year will be considered a bonus. I'll actually be thrilled with good healthy plants that are able to come back strong next year, when hopefully the fun really begins!!
 
@BongoYodeler those are looking good especially the cascades. Storms are wreaking havoc on mine this year. Out at the farm wind blew down one on my trellis poles. My three yr old plants there are doing good. But I bought 5 more varities that are struggling. The new ones ordered are plants instead of rhizomes. I now believe the plants from rhizomes take off better than the baby plants. At home I have 3 plants in their second yr. A Nugget that is well over 20 ft, a Cascade about 16 ft and a Saaz that is about 12 ft. They are beginning to make cones but less than I expected. If it turns out like last year they will produce later I. The season and mature at different times.
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