Container growing questions

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brewswellwithothers

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I've read through most of these posts and seen other people successfully grow hops in containers and I think that will be the best situation for me. I live in GA and my backyard is all clay and the containers will give me a good way to control soil conditions and drainage issues; as well as contain the hops from spreading.

My question is after the harvesting is all done and you cut your bines down to the ground can I move the containers into my garage and cover them?

I plan on using the rubbermaid type bins with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage. My thoughts were to bring them indoors and put the lids on and stack them to save space if they can be lifted (not sure what the weight is gonna be with rocks and soil in them).

Any advice or opinions are welcomed.

Thanks
 
With containers, the more volume you have, the better the results. For instance, a half whiskey barrel, or comparable size, is a good fit for starting a rhizome or two. Although, in three or four years, the plant will be pretty root bound and ready for division. With a large growing container filled with soil, I don't see it being very portable. Plus, I'm not sure I see any advantage of bringing them indoors over winter, especially in GA. Hops like a dormancy period over winter, so leaving them outside might be the best bet.

Also, consider raised beds, or bottomless planters, because hops will send down some tap roots, which will help the plant conserve water but still aid in drainage and improving the soil medium. Clay actually isn't so bad. It hold water very well and includes vital minerals. Amended with a lot of organic matter to build micro flora and fauna as well as enhance drainage--a lot of folks would trade their soil for clay any day.
Good luck! Growing hops is awesome--you can practically watch them grow in May and June--they go up that fast.
 
Im looking at using something like this:

Containers

But if its going to be best to leave them out year round then I might look into eventually finding something a little more aesthetically pleasing.
 
With containers, the more volume you have, the better the results. For instance, a half whiskey barrel, or comparable size, is a good fit for starting a rhizome or two. Although, in three or four years, the plant will be pretty root bound and ready for division. With a large growing container filled with soil, I don't see it being very portable. Plus, I'm not sure I see any advantage of bringing them indoors over winter, especially in GA. Hops like a dormancy period over winter, so leaving them outside might be the best bet.

Also, consider raised beds, or bottomless planters, because hops will send down some tap roots, which will help the plant conserve water but still aid in drainage and improving the soil medium. Clay actually isn't so bad. It hold water very well and includes vital minerals. Amended with a lot of organic matter to build micro flora and fauna as well as enhance drainage--a lot of folks would trade their soil for clay any day.
Good luck! Growing hops is awesome--you can practically watch them grow in May and June--they go up that fast.
excellent advice, espcially on the raised beds. +1.

if you do go the container route, check out http://www.slate.com/articles/techn.../04/a_revolutionary_way_to_grow_tomatoes.html
 
I really like the "Earthtainer" idea that you posted sweetcell, thanks for that link.

My follow up question would be, with a water reservoir and the fact that hops benefit from a winterizing phase.

How would you deal with the water freezing during the winter?

I suggested earlier moving my containers to my garage for winter, it doesn't get down to freezing in there but it is sheltered and probably wont get below 50 deg. F. Is this still going to be cold enough to allow the plants to do what they need to do?

Thanks
 
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