Growing Hops Across the Roof of My Garage

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Beerthoven

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
2,173
Reaction score
40
Location
Cary, NC
I have a detached garage, similar to the one shown here.

LakeLemonGarage.jpg

One side of the garage has a southerly facing that gets a lot of sun. I'm thinking about planting some hop rhizomes at the base of the wall, training them to go up wire runners to the roof, then up and along the roof to the very peak of the garage. This would give 20' or more for the bines to run and I can get up there easily to harvest them.

Do you think the roof would get too hot in the summer and fry the bines? I could probably work out a system to put 4" or 8" of separation between the runners and the roof itself.

What do you think? Could this work?
 
Interesting idea. I bet I could do the same thing if it would work. Very interested to hear what others have to say. :)

Just pre-ordered my first batch of rhizomes yesterday!
 
I would try and figure out a way to secure some white lattice up there to counter the heat from that black-tar shingle roof.

Plus, the lattice would give them something to cling to.

[EDIT] - THere better be some brewing gear inside that garage...:D
 
Beerthoven said:
Do you think the roof would get too hot in the summer and fry the bines?

Depending on how much time the sun hits the roof, yes this may be an issue unfortunately...
 
I would also worry about the bines holding moisture againts the singles and or causing drainage problems that might harm the roof. Now, if you could rig a ridge pole and train them to sisal suspended OFF the roof itself, you'd be golden!!
 
I like BierMuncher's lattice idea. I don't think it would be too hard to build it with 6" or 8" of separation between the bines and the roof. I wonder if that would still be too hot for them. The roof gets direct sun from 9:00am to about 3:00pm, which is a long time in the South. Plus it continues to radiate heat after that.

I don't know...I'll have to think on it some more.

BierMuncher said:
There better be some brewing gear inside that garage...:D

Alas, right now the garage contains no brewing equipment. Its a roach and spider infested POS that I am renovating myself (The garage in the picture is not my garage, just a random internet clip). It was built by a do-it-yerselfer who didn't actually know that much. At least its a good excuse to buy tools "Honey...I need a reciprocating saw!"
 
I would say your roof will be far to hot. Just think how hot an asphalt road gets your roof would be close to that, just with less potential to hold and release heat later due to thickness. I would say your bines would be toasted before dinner time.
 
Well, it was a beautiful dream. I'd still like to find a way to use the existing structures/features of my yard because I'm not too keen on building a trellis system (I have enough projects already).

Which leads me to my next question: Will hops cling to trees? I have many 70' pine trees in my yard, some of which get full sun. Could I plant a rhizome at the base of a tree and train it to grow up the trunk, like kudzu?

Unfortunately the back of my house is in the shade all day long, or I'd just string them up to the roof.

1310 Highland Trail_4.jpg
 
I'm sure they'll climb the tree but I'd be concerned about the competition in the soil. How about a raised bed on its own "soil ecosystem"? I'm going to try some wire running from the ground up to my second story roof. I know I might end up with a mess, but it's 30 feet.
 
I dont they they would thrive very well on the roof, those shingles are going to get very very hot
 
Anothing thing to consider with trees, is that you don't have any easy way to take down the bines to harvest if they are attached to a tree.
 
I have been thinking of trying to take advantage of some trees in my backyard to grow some hops also. I was thinking that maybe running some string or cable up the tree and then to the ground a few feet away from the base might work. I could probably get a few plants around the sunny side of a tree. Does anyone that has used a tree have any pictures of what they did?
 
No pictures but I wouldn't plant to close to the tree because it will be dry.

I grew mine up a trellis on a fence 5ft from a 12" dia tree then trained it up the outer brances then let it run free.
 
^+1. I would make a raised bed a little ways away from one of the trees, then run a cable either up to a limb or on an angle up to the trunk and train the bines up that way. It wouldn't do any harm to the tree and they wouldn't be competing for the soil as much.
 
Orfy, jdoiv, thanks for the ideas (and pics). I'm going to figure out a way to make the tree idea work.

Cheers,
:mug:
 
I don't think the vines would get fried if you had them on a lattice that was raised above the level of the roof. If the roof isn't getting sun (leaves get hit by sun too, ya know) directly, it wouldn't heat up much, and if air can flow between the shingles and the vines, I'd say everything is fine.

Trees have their leaves in direct sun all day, and they play a balancing act between drying out and frying. If they cool themselves (evapo-transpiraton) they run the risk of drying out. If they don't cool themselves, they bake, and the leaf tissues become useless. Yet somehow, we have trees all over the place.

Obviously there's more to it than that, but the idea is there.
 
Well, I am actually considering the very same plan: to grow up from the ground of the south facing wall to the peak of my detached garage roof. I had thought about the "fry factor" and decided to just figure out a way to elevate the bines to give some air flow(Maybe lattice?). Like was mentioned in another post, the leaves will be absorbing most of the heat, and the transpiration will most likely keep it cool enough that I would not expect any frying of the hops...the hops cones don't come out until late summer/early fall anyway, and it should cool off by then. I could be wrong, but I am going to try...I live in Portland, and though we get hot days, it is rare to get many days of real scorchers, so this may be climate related too.

Good Luck, Tim
 
Please, unless you train the bines to grow under the eaves on some strings, don't let them grow over the roof. You WILL fry those buggers to a crisp, even if they're a foot off the actual roof.

This very thing happened to my bines last year. they grew straight up, and I let a few start grow up over the roof so I ran some string above the roof to let them go, just for fun. It got up to 100 degrees out for a full week and they wilted and turned black anywhere they were over the roof. Everywhere else they were fine.

I also live in Portland, OR.
 
EvilTOJ said:
Please, unless you train the bines to grow under the eaves on some strings, don't let them grow over the roof. You WILL fry those buggers to a crisp, even if they're a foot off the actual roof.

This very thing happened to my bines last year. they grew straight up, and I let a few start grow up over the roof so I ran some string above the roof to let them go, just for fun. It got up to 100 degrees out for a full week and they wilted and turned black anywhere they were over the roof. Everywhere else they were fine.

I also live in Portland, OR.

I keep going back and forth over whether or not this is a feasible idea. Your experience may have convinced me its not. Summer in the south is hot, and most hops don't do so well in really hot weather. Probably better not to stress them any more than they will be already.
 
MikeFlynn74 said:
Thats about what im going to do- Except my roof is flat and what I am doing is nothing like your plan.

LOL.

Indeed I am doing the exact same thing too, running the bines over my garage roof.

Of course, by "garage roof" I mean my chain link fence.;)
 
FSR402 said:
I myself would worry more about the vines growing up under the shingles and wrecking the roof.

I never seriously considered letting the hops grow directly on the shingles. I would have found a way to keep them elevated on wire runners running 8" or more above the roof surface. Even doing that, I think it would be too hot up there.
 
You guys have given me pause...maybe the roof is not a great idea. Local experience from EvilTOJ is enough for me to hear.

Thanks, Tim
 
Roof is deffienately too hot - 150-170F in the summer in the south. The tree is better, but I vote for raised beds 4-6 feet from the trunk, with string or cable forming a tepee up to the trunk. The soil around the base of most trees is very acidic due to falling organic material (depending on the variety of tree), so the hops would probably do better in their own bed.
 
Sea said:
Roof is deffienately too hot - 150-170F in the summer in the south. The tree is better, but I vote for raised beds 4-6 feet from the trunk, with string or cable forming a tepee up to the trunk. The soil around the base of most trees is very acidic due to falling organic material (depending on the variety of tree), so the hops would probably do better in their own bed.
I see that you don't have the big azz maple trees that I have.
I would have to plant 2 doors down to do what you are saying:drunk:

My plan is to run some 20 foot poles ( be it PVC or steel) next to my fence on the north side of the house ( making it south facing) and run a rope from pole to pole (thinking 3 totaling 20 feet apart) and then stringers down from the rope to the ground where I plant the hops.


.
 
Put a few 16' 2x4's in the ground directly below the gutter and put 1 screw into the upper lip of the gutter. Run your strings up past the roof to the top of the 2x4. You can sit on the roof to pick the hops. They wont do well laying on the shingles.
 
Back
Top